Philly Proud Boys Rally With North Carolina Proud Boys, American Guard

  • September 30, 2020 1:11 am

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

One week after being humiliated at their own rally in Clark Park, where hundreds of counter-protesters gathered to face the fewer than five Proud Boys who managed to turn up for the rally. The Proud Boys who did show up were immediately identified by antifascist researchers, though they attempted to intimidate anti-racist protesters, threatening to dox them and stalking researcher Gwen Snyder’s house, where antifascists had posted guards.

The Philadelphia Proud Boys, led by President Zach Rehl, were joined by members of the North Carolina Proud Boys, as well as Brien James, founder of the Vinlanders Social Club, Outlaw Hammerskins, and the American Guard. James is also a former member of the Ku-Klux-Klan.

This represents an escalation for the Philadelphia Proud Boys. Prior to the summer of 2020, Rehl refused to publicly identify himself as a Proud Boy, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2018 that a Proud Boys rally he organized was simply the members of a Facebook group, “Sports, Beer, and Politics.”

In the Spring of 2019, Rehl was among a group of Proud Boys, American Guard, and militia members who attempted to organize a string of violent rallies across the northeast, trading pictures of the weapons they planned to bring and the specific leftist activists they wished to assault at the rallies. However, the group was stymied when their chats were leaked and the members were doxxed, and the rallies were cancelled.

Amazon Van Burned

  • September 28, 2020 1:47 am

Submission

This week I set fire to an Amazon delivery van on Broad and Ellsworth. Reports of sabotage against Amazon are not reported by local news sources.

LAVA Broken Roof Fundraiser

  • September 28, 2020 1:07 am

From GoFundMe

The ongoing pandemic has greatly reduced our ability to raise money through events so we are beginning a monthly video series to help get the building together. Currently the roof, windows and walls leaking and it’ll take several thousand dollars to get it all sealed up.

Your donations will make sure that the space continues to host food and clothing distros as well as several radical community organizations that use office space at LAVA.

Check out the LAVA Broken Roof Sessions here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqveabKmLv_JpVIiO_Pfpw

[Donate Here]

Far-right Proud Boys march through Center City

  • September 27, 2020 1:13 am

from Mainstream Media

The alt-right Proud Boys conducted a march through Center City Saturday with nearly 60 participants, many wearing body armor and helmets, some waving American flags, and occasionally engaging in sharp verbal exchanges with onlookers.

They stopped in front of Independence Hall to sing The Star-Spangled Banner and then proceeded to City Hall, where they posed for a group photo, some displaying a white power sign with their fingers.

On the way there, they crossed paths without incident with the March to End Rape Culture, a protest to raise awareness about rape and express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Later, the Proud Boys chanted “Back the blue” as they made their way to a parking garage at Penn’s Landing, where police closed off access until members of the group drove off.

The action came a week after the Proud Boys were expected to rally in Clark Park, when instead about 500 counterprotesters showed up to the popular West Philadelphia site in a progressive, racially diverse neighborhood.

Social media posts claimed Proud Boys were present, but were disguised as journalists to gather information about leftist activists.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified the Proud Boys as a “general hate group.”

October anarchist bazaar and reading discussion

  • September 26, 2020 12:31 am

from Viscera

Enjoy some much-needed and rarely gotten face-to-face time with other anarchists on Saturday, October 3rd as we gather for a discussion of the essay Social War, Antisocial Tension by Josep Gardenyes.

When an old lady marches in a protest and imagines the street free of cars and full of gardens; when a young boy lights fire to a shopping center that he and his friends have filled with gas cans and imagines a forest growing out of the ruins; when a mother entertains the fantasy of conducting her own birthing with friends in a free community where her daughter will never know of prison, of marriage, of advertising that assaults her self-esteem, of pollution, of institutional education; when all those worlds flourish parallel to our own, we will be stronger than ever.

