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Feb 17, 21

This Week in Fascism #96: Groypers Implode, Violent far-Right Plots Uncovered, Biden Deports El Paso Survivor

photo: @R3volutionDaddy

Welcome fellow antifascists!

What a bombshell of a column we have for you this week! We’ve got lots of updates on the far-Right attempted coup at the US capitol, a neo-Nazi youth group getting arrested for planning racist attacks, fractures in the white nationalist Groyper movement, Biden deports a survivor of the El Paso neo-Nazi massacre, and much more! Plus, doxxes, prisoner updates, information about an upcoming protest against the National Socialist Movement, and much more!

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s dive in!

News

​​​​​​Feds Arrest Iron Youth Neo-Nazis on Weapons Charges; Planning Racist Attacks

A 20-year-old named Christian Michael Mackey has been arrested and charged with unlawful sale of a firearm. This arrest is the result of an investigation into the now-defunct, “siege-pilled” accelerrationist group Iron Youth. An undercover FBI agent communicating with Mackey said that he expressed a “need and desire for killing others,” and encouraged other Iron Youth members to kill Jewish and Black people. In 2019, Mackey described himself as a “radical jew slayer.”

Mackey was arrested after the undercover agent arranged for him to sell his AM-15 to an FBI source with felony convictions, so that he could then purchase a ghost gun instead. According to The Dallas Morning News, he said he needed this gun “urgently” in order to stop a “horde” of minorities. Mackey faces 10 years in prison, and if convicted, will be prohibited from owning firearms.

Another Iron Youth member, Caleb Nathaniel Oliver of Smiley, TX, was arrested last Friday for illegal possession of a firearm. The criminal complaint from February 5th states that Oliver purchased a fully automatic machine gun from an FBI informant for $1,000.

Oliver had planned a violent attack on the New York Buzzfeed headquarters that never transpired, suggested sabotaging cellular towers, and discussed attending a San Antonio Black Lives Matter protest with another Iron Youth member to provoke violence, as noted by the Dallas Morning News. Like Mackey, Oliver faces a ten year prison sentence if convicted.

Biden Deports Hundreds, Including Survivor of the El Paso Shooting

According to US News, the Biden administration has continued to deport hundreds of migrants, despite his claims that his administration was stopping such practices at the start of his term. Moreover, one of those recently deported was a survivor of the El Paso, white nationalist massacre.

From the report:

President Joe Biden’s administration has deported hundreds of immigrants in its early days despite his campaign pledge to stop removing most people in the U.S. illegally at the beginning of his term. In recent days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported immigrants to at least three countries: 15 people to Jamaica on Thursday and 269 people to Guatemala and Honduras on Friday. More deportation flights were scheduled Monday.

In the border city of El Paso, Texas, immigration authorities on Friday deported a woman who witnessed the 2019 massacre at a Walmart that left 22 people dead. She had agreed to be a witness against the gunman and has met with the local district attorney’s office, according to her lawyers. Rosa was pulled over Wednesday for a broken brake light, detained based on previous traffic warrants, then transferred to ICE, which deported her before she could reach her attorney, said Melissa Lopez, executive director of the nonprofit Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, which represents her.

Fractures in Groyper Movement Explodes as Patrick Casey Feuds with Nick Fuentes

Unite the Right attendee Patrick Casey has split with fellow Charlottesville marcher Nick Fuentes and the “Groyper” movement over fallout from the far-Right coup attempt in DC and plans for an upcoming conference in Orlando, Florida. Casey, the former leader of the now-defunct American Identity Movement (formerly Identity Europa) complained on a Facebook livestream this week that Fuentes had “stabbed him in the back,” and insisted that it was unwise for Fuentes to hold this year’s America First PAC in person in the wake of the deadly riots in Washington D.C.

In his livestream last Thursday night, Casey stated that Fuentes is being investigated by the FBI, that his bank account has been frozen, and that he is on a no-fly list. Fuentes has disputed the latter two claims. Casey stated that he would not be attending AFPAC because he worried that it would put attendees at risk of being doxxed, especially since the Right has faced heightened scrutiny in the aftermath of January 6th. The Daily Dot notes that several members of Fuentes’ groyper movement were in attendance on the 6th, and some were criminally charged for their involvement. Casey also noted in his recent livestream that Fuentes statement about killing elected officials had been played during the Trump impeachment trial.

