Rod Webber Says FBI Targeted Him After His Documentary Mocked Donald Trump - The Daily Beast

In 2020, Rod Webber and his squad of show artists and filmmakers recovered themselves arsenic the targets of what Webber calls an unwarranted FBI and Boston Police Department investigation.

Webber, who is the writer and manager of the documentary 2020: The Dumpster Fire, says that investigators are falsely utilizing footage from a trailer of the movie—in which Webber and his squad pain an effigy of Donald Trump, and stroke up a mannequin with the connection “truth” written connected it that agents mistook for the connection Trump—as grounds of an assassination plot.

A inactive from 2020: The Dumpster Fire, showing Webber getting arrested.

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The FBI and BPD person made aggregate visits to Webber and his friends, and person served them with grand-jury subpoenas. A subpoena from January 2021 addressed to Webber that has been reviewed by The Daily Beast references an “official investigation… of suspected violations of national transgression law.” They haven’t been formally charged with anything, but Webber says investigators told him they were looking into a crippled to assassinate Trump.

Webber’s wife, co-producer, and activistic Lauren Pespisa says the accusation and instrumentality enforcement attraction is unjustifiable. “It’s conscionable art,” she says. “Confrontational art.”

Their movie is simply a chaotic showcase of Webber’s show creation arsenic helium follows the run trail. He shows up astatine events enactment connected by everyone from Joe Biden to Andrew Yang to Donald Trump. It’s a mash of superior interviews and Webber’s trolling, an attention-grabbing mode of breaking down the predetermination rhythm and exposing the hypocrisy of the galore candidates.

It culminates successful a sketch featured successful the trailer meant to gully attraction to the assorted sexual-misconduct allegations against the then-recently elected president. Webber, Pespisa, and co-producer Embry Galen—dressed arsenic Trump—attend a rally successful downtown Boston, carrying a ample cutout of the president. Pespisa introduces herself arsenic E. Jean Carroll, the writer and writer who successful 2019 alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her successful 1995.

Mannequin allegedly utilized to spur investigation.

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“I’m present connected behalf of each women who [Trump’s] filthy hands person groped to bash a ritual,” Pespisa tells the crowd. “To marque definite his filthy paws don’t interaction our beauteous state anymore.” She goes connected to mime ripping the bosom retired of Trump-impersonating Galen and Webber lights their effigy connected fire.

To recognize however Webber and his friends recovered themselves successful this situation, 1 needs to recognize however they tick. For the uninitiated, Webber’s satellite is thing if not weird and hard to comprehend. He maintains that helium is archetypal and foremost an artist. “My mode of calling retired authorization is done art,” helium explains successful an interrogation with The Daily Beast. But this tin pb to trouble: he’s been arrested 10 times since 2016.

Webber has had a knack for mischief since precocious school. He recalls filling his school’s courtyard with forks stuck into the crushed arsenic a prank. As a graduation gift, helium near a conifer histrion successful the school’s steeple. That streak has ever been balanced by a tendency to make superior art, however. Earlier successful his career, that meant making anti-folk euphony and directing indie-films similar I Thought You Finally Completely Lost It and Northern Comfort, some of which starred Greta Gerwig.

His interests successful the intersection of creation and authorities coalesced with the making of the documentary, A Man Among Giants. Through it, Webber tracked the mayoral run of WWE wrestler Doug "Tiny the Terrible" Tunstall successful Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Webber, who stayed politically progressive done this time, attending protests and events, realized helium could beryllium utilizing that footage for much documentaries.

He’s since go 1 of those characters who popular up anyplace thing is happening successful the United States governmental world, dedicating overmuch of his vigor to provoking radical successful powerfulness done what helium calls “ethical trolling.”

“That means we punch up,” helium explains. During predetermination cycles, this involves showing up to run events and protests to marque sound and effort to drawback politicians successful an embarrassing oregon hypocritical moment.

This attack has resulted successful surreal moments, including a clip of Trump supporters chanting “Suck Trump’s cock” astatine the petition of Webber and his workfellow Vermin Supreme. His 2016 indie documentary Flowers for Peace has garnered implicit a cardinal views connected YouTube and features absurd scenes of Webber, a staunch leftist, praying adjacent to then-candidate Jeb Bush during rallies.

Webber and Vermin Supreme, mocking The Comedian, a 2019 artwork by Italian creator Maurizio Cattelan, that was astatine the 2019 Art Basel.

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As a creator and integer media creator himself, different earthy arena for Webber’s trolling is successful the creation world. In precocious 2019, Webber was arrested and made headlines for penning “Epstien [sic] Didn’t Kill Himself” connected the partition with lipstick astatine the tract of Art Basel’s showcase of the enactment “The Comedian”—which is, famously, a $120,000 banana duct-taped to the wall.

The misspelling is connected purpose. “That’s however crap goes viral,” Webber laughs.

“I’m similar Don Quixote,” helium explains. “I tilt astatine windmills and past I constitute astir it.” And indeed, helium does sometimes look similar a crazed knight charging politicians, wielding a bullhorn oregon a guitar, lone to beryllium curbed by run staffers and assemblage information guards.

A portion of Webber’s AI creation work.

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But dissimilar the character, Webber occasionally strikes a nerve, and it has lasting consequences.

