July 23, 2025
Chud. Hold the Lawn. Frankie Bobby, your car is on fire! Flopper. Pooping in a bucket for freedom. 500 trucks. Johnny Troy and the Hayseeds. Old-fashioned porn. Voodootifa. Anarchy Princess.
If you’re familiar with these terms, then you remember the 1776 Restoration Movement (1776RM), the right-wing cult that occupied a block along the National Mall three years ago this month.
Slipping into the city on July 6th, 2022, they livestreamed themselves sitting in lawn chairs for freedom. Pledging to restore a constitutional republic (something they could not define), their sedentary protest lasted less than 30 days before being driven out by online and IRL trolls, who harassed them 24/7. And the Park Police threatening to tow their cars.
I was fascinated by this movement. I couldn’t believe how they livestreamed everything – even their crimes! It was like a Spinal Tap version of the January 6th insurrection.
I was not alone. Their constant livestreams fueled an online industry that clipped and shared the dumbest moments from this fascist comedy of dysfunction for all the internet to enjoy.
Here are some of the things that I wrote about the decline and fall of the 1776 Restoration Movement:
And if you want to know more about how the experience changed me, get my book: How I Became Red Bike Guy. Seeing and interacting with these idiots made me the person who would one day heckle fascists.
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