WalkAway Campaign holds rally following surge in membership
Brandon Straka, founder of the #WalkAway Campaign, discusses the organization's plans.
The #WalkAway campaign, a self-described grassroots movement aimed at "walking away" from "social discord" and identity politics, is hosting a march and rally in Chicago on Friday.
The march -- which is part of a larger schedule of #WalkAway events taking place across the U.S. ahead of the election -- will start at the Chicago Police Department at 5:30 p.m. and continue onto Wrigley Field for a 6 p.m. rally, according to the group's website.
The "Rescue America" event is one of a series of gatherings billed as attempts to save the country from "radical leftists."
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"I chose #WalkAway as a movement I align myself with," Olivia Rondeau, a college student majoring in political science and one of the event's speakers, told Fox News. "I transitioned from pretty far left. My views would have aligned with [Sen.] Bernie [Sanders]. It took me until the 2016 election to start seeing the other side of things."
Rondeau, a first-time voter this year, has found "more nuanced" ideas in conservatism but rejects identity politics as a whole and wants people to come together to see things for what they are without clinging to one title or another.
"It’s kind of like a wake-up moment," Rondeau said of #WalkAway, arguing that the far-left political movement is a "con show."
The goal of the rally is to show people the other side of stereotypical political arguments.
"I’m not just talking about Democrats waking up and suddenly becoming Republican. I want typical MAGA Republicans to see the other side, as well," Rondeau said.
#WalkAway campaign "Rescue America" graphic (Credit: #WalkAway Facebook page)
She added that she disagrees with the Republican talking point that Black conservative Republicans are leaving a metaphorical "plantation" when they exit the Democratic party. She just wants to "draw a bridge" between both sides and away from extreme ideology.
"It’s so polarized and so annoying," Rondeau said.
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She expects to speak out against what she considers tyranny in the age of the coronavirus, citing the unfairness of not allowing American families to attend funerals or "visit Grandma in the hospital" while others can "protest and burn buildings."
It's an idea that liberals, conservatives and libertarians can all get behind, she said.
Other speakers at the event will include #WalkAway founder Brandon Straka, singer-songwriter Joy Villa and political commentator Y.G. Nyghtstorm.
The #WalkAway campaign has received $8,605 in donations so far in 2019 and 2020, according to OpenSecrets.com, including $1,000 from Straka himself. Infowars founder Alex Jones contributed $10,000 to Straka's GoFundMe page for "campaign support" in 2018.
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