While filming Flowers for Peace successful 2015, Webber confronted the Trump run astatine an lawsuit successful Rochester, New Hampshire, and took a intermission successful Trump’s speech arsenic an accidental to punctuation the Bible to him.

Trump listens arsenic Webber rattles disconnected a paraphrased mentation of 1 Timothy 3, which states that anyone who “aspires to the bureau of overseer” indispensable beryllium “above reproach, sober-minded,” and “not quarrelsome, not a person of money.” Webber says the ensuing escort retired of the gathering by the Trump campaign’s backstage information resulted successful aggregate injuries to himself.

He was aboriginal arrested astatine an lawsuit successful Manchester, New Hampshire, erstwhile helium tried to inquire Trump wherefore helium was beaten successful Rochester. But the charges were dropped, and Webber past turned astir and sued the Trump run and the Manchester Police Department.

Years aboriginal successful 2020, Webber and the Trump run settled. Webber was awarded $20,000 successful damages, and, successful a abstracted case, Webber and the Manchester Police Department settled for $15,000 successful damages.

To Webber, the FBI probe is unwarranted, but it does autumn into a acquainted pattern. He points to the tribunal lawsuit for the violent convicted of the Boston Marathon bombing successful which cause Kimball had to admit that the online grounds helium attempted to use to amusement radicalization were memes and popular opus lyrics.

“Fuck the bomber, but that’s fundamentally what they’re doing with us,” Webber says. “They’re taking this trailer retired of discourse and falsely accusing america of an assassination plot.”

The FBI has declined to comment, and the BPD did not respond to requests for comment.

Though Webber is often retired to provoke, what helium does is protected by the law—and is always, helium claims, victimless.

Of course, the enactment betwixt creation and vandalism is bladed for Webber, and is often crossed from the position of his targets. “On the day of Dec. 8, 2019, a visitant entered a assemblage booth and utilized lipstick to deface a partition wrong the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC),” an Art Basel typical told The Daily Beast. “Vandalism is simply a wide usurpation of the fair’s rules and regulations, and arsenic such, helium was escorted retired of the just by the Miami Beach Police Department.”

His charges successful Soho and Basel were dropped, barring a $60 good for disorderly behaviour successful New York, which Webber says helium lone paid due to the fact that helium was dealing with the much caller and much stressful harassment by the FBI.

“Everything gets null processed,” Pespisa says of Webber’s arrests. “For a feline who gets arrested truthful much, it’s astonishing that a query cheque doesn’t bring up anything.”

He recalls that the lawsuit successful Florida was dismissed astir immediately. “I was each acceptable to support myself, and arsenic soon arsenic my butt deed the spot they told maine that everything was being dropped.” Webber says helium was frustrated. “I wanted to grandstand.”

Webber is often truthful assured of his innocence that helium chooses to advocator for himself successful court, performing his ain ineligible research. He won the colony from the Trump run without representation. “He puts maine to slumber speechmaking a publication of jurisprudence that helium got from his grandfather,” Pespisa laughs.

“It’s not each unicorn onesies and governmental performance,” Webber says. “Like the ACLU, I take cases due to the fact that mounting precedent is however we support ineligible powerfulness successful check.”

To them, the means are justified. In the instauration of their films and the ruffling of feathers, they are attempting to talk information to powerfulness and to marque lighter an often dour situation.

“A protestation without joyousness becomes drudgery,” helium says. “As agelong arsenic my squad and I tin bring a grin to immoderate people’s faces, I consciousness similar we’re doing alright.”

Webber and his accumulation team.

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Under the trolling is simply a morganatic tendency to marque a quality done documenting societal justness movements similar Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock successful their documentary The War of North Dakota.

“Sometimes you person to enactment down the silliness and conscionable enactment arsenic a faithful documentarian of history,” Webber explains.

But Webber and Pespisa had to dilatory down successful look of the national probe into them. “We had to instrumentality clip to work and recognize what we were getting charged with and however to support against it,” Webber explains.

And though things person precocious calmed—they accidental the past sojourn from instrumentality enforcement was successful February—Webber and Pespisa inactive don’t consciousness that they’re successful the clear. When asked if he’s disquieted astir different visit, Webber says, “All the time. They ever travel aft an article’s published.”

“We had a congratulatory speech backmost successful 2020 erstwhile we thought it had each died down,” helium continues. “I’m ne'er having 1 of those again.”

“I’m affirmative that they’re keeping a record unfastened connected us,” adds Pespisa. “How galore different radical and different artists are they doing this to?”

Despite each this, Webber and Pespisa person ne'er considered quitting. As precocious arsenic aboriginal July 2022, Webber and Pespisa confronted the neo-Nazi radical Patriot Front erstwhile they attempted to show successful downtown Boston. Documenting the full encounter, Pespia, Webber and different activists chased Patriot Front members retired of the city.

Webber took to Twitter to telephone retired instrumentality enforcement’s effect oregon deficiency thereof. “We’re not conscionable jesters hassling politicians,” says Webber. “We’re doing the hard enactment of researching accusation which has allowed america to beryllium connected the country to face neo-Nazis successful Boston—a feat which metropolis officials person claimed was impossible.”

This latest brushwood is impervious that nary magnitude of accent and harassment volition halt Webber and Pespisa. “What are we going to do, rotation up and die?” Webber asks. “We’ll proceed to telephone retired power. It’s a changeless struggle, but we’re looking guardant to what’s next.”