Find the whole text here

We’ll be meeting in Clark Park again, this time at the dog bowl – discussion starts at 1:15, come around 1 for social time. As usual, we’ll have some books and pamphlets for viewing and purchase.

Monday, 9/28: Reportback Mailing and Card-writing

  • September 25, 2020 1:07 am

from Philly ABC

rdtw-2020-reportback-zine

Join us this Monday, September 28th, at the north side of the dog bowl in Clark Park as we package and mail the Philly RDTW 2020 reportback to US-held political prisoners. Snacks and card-writing supplies are provided. We encourage people who want to discuss ideas on how to support political prisoners and prisoners of war to come hang out, and send some quick notes of solidarity to political prisoners with birthdays in September and October:

Philly Proud Boys Are Western Cowards and they Refused to Show Up For Their Own Rally

  • September 22, 2020 1:26 am

from Ida Vox

Sept. 19, 2020 – Proud Boys didn’t show to their rally in Clark Park, but we got Gritty!

It’s pretty much a joke at this point to say that if you put together a rally that brings out more opposition than you expected that you were not really coming out anyway. #ProudBoysLie

 

PHILADELPHIA – No one who came out to Clark Park Saturday could be sure that the neo-Fascist Proud Boys would actually come out for the rally they announced just a few weeks ago. The group has never shown a large degree of strength or support in the city, and they were attempting to hold an event in a park that many of those they say they hate regularly frequent. Indeed, a flyer announcing one group’s counter-protest against them indicated what they will do either if they came or if they did not.

In the end there was no Proud Boy rally, and the 500 residents of West Philadelphia who came out took the opportunity to enjoy each others’ company. This neighborhood is regarded as one of the most progressive, racially diverse neighborhoods in the city.

In addition, another rally organized by a group calling itself Italian American Patriots that was to be held at Marconi Park in South Philadelphia at the site of the Christopher Columbus statue two hours before the Clark Park rally was called off on Friday, organizers saying there was no need to hold the rally since everything regarding the fate of the statue is held up in court.

Originally, the Proud Boys announced a rally for Marconi Park next Saturday to coincide with the rally the group was holding in Portland, but many in the Philadelphia chapter may reportedly travel to Portland for that rally, changing plans. In fact they attempted to make their absence look like a planned thing all along saying that they never intended to rally at the park but wanted to be there to dox everyone that showed up. This account was played up on right wing websites and other media outlets, particularly in an a Gateway Pundit article written by Cassandra Fairbanks, a longtime associate in “alt-right” circles. A post on the Philadelphia Proud Boys Telegram account specifically noted otherwise. however. “Due to conflicts with the Portland Rally the event for the 26th has been moved to the 19th,” the post notes. “We need all available patriots to show up for the rally on the 19th, as we march into the Belly of the Beast to demand an end to them terrorizing our communities.”

Proud Boy supporters, including one on another telegram account, expressed their anger over the possibility that if this was indeed an attempt to prank people to come out to the park to oppose them, such a move put them at risk in what was expected to be a volatile situation for them. One supporter said he even went to the rally and left after not seeing any Proud Boys present. Indeed, two individuals in the crowd were identified as Proud Boy associates, and they quickly left.

In January 2019, the New Jersey European Heritage Association announced a rally in Princeton, NJ and when they failed to show, they too attempted to explain away their no-show by saying it was a prank of some sort.

Instead of confronting hatemongers, those who came out to the park heard speeches from community leaders and local politicians. “Clark Park remains a place where folks from all walks of life come to recreate and to convene and to just be,” City Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier, who represents the neighborhood, said to the crowd in a speech that addressed racial injustice. “If these Boys come here today, they’re going to go home to their miserable lives, but we will still have work to do.” Some attendees made the event a jovial one, bringing games and musical instruments, while many came out to remember those innocent Black men and women that were murdered by police across the country, with one group led by the Rev. Jeffrey Jordan of the Whomsoever Metropolitan Church presenting and installation called the “Last Word of the Unarmed.” where seven signs bearing the last words of Eric Garner, George Floyd and Elijah McClain. Breonna Taylor’s sign was marked with just quotation marks, noting how she might not have been able to speak before being shot and killed by police. Others simply appreciated the chance to meet people and forge relationships.

