Filed under: Analysis, Anti-fascist, Southwest
Thankfully, this time we get to learn from the enemy’s mistakes.
If there’s one thing to be learned from the marches in Sacramento on March 25th, it’s a familiar lesson about the importance of security culture. If there’s two things, the other is the destructive nature of infighting. Thankfully, this time we get to learn from the enemy’s mistakes. There was some anticipation in the air about previously reported rumors of violent skinheads from the Capitol riot last June returning. The plan was ostensibly to march on the Capitol and erase their previous embarrassing defeat, but internal drama threw yet another a wrench in their aspirations, and CHP ended up pulling their permit.
The drama started from disagreements between the event’s three organizers about the tone of the march. There is a lot of room for speculation, but here is what is clear: Kim J Reiser was one of the three original organizers, until she came across information that led her to believe that co-organizer and host of the facebook even page, “Sacramento/Northern California March,” Helene Alicia, was not a legitimate Trump supporter.
She also didn’t seem to appreciate the “bloodbath” that Helene allegedly planned, but that was a secondary concern. Kim posted a screenshot in which Helene spun the march to some liberal as a pro-veteran and homeless rally rather than for Trump, and that there were would be “LGBT” members attending. This prompted Kim to publicly denounce Helene and the march on the Sacramento Republican Assembly facebook page. She then apparently forwarded evidence she had that the march on the Capitol would turn violent. CHP, deciding it best to avoid any more horrible shit shows on their jurisdiction, pulled the permit.
Kim J Reiser, local pro-Trump and Republican organizer
Information about Helene and her background was featured in this article.
Ashleigh Ford, the other main co-organizer, and her husband Joseph live in Citrus Heights with their family.
a picnic and stroll around the block sponsored by ‘2 Million Bikers,’ which bolstered their numbers as high as three or four hundred.
The pulled permit created a last-minute scramble in which Helene and now sole co-organizer Ashleigh Ford found an event on the same day to add on to – a picnic and stroll around the block sponsored by “Bunker” of 2 Million Bikers, which bolstered their numbers as high as three or four hundred. Many question marks surrounded the event for the last week before the march, and local activists decided the best thing to do was to attend the Cesar Chavez march the same morning.
The Cesar Chavez march was set to pass the Capitol around noon on its circuitous route from the park to chalk up the ICE headquarters and back to the park. This seemed like a prime target for the kind of hit-and-run cowardly racial violence Sacramento was host to last year. Close to two thousand were in attendance – some in black bloc or otherwise ready for a potential conflict, but there was also a large showing of children and the elderly who would have been in bad shape if the events of June repeated.
The same was also true of the “MAGA” march, which had droves of pasty geriatrics as one would expect, as well as children. It also featured the toughest guys from the Renaissance Faire, who showed up eager to hew some orks. The confrontation never happened. In fact, the two marches never came within sight or sound of each other and both groups went to their respective parks for food, speakers and music.
As far as disruption goes, the only outwardly hostile right wing actors were the police, who did little more than get too close at times. A few individual hecklers flipped off and yelled at the “MAGA” march, which consisted mostly of people walking silently down the sidewalks.
Local leaders of NorCal’s right wing groups are trying their hand at coalition building with mixed success, and are identifying themselves publicly
Local leaders of NorCal’s right-wing groups are trying their hand at coalition building with mixed success, and are identifying themselves publicly, with pages that feature images of their homes, families, places of work, and in some cases, provide contact information. Those clearly looking for a fight spent time building followings and becoming organized amongst themselves.
They will likely attend their “Berkeley 3.0” as Chapman referred to April 15th, in an open invitation during his speech at the park. Several opportunistic youtubers were promoting their fresh channels, hoping to gain popularity and monetization from Trump’s effect on the political climate.
Zero subs?! Ouch! Our advice: update some of that tired material. Also, develop a personality.
Justin Ragsdale of Modesto
One of the more successful of these personalities is named Will Johnson, who has a youtube channel called “Unite America First.” Will’s shtick is that he is the only black man in attendance. He poses for pictures with Trump supporters, chants USA/blue lives matter, and brags about leveraging his identity against those who criticize the institutions of white power in this country. Yeah, he’s that guy.
Will gives a fist bump to Jason Kale CAS, as another GSS member hides in the back seat so he won’t be filmed. A woman with blonde hair is seen driving the truck. Seconds later the license plate comes into view.
Will recently posted an almost hour long video shot amongst the “MAGA” procession which will allow the viewer to determine for themselves the tone and intent of their march, as well as identify individuals. It’s also bittersweet to watch his confused and uneasy reactions to the many micro-agressions his comrades commit against him over the course of the march as he fights hard to win their approval. Some examples include suspicious glances and numerous helpful reminders to “stay safe.” One segment of note is at 49:13, a white truck with Jason Kale CAS and other members of GSS responsible for stabbing people last June, can be clearly seen happily interacting with Will and other marchers.
This picture was captioned, “Will doing his thang.” It’s not clear what “thang” Will is doing, but it looks like he’s trying to teach Eric Harris to use only one hand when giving dap.
Place of Work : Pillar Video Productions Mountain House, CA 95391 (951) 533-2270
Other notable pieces of human garbage include Corinne and Brad White, owners of “White Hot Tees.” Here they are at the march, showing off some of their merchandise.
Cyndee Reed, who clearly keeps great company is positioning herself as a local leader in the NorCal right wing network.
Another troubling group worth finding out more about is “permitless carry,” a right wing gun nut group who claim to have personal information about antifa participants and “leaders.” Their facebook avatar features an image of Kyle Chapman’s signature shield design.
It’s crucial for us all to remain vigilant in our commitment to fighting the reactionary forces of the far right and take their threat very seriously, hard as it sometimes may be. These people are dangerous, as they have time and time again demonstrated in the past. We must oppose them effectively, and oppose them whenever possible. Follow security culture. Remember to mask up. Always crew up and have a plan. See you in Berkeley. And everywhere else.