The group focused largely on antagonizing the left. In 2017, a local newspaper described the group as an “online community-slash-movement.” In 2019, the group reportedly had 15 core members, though there are no independent verifications of this estimate. However, it is unclear if Gibson collaborated with others to create the group (e.g., an existing set of followers) or if he acted alone. Gibson reportedly converted the online pages that he used to publicize his activism to represent his new group, Patriot Prayer. There is little publicly available information about the specifics of the Patriot Prayer’s formation.
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According to this Facebook page, “Patriot Prayer is about fighting corruption, big government, and tyranny using God for strength and the power of love.” The group also aims to support free speech and gun rights and to “liberate the conservatives on the West Coast.” The group’s Facebook page – which it used to attract followers and organize events until Facebook took it down in 2020 – was originally launched in 2017. He aimed to confront liberals on the West Coast, including local anti-fascist (antifa) groups. Gibson was reportedly motivated to form Patriot Prayer by the belief that the rights of conservatives to speak freely was being impeded by left-wing activists.
He posted videos on Facebook and YouTube to attract a following for his rallies, generating an online following that laid the basis for Patriot Prayer. Gibson attended the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and he organized and spoke at several pro-Trump rallies in Washington state. Gibson became a conservative political activist during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Patriot Prayer was founded in 2016 by Joey Gibson, a resident of Vancouver, Washington. Patriot Prayer attracted national attention in August 2020, when a member of the group was fatally shot during a skirmish with Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon. While Patriot Prayer claims to be non-violent, its members have frequently provoked and engaged in violent confrontations with left-wing protesters.
These events have often attracted white supremacists and other far-right, antigovernment groups, including the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters. According to Patriot Prayer’s Facebook page, the group seeks to “ the country to fight for freedom at a local level using faith in God to guide us in the right direction.” Patriot Prayer also aims to fight “corruption, big government, and tyranny” and to “liberate the conservatives on the West Coast.” Since 2016, Patriot Prayer has organized and participated in pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies in liberal cities across the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. It was founded by Joey Gibson in 2016 and is based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburban city near Portland, Oregon. Patriot Prayer is a loosely organized, far-right, antigovernment group. The demonstration violated a court order and implicitly threatened violence. Last Attack: September 10, 2021: Joey Gibson and Tusitala “Tiny” Toese were reportedly present among a group of about 40 people who gathered at a Vancouver, Washington high school to oppose the state’s mask mandate in schools. There was at least one minor skirmish at the event, and several people were arrested. First Attack: April 2, 2017: Joey Gibson organized a “Rally for Trump and Freedom” in Vancouver, Washington.