Under Patrick Casey’s leadership, Identity Evropa undertook widespread propaganda campaigns and developed their image as “the welcoming face of white supremacy.” They were forced to rebrand and ultimately dissolve altogether after infiltration, leaks, and doxxing by antifascists exposed countless members’ identities. This feud between Fuentes and Casey comes amidst a more widespread “FBI informant panic” tearing through the far-right in the wake on January 6th.

Casey has used Youtube to promote his “Identitarian” (read: white supremacist) ideology since IE was rebranded as the American Identity Movement. His podcast has been pulled from Spotify and Soundcloud, making Youtube the only remaining mainstream platform hosting him. Following Casey’s livestream, Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists requested that readers contact @TeamYoutube on Twitter and ask them to remove his channel. Team Youtube responded that they are in the process of reviewing the report.

Violent Racist Proud Boy Alan Swinney’s Body Camera Footage Unearthed

Investigative journalists at Bellingcat have discovered body camera footage taken by violent, far-Right figure Alan Swinney, known for sporting a tattoo on his forearm that reads, “Proud Boys.” According to the exposé published on Wednesday, an activist in attendance at the August 22nd protest outside of Portland’s Justice Center found Swinney’s body camera on the ground as the crowds withdrew from the scene. Swinney’s voice and face are recognizable in the footage, and people can be seen and heard addressing him by his name. These twelve videos were uploaded to Youtube in September, but they have not been reported on until now.

The following comments heard in the third video shed light on how the Proud Boys and Swinney’s associates plan in advance to deal with counter protesters:

“Everybody needs to have their cameras rolling in case anyone gets an assault just like yell out ‘got one’…we need to make sure we’ve got assaults on video. I mean, if it’s a crazy assault, then yeah, first, yeah we go first…come on down with a stick […] If we’ve got it [an assault] on video and stuff and we know we got it on video and we have several on video then nothing is going to happen because we just show the judge the video. ‘Look, this assault happened, this assault happened, this assault happened. And that’s why she got involved.’”

Swinney was also caught on video explaining how he fundraises money to buy bear mace, which he distributes to his fellow fascist protesters. He states, “People like knowing that something they donated for is the reason why those Antifa are laying on the ground and choking. They get a lot of satisfaction knowing they were responsible for that pain.” Swinney raises this money through a fundraiser on the site for Olympia-based far-Right group American Wolf. This fundraiser currently sits around $1,500.

Several clips described by Bellingcat depict Swinney threatening people with bear spray. The 10th video found on his body camera shows his distributing cans of the chemical to protesters, saying,“Y’all got mace?…Before you start hitting them, spray them with this.” One of the recipients pictured appears to be a neo-Nazi, with a tattoo reading “88” (standing for “Heil Hitler”) visible on his arm.

In other videos, the Proud Boy can be heard discussing how he would defend himself against attacks by antifa. In one clip, he plots how he might lure antifascists into a fight. He says he could stand by himself to trick antifascists into attacking, only to fight back or even return fire. He even crafted a hypothetical headline that the papers may run the next day: “Three Antifa members killed.” Another clip appears to show a right-winger in Swinney’s group handing a firearm to another individual, possibly Swinney himself. An altercation with antifascists follows, and Swinney threatens that they may get “blasted.”

Another recurring theme in these videos is Swinney expressing his expectations for lenient treatment by police. In one clip he states that “I feel pretty confident I can talk to all the cops into letting all of us go.” In another, after the crowd chants “Blue Lives Matter” as the police arrive, he states, “Cops appreciate the support. They feel comfortable with us.”

Finally, this footage is also full of racist comments. In one video he asks, a Black person “how long were you a slave?,” and says, “black crime matters.” In another he says, “I don’t like all black people. I hate the shitty ones.” For more information on Alan Swinney and links to the body camera videos, check out the full Bellingcat article here.

Groyper Vincent James O’Connor Exploits Racist Attacks to Push Anti-Black Propaganda

Left Coast Right Watch has published an exposé on Vincent James O’Connor, founder of the media brand Red Elephants. O’Connor is an affiliate of the neo-Nazi Rise Above Movement, and was photographed shaking hands with leader Robert Rundo, and also participated in the neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. He is also a member of Nick Fuentes’ America First/Groyper movement and took part in the attempted coup at the DC capitol. Given his direct ties to known white supremacists, it is unsurprising that Red Elephants is notorious for its antisemitism and racism.

