CT man dons KKK robe at Trump rally. He’s a self-proclaimed troll claiming ‘to have a point behind it’

Michael Picard says he’s a proud troll.
The 35-year-old lifelong South Windsor resident said he has more than 26,000 followers on Facebook and 94,000 on YouTube and was most recently seen in the state donning a Ku Klux Klan robe at a rally that was held in support of former President Donald Trump.
Picard mingled amongst the rally attendees on a street corner near Olde Mistick Village in Mystic. He acted like he was a part of the rally.
“I’m not a racist. I’m not a Klan member,” Picard said. “When I put on the KKK garb in Mystic my point was to raise awareness that Trump was endorsed by the KKK and he’s still their candidate today.” (The Trump campaign in 2016 clearly denounced the KKK endorsement)
Picard said he used to make political posts on Facebook, but believes no one’s mind gets changed from a Facebook post. That’s when he turned to trolling rallies and other political events in 2020.
“The point of my trolling is to have a point behind it,” Picard said.
Michael Picard, 35, of South Windsor, calls himself a “Troll” and was most recently seen donning a Ku Klux Klan robe at a rally that was held in support of former President Donald Trump in Mystic. Neither Picard nor the group supports the KKK.
“I feel that it had an impact because everyone was talking about it,” he said. “Everyone thinks we are together when I’m wearing the robe at the rally. They are associating Trump with the KKK and that was what I set out to accomplish.”
“They were not happy that I was saying the quiet part out loud,” he added.
Picard said when he put on the robe people started getting angry and then called the police.
Stonington police reported to the scene but did not remove Picard.
“They usually separate me into a different area,” Picard said. “They were mad that the police wouldn’t do anything…I made sure to tell the cops that I was with the other rally-goers.”
The disruption of the rally through use of the robe was condemned widely on social media and by state Republicans.
State Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto said there is no place for this type of behavior in politics.
“Anyone who dons a KKK outfit has a warped sense of what is going on in the world,” Proto said. “That’s a trigger for a whole lot of people. That outfit is intimidating, frightening and serves no purpose other than getting clicks and likes. It’s a disgusting way of doing it.”
“These were people peacefully assembling and it was just a horrific image for people to see,” Proto said.
Joe Visconti, of West Hartford, a long-time Trump supporter, political activist, and former Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2014, said Picard’s action were not a surprise to him, because it is “nothing new” that people would try “to represent that they were with us.”
“This kind of thing does happen,” he said. “It’s political bombing, like photo bombing.”
“I have seen what happens with a mob at a large level, and a local level,” said Visconti, who described himself as an activist and a “Trump guy.”
But Visconti also noted that he knows Trump “is not a racist” despite the attempt to use the KKK to make him appear as one. “It’s wrong,” he said.
“This is one off trouble maker,” he said, referring to Picard. “It is not shocking and it’s not a lefty-righty thing.”
At the rally Saturday, according to the New London Day report, Stonington police said that they received several phone calls from residents distressed over the content of some of the props. There were no arrests.
Picard said he wore the robe for the duration of the rally, which he estimates lasted up to two hours.
“If it was my rally and someone showed up like that I would tell everyone to pack up and go somewhere else,” he said.
Picard said he was scrolling through Facebook and “It’s sort of on a whim. I do research. I had just heard about the trump rally in Mystic the day of. It surprised me how much attention it got because it was such a small rally.”
Picard said most of the time he identifies with libertarians and doesn’t like either candidate in the presidential election.
“I’ve trolled libertarians too and I’m not a part of any group or party. I offend equally,” he said.
A scroll through his “X”, formerly Twitter, feed shows that he has ventured outside of the state.
He’s trolled at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. He also wore the KKK robe at Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. in February and was physically removed. This week he was in Philadelphia at rallies prior to Tuesday’s presidential debate.
“Election season is a busy season for me,” Picard said.
Picard said he’s unaffected by verbal attacks when he trolls at rallies.
“I’m able to take these verbal insults because what other people say about me doesn’t matter,” Picard said. “It doesn’t phase me. I know how I feel about myself and my family. That’s enough. I don’t need to get approval from people that I don’t know.”
“The insults sort of fuel me because it tells me I’m doing something right,” he added. “If their only response is to insult you and that’s all you have. They don’t have a valid argument.”
As far as physical attack, Picard said he’s been elbowed, pushed around and sprayed in the face with mace.
“Surprisingly, I haven’t gotten punched in the face,” he said.
Picard said he typically has a few people with him when he trolls.
Speaking of family, however, not all of Picard’s family like what he does in his spare time.
“I grew up in a very political family,” Picard said. “My family is mainly Republicans. So you can imagine how much they love my content. It always makes for interesting get-togethers. But I’m used to being uncomfortable.”
Picard, who works full time in the video production field, said he receives positive feedback from his fans and followers, many of which help fund his travel.
“My fans want to see me branch out and I’m lucky they want to see me travel around the U.S. and help me fundraise,” Picard said.
He maintains that what he does is important. Picard said he’s attended more than three dozen rally/events since 2020 and expanded to traveling out of state last year.
“I think it’s satire and that is important to a democracy,” Picard said. “I’m in Philly right now and there were a whole bunch of protests on the heels of the debate. I was out all day getting material.”
“I think trolling is important because people and politicians need to be called out on their hypocrisy,” he added. “I think it’s like holding up a mirror.”
Visconti, however, said while such actions have been seen before, “the country is divided more than ever and I hope the fever breaks… and we stop calling each other names.”
“Hopefully we can get back to a world that is more sane,” he said.
Visconti said he recommends that groups that rally try not to do so in small groups and work with authorities to make sure no one infiltrated the group because “in today’s time” expressing opinions in this way can be “very dangerous.”
 

Buy cryptocurrency

Source link

Refer And Earn Demat Account – Get ₹300 | Referral Program

Open Demat Account In Angel One For FREE