When Leaders Call Patriots “Extremists”
The Dangerous Playbook of Silencing Dissent
House Speaker Mike Johnson recently called the upcoming October 18th “No Kings” march a “hate America rally” that would bring together “the Antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists” for what he described as “an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes.”
Let that sink in.
A sitting Speaker of the House is characterizing millions of Americans exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest as extremists and America-haters.
I spent 20 years in counterterrorism, ending my career as head of the State Department’s Countering Violent Extremism team. I know what actual extremism looks like. I’ve tracked it, analyzed it, and worked to prevent it. And I can tell you with absolute certainty: Peaceful Americans protesting government overreach is not extremism. It’s patriotism.
What should terrify every American is that this language—calling peaceful protesters “extremists”—comes straight from the authoritarian playbook used throughout history to delegitimize dissent. It’s particularly chilling when you understand that “No Kings” isn’t just a protest slogan - it’s the founding principle of the United States of America.
“No Kings” IS America
In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense: “In America, the law is king!”
The entire American Revolution was a “No Kings” movement. When colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, King George III called them traitors. The British government labeled the Boston Tea Party an act of extremism and terrorism, passing the Coercive Acts to punish these “radicals.” They shut down Boston’s commerce, ended local self-government, and required colonists to house British soldiers.
Those “extremists” founded our country.
When Colonel Lewis Nicola suggested in 1782 that George Washington should become king, Washington rejected it outright. The Founders were united in their rejection of monarchy and their suspicion of concentrated executive power.
For Speaker Johnson to call this a “hate America rally” is to fundamentally misunderstand - or deliberately misrepresent - what America stands for.
The Playbook: How Governments Silence Dissent
In my research into espionage history and intelligence operations - and through my own career in counterterrorism - I’ve seen how governments deploy the language of extremism against their critics. The “official story” often masks a darker truth about how dissent gets suppressed.
COINTELPRO: The FBI’s Secret War
From 1956 to 1971, the FBI ran COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) that systematically targeted Americans exercising constitutional rights. When activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, in 1971 and exposed the program, Americans were shocked by what their government had been doing in secret.
The official justification? “Threats to national security.”
The reality? The FBI labeled peaceful civil rights activists as “Black Nationalist Hate Groups” and explicitly worked to “prevent the rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement.”
Who were these “extremists”?
Martin Luther King Jr. - FBI official William C. Sullivan called him “the most dangerous Negro in the future of this nation.” Director J. Edgar Hoover publicly labeled him the most “notorious liar” in America. They bugged his hotel rooms, sent anonymous letters encouraging suicide, and worked to destroy his reputation.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) - Despite being explicitly nonviolent, both were infiltrated, surveilled, and disrupted.
Anti-Vietnam War protesters - Labeled communist sympathizers and traitors for opposing an unpopular war.
The FBI’s tactics: extensive wiretapping, planted listening devices, infiltration, fabricated documents to create internal conflicts, and anonymous letters designed to destroy relationships.
People died. The Church Committee investigation concluded the FBI used dangerous techniques that gave rise to the risk of death and disregarded personal rights and dignity.
The program officially ended when exposed. But ending a program doesn’t mean ending the tactics.
The Pattern Continues
In 2017, the FBI created “Black Identity Extremists” (BIE) as a terrorist category. Based on just six unrelated incidents over three years, they suggested “perceptions of police brutality” would inspire violence. Notice: not actual brutality, but perceptions of it. The FBI launched “Operation Iron Fist” to surveil Black Lives Matter activists while white supremacist violence received less scrutiny.
The same pattern repeated with Vietnam War protesters branded “traitors,” Civil Rights activists called “agitators” and “communists,” and Occupy Wall Street demonstrators dismissed as “radicals” and “anarchists.”
Every single one of these movements is now recognized as being on the right side of history.
Why This Matters Now
Speaker Johnson is using the same playbook:
Dismiss legitimate grievances by attacking protesters’ motives
Lump peaceful protesters with violent extremists (connecting them with “Antifa” and “pro-Hamas”)
Question their patriotism instead of addressing concerns
Create fear about what happens if these voices aren’t silenced
Congressman Tom Emmer called No Kings participants the “terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party.
As someone who spent two decades identifying actual terrorists and violent extremists, I can tell you: This is a dangerous misuse of counterterrorism language for political purposes.
What No Kings Actually Represents
The No Kings coalition has committed to nonviolent protest and community safety. Their message: In America, we don’t have kings, and the president is not above the law.
This isn’t radical - it’s foundational. It’s what separates us from monarchies and dictatorships.
When millions gather to say “the president should follow the Constitution and not rule like a king,” they’re not hating America - they’re defending it.
The coalition responded to Johnson’s attacks: “Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable healthcare, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say that America belongs to its people, not to kings.”
America Was Born in Protest
The Boston Tea Party was protest. The Declaration of Independence was protest. The Revolutionary War was protest made manifest.
And nearly every time, those in power called the protesters extremists, radicals, and traitors. King George III said the same thing about George Washington that Speaker Johnson says about No Kings protesters today.
But here’s what matters most: When Washington had the chance to become king—when Colonel Lewis Nicola and others urged him to take the crown after winning the Revolutionary War - he refused. He rejected monarchy not once but repeatedly, and stepped down after two terms to prove a point: No one is above the law. No one rules by divine right. No kings.
That decision defined America. It’s what separates us from every monarchy and dictatorship in history. It’s why we have checks and balances, three co-equal branches of government, and a Constitution that limits executive power.
Every expansion of liberty in American history - abolition, women’s suffrage, labor rights, civil rights - came through protest. Through people willing to be called extremists, radicals, and traitors by those who wanted them silent.
They were wrong every time.
What We Choose Next
On October 18th, millions will gather peacefully across this nation, exercising rights that Americans fought and died to secure.
When Speaker Johnson calls them extremists, when Congressman Emmer labels them terrorists - remember the pattern.
Remember Martin Luther King called “the most dangerous Negro.”
Remember Vietnam protesters called traitors.
Remember the Sons of Liberty called criminals by King George.
Remember that every generation who stood up for their rights was called the same names by those who wanted them silent.
What will you do when your government labels peaceful protesters as enemies?
Will you remember that “No Kings” is the promise America made to the world in 1776?
Or will you let those in power convince you that defending constitutional governance is un-American?
The answer matters. Because once we accept that peaceful protest equals extremism, we’ve already lost the republic the Founders fought to create.
The millions gathering for No Kings Day aren’t gathering to hate America. They’re gathering because they love it too much to watch it become the very thing we fought a revolution to escape.
“In America, the law is king.”
No thrones. No crowns. No kings.
That’s not radical. That’s American.
About the Author: Dexter Ingram is a U.S. Navy veteran who spent 20 years in counterterrorism, culminating as head of the State Department’s Countering Violent Extremism office. He is the author of The Spy Archive: Hidden Lives, Secret Missions, and the History of Espionage. His expertise in identifying actual extremism gives him unique authority on the misuse of counterterrorism language for political purposes.
Utilizing fear to advance a particular agenda is inconsistent with the core values of American democracy. Every citizen has the fundamental right to express their beliefs and advocate for their views peacefully and respectfully. It is important to recognize that if accountability is necessary, it should be directed towards those whose ideologies are fueled by hate and division. Individuals who promote hostility and aggression, rather than fostering constructive dialogue, pose a challenge to the principles of freedom and unity that our nation cherishes.