Filed under: Featured, This Week in Fascism
Welcome, fellow antifascists! This week, we’ve got an explainer on the Alt-Right and mass shootings; multiple doxxes of both Patriot Front and Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement members; eggings, milkshakes, and the sit-in that cancelled two fraternities; plus, how you can help wreck the money flowing into Patriot Prayer.
Explainer: How the Alt-Right Came to Celebrate Mass Murderers
White nationalist and Alt-Right mass shootings and acts of murder are becoming common place as well as an international phenomenon. What follows are some notes on the current reality as well as some thoughts on how to combat it.
4 and 8 Chan and the Cult of Mass Killers
4chan and 8chan began as anonymous posting forums where people would post images and memes and then make fun of them. They started in part as a reaction to “social justice” Tumblr pages and by and large were libertarian. After Gamergate, the politics and culture of the chans were colonized by the Alt-Right and neo-Nazis, and with the coming of Trump, the wave of radicalization was kicked into high gear. But such pages have also become a center for worship of far-Right mass killers from incels like Elliot Rodgers and Alek Minassian, to white nationalist mass shooters like Dylan Roof, Robert Bowers, John Earnest, and movement “martyrs” who not only die for the cause but also rack up a large body count.
In 2017, the Clark brothers (not yet known for their ties to Bowers) were seen at an alt-right rally alongside Mark Daniel Reardon aka 'Illegal Aryan'.
Reardon is one of the main participants in 'Bowl Patrol', the group that promotes Dylann Roof imagery.https://t.co/1Y3fPCI0Az pic.twitter.com/xQeG8EUN8F
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) January 9, 2019
We see this across the culture of the Alt-Right. From organizations encouraging people to write to Dylann Roof as a “political prisoner,” to the proliferation of memes and podcasts (“Bowl Patrol”) which celebrate far-Right mass murders, to those that would share things like the New Zealand shooter’s livestream. In both the Poway and Christchurch shootings, the murderers uploaded a manifesto onto 8chan and announced their murderous intentions before the killing started because they saw the readers and posters on that message board as their peers.
On our latest podcast, we spoke with @Faradayspeaks about their journey out of the Alt-Right, from Gamergate, to Trump, + the darkest regions of the web. But what happens to a soldier of the meme wars when he realizes he's been fighting on the wrong side? https://t.co/usuCDTXsVj pic.twitter.com/jG9XWNSltW
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) April 18, 2019
As a former member of the Alt-Right discussed on a recent It’s Going Down podcast, 4chan and 8chan are the cafes and pubs in which active members and supporters of the Alt-Right come together and talk movement strategy. It just so happens that a lot of that strategy is mass murder.
Some real bottom text posting from the wannabe king of the Bowl Patrol. (These are the guys who venerate Dylann Roof et al. They're really mad about the James Alex Fields verdict apparently.) pic.twitter.com/2Gei5KwzVT
— Never Cruel nor Cowardly (@danieleharper) December 16, 2018
In many ways, there are a lot of parallels between groups like ISIS and their celebration of those that are martyred for their cause, and those in the far-Right who idolize these mass killers and dream of eventually becoming one of the martyred dead. For even after they have been killed or locked away, they will forever be immortalized in memes and on podcasts; becoming in death or in prison what they failed to achieve in life: human connection and meaning.
The Growth of Far-Right Mass Killers Shows a Shift in Strategy
Many on the Alt-Right argued that Trump was their last hope for an “electoral strategy,” a way to stop or reverse the amount of non-whites coming into this country as white birth rates decline, threatening a white super majority in culture, politics, and beyond. As It’s Going Down wrote in Rich Kids of Fascism:
As Nathan Damigo wrote recently on twitter, the failure of the current ‘work within the system’ breed of Alt-Right organizers will lead to a much more violent collection of white nationalist militants. While of course in the US and around the world we’ve seen the growth of far-Right violence and terrorism for decades, it is very possible that this tendency will grow and expand as it is felt by the broad base of the insurgent far-Right that Trump (and overall democracy) has failed them. As this shift happens, questions of violence will again take center stage and the movement will continue to fracture over disagreements.
