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Mar 25, 21

This Week in Fascism #101: Patriot Front Most Active Neo-Nazi Group Still Left Standing; White Power Activist Met with Theil

Welcome fellow antifascists!

We’ve got some amazing stuff for you! First up, an analysis on a year of neo-Nazi and white nationalist activity shows us which groups are seeking to work their claws into our communities and neighborhoods, how antifascists exposed white nationalist links to Peter Thiel, how white nationalists are setting up “whites only” churches, a report on National Guard carrying vaccines being held up at gunpoint, and a supporter of the Proud Boys claiming that one of their leaders was working with the FBI against antifascists. All this plus two calls to action over the coming week and much more!

Also, we’ve had some folks that signed up to support This Week in Fascism drop off – so if you have the means please support our work here.

Enough talk, let’s dive in!

News

Pathetic Attempt to Intimidate Anti-fascist Block Party in New York Fails

United Against Racism and Fascism NYC reported on March 2oth, the day a coalition of anti-racist, antifascist, and anarchist groups were to hold a block party in New York:

This morning, before the Block Party, far-right graffiti and stickers appeared in and around Ft. Greene Park. We were not intimidated. We removed the stickers; the Parks Dept removed the graffiti (saving us a bunch of paint, lol).

The event went off without a hitch, featuring speakers such as long-time antifascist organizer Daryl Lamont Jenkins, representatives from local groups and struggles, and various musical acts. The organizers wrote:

In sum: NYC antifascists are building our movement, and our community is strong. Ft. Greene, and all of NYC, is an anti-fascist town! Let’s stay connected. DM us with questions, tips, ideas, ways to link up. Happy spring!

Racist Propaganda Spiked in 2020, Patriot Front Responsible for 80%

Many Texas news outlets are reporting that Dallas-based white nationalist organization Patriot Front was responsible for 80% of all white supremacist propaganda reported in 2020, based on a new report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The report shows a drastic spike in fascist propaganda last year with a total of 5,125 cased reported, compared to 2,724 cases in 2019.

Patriot Front was responsible for 4,105 of the reported incidents, which spanned nearly every state with the exceptions of Hawaii and Kansas. The group attempts to disguise their white supremacist and antisemitic beliefs as American Patriotism. Their red, white, and blue propaganda stickers and posters feature slogans such as “America first,” and “Not stolen, conquered” over a picture of the so-called United States. They were responsible for nearly 100 banner drops in 2020. For more information on Patriot Front, read Texas Antifa’s recent expose on the group’s Grapevine, TX headquarters here.

The New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA) was responsible for 508 incidents of fascist propaganda last year. This neo-Nazi organization leafleted the Capitol in D.C. on January 6th, promoting antisemitic and racist conspiracy theories. Though small, the group has expanded well beyond New Jersey, with propaganda appearing in 23 different states.

In April, Antifa Garfield noted that NJEHA members appeared at an action dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by Patriot Front members, suggesting a possible connection between the two groups.

The Massachussetts-based National Socialist Club, or NSC131, were responsible for 102 propaganda incidents spanning 18 states. Other active groups included the Klan, 14 First, Folks Front, the Hundred Handers, and other neo-Nazi organizations. The report states that explicitly antisemitic propaganda has increased by 68% since 2019.

On a brighter note, the report mentions that fascist demonstrations saw a 26% decrease from 2019 to 2020, with more than half of the events reported being privately planned and unannounced. This may be partially explained by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also demonstrates that antifascist tactics such as counter-demonstrations have discouraged Nazis from organizing out in the open.

Note: The ADL’s new report paints a very useful portrait of the state of white supremacist organizing today. However, the organization also has a troubling record of perpetuating Islamophobia, supporting Israeli apartheid, attacking anarchists and antifascists, and supporting police and State repression. We condemn these actions, described in depth here, an encourage readers to use caution when using ADL sources to educate themselves on bigotry.

