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Mar 17, 22

This Week in Fascism #128: Leading Proud Boy Arrested After Racial Attack in Ohio; Several Deadly Neo-Nazi Plots Exposed

photo: borwin10

Welcome, fellow antifascists!

In today’s column, we cover a lot of ground. From the Proud Boys facing heavy charges for their key role in organizing J6, to several busted neo-Nazi plots of mass murder, a Proud Boys leader going viral after attacking a woman and calling her racial slurs and hitting her, to parts of the Trumpian GOP openly embracing white nationalists at AFPAC.

We’ve also got news, action, doxxes and a lot more – so let’s dive in!

News

Feds Execute Search Warrant at Proud Boy Jeremy Bertino’s North Carolina Residence

Raw Story reports that the FBI has executed a search warrant at Proud Boy second-tier leader Jeremy Bertino’s Charlotte, North Carolina residence. Jeremy Bertino was involved in the planning and lead-up to January 6th, based on chats published in the article. He was stabbed on December 12th, at a rally in DC, just a month before so-called patriots stormed that Capitol, and though he wasn’t present on January 6th, he was instrumental in the planning and organizing. Raw Story indicates that Bertino created encrypted group chats for J6 planning leadership as well as a group chat the night before J6 where he barked orders from the comfort of his home, encouraging his followers to not back down, among other things.

Raw Story writes:

As an indication of the significance of Bertino’s role in setting up the Proud Boys’ communications network for the Jan. 6 operation, the government alleges that he created a new encrypted messaging group called “Boots on the Ground” that grew to 60 members on Jan. 5.

At 8:27 p.m. on Jan. 5, the government alleges, an unidentified Proud Boys leader posted a message to the New MOSD Members Group with instructions for the next day: “Everyone needs to meet at the Washington Monument at 10am tomorrow morning! Do not be late! Do not wear colors! Details will be laid out at the pre meeting! Come out at as [sic] patriot!”

The same message, was posted by Bertino, in the Boots on the Ground group one minute later.

Bertino, who was convalescing from his stab wound, was not in DC on Jan. 6, but the government alleges that he and another regional leader identified as “Person-2” posted messages shortly after 1 p.m. urging Proud Boys on the ground to, “Push inside! Find some eggs and rotten tomatoes!” and questioning, “They deploy mace yet.”

Bertino has not yet been arrested.

Black-Owned New Hampshire Restaurant Vandalized with Proud Boys Sticker

The owner of Milford, New Hampshire Black-owned restaurant “Greenleaf,” reports that his business had been vandalized. The owner of Greenleaf put up Black Lives Matter and Pride stickers in his restaurant, and though he has gotten push back on social media, he stands by what the stickers represents and wants people to know that everyone is welcome at his business. He states that recently the stickers were covered with a gun and “Proud Boy” stickers. You can read more about this here.

Kingston Neo-Nazi, Alexander David Friend, Planned Racially Motivated Infrastructure Attack

The Kitsap Sun reports that Kingston resident Alexander David Friend has been arrested for planning to attack power infrastructure after a concerned family member read his journal and contacted police. Journal entries included chemical formulas for incendiary devices, racist tirades against Black and Brown people, and plans for racially motivated violence. Friend was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of chemicals, the chemicals were discovered on his family’s property. The Kitsap Sun reports:

The family member said they had noticed what appeared to be Friend’s growing anger against the government and people of color and believed he may have been planning “an active shooter situation or attack,” according to court documents…

Photos of the journal, which were described in court documents, showed chemical formulas, and one entry attributed to Friend said his family was being brainwashed by cable news networks CNN and MSNBC.

“The whole system needs to burn,” the entry said. “Power stations need to be attacked, Seattle needs to have its importation infrastructure destroyed. Railroad lines need to be shredded. Destroy the substations in majority-Black districts, let the (n-words) burn it all down. F___ these subhuman abominations.”

According to the article, his friends and family had noticed his radicalization into neo-Nazi ideology. In December, the FBI interviewed Friend where he admitted to trying to manufacture firearm parts with a 3D printer. Antifascist researcher RuthlessWe also dropped a dox on Alexander Friend, providing details and background.

Proud Boy Leader Andrew Walls Filmed Assaulting Black Woman, Yelling Racial Slurs, Formally Charged

On February 27th, the Beacon Journal reported that a man who was captured on camera verbally and physically assaulting a Black woman in Akron’s Highland Square, had been formally charged with possessing a firearm while intoxicated. A second assault charge was also added the Monday following the incident. The man, Andrew Walls of Kent, OH, has been identified by antifascists as the Vice President of the Akron/Canton chapter of the Proud Boys.

