Former law professor David Clements is going around the country training people to physically resist the certification of the 2024 presidential election. According to a report in Lawfare, Clements is teaching people how to pressure local election officials by showing up en masse to polling sites.
Multiple outlets have reported on what Clements describes as election integrity training. According to Lawfare, a non-partisan non-profit organization, Clements teaches attendees that American elections are rigged and that they’re fighting a “spiritual war” against election fraud.
“You have to create a righteous, sober-minded, well-spoken, articulate mob, if you will, because that’s the only thing that will work short of where we’re headed, which is a kinetic civil war—if we don’t get this resolved peacefully,” Clements told trainees, according to the Lawfare report.
The training sessions are part of what he calls the “Gideon 300” project. Its goal is to mobilize people in counties around the country who are willing to show up in large numbers to demand election officials withhold certification.
Clements teaches attendees how to occupy a room or surround someone who is filibustering at the microphone so they can’t be removed by law enforcement.
An NPR analysis found there have been more than 62 events across 25 states since 2021. When asked by Lawfare, Clements said he lost track because he’s done so many. It’s estimated that thousands have attended.
In an interview with Lawfare, Clements said he is not encouraging lawlessness and that everything he teaches is protected speech under the First Amendment. He also claimed local officials have the authority to withhold the certification of results. Finally, Clements said the risk of police using violence against him and the people he trains is greater than the risk of violence by them.
