Sons of Anarchy actress Samaire Armstrong came under fire this week for referring to the Black Lives Matter movement as a terrorist organization, and she is not backing down. In a recent Instagram post, she voiced her support for President Donald Trump, and echoed the conspiracy theory that “BLM is a billion dollar domestic terrorist organization.” When fans called her out on Twitter, she doubled down.
“If you’re racist just say that,” one critic wrote on Twitter, “no one rn [right now] knows who you are anyway.” Armstrong responded: “seems like the definition of racist doesn’t mean what it once did? For some reason, now, calling out domestic terrorists who hang with ‘anti fascists’ as they beat the front teeth out of a Black American and scream ‘Black lives matter’ makes me a racist?” Armstrong’s Twitter account is unverified, so there is a small chance this post did not come from her, although it is linked from other social media pages with her name on them.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Donโt know Stevi… seems like the definition of racist doesnโt mean what it once did?
โ Samaire Armstrong (@samaire_samaire) October 19, 2020
โข
For some reason, now, calling out domestic terrorists who hang with โanti fascistsโ as they beat the front teeth out of a black American and scream โblack lives matterโ makes me a racist? https://t.co/BOuPZ5hDal
It is not clear what assault Armstrong was referring to in her tweet, but her assertion that “Antifa” is a well-funded organization has been thoroughly debunked. A report by Snopes addresses many popular conspiracy theories about Antifa being organized and well-funded, dubunking them all with studies, interviews and ample evidence to the contrary.
In her earlier video on Instagram, Armstrong focused less on her opposition to Antifa and more on her support for Trump. She mocked left-leaning voters for what she believed is an unfounded reverence for former President Barack Obama, saying sarcastically: “‘Oh, Obama, our first Black President, this is so awesome…’ What did he do? What was his success other than being a Black President? Did Chicago get any better? You’re part of the problem because you’ve been duped into believing that the Democratic Party are for the people, and this idea โ that’s been massly [sic] pushed by the media โ that Republicans are naturally racist people is insulting, frightening, and dangerous.”
Armstrong is best-known for starring in The O.C. and, after that in Sons of Anarchy. More recently, the actress has had a string of one-off roles in multi-genre films, made-for-TV movies and TV shows. So far, her open support for Trump only seems to have drummed up controversy for her.
According to a report by The Guardian, the latest polls show the president trailing behind his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Election day is on Tuesday, Nov. 3.