The Beacon Journal reports:

The viral video shows one man with his back against the wall of a building and he appears to be holding another person by the neck against the building. Behind them, a man knocks Walls to the ground. Walls is repeatedly shouting racial slurs during the incident even though everyone involved appears to be white, police said.

When the man later identified by police as Walls stands up, he walks around the people he had been fighting with and up to the young Black woman, who is a bystander: “What’s up? (Racial slur) b****, shut your mouth,” the video shows.

Walls then punches her in the mouth, police said. The inside of her lip is noticeably split in a photo posted with the video.

Though not captured on camera, Walls apparently dragged his victim into the street by her hair after punching her. The video was posted to social media by the woman’s friend and went viral the following morning. The Beacon Journal reports that police are “looking into” ethnic intimidation enhancement charges given the racially motivated nature of the attack. The Proud Boys are a pro-Trump street gang tied directly with white nationalists, the Trumpian wing of the GOP, and militia groups, with a documented history of violence, including key participation in the January 6th attempted storming of the Capitol.

A protest against the incident was later organized.

Enrique Tarrio Catches Conspiracy Indictment For role in January 6th

The Washington Post reports that Enrique Tarrio, disgraced leader of the Proud Boys and federal informant, has been formally indicted for conspiracy for his role in planning of January 6th. These latest charges stem from footage of Tarrio meeting with Steward Rhodes of the Oath Keepers and the leaders of other organizations in the days before the attempted coup and also the release of encrypted chats which show a clear command structure at work during that storming of the the Capitol, with Tarrio at its head.

According to the Miami Herald: 

Despite his physical absence, an indictment issued earlier this week portrays Tarrio — who lives in Miami — as a key plotter in a plan aimed at stopping Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory over Donald Trump. In text exchanges with other Proud Boys members, Tarrio backed a “1776 Returns” plan that called for occupying “crucial buildings” in D.C., including the House and the Senate, and he supported staging the “main operating theater“ at the Capitol steps. In one exchange on the morning of Jan. 4, Tarrio advised his colleagues that “you want to storm the Capitol.”

The following day, Tarrio also met in a Washington, D.C., parking garage with the founder of another extremist group, the Oath Keepers, about coordinating efforts to target Congress. Overall, the indictment’s evidence would appear to undermine arguments by some defendants implicated in the Jan. 6 probe that the assault on the Capitol was a spontaneous protest.

Legal experts said the 30-page indictment against Tarrio and five other Proud Boys’ defendants offers an extraordinary amount of details in the form of social media and encrypted statements.

The following day, an unidentified Proud Boys member sent Tarrio the “1776 Returns” plan, a nine-page document spelling out how the group should occupy Congress “with as many people as possible” to “show that We the People are in charge.”

That same day, Dec. 30, 2020, Tarrio held a video conference call with other Proud Boys members, saying they had to follow the commands of the leadership. He warned they had a choice: “fit in or f*** off.”

Read the full article here.

White Nationalist Groypers Attract Trumpian Republicans at Orlando Conference

A collection of Trump allied Republicans both attended and participated in the recent American First Political Action Conference or AFPAC, which is led by Holocaust denier and Unite the Right participant, Nick Fuentes. Among those participating was former GOP Iowa rep Steve King, Arizona Republicans Paul Gosar and Wendy Rodgers, Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, and Georgia Congresswoman and far-Right racist transphobe and QAnon supporter, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who appeared onstage alongside Fuentes.

As Rolling Stone reports:

That’s most obvious with Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, the House Republican from Georgia who proudly took the stage at AFPAC on Friday night, hours before her Saturday speaking appearance at CPAC. On Friday she was introduced by Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist whose own AFPAC address featured giggling praise of Adolph Hitler. Greene spoke at CPAC on Saturday morning, and pressed afterward about AFPAC and Fuentes, she said she was there to address his audience and claimed to have no knowledge of him nor any affiliation with — effectively pleading total ignorance and detachment from a conference she’d been a featured speaker at and a leader who’d introduced her.

Greene is a walking internet troll who made clear a long time ago that her internal compass is pointed perpetually at the area of greatest overlap between “bigotry” and “self-promotion.” And so her appearance at CPAC and AFPAC is shocking but unsurprising. Nor is it surprising that Sheriff Joe Arpaio attended CPAC to hawk his new book but also got a speaking slot at AFPAC. Arpaio is right at home in with CPAC’s MAGA faithful because of their shared obsession with undocumented immigrants, and when he’s at AFPAC, he gets to say the quiet part out loud.

