Republican gets busted for igniting 'panic' with antifa ad promising chaos and destruction

A Craiglist ad posted by someone claiming to be a member of antifa under the heading "Protesters Needed" to "cause as much chaos and destruction as possible" sparked an investigation by Lancaster County Sheriff's Office. As it turns out, the man who posted the ad is a 33-year-old registered Republican, the Lincoln Journal Star reports.

After it was posted, screenshots of the ad made the rounds on the internet, with people claiming it was proof that left-wing radicals were planning violence just as President Trump had recently warned. According to a report on the story from June, the ad prompted officers to be on the lookout for unrest.

At the time, the Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce sent out a letter to employees, asking people to use their social media pages to warn others about the alleged protest -- a move that caused some in Beatrice to panic.

When the sheriff's office paid the man a visit, he claimed it wasn't his intention to cause any trouble but didn't give a reason for posting the ad.

While the ad offered $25 to any potential protesters, police decided not to ticket him for disturbing the peace since there's no proof he paid anyone.