In recent weeks, the Bay area has seen a disturbing uptick in violence against Asian people, particularly in Oakland’s Chinatown. O’Connor immediately exploited these attacks, accusing the media of covering up the story because one of the perpetrators was Black. Michelle Snider writes that the narrative O’Connor is pushing is a common fascist trope: “Because the attacker wasn’t white and appears to be black, liberal media won’t talk about it because liberal media is biased against white people and excuses black violence.”

O’Connor published a Red Elephants article on February 8th titled “Media is Silent on Attacks Against Asians, Because They’re Mostly Committed by Black Males,” and just days later, a video called “Media Blames Trump and ‘White Supremacy’ for Attacks Against Asians Perpetrated by Black People.”

Updates on the Capitol Siege

Oath Keeper Involved in Capitol Siege Worked for FBI

A member of the Oath Keepers militia who attended and helped to organize violence at the January 6th capitol attack is a former FBI Section Chief who holds top security clearance. Court filings state that Thomas Caldwell, who was charged with conspiracy in January following the siege, worked for the FBI from 2009 to 2010. According to his lawyer, he has held top-secret security clearance since 1979 and previously did classified work for the United States government.

Messages exchanged between Caldwell and other Oath Keepers show that the group was planning to breach the Capitol and hunt down members of congress, who they expected to be hiding in the tunnels under the building. One text read, “Seal them in turn on the gas.”

Caldwell was one of the first far-Right militiants charged with conspiracy for his involvement the events on January 6th. He was charged alongside Jessica Marie Watkins and Donovan Crowl, as CBS reported in late January.

Five More Proud Boys Associates Charged with Conspiracy

On Thursday, five people affiliated with the Proud Boys were arrested and charged with conspiracy for their roles in the Capitol occupation. Cory and Felicia Konold were taken into custody in Arizona, while William Chrestman, Louis Enrique Colon and Christopher Kuehne were arrested in Missouri on the morning of the 11th. Colon, Kuehne, and the Konolds are charged in a joint conspiracy filing. According to the criminal complaint, the group wore tactical gear and pieces of bright orange tape on their clothes. Proud Boys appeared to wear flourescent orange hats and arm bands to identify themselves on January 6th, as noted in the Twitter thread below.

The group moved together and lead crowds of people into the Capitol, where they coordinated with one another and prevented police from lowering barricades to protect areas of the building.

In other news related to the Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe of New York pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy for instigating violence at the deadly January 6th riot.

On Saturday, CNN reported that Enrique Tarrio has violated the conditions of his release following his misdemeanor arrest in Washington D.C. days before the insurrection attempt. Two D.C. judges allege that Tarrio has failed to report to court officials as required.

Unicorn Riot Discord Leaks Show Plans for Violence

While the Trumpian state doubles down on the conspiracy that ‘antifa’ tricked Trump supporters into storming the US capitol, Unicorn Riot has obtained and released 18 Discord servers which reveal new details about the January 6th Capitol siege and show Trump supporters and far-Right groups plotting to engage in violent acts.

“4Deep” News, a QAnon-themed Discord server, has several users who visited the Capitol on the 6th. They used the chat to plan meetups at the protest, and some even posted live updates as the putsch was underway. Consistent with QAnon’s bloodthirsty ideology, one user posted that they expected to see “perp walks” of Democrats if “things go as planned.”

Many of these servers are cesspools of racism and antisemitism, as Discord relies on reports from users to weed out extremism, and only recently started cracking down on hate speech. One such server is “God Emperor Trump EPIC Gamers,” where one user asked another in D.C. to “tear down some BLM propoganda and burn it for me,” while others expressed their hope that the they would see “the blood of (((D)))emocrats” and that the MAGA mob would “burn the jewish banks.”

Unsurprisingly, these chats also reveal widespread hopes and plans for violence at the Capitol. In a server called “RobertGrulerEsq,” created for fans of a right-wing Arizona lawyer, members express that it is time for civil war and praise Kyle Rittenhouse. In “God Emperor Trump EPIC Gamers,” users wrote messages like, “I want to see the fucking halls of Congress being raided,” and, “I want them all hung publicly…the 6th is going to be absolute show of force!!!” One user wrote that the mob should “drag the traitors to the street & set them aflame.” Another user’s message history even suggests that he was illegally carrying a firearm during the siege. Someone in the Discord chat called “The Right Server” writes “we were armed to the teeth,” and boasts about breaking through the barricades.

