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Armed Open Carry activists crash Ohio anti-gun violence rally and harass protesters

David Ferguson
September 01, 2014

A group of armed Open Carry activists descended upon a group of protesters against gun violence in Akron, Ohio on Sunday in a misguided attempt to "educate" them.

The blog Liberaland.com compiled a timeline of social media updates and marchers themselves tweeted and took photos as the men carrying assault rifles and handguns approached them and began to berate and harass the people attending the protest, which was organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Late in the afternoon on Sunday, pastor and marcher Kristine Eggert posted on the social medium Twitter:

She followed up with another tweet that said:

Activist Demanda Evers wrote on Monday:

This is not the first time that armed men have counter-protested at Moms Demand Action events. In November of 2013, a group of Open Carry activists harassed and intimidated members at a Moms Demand Action planning meeting at a restaurant called the Blue Mesa Grill in Arlington, Virginia.

MDA issued a statement after the event that said, in part, "Gun advocates held an armed protest in the parking lot, and our mom members and restaurant customers were terrified by what appeared to be an armed ambush. Sadly, these bullies feel they must use guns to intimidate moms and children and try to inhibit our constitutional right to free speech. But Moms Demand Action will not be deterred."

In a piece entitled "Spitting, Stalking, Rape Threats: How Gun Extremists Target Women," Mother Jones magazine's Mark Follman detailed the viciousness with which gun advocates have targeted members of MDA and other gun safety groups.

Moms Demand Action was formed in the wake of the December, 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which gunman Adam Lanza gunned down 20 first graders and six school staffers. The group has called for "gun sense" in the U.S., demanding that lawmakers place limits on magazine sizes for semi-automated and automated weapons, more stringent background checks for all firearm sales and other measure aimed at limited the shooting deaths of U.S. children.

The YouTube account "Ohio Carry" uploaded video of the incident. Watch below:

[image of Open Carry activists converging on anti-violence protester in Akron via Twitter.com]

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