Many argued that if they failed under Trump, or if Trump failed them, then the Alt-Right would be forced to adopt a much more violent strategy of armed resistance. Richard Spencer and those on The Daily Stormer have echoed this sentiment on various podcasts and editorials, claiming that as long as a multicultural and multiracial society exists, such acts of mass murder and violence will only continue. Thus their message is clear: submit to our rule, or suffer the consequences.
Here is the video. pic.twitter.com/jPPbkWUPQA
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) May 23, 2018
But the turn towards armed actions that leave mass casualties is also one that is largely nihilistic and many in Alt-Right and white nationalist circles agree that overall such acts hurts their cause. In recent leaked conversations with Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement leader Patrick Casey, he argued that such actions were essentially “gifts” to the opposition because it made them look so bad and turned people against them.
Thus, the Alt-Right entering into a period of “lone wolf” styled action aimed at the general public at large could be a sign of the movement running out of steam, ideas, and more importantly, public support. Having said that, it still doesn’t do anything for those that have been horrifically slaughtered or who may still be targeted.
Such Acts Help to Continue to Push the Overton Window
As everyday communities and also online spaces drive more and more Alt-Right, white nationalist, and far-Right elements out, mass shootings and attacks remain a way in which the Alt-Right can continue to appear relevant and get their ideas out to the public, even as it views the public as an arena of mass slaughter.
With Trump continuing to turn a blind eye to the threat of white nationalism and with police agencies viewing autonomous social movements as more a threat, such acts of mass murder also help to make other far-Right formations more “moderate” and digestible, even when the degree of separation between Atomwaffen, Identity Evropa, and ‘New Right’ or ‘Alt-Lite’ groups like the Proud Boys is in fact, very small.
The Trump Administration Does Not View White Nationalist Violence to Be a Problem
Only days before the most recent white nationalist shooting in Southern California, Trump doubled down on his statements that there were “very fine people” on “both sides” of Charlottesville, and defended Confederate monuments and statues. After the New Zealand shooting, who’s perpetrator praised Trump in his manifesto, Trump declared that white nationalism posed no threat, yet has readily played up fears of Muslims, immigrants, and refugees.
Trump is retweeting Lauren Southern, a racist who popularized the “white genocide” conspiracy theory.
There have been many low moment in the Trump presidency. His conduct on Twitter this AM may be the worst pic.twitter.com/Z6Cunk9VEn
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 4, 2019
Within Trump’s administration, people like Sebastian Gorka (who was fired post Charlottesville) and his wife Katie Gorka, have also downplayed the threat of far-Right violence, going so far as to say that some acts of racist violence were in fact manufactured by the Left to make Trump look bad. Katie Gorka has also pushed the narrative, as have others promoted by Trump like Candance Owens, that in fact ‘ANTIFA’ are much more of a danger than the far-Right.
Many police agencies also continue to view antifascists as more of a threat at public demonstrations and beyond. This is evidenced by the recent disclosure of texts centered around Portland Police and Joey Gibson, internal police documents from Charlottesville before Unite the Right, and Sacramento area police working with neo-Nazi skinheads following a June 2016 demonstration which left many antifascists stabbed. This in itself is ironic, as those on the far-Right have killed more law enforcement officers than any other political group.
Need for Self-Defense and Good Security Practices
As far-Right acts of mass shootings and murder continue to sadly be part of our social landscape, there remains a much greater need for antifascists to map out far-Right networks, expose those pushing for acts of murder and terror, and also spread this information to the public at large and targeted communities most especially. We must also keep in mind that our own communities and spaces are also at risk, and we must take security at our events and in our spaces very seriously.
