Last week, I was hounded out of a protest by a pair of authoritarians opposing fascism.

Billed as a “May Day” rally on behalf of workers, the event, which began in Foley Square in downtown Manhattan, was one of dozens of such protests promoted by 50501. This one was organized by a coalition of unions and other progressive groups, including the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. I attended the rally and had spent about an hour interviewing participants and onlookers when the trouble began.

My questioning a DSA member about the idea that private ownership was the root of our nation’s troubles had evidently aroused the suspicions of a cadre of masked, yellow-vest-clad organizers bearing arrow signs reading “Right-Wing Troll,” which they then deployed to warn any future interview subjects from speaking with me.