This has been taken as evidence of gullibility, but some conspiracy theorists just seem to want antifa super-soldiers to be real. Unlike with the similarly internet-fueled Pizzagate and Seth Rich “cover-ups,” which involved unknowable power brokers with vast resources, acknowledging the November 4th uprising theory is an excuse to gloat about its inevitable failure. The far-right characterization of antifa is a sort of third-rate anarcho-communist ISIS run by non-gender-conforming hipsters (although apparently George Soros and the Deep State think they’re worth paying), not anything legitimately scary. Infowars doesn’t seem to take the so-called “civil war” as a serious threat, despite writing several articles about its existence. The covert blackout operation seems tacked-on and barely related, a throwback to more traditional government takeover panics like Jade Helm.

The antifa conspiracy theory provides a built-in excuse for violent reprisal, based on the vague threat of an attack somehow related to the rallies. Conservative actor James Woods mused that protesters might face “catastrophe” in places with open-carry gun laws, quoting a tweet that paired rally locations with the hashtag #LockAndLoad. “Good, a reason to blow them away,” wrote one Twitter user beneath a tweet that repeated the beheading story. One person reposted the ludicrously fake press release with a comment about antifa “asking for a fight.” Many other posts on Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms echo this refrain. It doesn’t necessarily matter how much anyone believes tomorrow’s nationwide protest is a civil war — the point is that some people are hoping it will become on