This “Racist and Manly” Trump Supporters Facebook Gun Group Has Been Flagged 50 Times.
The message was clear: “I am going to go through and delete as many gun posts as possible. From now on, when posting [a gun for sale] put something in the picture with [the gun] and list it as the other item for sale,” Brandon Alexander wrote to members of the prominent gun group he runs in central Oregon. “If this is not done your post will be removed because we have some sensitive pussies in a man stuff group reporting. Otherwise the group and my personal Facebook account will be removed.”
Among them: repeatedly changing the name of the group, going from “541 Hillary for Prison!” to “541 Trump Supporters” to “Racist and Manly” to “541 Trump Supporters That Buy and Sell Man Stuff.” Alexander is no stranger to having his groups reported, sometimes multiple times a day. And this particular group, originally called “541 Man Stuff Wheeling and Dealing,” was no exception. When Alexander messaged the group on May 21, many posts had already been flagged by the loose coalition of users who have become Facebook’s de facto gun police since the site banned the sale of firearms and ammunition earlier this year. As more and more gun advertisements were deleted from Alexander’s page, he made a series of superficial changes to keep the group alive.
Among them: repeatedly changing the name of the group, going from “541 Hillary for Prison!” to “541 Trump Supporters” to “Racist and Manly” to “541 Trump Supporters That Buy and Sell Man Stuff.” At different points, Alexander changed the Facebook group designation as well, from “Buy, Sell, Trade” to “Club” to “Neighbors” to “Team” to “Custom.” Alexander also frequently changed the settings of the group, from “public” to “private,” which requires administrator approval to join the group. All the while, gun sales continued unabated. Often, posts were disguised with coded language or shown next to dummy items that amount to painfully obvious attempts at avoiding detection. Take this Glock 19 pistol, for example, depicted alongside a single stick of honey. “Buy the honey stick and the glock goes with it,” the seller wrote, asking $750 for the pair.
More: This Facebook Gun Group Has Been Flagged 50 Times. Why Is It Still Up?