These leaks, which contain over 2 million individual messages, can be read and are searched here.

57 GOP Officials Attended Capitol Attack

According to The Huffington Post, 57 local and state-level Republican officials from 27 different states were at the Capitol rally on January 6th, and most of them are now ignoring calls for their resignation. Christopher Mathias writes:

In the mob on Jan. 6, according to HuffPost’s analysis, were, at least, 16 Republican members of state houses or assemblies, four state senators, a state attorney general, six county commissioners, seven city council members, two mayors, three school board members, two state GOP chairs, two prosecutors and a slew of other officials and party functionaries. The group also included an extremist sheriff from Oklahoma who discussed harming members of Congress, a town council member from Massachusetts who is closely affiliated with the violent neo-fascist gang the Proud Boys and a county commissioner from Florida who once discussed beheading liberals.

Only four of these individuals have been arrested on charges after entering the Capitol building. Most of the people on this list did not breach the property, and many have claimed that they were far away from the violence. At least 20 of these officials have repeated the absurd conspiracy theory that antifa started the violence and broke into the Capitol.

The full list of officials present at the Capitol riot can be read here.

Doxxes

Collin Osgood, Anti-Semite and Racist of Salmon, ID

Collin Osgood is a member of “Rise of the Art Right,” a private Facebook group dedicated mostly to spreading white nationalist propaganda. In order to avoid getting removed from the site, the posters in this group rely on dog whistles and try to keep their fascism somewhat covert, but tradwave and white supremacy still abounds.

We Will Be Ruthless first noticed Osgood when he sent members of the group to “raid” a Jewish man’s posts, and said, “Next time we better gas that.” He also uses the group to discuss killing race traitors and post memes “ironically” celebrating bigotry and hate. On his personal timeline, he also posts antisemitic content, even setting his cover to an image captioned: “Judaism has too strong a grip on this country.”

Osgood works as a gunsmith’s apprentice at Salmon River Armory. Reach out to the business and ask them why they employ a white supremacist at (208) 742-1892.

Michael Lawrence Staley, Proud Boy of Galt, CA

Antifa Sacramento has identified Michael Staley of Galt, CA. Staley drives a silver Dodge Ram pickup truck, which he and other Proud Boys used to follow and intimidate counter-protesters at the Stop the Steal rally in Sacramento on November 7th, and at similar protests in the following weeks.

Antifa Sacramento is requesting more information on Staley and his associates from members of the community. For more on Staley and the Proud Boys, view the full article here or read the Twitter thread below.

Gerard Stezelberger, Nazi Memorabilia Dealer of Slatington, PA

The comrades at Community Research Opposing Hate have exposed Gerard Stezelberger, owner of Relic Hunter Firing Line, a gun shop and range in Lehigh Valley. Stezelberger also owns the e-shop RelicHunter.com, which specialized in Nazi memorabilia from 2003 to 2016. Stezelberger opened Relic Hunter Firearms & Military in Whitehall, PA in 2014, using the funds he earned selling Nazi relics.

About a decade ago, Stezelberger was involved with the 9-12 project, a right-wing group affiliated with the Tea Party. In more recent years his social media pages have shown a consistent support for Trump and the MAGA movement, and he has organized 2nd Amendment rallies and GOP events locally. He even mobilized a counter-demonstration to an anti-police brutality protest at the local high school, following an incident of police violence against a teenager. Most recently, Stezelberger recruited members of the Lehigh Valley community to attend the D.C. rally on January 6th, personally busing them to the capitol.

For more information, go to CROH’s Noblogs article, and read the Twitter thread below.

Jason Moorehead and Jason Jenkins, J6 Attendees of Wescosville and Allentown, PA

Community Research Opposing Hate has also identified Jason Jenkins of Allentown, PA and his friend Jason Moorehead. Moorehead was suspended from his job as a teacher by the Allentown School District after a Facebook post surfaced showing him in attendance at the January 6th Capitol siege. Jenkins spoke out in favor of Moorehead’s reinstatement.

Moorehead, a social studies teacher at Raub Middle School, was platformed by CNN following his suspension. CROH notes that “Moorehead is either a willing and knowing participant in a fascist political movement, or he is wholly unqualified to teach middle school social studies.”