YouTuber Jame Klug with a sign he no longer posseses, and his partner, former Middle East Forum Communications Director Lisa Reynolds-Barbounis.

There were a few skirmishes, such as one person some said had a gun that was chased out of the park, and another with a right wing YouTuber from California named James Klug who was there carrying a sign declaring Donald Trump to not be a racist which prompted rally attendees to confront him snatch his sign and eventually eject him from the park to a nearby corner where he remained for the rest of the rally. He came with Lisa Reynolds-Barbounis who ran video for him and was also a part of the scuffle that ensued with the crowd. Reynolds-Barbounis was until August 2019, the Director of Communications for the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum (MEF), the Islamophobic organization founded by Daniel Pipes that promotes the idea that Muslims are a threat to Western civilization and is a major source of Islamophobic propaganda and false information about Muslims. In December, the MEF filed a lawsuit that is reportedly still pending against Reynolds-Barbounis alleging breach of contract, computer fraud and abuse charging further that she forwarded their proprietary information, trade secrets, donor lists and business relationships to an email account not associated with the organization.

Reynolds-Barbounis was working with the MEF when they worked to bring Steven Yaxley-Lennon, aka “Tommy Robinson” of the Islamophobic and neo-Fascist English Defence League (EDL), to the US to speak with congressional leaders. Similar to the Proud Boys, many leaders of the EDL has had associations with neo-Nazis including Yaxley-Lennon himself who was a member of British National Party. Reynolds-Barbounis has a link in her Twitter description to a Tommy Robinson-related website.

In addition to the Portland rally, the Proud Boys say they will rally in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 3

Meet Philadelphia Proud Boy Richard Schwetz, aka “PhillyDick” aka “Dick Sweats.”

  • September 22, 2020 1:23 am

from Twitter

Meet Philadelphia Proud Boy Richard Schwetz, aka “PhillyDick” aka “Dick Sweats.”
He was at the Proud Boys’ “rally” in West Philly on Saturday, threatening to dox protesters.
He works for @InovaPayroll in Reading, PA.
Hey, @InovaPayroll, why do you employ hate group members?
Saturday’s rally was a complete failure for the Philadelphia Proud Boys.
Only a handful of them showed up, compared with 400-500 protesters.
Richard was *pissed* and took to Twitter to make threats. idavox.com/index.php/2020/09…
On Twitter, Richard Schwetz makes threats to dox journalists and activists, and generally spreads racist propaganda.
Like all Proud Boys, he also hates trans people, using the hashtag “#TrannyLivesDontMatter.”
He’s also a homophobe, referring to antifascists as “antifags.”

On Telegram, he claims to be a 4th Degree Proud Boy, which requires that he attacked someone for the hate group.

If anyone from HR at @InovaPayroll is reading this, you can find more context on the Proud Boys here. huffpost.com/entry/proud-boy…
@RuthlessWe identified Richard back in June, but we never got confirmation that he was fired. [Twitter Thread Here]
If you’re a regular follower of mine, you know what’s coming next.
We contact @InovaPayroll to get this hate group member fired.
Given their feelings about the death of George Floyd, it seems strange that @InovaPayroll employs a hate group member. [Twitter Thread Here]
You can call @InovaPayroll‘s corporate office at 615-921-0600.

Ask to speak to Human Resources, and tell them about their employee Richard Schwetz, a member of the violent hate group the Proud Boys.