Also in attendance at AFPAC were other grifters and trolls with deep ties to neo-Nazi organizing, such as racist livestreamer, Baked Alaska, Vincent James Foxx of the Red Elephants, who has a history of organizing with Robert Rundo’s neo-Nazi fight club “Rise Above Movement,” and Stew Peters, a far-Right podcaster who openly called for the execution of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Huffington Post reports:

Greene’s presence at AFPAC underscores the thin line separating the Republican Party from the white nationalist extremist movement in America. Greene, after all, was not the only public official who spoke at AFPAC on Friday night.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who spoke at last year’s AFPAC, made an appearance via a pre-recorded video, as did Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers and Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, both Republicans.

Greene and other Republican’s presence at AFPAC has resulted in only light condemnation from the GOP, indicating a growing exceptance of white nationalists into the Trumpian big tent.

Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists Continue to Hold Small ‘White Lives Matter’ Events

Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups continue to coordinate monthly banner drops and flash demonstrations under the “White Lives Matter” moniker, organizing largely through Telegram. In Sacramento and Newbury Park near Los Angeles, groups of about a dozen held banners and put up stickers, which were later taken down. In Southern California, the fascists seemed largely connected to the Rise Above Movement (RAM) and its “Active Clubs,” which is sort of like Hitler Youth meets Cross-Fit. Antifascists have already outed at least one Proud Boy who took part in the Newbury park WLM event along with former Proud Boy and RAM associate, Juan Cadavid aka Johnny Benetiz.

There were also several White Lives Matter flash demonstrations in Ohio, Indiana, Connecticut, and Montana. As in the past, antifascists are going to have to continue to monitor, infiltrate and disrupt this neo-Nazi organizing, which is increasingly attempting to become more public as the Trumpian wing of the Republican party continues to embrace fascist politics.

Antifascists were able to doxx and expose several white supremacists who took part in the White Lives Matter actions, including Andrew Salacinski in Butte, Montana.

Three White Supremacists Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Attack Power Grid

Three men have plead guilty to their involvement in plans to attack power grids in hopes of forcing societal collapse and instigating a race war, according to Reuters.

Christopher Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Frost, 24, of Katy, Texas and of West Lafayette, Indiana; and Jackson Sawall, 22, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to extremists, court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio showed.

They planned to use shoot substations with rifles in order to knock out powergrids and cause millions of dollars in damage. According to Reuters, they met up in Columbus, OH to train and firm up their plans. From the report:

Frost allegedly provided Cook and Sawall with “suicide necklaces” laced with fentanyl they could ingest if they were caught by law enforcement. They also are accused of painting a swastika flag under a bridge at a park. Their plot to carry out their mission in Ohio was derailed during a traffic stop, in which Sawall tried to swallow his suicide pill. He ultimately survived. Cook and Frost, however, continued traveling onward to Texas where they attempted to recruit juveniles to help their cause, prosecutors say.

Each of these men faces a maximum 15 years in prison.

Teen Arrested with Backpack Full of Explosives, Planned to Bomb Chicago Mosques & Synagogue

On February 11th, 18 year-old Xavier Pelkey of Waterville, Maine was arrested on one count of possession of unregistered destructive devices and plans to bomb several mosques and a synagogue in Chicago, according to Daily Kos. Pelkey, who planned to commit mass murder had three home-made explosive devices in his backpack when he was stopped by law enforcement. Daily Kos reports:

Prosecutors said the devices were designed for maximum injury. According to court documents, when asked about the way the fireworks were made, Pelkey told FBI agents he had taped fireworks together to get a “bigger boom.”

FBI agents were alerted to Pelkey’s plan by two juveniles who were communicating with Pelkey online. In a now-sealed declaration, the two said Pelkey planned to use the explosives at a mosque in Chicago to “commit mass murder,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Wolff said at the detention hearing on Tuesday.

Pelkey is being held without bail until his case goes to trial. If convicted, he could face up to a decade in prison and $250,000 in fines.