Doxxes
Monday, April 29, 2019
Per @UR_Ninja Nazi Discord leaks & his dumb self, @LP_Maine Libertarian Party Vice Chair Michael Fitch Jr is a Nazi. @randybillings @mainedems @DSA_SouthernME @bangordailynews @NYCAntifa @AntiFashGordon https://t.co/a7Z7phJOK9https://t.co/mG59TisxXnhttps://t.co/LVguPsdS3Y pic.twitter.com/6NmK7zZuIL
— PINE TREE ANTIFA COLLECTIVE (@AntifaPine) April 29, 2019
Pine Tree Antifa Collective identified Maine Libertarian Party Vice Chair Michael Fitch, Jr., as a member of the white nationalist Traditionalist Worker Party Discord server. In the TWP server, Fitch encouraged TWP members to attend a Libertarian Party protest against Indigenous People’s Day, and once, simply posted “Upper New England Ethno State!”
As of this writing, Fitch’s name has been scrubbed from the Libertarian Party of Maine’s website, and Fitch appears to have deleted his Medium profile.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Legion of St Ambrose came to protest a local art show in Knoxville on Saturday April 27. Except technically a legion is more than 3. pic.twitter.com/UDEOQ1dMse
— David Bennet (@DavidBennet15) April 30, 2019
A pseudonymous Twitter account with the display name “David Bennet” identified three members of the newly formed Legion of St. Ambrose, a white nationalist religious organization comprised of former Traditionalist Worker Party members. Craig Spalding, standing in the middle of the above photo, has a forehead tattoo of the symbol of the Iron Guard, a semi-obscure Romanian fascist organization whose iconography was recently found at scene of the Highlander Center arson in Tennessee, as well as painted on the gun of the Christchurch shooter.
The account identified the three men in the above photo as (left to right) Corey Whittman, Craig Spaulding, and Caleb Rose.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Landon Duncan ("Cowboy Hat Dude") present today at the anti-ICE rally and march with Joey and Haley, is a fervent supporter of white nationalist Haley Adams' online and IRL antics. Duncan currently works in the Birthing Center at Willamette Valley Medical Center. pic.twitter.com/CV9jSrNbUY
— Always Antifascist (@RoseCityAntifa) May 1, 2019
Rose City Antifa identified Landon Duncan as attending a May Day rally alongside Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson and Haley Adams. Duncan is employed by the Birthing Center at Willamette Valley Medical Center.
If you would like to inform the hospital about the far-right ties of their employees, you can reach their Chief Quality Officer by calling (503) 435-6317. Additionally, you can contact the Birthing Center Manager, Amy Thompson, by calling 503.435.6400, or by emailing [email protected].
whoever made these flyers, you're doing great sweetie! expose him! make San Jose safe again! https://t.co/Dm1nBzFqB8
— strong female presence (@googoogagagirl) May 1, 2019
San Jose member of Identity Evropa, Kyle Aaron Scheuerlein, was exposed at the end of April by antifascist researchers Panic! in the Discord. Scheuerlein was subsequently placed on leave by his employer, Valley Christian High School. On May Day, his neighborhood was flyered by local activists to warn the community about his white nationalist affiliations.
So when we put all these clues together, it is very likely that Identity Evropa / American Identity Movement member 'Auf WI' / @WisIdentity is…
Cody Alexander Delis of Spencer, Wisconsin#IdentifyEvropa pic.twitter.com/z1TQiB0ozZ
— ironic name & bio exempt me from consequences guy (@ToynbeeRus) May 1, 2019
Researcher ToynbeeRus identified Identity Evropa member Auf – WI as Cody Alexander Delis, of Spencer, Wisconsin. He works at McDonald’s in Marshfield, Wisconsin. If you would like to inform his employer of his white nationalist ties, you can call them at (715) 387-4785, or tweet @McDonalds.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
THREAD: Meet Patriot Front member Antoine Renard, of Rockville, Maryland.
