Election-denying former tech CEO Patrick Byrne is recruiting military veterans and former law enforcement officers to become poll watchers.
The Overstock.com founder announced "One More Mission" on his page hosted by the subscription-based Locals website, in a similar effort to those mounted by Michael Flynn and other Donald Trump allies to send right-wing allies to polling stations looking for evidence of fraud, although critics claim their presence is intimidating to voters.
“We cannot achieve our goals if there are threats or acts of violence," Byrne posted on his announcement. "This movement is a peaceful protest and we do not condone any acts of violence, etc. We already know there will be activists working at the behest of global authoritarians and think tanks to sabotage our movement. Because of this, we must have a zero-tolerance approach to aggressive behaviour and violence.”
Byrne, who resigned from the furniture retailer company he founded over his conspiratorial statements, took part in a December 2020 meeting at the White House where Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and others schemed ways to keep Trump in power despite his election loss, and he testified before the House select committee in July about those efforts.
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"One More Mission is a campaign to establish a new tradition among our prior military and our family of first responders," Byrne posted on the "One More Mission" website.
"Grab a buddy and join us," he added. "Poll workers are paid positions in most places it’s a great opportunity to share the camaraderie we all believe in. And the extra beer money doesn’t hurt."
Byrne and Flynn, a retired U.S. Army general and Trump's first national security adviser, have launched a group called The America Project that is challenging the eligibility of voters in key states and promoting candidates who share their belief that the 2020 election was stolen.
Flynn also announced "Operation Eagles Wings," which will mobilize and train poll watchers and precinct captains with funding from The America Project, and drive get-out-the-vote efforts.
In February, Flynn stood in a burger joint in Orlando, Florida, to announce The America Project’s most public initiative, “Operation Eagles Wings,” the goal of which is to mobilize and train poll watchers and precinct captains, and to drive get-out-the-vote efforts.
“I think every single person in this country, every American citizen, now has to pay attention to politics," Flynn said earlier this year. "You know, when people go, ‘I don’t get involved. I don’t do that political stuff. That’s for the politicians.’ Well, that’s exactly why we are here, okay, so it’s something else that you won’t write or speak about or it’ll be edited out.”