People’s Convoy Attendance Wains; Drivers Attack D.C. Drivers

Attendance at the People’s Convoy protest outside of DC may have waned in recent days and weeks, in part due to infighting, bubbling anger over what donations are going towards, and also a lack of direction with the Biden administration pushing to end mask mandates. As Jared Holt stated in the Daily Beast:

“From the outside looking in, it’s hard to see where that money is going,” said Jared Holt, a researcher and Daily Beast contributor who studies American right-wing movements. “This has also frustrated some amount of people in the group’s Telegram chat rooms, who claim to have donated while anticipating a more dramatic protest. They fundraised and stockpiled as if they were going to camp out in the streets of D.C., but instead they’re kicking dirt at a racetrack in a city most D.C. residents have never even visited.”

It would be a key mistake however to write these protests off as simply the coming together of misdirected boomers or the end result of social media misinformation campaigns. The convoy protests show that even after the state clampdown of January 6th, the same strata that took part in the storming of the capitol is eager and willing for more action. In recent days, truckers and others involved in the convoy have continued to leave their camp site and circle around DC, at times, clashing with other drivers.

 

As the Daily Beast reported:

During his own live stream, truck driver John Bigard, host of the OTR Survival YouTube channel, was seen getting out of his vehicle on U.S. 395 and confronting a driver who seemingly attempted to merge from a far left lane towards an exit. At one point, Bigard was seen yelling at the driver before repeatedly striking the driver side window of the silver car. Upon getting back into his truck, the convoy trucker appeared to mock the driver’s accent while calling him a “fucking idiot.” People’s Convoy organizers and the D.C. metro police didn’t immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment on the incident. This was not the anti-vaccine mandate trucker convoy’s first episode of road rage, as they have been spitefully boxing in cars in response to drivers giving them the middle finger.

Doxxes

Tyler Russel Arbuckle, Patriot Front Neo-Nazi of Washington, Utah

Texas Against Fascism brings us the identity of Patriot Front neo-Nazi member “Anthony UT” as Tyler Russel Arbuckle of Washington, Utah. Arbuckle attended Brigham Young University and then graduated from the United States Airforce Academy at Lackland Airforce Base in 2020 and has been involved in Patriot Front organizing since 2021, according to leaked rocket chat messages obtained by Unicorn Riot. According to our comrades:

Tyler has participated in placing neo-Nazi propaganda, demonstrations, and drills with the racist organization. Moreover, Arbuckle graduated from the United States Air Force at Lackland AFB, is likely an active member of the U.S. military, and is probably stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Check the blog for the full dox, background information, and calls to action.

Leo A. Cullinan, NSC-131 Neo-Nazi Member of Manchester, New Hamshire

Anfascist Garfield has identified NSC-131 member Leo A. Cullinan from Manchester, New Hampshire. According to Antifa Garfield’s thread:

Leo, who goes by the name “purepower_88” on Telegram is an extremely prolific online neo-Nazi personality, and owns several explicitly neo-Nazi Telegram channels with thousands of followers that pump out NSC content and other neo-Nazi propaganda

The content he shares on his various accounts is violent and anti-Semitic. He creates his own neo-Nazi propaganda and has participated in many demonstrations with NSC-131 since August 2021 and works as a regional recruiter for the group. Folks with information about Leo are encouraged to reach out to Antifa Garfield. Contact info and the full dox can be found in the thread.

Adam Edward Smith, White Supremacist Groyper of San Diego

Pacific Antifascist Research Collective has released the identity of San Diego Groyper Adam Edward Smith. Smith served as an Aviation Boatswains Mate Handler in the US Navy from 2012 to 2016. His interactions online are full of admiration for neo-Nazi ideology and hatred for women. Photos of Smith at a white supremacist rally in January 2021 at Pacific Beach, CA shows him giving the roman salute, also called the Nazi salute. According to the blog:

Like most white supremacists, Smith is also a misogynist. In this November 29, 2020 video, Smith is with fellow groypers Ryan Sanchez and Nick Taurus in Huntington Beach. The men scream “Shut up, whore!” to a woman passing by, then Smith says directly to the camera “The go-to thing to tell a whore to shut up is just to tell her her p*ssy stinks“.

Smith also participated in January 6th and has been identified in photos storming the Capitol. He’s a white supremacist and misogynist and those with info are encouraged to reach out to PacAntifa.

Eric Lyle Atwood, Neo-Nazi and Unite the Right Attendee of Manhattan Beach, CA

PacAntifa brings us another dox of Manhattan Beach, California neo-Nazi Eric Lyle Atwood. Atwood was an attendee of the 2017 Unite the Right rally as a member of the Rise Above Movement, a neo-Nazi group founded by Robert Rundo. He’s also a founding member of the southern California neo-Nazi group “The Beach Goys.” PacAntifa’s blog states:

Eric Atwood was featured in a 2016 profile piece in The Guardian, where he openly discussed his Nazi beliefs and his friendship with notorious white supremacist lawyer William Johnson.

