Have you heard about the woman who scaled a flagpole in South Carolina to remove the Confederate Flag?  Some are calling that “daring”.

Given that she was wearing climbing gear and had a spotter I’d call it “staged”.

#BreeNewsome had a spotter who helped her, #JamesTyson is his name. He was arrested also. #FreeBree #FreeJamesTyson

— Welleh Pyne (@WellPne) June 27, 2015

Anyway, the woman’s name is Bree Newsome.

By her own description she’s a “Writer, Director, Producer, Singer, Songwriter, Activist, Consultant and Speaker”. Newsome is no stranger to being on camera on purpose.

That is her business. She’s a “powerhouse“, folks.

She should look familiar to North Carolinians — she’s a Moral Monday arrestee from July 2013.  So was her SC climbing spotter, James Tyson. Once again, not daring, but staged:

@stayupnc member @BreeNewsome addressing media during protest at NC Rep @thomtillis‘s office on 7/24/13 pic.twitter.com/e5jhX5Pjmd — StAY UP NC (@stayupnc) August 20, 2013

That July 2013 arrest was in protest of voting rights. A quick search for “Bree Newsome” in the North Carolina voter look up tool shows no record of a “Bree Newsome” being registered. Perhaps that’s not her legal name.

Barber wasted NO time getting in front of the media to claim his slice of Newsome’s 15 minutes of fame.  It was so fast, one has to wonder if he knew it was going to happen.

Barber in a statement he gave to both Huffington Post and local outlet WRAL , Barber compared Newsome to Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer.

In both statements Barber referred to Newsome as a  ‘committed, trained, non-violent messenger of the truth’ .

The Huffington Post has a link to more footage of Newsome. That footage is also of her being arrested because yes, Moral Monday has its own videographer.

It is no accident Newsome’s Moral Monday arrest video is posted on the “Story of Us” YouTube channel. This arrest is the documentary Reverend Barber is peddling about Moral Monday. You see, the Reverend is a shy guy who can’t bear any self promotion.

Newsome’s website has a section for her activism:

A staunch advocate for human rights and social justice, Newsome was arrested last year during a sit-in at the North Carolina State Capitol where she spoke out against the state’s recent attack on voting rights. She continues to work as an activist and youth organizer in North Carolina, serving in the capacity of Western Field Organizer for the youth-led organization Ignite NC. 

Ignite NC gets its support from Democracy NC, which is run by that “non-partisan advocate for clean elections”, Bob Hall.

Ignite NC is a far left group that basically recruits and trains young kids to protest.  I haven’t sort of written on before, but it was on the other members.  Namely, Bryan Perlmutter.

Perlmutter leads multiple groups with young kids, including such groups as NC HEAT and Youth Organizing Institute.  Perlmutter also participated in the Fast Food Strikes supported by Moral Monday.

There is a gaggle of organizations associated with Ignite NC. Here is the list via the North Carolina Secretary of State website:

Ignite NC
Education Justice Alliance (EJA)
NC Coalition for Education Justice (NCCEJ)
Student Power
Youth Organizing Institute (YOI)
NC Queer Youth Power Coalition

When one clicks on the NC Secretary of State document filings for Ignite NC, the name “Southern Vision Alliance” is displayed. Quite an alliance.

Oh Snap!

“Daring” flagpole climber endorses digging up dead people: “Oh Snap!” pic.twitter.com/KHPXBqVLNm

— A.P. Dillon – LL1885 (@LadyLiberty1885) June 28, 2015