A retired US Army lieutenant colonel is organizing an armed convoy to the Texas border to, he says, seek out migrants crossing into the US from Mexico. Hundreds of individuals already say they’re coordinating journey plans for the convoy on Telegram as tensions proceed to rise between the state and federal authorities over immigration.

Pete Chambers, the lieutenant colonel who says he was a inexperienced beret, appeared on far proper college taking pictures conspiracist Alex Jones’s Infowars present on Thursday to stipulate plans for the “Take Back Our Border” convoy, which has been primarily organized on Telegram.

“What gets us to the enemy quickly is find, fix, and finish,” Chambers informed Jones. “That’s what we did in Syria when we took out ISIS really quick. Now we don’t have the authorities to finish, so what we can do is fix the location of where the bad guys are, and pair up with law enforcement who are constitutionally sound.”

While this type of right-wing chatter doesn’t all the time quantity to something, on Telegram, the principle Take Back Our Border channel now has over 1,000 members and is getting used as a spot to plan and share details about the convoy, in addition to three rallies going down in Texas, California, and Arizona subsequent week. The convoy will reportedly start on Monday, January 29, and contributors at present say they’re planning on driving to Eagle Pass, Texas the place the Texas National Guard are currently in a standoff with the Border Patrol.

The convoy has been promoted by Texas State Rep. Keith Self, who appeared on Fox Business to talk about the occasion and posted a hyperlink to a information article from the conspiracy-focused Gateway Pundit in regards to the convoy on his X account.

In state-specific sub-groups for attendees to arrange ride-shares and different sources, members are already outlining their plans about the place alongside the route they’ll be a part of up with the convoy. The convoy will start in Virginia, and make its manner by means of Florida, Louisiana, and onto Texas.

One group member advised others convey “kits” to the deliberate rallies in order that “if stuff goes down you will be able to protect yourselves and help out.” Another person responded: “I’m in Missouri. I’ll be ready and have my kit full.”

Some Telegram customers have in contrast this second to the American revolution of 1776.

“There is a point where we are going to have to get our hands dirty,” one member wrote within the Texas group. “I’ve dealt with MANY bullies in my life, and I’ve never been able to reason with them. The one universal language bullies understand is when you push them back.”

Another poster shared a quote from far-right determine Jack Posobiec saying the nation is on “the verge of Civil War with the government,” whereas one member claimed, with out proof, that Border Patrol is “letting known terrorists into the US.”

A promotional video for the convoy on the web site begins with alarms sounding and the phrases “invasion alert” flashing over what seems to be night-vision footage of individuals crossing the border. The video additionally calls again to earlier convoys, such because the People’s Convoy that rolled into Washington DC in 2022 to protest COVID-19 lockdowns. However, the directors of the Telegram group, and the convoy’s web site, are cautious to say this might be a peaceable protest and that solely “law-abiding citizens” are welcome. The convoy’s web site says it’s in search of everybody to hitch the trouble, together with “all active and retired law enforcement and military veterans.”