Prominent White Nationalist Kevin DeAnna Met Up With Tech Fascist Peter Thiel

SPLC’s Hatewatch reports that neo-Nazi propagandist Kevin DeAnna has multiple meetings with fascist tech billionaire and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel during the 2016 election cycle. DeAnna, who published content for nearly a decade under the pseudonyms “Gregory Hood” and “James Kirkpatrick” for far-Right sites like VDARE and American Renaissance. He regularly sited Siege and The Turner Diaries, texts that have been glorified by neo-Nazi stochastic terrorist groups like Attomwaffen Division and domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh.

During that time, DeAnna also had ties to people in U.S. government, including former foreign affairs officer assigned to the Bureau of Energy Resources, Matthew Q. Gebert. Gebert, who communicated with DeAnna some six weeks prior to the meeting with Thiel, apparently discussed recruitment efforts to a DC and Virginia-based crew of supporters for the white nationalist podcast, The Right Stuff. The Right Stuff began as a white nationalist podcast-based website created by Mike Peinovich who used the pseudonym “Mike Enoch.” Gebert was suspended from his position but according to Hatewatch, it’s still unclear whether or not he’s being paid.

Former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh, who has since left the far-right, provided Hatewatch with photo evidence of communications and coordinated meetings between Thiel and DeAnna. Hatewatch was able to confirm the validity of the images.

Hatewatch reports:

The images provided to Hatewatch show a series of messages between Thiel, DeAnna and Brendan Kissam. Kissam, according to BuzzFeed, is a former conservative activist who has produced videos for VDARE under a pseudonym. Archived posts from Kissam’s Facebook, which were provided to Hatewatch by a group of antifascist researchers known as the Anonymous Comrades Collective, showed him interacting with white nationalists such as Counter-Currents’ Greg Johnson and “Millicent Willows” – an account that appears to belong to the white nationalist YouTuber Colin Robertson, who published videos under the pseudonym “Millennial Woes.”

Kissam helped connect Thiel and DeAnna via email on July 30th, 2016. After a series of emails, it was indicated that a dinner between the three men had occurred and seemed to have gone well, based on a response from Thiel stating that he enjoyed meeting DeAnna and invited DeAnna to connect again in the future if they were in the same city. The dinner between the three men was referred to as “Right Wing Dinner Squad,” a play on the term “Right Wing Death Squad,” a meme used by members of the far-Right, from neo-Nazis to boogaloo boys to militia members.

Head to Hatewatch for the full story including the many connections DeAnna had to white nationalist organizing, his connection with the state department, and the process Hatewatch used to authenticate McHugh’s photo evidence.

Feds Release Report Indicating “Extremist” Attacks Could Escalate in 2021

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security have released a report warning of an “elevated” threat of domestic violent extremism in 2021. The report, dated March 1st, states:

“Newer sociopolitical developments — such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and conspiracy theories promoting violence — will almost certainly spur some DVEs to try to engage in violence this year.”

The federal agencies found that “domestic violent extremist” (DVE) attacks are difficult to disrupt, since the perpetrators often radicalize and mobilize alone. “DVE lone offenders will continue to pose significant detection and disruption challenges because of their capacity for independent radicalization to violence, ability to mobilize discretely, and access to firearms,” they write.

The authors note that racially-motivated DVE attacks pose the greatest threat of civilian deaths, and they say that militias are the largest danger to the police and politicians. However, although the new “sociopolitical developments” cited in the beginning of the document as evidence that a spike in extremist attacks may be imminent clearly refer to right-wing mass-radicalization, the language of the full report is highly depoliticized, containing no mentions of either right- nor left-wing violence. The word “fascism” does not appear in the report. The final page lays out five categories of violent extremism: racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (which according to the FBI includes “Black Identity Extremists”), animal rights/environmental violent extremists, abortion-related violent extremists, anti-government/anti-authority violent extremists (meaning everything from militias to anarchists), and all other domestic terrorism threats. The category on abortion-related extremism includes both “pro-life” and “pro-choice” beliefs, an absurd false equivalency that seems to originate with the FBI under the Trump administration.

As It’s Going Down has argued in the past, these broad and vague classifications are designed to allow the FBI and other agencies to make it appear they are focusing on the Right, when in reality they are much more focused on social movements from below.

