Dakota Beacon

May Day! News brings stories of Marxist rioting and hooliganism in cities around the world. Cities like Moscow where Communism found its roots still hold massive celebrations. Communist leaders wanted to structurally change the foundation of society – and then export the revolution to the rest of the world.

A century later, who wants to structurally change the foundation of America? Activist groups with ties to No Kings protests, deadly Antifa, and an array of leftist organizations seek a political revolution and an overhaul of the American system.

What better way to make their point than on May Day – the day Marxists and Communists claim as their own.

May Day’s link to communism was the result of social and economic transformation in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Modern May Day began as a workers’ protest growing out of the international labor movement. A key triggering event in the US was the Haymarket Affair in Chicago in 1886 when a labor protest turned violent after a bomb was thrown during a demonstration. At its beginning, May Day was about labor rights, union organizing, and economic fairness for industrial workers. It was not yet specifically Communist, though many organizers were socialists or anarchists.

In the late 1800s, Marxist and Socialist ideas were influential within labor movements, especially in Europe. Many labor activists believed capitalism exploited workers, but socialism could give workers control over production.

In 1889, an international federation of socialist and labor parties, called The Second International, chose May 1 to commemorate the Haymarket martyrs. Because The Second International was dominated by Marxists and Socialists, May Day became ideological. That ideological alignment lay the groundwork for a Communist takeover.

Now, skip forward. As a kid our family went with my father on assignment to Japan (1952-1953) following the Korean war. On May Day we were told not to travel off our Army post. Communists worldwide used that occasion to target Americans (capitalists). Years later when I was on active duty and stationed in Germany with my own family (1976-1979) the same situation arose. The leftist Baader-Meinhof Gang, associated with The Red Army Faction (1970-1998), used the occasion of May Day to demonstrate and to disrupt innocent lives. Little did I realize that someday I would have to be careful where I traveled in the United States of America on May Day!

Far-left activist groups like the Sunrise Movement call for a nationwide strike on May 1, the very holiday celebrated by Communists and Socialist as a day for mass political action.

May Day 2026 demonstrations are being organized nationwide as an economic and political day of action with mass rallies, marches, boycotts, and workplace walkouts across the US. The rallying call is “No Work. No School. No Shopping.” All planned events give lip service to nonviolent action. But who will enforce nonviolence?

Another activist group, May Day Strong, proclaims its mission. “Across the country we are standing up and demanding that we tax the rich so our families, not their fortunes, come first. No ICE. No war. No private army serving authoritarian power. Expand democracy. Hands off our vote. And it’s up to us to organize and act together.”

Here are a few of the Antifa-linked websites coordinating activities advocating “non-violent revolution” (sic): nokings.org; peoplesworld.org; indivisible.org; maydaystrong.org; and sunrisemovement.org. Check out these sites to get some idea as to what to expect on Friday, May 1.

            Planned Actions include:

            -- Economic boycotts: Invoke no shopping and no spending bans on certain businesses.

            -- Workplace walkouts: Employees refuse to work on May 1.

            -- School closures: Cities like Chicago have invoked laws for a city-wide school day off.

            -- Mass rallies and marches: Hundreds of organizations coordinate these activities across cities nationwide.

            -- Local organizing: Organizing includes hosting events, canvassing businesses, and building community power.

            Organizational support will be provided.

            -- May Day Strong: A coalition of unions, labor groups, and community organizations, including the AFT, NEA, NNU, UFCW, and Starbucks Workers United.

            -- Indivisible: Calling for a national economic day of action to show leverage against political leaders.

            -- No Kings movement: Continuing momentum from the March 28 “No Kings” mobilization, with May Day as the next major escalation.

Useful idiots (see Mona Charen’s book by that title) led by nameless leftist radicals backed by billionaires George Soros, Tom Steyer (California gubernatorial candidate), and Neville Roy Singham (American businessman living in Shanghai, China) seek to reshape America.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).