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  • Comment: "Non-partisan", yet run entirely by staffers from Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Seems dubious. Numberguy6 (talk) 19:26, 30 March 2022 (UTC)


Look Ahead America
FormationAugust 12, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-08-12)
HeadquartersWashington, DC
Executive Director
Matt Braynard[1]
Director of Research
Ian Camacho[2][3]
Director of Government Affairs
Kimmie Gonzalez[4]
State Operations Coordinator
Julie Fisher[5][6]
Websitehttps://lookaheadamerica.org/

Look Ahead America (LAA) is a non-profit organization formed by Matt Braynard on 12 August 2017 following his departure from the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign.[7][3][8] The group's stated goals are to identify working-class and rural voters, to increase voter registration and mobilization, and to advocate for increased transparency in the voting process such as forensic investigations of "fraudulent" vote claims and equipping poll watchers with cameras.[3]

History

Look Ahead America applied for tax exemption on 19 May 2017, with a posting date of August 16 of the same year, giving the organization a 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.[3][8][9]

The tax status was later revoked on 15 May 2020, with the revocation posted on 11 August 2020.[9]

In November 2020, Matt Braynard launched the Voter Integrity Fund, later renamed the Voter Integrity Project.[10][11][12] When crowdfunding website GiveSendGo was hacked, it was revealed that the Voter Integrity Project raised nearly $700,000 in donations on the site, surpassing a goal of $500,000.[13][14] The leftover funds from this venture were rolled into Look Ahead America, which officially relaunched on 20 January 2021.[15] The organization reapplied for tax exempt status which was retroactively approved as of 10 December 2021.[9][16]

"J6" Activities

Main article: Justice for J6 rally

Look Ahead America held a series of rallies titled “Justice for J6” in support of the individuals who were arrested and charged following their involvement in the United States Capitol Attack.[17][18] Prior to the first rally, Look Ahead America had sent a letter to the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation on 29 January 2021.[17] The letter requested that these departments drop all charges against non-violent offenders, citing their lack of mens rea for the justification of charges.

Braynard paired with Cara Castronuova of Citizens Against Political Persecution (CAPP), and - on behalf of both organizations - filed a formal complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee regarding the prisoners.[19] Braynard and Castronouva also worked together to hold rallies in Washington, D.C. and in 17 states between 19 June 2021 and 2 October 2021.[20]

"Justice for J6" Rallies

Three rallies were held in the District of Columbia (DC): the first on was on June 19 outside the Department of Justice,[21] the second on on July 17 outside the DC Corrections facility,[22] and the third on September 18 on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.[23]

Lawmakers and law enforcement officials expressed concerns over possible unrest at the September 18 rally.[24][25] Despite this, the event occurred without incident and remained peaceful. Four people were arrested before and after the rally itself, although D.C. police stated that these arrests were unrelated.[26][27]

Look Ahead America had also held satellite rallies in nine states prior to the September 18 rally, including July 14 in Arizona. The event included speakers U.S. Representative Paul Gosar and State Representative Mark Finchem.[28][29] The other eight rallies were held on 17 July 2021 in Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Wyoming and Georgia.[30]

Candlelight Vigils

On the 1 year anniversary of the January 6 incident, Look Ahead America organized 35 candlelight vigils taking place across 12 States and Washington, D.C.[18][31][32] Among these locations were:

Ashli Babbit's mother, Micki Witthoeft, was present at the vigil in Washington, D.C. No individuals were arrested or injured at this event.[42][43] However, a counter protestor was arrested at the Clearwater, Florida rally after being found with a homemade explosive device near the site.[44][45][46] The man was later released and all felony charges against him were dropped, although he was sentenced to six months probation and a $450 fine for loitering or prowling charges.[47][48][49]

J6 Question Project

On 24 February 2022, Look Ahead America announced the launch of the J6 Question project, in which voters are encouraged to submit video recordings of themselves asking federal candidates what they are going to do about the patriots who have been politically persecuted in an effort to make the status of the suspects being charged in connection with the incident on January 6 a central focus in the 2022 midterm elections.[50]

Dominion Lawsuits

On 18 March 2021 Look Ahead America sued the Stark County Board of Elections for violating Ohio's Open Meetings Act when they considered purchasing Dominion Voting Systems equipment. The suit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Stark County on behalf of Look Ahead America and Stark County Resident Merry Lynne Rini of Massillon.[51][52]

On 1 June 2021, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Stark County Board of Commissioners must buy the voting machines selected by the Stark County Board of Elections, citing R.C. 3506.03.[53][54]

On 20 August 2021, the commissioners and Dominion were dropped as defendants, with only the Stark County Board of Elections remaining. Dominion will operate in Stark County for the time being.[55][56]

2021 CPAC Sponsors

Florida 2021

Look Ahead America was present at the February 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in Orlando, Florida, where United States House of Representatives Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was their guest speaker.[57]

LAA had an exhibit featuring a "Surfer Trump" statue loaned by artist Tommy Zegan that went viral. Zegan - a Trump supporter who had recently immigrated to Mexico - created the statue with a "magic wand" in his left hand, referring to the quote by then-president Barack Obama in which he posed, in reference to Trump's promise to increase manufacturing jobs in the United States, "Well, what, how exactly are you going to negotiate that? What magic wand do you have?"[58][59][60]

Texas 2021

LAA had both United States House of Representatives Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Allen West as guest speakers at the July 2021 CPAC in Dallas, Texas. The group held an unofficial panel taking place on the third day of the conference in a different room of the hotel.[61]

Activism

Look Ahead Arizona

On 26 April 2021, LAA launched Look Ahead Arizona (LAAZ), a voter registration and community organizing effort. It received a $2 million United States Dollar grant from Jim Lamon for funding. LAAZ includes teams dedicated to helping First Nation, Black, and Latino communities register to vote.[62]

New Jersey

After extensive meetings between LAA's local volunteers and New Jersey State Senator Joe Pennachio, the senator introduced bill S-4162, which would require all elections in the state to use open source voting equipment.[63][2]

Georgia

On 1 November 2021, LAA's "Faith Outreach Coordinator" Brandon Sims[64] proposed one day of Sunday voting to Cherokee County election officials.[65] In turn, they passed a bipartisan motion opting for a trial run on Sunday, October 23, 2022, with a follow-up cost/benefit analysis.[66]

On 4 January 2022 Sims discussed a similar proposal with Hall County, Georgia election officials, resulting in two days of Sunday voting from 2 May through 20 May 2022,[67] with an additional two dates on October 23 and 20 for the Georgia General Election.[68] The same proposal was discussed and approved in Forsyth County.[69][70]

On 8 February 2022 LAA officially launched its get-out-the-vote effort "Patriotic Souls to the Polls," as a follow-up on prior activities. The initiative was launched in order to give rural churches the same opportunity to organize Souls to the Polls available to urban churches in municipalities such as Fulton County and DeKalb County, with the goal of increasing equitable voting access to citizens irrespective of socioeconomic status, party affiliation, or geographic location.[71][72]

References

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