Alt-right activists Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec were ejected from the Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar" in New York City's Central Park last week after causing a planned disruption of the performance.
The play made headlines after reports surfaced that it appears to depict the assassination of a character resembling President Donald Trump.
Loomer, a writer for The Rebel, stormed the stage screaming that the play portrayed violence against Trump, and was promptly removed by security and arrested as Posobiec screamed wildly at audience members. Loomer was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, and released from a Central Park jail within a few hours.
To help pay for Loomer's legal defense for the charges, The Rebel set up the website FreeLaura.com, and a "bounty" was created on the alt-right fundraising platform Wesearchr, asking for $25,000 in donations to Loomer's defense fund.
But as former National Review and Forbes contributor Josh Jordan pointed out, the fundraising website was actually created before the arrest even happened, according to reports from the domain host, godaddy.com.
"Jack and Laura registered freelaura.com *before* their PR stunt to ask for $25K," Jordan tweeted alongside a screenshot of the domain records indicating the website was set up hours before the arrest took place.
The alt-right is full of professional grifters. Jack and Laura registered https://t.co/DDWHYwkgvq *before* their PR stunt to ask for $25K. pic.twitter.com/esL7OBwwys
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) June 19, 2017
Laura/Jack registered https://t.co/DDWHYwkgvq ahead of time as the endgame was to get arrested, pay a $1K fine but collect $25K in donations pic.twitter.com/EIYRjHR951
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) June 19, 2017
Though the potential fines for the charges faced by Loomer amount to far less than the contribution goal, The Rebel insists Loomer's defense is rock solid.
"The murder-porn remake of 'Julius Caesar' is just the latest attempt to normalize violence against conservatives," the group wrote on its website. "From Kathy Griffin’s grotesque photo shoot with what looked like the blood-soaked, decapitated head of President Donald Trump, to Madonna’s speech in Washington saying she had 'thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House,' the left has abandoned democratic norms and embraced fascist political violence."
"The Rebel has hired a lawyer to work for Laura’s immediate release on free speech grounds — precisely the same argument the theater uses to justify their play," it added.
A request for comment from The Rebel was not immediately returned.