Former ‘Blood and Honour Volksfront’ Member Rebrand as New Neo-Nazi Pagan ‘Kindred’ in Vancouver

The Canadian Anti-Hate Network has identified six members of the Vancouver Asatru Folk Assembly, a white supremacist, neo-Folkish, Pagan religious movement. These individuals are former members of the neo-Nazi gang Volksfront and/or the white power music promotion group Blood and Honour, which was founded by Ian Stuart of Skrewdriver.

Sean MacDonald formerly organized with Blood and Honour’s British Columbia chapter, as well as the Hammerskins. Between 2008 and 2011, he was arrested for several assaults against, mostly against people of color. He now runs an antisemitic, fascist Facebook page called Vinland Awake. MacDonald’s wife Emily Fehr is a founding member of the British Columbia branch of the Asatru Folk Assembly. She runs a tradwife, neo-Nazi Instagram page where she praises Adolf Hitler and quotes Christchurch killer Brendan Tarrant.

Scott and Stephanie Sinclair are another couple prominently involved with the AFA, appearing frequently in photos from the group’s events. Scott Sinclair is a former member of Volksfront, originally from Manitoba, while Stephanie is a founding Vancouver AFA member.

September and James Farrow are two additional members from the B.C. kindred. September runs a neo-Folkish Facebook account which prominently features Nazi iconography such as the sonnenrad. James was also photographed wearing a shirt featuring this symbol, while standing alongside MacDonald and Scott Sinclair.

The Canadian Anti-Hate Network notes that the whites-only Asatru Folk Assembly recently purchased a place of worship in Murdock, MN, to the horror of many of the locals.

According to VICE:

Last December, the National Guard expelled two of its own members after Atlanta Antifascists exposed them as adherents of Asatru Folk Assembly who had attended an event held by white nationalist Richard Spencer. 

Police Warn White Supremacists and Conspiracy Theorists Are Targeting Cell Phone Towers

The New York Police Department Intelligence Bureau released a report obtained by The Intercept that indicates a growing concern for far-Right and white supremacist attacks on infrastructure, but the far-Right racially motivated attacks aren’t the only concern. The report also includes the growing threat of conspiracy theorists. The Intercept reports:

Conspiracy theorists, joined by far-right white supremacist groups, “increasingly target critical infrastructure to incite fear, disrupt essential services, and cause economic damage with the United States and abroad,” the report states. Blaming “the current contentious domestic political environment,” the document, issued on January 20 by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau and marked as “law enforcement sensitive,” describes a rash of attacks, some of which involved strikingly sophisticated planning.

According to The Intercept, three cases are described in the report. The first attack happened on December 14th, 2020, where “an individual or individuals broke into a cellphone tower ground station in Fairview, West Virginia, severing the tower’s main power cable and removing the primary and back-up generator batteries.” This resulted in power outages impacting three states and $28,000 in damages.

The second attack described occurred on December 19th, 2020 in Tennessee where the individual managed to cut through the fencing perimeter, cut through fiber optic cables and destroyed other telecommunication equipment. This resulted in a 12 hour service disruption.

The third case described in the report involved planning in a neo-Nazi chat group where members discussed attacks on communications and transportation infrastructure such as “bridges, railways and electrical grids.” This kind of discussion aligns with accelerationism, or the speeding up of a collapse of society and exploitation of civil unrest in order to create a white ethnostate.

The report also detailed the December 25th, 2020 attack on the AT&T building in Nashville, TN. Anthony Quinn Warner parked a vehicle with explosives as well as pre-recorded audio warning people in the area to evacuate, in front of the building where it detonated, causing major damage to the entire block. The pre-recorded audio suggests that the attack was specifically aimed at infrastructure and in the reports initially following the blast, it was identified that Warner was paranoid about 5G cellular networks, a pervasive conspiracy theory that suggests 5G networks negatively impact immune systems.

