There’s an old fable about a frog and a scorpion. The scorpion asks the frog for a ride across the river. The frog says, “You’ll sting me.” The scorpion says, “Why would I? We’d both drown.” Halfway across — sting. As they sink, the frog asks why. The scorpion shrugs. “It’s my nature.”
Will Stancil just found out he was the frog.
Stancil — Minnesota attorney, failed state legislature candidate, prolific liberal poster, and one of Antifa’s most reliable online defenders — got punched square in the head by masked activists in Minneapolis this week. His crime? He talked to reporters. He posted videos from public spaces. He mildly criticized people lighting fires in his own neighborhood.
ANTIFA PUNCHED WILL STANCIL pic.twitter.com/u55XO4SWYE
— Aetius (@AetiusRF) February 2, 2026
That’s it. That’s what got him rocked.
And somewhere, the universe is leaning back in its chair, lighting a cigar, and whispering, “Told you so.”
Years of Cover
Let’s rewind. Will Stancil didn’t just tolerate Antifa. He advocated for them. He spent years online insisting that criticizing Antifa was basically moral treason. As recently as January, he was on Bluesky arguing that equating Antifa with extremists was unacceptable. He drew lines. He defended the movement. He carried water for people in black masks who smash windows and call it justice.
He wasn’t on the sidelines. He was in the cheerleading squad.
And not the kind that stays safely in the bleachers. Stancil actually embedded himself in Minneapolis anti-ICE “rapid response” networks — the groups that mobilize when federal agents show up to enforce immigration law. He was out there in the streets, documenting, organizing, doing the thing.
Then he committed the cardinal sin: he let journalists tag along.
Excommunicated
The rapid response network kicked him out. Not because he did anything wrong by any sane person’s definition — he let reporters observe public events in public spaces. But in the world of masked street activism, sunlight isn’t a disinfectant. It’s a death sentence.
These groups operate on one rule: no faces, no names, no accountability. Stancil broke the code. He didn’t snitch on anyone specifically — he says he edited his videos so nobody could be identified. Didn’t matter. He talked to the press. He was out.
And then came the fist.
The Video
The clip is something. Stancil, surrounded by masked figures, tries to defend himself verbally. “I’ve done a lot more than you have,” he says. “Shut up. Jackass.”
Bold words for a guy standing in a circle of people who hide their faces for a reason.
He starts sarcastically repeating “Oh no” — taunting them — and then thump. Screen goes black.
It’s not funny that someone got hit. Violence is wrong. I’ll say that clearly.
But the irony? The irony is so thick you could spread it on toast and serve it at a Minneapolis brunch spot.
Leopards, Meet Face
This is the “Leopards Ate My Face” meme made flesh. Stancil spent years telling the world these leopards were misunderstood. They’re not violent — they’re activists! They’re not dangerous — they’re fighting fascism! Sure, they wear masks and light things on fire, but that’s just passion, baby.
And then the leopard bit him.
Not because he was a conservative. Not because he was their enemy. Because he was their ally who committed the unforgivable sin of being slightly too transparent. That’s the threshold now. You can march with them, organize with them, defend them on every platform known to man — and the moment you crack a window open to let a reporter peek in, you’re a target.
That should terrify every liberal who thinks these groups are on their side.
The Bigger Picture
Here’s what’s actually happening in Minneapolis and cities like it. Anti-ICE networks are becoming paramilitary-style resistance cells. They have rapid response systems. They have communication chains. They have rules of engagement — and those rules include absolute secrecy, zero press access, and apparently physical enforcement against anyone who breaks ranks.
This isn’t protest. This is organized obstruction of federal law enforcement with an enforced code of silence.
And when one of their own gets beaten for talking to a reporter, nobody in the mainstream media bats an eye. No CNN profile. No tearful interviews. No hashtags. Because the victim was hit by the right kind of mob.
A Man Without a Country
The saddest part of Will Stancil’s story isn’t the punch. It’s the loneliness of it.
The right has mocked him for years. He’s been called “the most bullied man in America.” Elon Musk’s AI chatbot generated disturbing content about him. He became the star of a satirical AI cartoon that went mega-viral. The guy has taken more digital beatings than a crash test dummy at a Tesla factory.
And now the left — his left, the people he fought for — punched him in the head and told him to get lost.
He’s a man without a country. Too honest for the radicals. Too liberal for the rest of us. Standing in the middle of a Minneapolis street with a bruised skull and nobody to call.
I’d feel sorry for him if he hadn’t spent years telling everyone the scorpion was safe to ride.
What Nobody Will Say
The uncomfortable truth is that this is what these movements always become. Every radical faction eventually eats its own. The French Revolution didn’t end with the aristocrats — it ended with Robespierre’s head in a basket. The Bolsheviks didn’t stop at the Czar — they purged each other for decades.
Antifa isn’t going to stop at Will Stancil. He’s just the appetizer. The next guy who steps slightly out of line — posts the wrong video, says the wrong thing to the wrong journalist — gets it worse.
And the Democratic establishment that quietly benefits from all this chaos? They’ll keep pretending they don’t see it. They’ll keep calling these groups “mostly peaceful.” They’ll keep looking the other way while their own foot soldiers get devoured.
Because acknowledging the truth would mean admitting what conservatives have been saying for years: these people aren’t activists. They’re a mob. And mobs don’t have allies. They have future victims.
Will Stancil just moved from one column to the other.
Welcome to the club, Will. The coffee’s terrible, but at least we warned you.