And if any Proud Boys are reading this right now– this is what happens when you come into our communities to spread your hate.
You come out to Portland on the 26th, you get identified and then we get you fired.
It’s as simple as that.
We don’t run crying to the cops or the courts.
Who protects us?
We protect us.
❤️????✊

Officials: Two Charged In Arson Of Philadelphia Police Patrol Car In Southwest Philadelphia

  • September 22, 2020 12:54 am

from Mainstream Media

Two suspects have been charged in the arson of a Philadelphia Police Department patrol car in Southwest Philadelphia early Sunday morning. Police say the vehicle was parked near the 12th Police District on the 2100 block of Simpson Street around 3:30 a.m.

Fire Marshals were called to extinguish the flames.

An investigation led to the arrest of two men who were found hiding on the front porch on the 2100 block of Simpson Street with a strong odor of gasoline coming from their clothing.

There were also clothes inside a crate at the location which matched the description of the video that was recovered from the crime.

The suspects were arrested and taken into custody.

Police say no one was injured during the incident.

History of the Proud Boys in Light of Their Upcoming Rally

  • September 18, 2020 1:35 am

from Twitter

On Saturday, September 19, 2020, the Philadelphia Proud Boys are holding a rally at 1:00 in Clark Park, in West Philadelphia. They timed it to disrupt the Uhuru Flea Market, a 20-year institution in West Philly. If you can, come out to counter it. tockify.com/idavox/detail/97…

Quick history lesson so we know what to expect– the last time the Philadelphia Proud Boys had a rally, in November 2018, their “Security” featured a collection of violent hate group members. See this screenshot from their leaked security chats featuring Alan Swinney.

Swinney’s in Portland at the moment, where he’s been rolling with Haley Adams’ crew of Proud Boy rejects. On August 22, after spraying protesters with mace and shooting them with a paintball gun, Swinney pulled a gun on the crowd. [Video Here]

Their head of security in November 2018 was Jerry Smith, an antisemite with militia ties. See this thread for more information. [Thread Here]

Zach Rehl, the President of the Philadelphia Proud Boys, told the papers at the time that no hate groups would be present. Zach was the President of the Philly Proud Boys at the time, and the papers credulously swallowed his lie.

The 2018 rally also brought out NYC Proud Boy David Kuriakose, who was fresh off of attacking protesters in Manhattan on 10/6/18. manhattanda.org/d-a-vance-an…

The rally was a failure, but Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zach Rehl continued to organized with Alan Swinney, attempting to plan string of violent rallies across the northeast for the summer of 2019. huffpost.com/entry/proud-boy…

Their planning chats were leaked to the @HuffPost, showing them trading pictures of the weapons they wanted to bring, and photos of the leftist activists they planned to assault, dubbing them “HVTs”– “High Value Targets.”


After the chats were leaked and the members were exposed, the rallies were cancelled, so the Philly Proud Boys decided to just start showing up at the homes of leftist activists, threatening @gwensnyderPHL in June 2019. [Thread Here]

You can read more about that incident here. thedailybeast.com/far-right-…

Since the outbreak of anti-police protests across the country, the Philadelphia Proud Boys have attempted to insert themselves into white reactionary vigilante patrols. [Thread Here]

The Philadelphia Proud Boys also have deep ties with the Philly police, as revealed by @KELLYWEILL in July. thedailybeast.com/the-distur…

The Proud Boys revel in misogyny and police violence. After I posted about police using sexual violence as a weapon against protesters, noting that I’d been punched by a cop after interrupting him, Zach Rehl posted “Couldn’t have happened to a bigger scumbag. #FuckAntifa”

In June, a mob of armed reactionaries showed up to attack protesters and journalists at the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza, in South Philadelphia. Instead of intervening, a police captain threatened a journalist with arrest. [Thread Here]

The Philadelphia Proud Boys immediately rallied to support the police, and forge ties with the new Italian-American vigilante gang, who dubbed themselves the “Gravy Seals.” [Thread Here]

Those same vigilantes are holding an event at 11:00 a.m. in Marconi Plaza, home of the Columbus statue, on September 19th. My sources expect that the Proud Boys will be there to recruit, and try to bring them to Clark Park at 1:00.