The Intercept reports:

5G conspiracy theorists believe that the new technology gave rise to the coronavirus pandemic, with many convinced that the electromagnetic waves put out by 5G towers harm the human immune system. As a result, there were reportedly over 30 attacks on cell towers in London in April 2020 alone. In May of last year, the Department of Homeland Security issued its own intelligence report warning of “calls for violence against telecommunications workers” due to conspiracy theories tying the spread of Covid-19 to 5G technology, according to ABC News.

In addition to the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, the Department of Defense, and Homeland Security have also issued briefings and threat analyses detailing growing concerns about conspiracy theorists and far-Right attacks on infrastructure. It should be noted that part of this increased focus on far-Right attacks on corporate property is because 5G networks are part of a global effort to expand capitalist and military infrastructure. In the past, when neo-Nazi groups such as Atomwaffen have been found to be making plans to attack infrastructure such as water treatment facilities, they were not seen as such a threat by the authorities, yet clearly represented a threat to the public at large.

National Guard Soldiers Transporting Vaccines Held at Gunpoint By Man in West Texas

According to WAFB9 out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Larry Harris of Willcox, Arizona is accused of following 3 vans of National Guardsmen transporting COVID-19 vaccinations and then holding them at gunpoint in Lubbock, Texas. The article states that Harris tried several times to run the vans off the road and was eventually able to stop the vans after driving into oncoming traffic. According to the article:

He then pointed a gun at an unarmed National Guardsman, identified himself as a detective, and demanded to search the vehicles and ordered the rest of the unarmed guardsmen out of their vehicles at gunpoint.

Harris told police he thought the people in the vans had kidnapped a woman and child.

When the police arrived on scene, they identified the firearm Harris was carrying as a .45 caliber Colt 1911 pistol and Harris was taken into custody for charges of “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint of 11 National Guard Soldiers, unlawful carrying of a weapon, impersonating a Public Servant, and interference with Texas Military Forces.” None of the National Guardsmen were injured.

J6 White Riot Updates

The Daily Beast reports that on Wednesday March 17th, 2020, North Carolina Proud Boys chapter President Charles Donohoe was arrested for his involvement in the January 6th White Riot. 33 year old Donahoe has paraded his relationship with law enforcement before, posting photos of himself shaking hands with Metropolitan Police Officer Collin Cole. The image was widely circulated online. Donohoe was arrested for conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, destruction of government property and aiding and abetting, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds.

NPR reports that a separate, unsealed indictment shows three members of the Proud Boys in positions of leadership have also been arrested for their involvement of the J6 White Riot. Zach Rehl, President of the Philadelphia Proud Boys, Ethan Nordean, President of a Washington state chapter, and Joseph Biggs, organizer and member of a Florida chapter are all facing multiple counts including conspiracy. According to NPR:

The indictment alleges that the members of the encrypted messaging channels were told to meet at the Washington Monument at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6.

We expect more Proud Boys connections to unfold as the feds work to unravel the organizing that happened leading up to January 6th.

Also according to Raw Story:

Now, an account published by [Cassandra Fairbanks,] sympathetic to Biggs suggests the FBI may have turned to him for assistance prior to the assault on the Capitol. The article by Cassandra Fairbanks published on the far-right website Gateway Pundit on March 20 is a thinly veiled solicitation for funds to help Biggs with his legal bills. Entitled “Urgent: US Veteran and Activist Joe Biggs Needs Help Fighting Trumped Up Charges Over Capitol Protest,” the article presents a favorable portrayal of the defendant as a “father, son and friend to many on the right” who would “drop everything to come help you if you needed it.” It cites Biggs’ close ties to law enforcement as a testament to good character.

“Biggs, who has many friends in law enforcement, even affirmatively acknowledged his presence at the Capitol and later turned himself in to FBI agents — with whom he had worked with before concerning Antifa at the agency’s request,” Fairbanks wrote.

Call to Action!

In Salem, Oregon there is a call for antifascists to oppose a far-Right rally at the State capitol on Sunday, March 28th.

On April 3rd, there is a call for a community day of opposition to the KKK who are planning hold an event in Auburn, Indiana.

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A weekly roundup of the latest and greatest happenings in the anti-fascist world. Each column features a roundup of news, actions, doxxes and current calls to action.

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