What Is “Grosse Pointe Antifa”? Oh, Just Another Gift From Our Lord 2020

The year is 2020 and we’re living in a dystopian hell where our reality TV star president is trying to end democracy via Twitter. But with all the strange and horrible things that have happened this year, there's also been a never ending supply of jokes: There was the TikTok campaign to save 14-year-old Barron Trump — an alleged lover of K-Pop and anime — from the White House; the confirmation that aliens might actually exist somewhere; and the recent introduction to Elon Musk's alter ego, Space Karen.

But on Thursday morning, the online people were in for an extra special treat when we all learned about a surprising organized antifascist hot spot in a small, wealthy Michigan suburb just north of Detroit: Grosse Pointe Antifa. Some of you might be wondering how, exactly, the GOP's favorite boogeyman was apparently mobilizing in one of Michigan’s wealthiest towns? Well it was, of course, as a result of a Wayne County vote to certify the election results earlier this week. This has led to some, um, interesting theories from conservatives about alleged election fraud.

All eyes were on Michigan this week when the county’s Board of Canvassers on Tuesday were deadlocked in a 2-2 party line vote on whether or not to certify election results in favor of President-elect Joe Biden. The vote came as President Donald Trump and his supporters continue to scour the country for evidence of voter fraud — which has yet to be substantiated by any real proof. Then, just hours after the initial vote — and following some public pressure from Democrats and racial justice advocates — the Board’s two Republican members reversed their position to solidify the results in favor of Biden. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. On Wednesday night, the same two GOP canvassers sought to rescind their certification, and as a result of their efforts, Republican canvasser Monica Palmer told an investigative reporter she had allegedly received threats via text from “both sides, the right & the left, specifically Antifa from Grosse Pointe.” Ah yes, the antifascists of Grosse Pointe, where they throw caviar at fascists instead of soup cans and milkshakes.  

It wasn’t long before Grosse Pointe Antifa became an internet sensation, because how could it not?

Jokes aside, Palmer's claims are actually quite dangerous. According to local activist Shannon Byrne, who spoke to Refinery29 via email, Palmer's comments about the radical left group's presence in Grosse Pointe are really just a distraction. “This is just an attempt to shift the narrative,” said Byrne. "Joe Biden won Grosse Pointe with 54 percent of the vote, a decisive choice was made by the community.” 

Byrne continued: “This is about a coordinated attack on the norms of our democracy and trying to ignore the will of the people. Ms. Palmer suggesting she’d certify other Wayne County communities and not Detroit, is quite clearly a racist attempt to silence the voters of the largest majority Black city in the state.” Palmer claimed there were "unexplained discrepancies" in Detroit's election results, according to the Detroit Free Press.

While Palmer may keep pointing fingers at the Very Obviously Real "Grosse Pointe Antifa" organization, let's just make one thing perfectly clear: there is no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election (much like there is no evidence of antifa threatening a woman named Monica Palmer).