He's a senior at @RMHS_MainOffice, and even though he's just 18, he's been a white supremacist for years. pic.twitter.com/ie8Zhe3Syj
— AntiFash Gordon (@AntiFashGordon) May 2, 2019
AntiFash Gordon exposed Patriot Front member 18-year-old Antoine Renard, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. In the leaked Discord chats, he first went by “Antoine,” later changing his username to “Charlemagne MD.” During the first Unite the Right rally, in August 2017, the chats appear to show Renard relaying information between Christopher Cantwell and the Anticom members in attendance. If you would like to inform his high school about his membership in a neo-Nazi group, you can tweet them @RMHS_MainOffice.
Meet Rob Adams, the transphobic, ableist, islamophobe who mocks victims of sexual assault and stans for the hate group Proud Boys while working at @ColoradoStateU Fort Collins' office of admissions. https://t.co/PPfJO4s39Z
— Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists (@COSAntifa) May 3, 2019
Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists wrote about Rob Adams, a Travel Assistant at the Colorado State University Office of Admissions. Adams is a co-admin of a Colorado gun rights page that recently sent a bizarre message to the group, threatening a local activist with no ties to the antifascist scene. His Facebook posts and comments are filled transphobia, racist conspiracy theory, and Islamophobia. If you would like to inform his employer of his far-right ties, email Jeff Milton at CSU’s HR office at [email protected], or tweet to @ColoradoStateU.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Let’s start with this guy. On Discord, he goes by the handle Walking Holocaust. Maybe we are crazy but does anybody else think Walking Holocaust, Patriot Front Nazi From Florida sure looks a lot like a guy named Collin Brett Rikard? Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/BQ3EnBCI9R
— AnonymousComrade (@anonymouscommie) May 3, 2019
AnonymousCommie outed Colin Brett Rikard, a Patriot Front member in Tampa, Florida. In the leaked Discord chats, Rikard’s username was “Walking Holocaust-FL.”
Meet Blaze Kody Spon, notoriously fascist Reddit troll, Identity Evropa member, and Northern California resident. https://t.co/gFksJoDL6z#IdentifyEvropa pic.twitter.com/7tq2OkdE92
— Panic! in the Discord (@discord__panic) May 3, 2019
Panic! in the Discord doxxed Blaze Kody Spon, an Identity Evropa member in Bangor, California. In the leaked IE chats, Spon bragged about tagging Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Twitter threads of undocumented migrants.
Say hello to Curtis DeGroote, the Castle Rock resident and @StreamCompanies employee who chums around with (recently egged) neo-Nazi Jovi Val, and Proud Boy Propagandist Louis Huey.https://t.co/EkJosmZrMd
— Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists (@COSAntifa) May 4, 2019
Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists outed Castle Rock, Colorado resident Curtis DeGroote as a friend and associate of neo-Nazi Jovi Val. DeGroote is the Director of Product Engineering at Stream Companies, a marketing firm. If you wish to alert them of their employee’s far-right ties, you can tweet them @streamcompanies, or post on their Facebook page.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Here's our second installment for #IdentifyEvropa. Here's Alabama resident, ex-marine, and Identity Evropa member Jake Purvis.https://t.co/3TsggYKFrx pic.twitter.com/vAV7L9sfze
— Haleyville Anti-Rapist/Anti-Fascist Action (@Haleyville_ARA) May 6, 2019
Haleyville Anti-Rapist Action doxxed Identity Evropa member Jake Purvis, a former Marine based in Alabama. In the chats, Purvis uses the screen name The Lion and professes his belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Deplatforms
Facebook just banned Laura Loomer, Infowars, Paul Joseph Watson, and many more https://t.co/nKJwRbT4V7
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) May 2, 2019
On Thursday, May 2, 2019, Facebook banned several far-right media personalities, including Alex Jones, Laura Loomer, Paul Nehlen, and Milo Yiannopoulos. Several hours after the announcement, those same personalities were also banned by Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
Actions
Inject Tommy Robinson’s trip to Warrington into my veins pic.twitter.com/D33Iv8gRcf
— ✨ siany ?? (@sianyjx) May 2, 2019
We don’t know the name of this hero, but he fucking did it. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known by his supervillain persona Tommy Robinson is running for European Parliament btw. Look at how he and his crew go off on this dude for throwing a milkshake at him. Honestly. Tommy should enter the police force if he wants to do that, not the Parliament.