Jenkins is a former lawyer whose license was revoked in 2012 for stealing from his clients. In his statements in support of Moorehead, he claimed that they were nowhere near any violence at the January 6th rally-turned-coup-attempt. This claim is contradicted by his social media posts, where he mentions riot munitions and suggests that he caught a lot of implicating video footage he cannot share. Check out CROH’s Twitter thread and view the full posts on their Noblogs site.

Sig Erilaz Members of Pittsburgh, PA

Filler Zine & Distro has published a dossier on Sig Erilaz, an Odinist “tribe” based in Pittsburgh with ties to Operation Werewolf, a crypto-fascist self-help pyramid scheme founded by Paul Waggener. The group’s logo is a combination of a life rune and a wolfsangel, symbols popular among white supremacists. The identified members’ names are Frank Cafardi, David Joshua Lee Elliot, Allen Michael Hart, and Benjamin Patrick.

Thankfully, the Sig_erilaz Instagram account has been removed, as well as Paul Waggener’s account and the official OPWW page. However, the author of the dossier notes that “most of those who were named have existed in Pittsburgh leftist communities at some point or another.” They ask that community members check their social media accounts for mutual friends, and educate those around them about the dangers of tolerating cryptofascism.

More information on Operation Werewolf and the individuals identified in the dossier can be viewed here.

Thomas Ryan Rousseau and Patriot Front’s Grapevine, TX Headquarters

The comrades at Texas Antifa have published an exposé on Patriot Front’s leader and their headquarters in Grapevine, TX. The identified members are leader Thomas Ryan Rousseau, Kieran Patrick Morris, and Graham Jones Whitson, all of whom live at the house. Also mentioned are Rousseau’s parents, Thomas Christopher Rousseau, who owns the property, and Debbie Lynn Babb Rousseau.

Patriot Front is currently one of the most active white nationalist organizations in the country, known for hiding their neo-Nazism behind patriotic symbolism and plastering their red, white, and blue propaganda stickers and flyers in cities across the U.S. Originally called “Vanguard America,” Patriot Front rebranded following the deadly Unite the Right rally, after Heather Heyer’s killer James Alex Fields was spotted marching with the group and photographed standing close to Rousseau.

Texas Antifa has acquired incredibly specific intel on this property, noting that the Patriot Front Nazis train regularly in the garage, where a PF flag is hung on the wall, that they remove their license plates while parked at the residence, and that a new security system and flood light was recently installed there.

Thomas Ryan Rousseau is only 22 years old, and has shown an interest in white supremacy since he was in high school. He attained Eagle rank as a Boy Scout less than a year before he lead the Vanguard America group as they marched through Charlottesville. Rousseau was arrested in August 2020 for placing Patriot Front stickers at the Parker County Courthouse.

29-year-old Graham Jones Whitson was arrested alongside Rousseau in August for vandalizing the courthouse. Pictures and information on Whitson’s vehicle are included in the full doxx.

Keiran Patrick Morris was doxxed by New York City Antifa in 2020, and more information can be found here. Texas Antifa’s reporting includes updated vehicle and license plate information.

Shield Wall Chicago Releases ChiTown MAGA Leaks

Shield Wall Chicago has released a large archive of social media content from the Chicago-area MAGA supporters. This content spans 2020. The leaks are organized both by organization and individuals’ names, and contains a photo gallery featuring images from various pro-Trump rallies. You can view the “ChiTown MAGA Leaks” here.

Call to Action

Two things to plant firmly into your antifascist brain:

  • Daniel Baker, a veteran and former volunteer in the fight against ISIS in Rojava, has been charged essentially with thought crime for making posts on social media about counter-protesting far-Right rallies on January 20th in Tallahassee, Florida. Currently, the media and the State have attempted to paint Baker as a dangerous extremist who was attempting to take his skills used in the fight against ISIS and use them within the context of the United States. There’s been some great articles about Baker pushing back on these narratives, in both the Washington Post and Reason, along with interviews featuring Baker’s support crew on podcasts like Coffee With Comrades. Antifa Sacramento has also produced an flyer for handing out and information on writing to Baker. We encourage people to stay up on Baker’s case, write to him, and spread the word about his case.

Support This Week In Fascism!

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Support Our Prisoners

  • Support those arrested during the ongoing rebellion! Check out list of bail funds here.
  • Support Gage Halupowski! Currently serving a six year sentence. There is currently an outbreak at his prison, so please step up and support! More info here.
  • Support Dan Baker! Currently facing federal charges for creating an event on Facebook to counter an 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 for being ‘ANTIFA.’ More info here. Donate here.

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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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