Eric Atwood participated in the infamous torch-lit march in Charlottesville on August 11th, 2017, in which a mob of tiki torch-bearing white supremacists attacked anti-racist protesters while chanting “Jews will not replace us!”

Check the blog for all the details.

Justin Michael O’Leary, Patriot Front Neo-Nazi from Des Moines, Washington

Washington Nazi Watch comrades have identified Patriot Front member Justin Michael O’Leary. O’Leary, who is from Des Moines, Washington, goes by the alias “Ethan WA” in rocket chat messages with the neo-Nazi group and serves as the acting Network Quartermaster. In this role, O’Leary is responsible for making the groups propaganda that inevitably gets posted across the region. This includes banners, posters, stickers and stencils. O’Leary lives with his wife, Kendra L. Cass, who goes by “Martha WA” at Patriot Front Gatherings. She is supportive of Patriot Front’s violent ideology, as evidenced by the cookies she made with swastikas made out of chocolate chips. Check out the blog for the full dox, photos, screenshots of messages and calls to action.

Joseph Anthony Dellagatta, Proud Boy from Boca Raton, Florida

Miami Against Fascism brings to us the identity of Boca Raton, FL Proud Boy Joseph Anthony Dellagatta. According to the thread, Dellagatta, who also goes by Joey Dells and “Yellow Laces,” is a virulent fascist who has been heavily involved with the Proud Boys all over south Florida, with a documented history of racially and gender-based violence. He was recently arrested for disrupting a school board meeting. Check out the thread for photos and background on Joey.

Brian D. Harwood, Patriot Front Neo-Nazi of Barnstable, Massachusetts

Antifa Garfield brings us the identity of “NQ-Henry MA” as Brian D. Harwood of Barnstable, MA. Harwood is a prominent member of neo-Nazi group Patriot Front and holds the position of the Network Quartermaster. In this role, Harwood is responsible for creating and distributing propaganda materials and organizing hate crimes, including the destruction of Black Lives Matter mural painted on Champion Ice Cream Shop in Brockton, Massachusetts. Check the thread for more information.

Jessica Parrott Neo-Nazi Wife of Matthew Parrott of Paoli, Indiana

White Rose AFA brings us the fourth prong of the infamous “Night of the Wrong Wives.” Jessica Parrott, who also goes by the name “Jessica Vanderwerff” is a supporter of the neo-Nazi group “Traditionalist Worker Party” that was founded by neo-Nazi Matthew Heimbach. As White Rose AFA states, “Jessica is most well known for getting caught sleeping with Matt Heimbach by her husband Matt Parrott, which directly lead to the end of the Traditionalist Worker Party hate group.” She also creates meatloaf monstrosities in the shape of swastikas. In case that is not evidence that she supports neo-Nazi ideology, it’s also worth noting that she has multiple swastika tattoos. Check out the thread for all the backstory, the connections to neo-Nazi organizing, and calls to action.

Mitchell Wagner, Patriot Front Neo-Nazi of Florissant, Missouri

Ruthless We brings us the identity of Patriot Front member Mitchell Wagner of Florissant, Missouri. Wagner, who went by “Kyle MO” in the leaked Patriot Front chats, is the step-son of Tamarah Wagner who is currently running for Chesterfield City Council. Mitchell was outed by media outlet SLT Today after being arrested for vandalizing a Black Lives Matter mural. The article states:

Mitchell Frederick Wagner, 24, of Florissant, was charged with felony first-degree property damage and issued a summons last week after surveillance video from Dec. 18 showed Wagner and three other people vandalizing a mural on the university’s South 40 Underpass, court documents said.

Check the article and the thread for details.

Support Our Prisoners

  • Support those arrested during the ongoing rebellion! Check the In Contempt column on It’s Going Down for a list of prisoners.
  • Support Gage Halupowski! Currently serving a six year sentence. More info here.
  • Support Dan Baker! Currently facing federal charges for posts online in response to armed far-Right rally at the capitol building in Florida. More info here.
  • Support Eric King! Anarchist and antifascist prisoner who has been targeted by the State and neo-Nazi inmates. More info here. Donate here.
  • Support San Diego antifascists facing heavy charges! Go here to sign petition and donate.

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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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