there’s an ongoing sit-in at a swarthmore fraternity as students protest gross reports of sexual assault, homophobia, racism, & more in a 117 pg leaked frat document. police and campus safety have been called numerous times and 20+ students risk arrest
pls RT for press coverage pic.twitter.com/LRzpOka9GZ
— robbae (@robbizzyy) April 28, 2019
Students at Swarthmore College staged a sit-in at a fraternity with a history of racism and sexual assault. The result?
BREAKING, AGAIN: as of 10:25 P.M., Phi Psi has also disbanded. The work of @O4Sswarthmore has paid off. https://t.co/rBjojFhJEW
— Sophie Hurwitz (@sophiehurwitz) May 1, 2019
Two fraternities disbanded. Congratulations to the students who stood up to protect their communities. Direct action gets the goods.
https://twitter.com/idkbrosorry/status/1123658670397632514
On May Day, neo-Nazi and professional loser Jovi Val found out for his first time what it’s really like being a Nazi. What the above tweet doesn’t show, however, is that our hero egged this egghead not once, but at least four or five times. Presenting the full length version:
Skip to 6:40 for the egging.
Joey Gibson & his violent far-right followers attacked our May Day show at Cider Riot tonight. PPB, staunch enablers of fascist violence, watched the confrontation as Gibson's goons threw bottles, & assaulted working class people with pepper spray & batons.
— Always Antifascist (@RoseCityAntifa) May 2, 2019
Comrades in Portland had a full day of May Day actions, and then when they were trying to celebrate and have a drink they were attacked by Joey Gibson and a small crew of the usual suspects, which at this point are truly the bottom of the barrel. Proud Boy Jake Adkins lost a one-on-one fight, then Patriot Prayer associate Ian Kramer clubbed and badly injured an antifascist comrade, and then the next day they got slapped with a one million dollar lawsuit. Fuck Joey Gibson.
Proud Boys and Trump supporters also rallied in Eugene on Sunday where a counter-demo was organized. One comrade was arrested and you can support them here.
Call to Action
THREAD: On May 1, Ian Kramer, a member of Patriot Prayer, an Islamophobic hate group, used a baton to hit a woman from behind, knocking her unconscious.@stripe is processing donations to Patriot Prayer at https://t.co/RNzahUFp3d.
Stripe, don't support with violent hate groups. pic.twitter.com/UKmwTGLZ7Y
— AntiFash Gordon (@AntiFashGordon) May 3, 2019
Patriot Prayer is currently using payment processor Stripe to collect donations on GibsonForFreedom.com [archive].
However, Stripe’s Terms of Service prohibit “any business or organization that a. engages in, encourages, promotes or celebrates unlawful violence or physical harm to persons or property, or b. engages in, encourages, promotes or celebrates unlawful violence toward any group based on race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other immutable characteristic.”
Please tweet at Stripe, asking them to enforce their own terms of service and drop Patriot Prayer, a violent hate group, from its clients.
Sample tweet:
Hey, @stripe, Patriot Prayer is using your services to spread their message of hate and fund their ongoing attacks against the city of Portland.
Patriot Prayer largely subsists by attacking innocent people in the streets of Portland, and then using that footage to raise funds. If we can remove their payment processors, we can remove one of their incentives to commit random violence.
CORRECTION: This article originally identified a Legion of St. Ambrose member as Colton Williams. Williams is a different member of the Legion of St. Ambrose. The member picture in this article is Corey Whitman.