"No other prophet has described the strategies or predicted the perils of the emerging totalitarianism with such persistence and eloquence as C.J. Hopkins." -Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
I have designed four book covers for the brilliant satirist C.J. Hopkins.
Collaborating with C.J. has been a highlight of my career. He’s a really great smart guy who is an indispensable chronicler of our times and a front-line worker in the hot war for freedom of speech. Many of us who publicly challenged the absurd and tyrannical official narratives of the COVID Plague since 2020 have been defamed, censored, and even fired. C.J. is the only one I know who has been criminally charged for his dissenting opinion. Yes, we are being vindicated on many fronts, but he is currently facing a second trial and must defend himself from a former Stasi prosecutor who is out to get him.
His crime? Tweeting an image of one of my book cover designs in Germany. In a truly Kafka-esque moment, The Berlin State Prosecutor issued a “Penalty Order” or “Order of Punishment” for “disseminating propaganda, the intention of which is to further the aims of the former National Socialist Organization (Nazis).
(They caught us! I’m trying to hold back a Seig Heil!! salute à la Dr. Strangelove as I write this.)
The book in question is The Rise of the New Normal Reich. I co-designed the cover with C.J. as an homage to the famous tome The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The design features a barely visible swastika appearing behind a surgical mask. I tried to obscure the scary symbol so it would not trigger the censorbots. I failed. I feel awful that he is facing so much punishment while, as an accomplice to his crime, I am getting off scot-free.
X (Twitter) is not only a social media platform but also a crime scene.
Trigger Warning. Here is evidence of his crime:
The selective abuse of censorship laws is blatant in his case. Maybe that is the whole point of it. His prosecution is purely political. It really pisses me off when I see clear double standards when it comes to the enforcement of “hate crimes”
Some Swastikas are more equal than others:
Nearly every illustrator I know has created the obligatory “Trump is Hitler” image to the delight and praise of their “followers.” Each time this tired motif is regurgitated onto the internet, the creator acts like they are bravely pushing the envelope of political art into new territory in defense of “democracy.” ZZZZZZZ.
I vigorously defend their right to free expression, and there are appropriate times to make such hyperbolic comparisons, but The Bad Orange Man ain’t Hitler. I have relayed the story of C.J.’s trials to many of my progressive artist colleagues. (The same ones who get aroused while drawing little mustaches on Trump.) And nearly all of them believe that the charges against him are justified! I have almost no heroes left.
You can read the details of C.J.'s persecution here: The Atlantic, Racket News, Berliner Zeitung, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Multipolar, Weltwoche, Sky News Australia, Epoch Times, Discourse Magazine, and assorted other outlets. You can also watch this video by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression or refer to this chronological fact sheet.
The Brownstone Institute asked me about my thoughts on the case:
New York artist Anthony Freda designed the covers for Hopkins’ books in his Consent Factory series, including the fourth one for which Hopkins is being criminally charged. Freda said that Amazon is “selectively enforcing censorship on Nazi symbolism” and that the German government “is unjustly punishing Hopkins to prove a point – that dissent is not allowed.”
Freda sees the time we are enduring as very serious, with censorship becoming more powerful.
“We are losing the battle on censorship,” Freda said. “Governments are doing it more stealthily now.” He notes that it is especially harmful when people are self-censoring because of fear “of being ostracized. . .it’s our nature as humans to want to be liked and to belong to communities.” Preventing us from gathering has been demoralizing, he added, “But there are more of us than we think. We may be disparate, but we have to keep creating places to gather.”
As an artist, Freda fiercely opposes censorship and strongly supports Hopkins, who he believes is doing “God’s work.”
“Artists should be able to draw upon any of the iconography of history without fear of censorship or intimidation,” Freda said. “What has happened to CJ is a serious blow to free expression. His work for 30 years has been fiercely opposed to fascism, totalitarianism, and all other forms of authoritarianism. These charges against him are proof of what he is criticizing and satirizing.”
When asked what gives him courage, Freda said, “I look at this as a spiritual battle. The people who censor are not good people. If they believed in their ideas, then they would stand up to scrutiny.” He added that many smart people fell in line with dominant and controlling narratives during the Covid period, and, he said, “I lost a lot of heroes. They just crumbled.”
The rest of the article can be read here
I have indeed lost most of my heroes since the COVID propaganda mind control operation in concert with the bio-weapon and subsequent MRNA jab bio-weapon were released and damaged the brains of once clear-headed people. C.J.’s bold defense of the truth and human dignity has made him a legend.
He is a hero.
And the war on C.J. continues.
Censorship of The Rise of the New Normal Reich: Consent Factory Essays, Vol. III (2020-2021) is ongoing. Amazon.com has banned the book in three countries… Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.
The Amazon Content Review Team has cited the book's cover's semi-visible swastika as grounds for banning it. This pretext is clearly a lie, as Amazon sells other products displaying quasi-visible swastikas.
The war for free speech ain’t free.
C.J. has taken enemy fire head-on. He is a real Essential Worker in the animating contest of liberty.
Please support CJ Hopkins’ fight on behalf of all dissenting voices by helping to fund his legal costs via Substack, Patreon & PayPal
Please follow Anthony Freda on Instagram here