So if you can, come out to help us say no to hate in West Philadelphia at Clark Park on Saturday, September 19th. There will be families present, so we’re going to keep things as peaceful as we can, but the Proud Boys are a known violent hate group. tockify.com/idavox/detail/97…

If you can’t come join us on the ground, there’s still ways you can help! @raveneyes77 will be there live-streaming the event, so be sure to follow and share that stream and tell the world who the Proud Boys are– a violent, bootlicking hate group.

Who protects us? We protect us. And on Saturday, September 19th, we’ll be protecting our community in West Philadelphia from a violent hate group. Come join us. ❤️????✊ tockify.com/idavox/detail/97…

Quick Correction: The Uhuru Flea Market has been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, the Proud Boys event has interrupted the Farmers Market normally held on Saturdays in Clark Park. Statement from the organizers here. facebook.com/thefoodtrust/po…

ALERT! Proud Boys to Rally in Clark Park on Saturday 9/19/2020

  • September 16, 2020 1:47 am

from Philly Antifa

 

Wear a mask. Bring your friends. Defend your city.

We are not the organizers of the event (though some reporters and nazi bloggers will insist otherwise regardless) but stand in solidarity with the organizers and everyone coming out to let the Proud Boys know their “Klan 3.0” bullshit is not welcome.

Original Flyer that prompted the above Vigil being called:

 

This move by the Proud Boys (should they show up) is not only an escalation, but a transparent provocation. Remember that these groups are coordinating directly with Philly PD. Their collective goal is to assault, doxx, entrap, and falsify charges against anyone who stands against Fascism.

Forever Liberty, Solidarity, and Equality,

Defend West Philly!

  • September 15, 2020 1:37 pm

Submission

[Proud Boy fascists are coming
Defend West Philly

Proud Boys are a fraternal order of neo-fascists who glorify white supremacy, patriarchy, and authoritarian leaders like Trump. They are a violent far-right organization and they are targeting our neighborhood for a Saturday rally in “the belly of the beast”. Stand together with your neighbors to drown them out, shut them down, and kick them out!

This Saturday: September 19
Clark Park
12:00 PM
Bring noisemakers, shields, signs and all of your friends & comrades]

ALERTA! Proud Boys to Rally in Clark Park, West Philly same day as a Pro-Columbus Rally in Marconi Park, South Philly!

  • September 15, 2020 1:43 am

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

When: Saturday, September 19th, 2020 @ 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Where: Clark Park, 4300-4398 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

When a hate rally is pending, people like to tell folks to stay home and ignore it. But what if a violent hate group whose rallies are pretty much geared to be violent comes directly to you?

That’s what it looks like the Proud Boys are planning for the 19th. Originally they announced that they were going to hold a rally on the 26th in South Philadelphia in conjunction with the one Proud Boys are holding in Portland, Oregon, but now comes word that because of conflicts with the Portland rally (they want to be there) they are doing a rally the Saturday before in Clark Park in West Philadelphia. The timing and location of this rally is telling as hell – not to mention that they are calling it “Belly of the Beast 2020” and they “and other patriots” are going there “to demand an end to antifa terrorism.”

Normally this is the date and location of the Uhuru Flea Market, a regular thing that has been taking place for 20+ years in the park every third Saturday from April to October. The pandemic shutdown has caused such events to be canceled until at least Feb. 2021, but this is where a lot of West Philly locals who made it clear that they do not care for Proud Boys, in particular recently by causing a neighborhood bar and venue a lot of grief for supporting them, like to come regardless and take in the day, so Proud Boys want to have a go at them. The group is basically trying to pick fights all over the country, and the police chief that was giving them leeway in Portland for three years is now the Philadelphia Police Commissioner. That doesn’t mean that people will not be able to keep them from using their neighborhood as a playground for far-Right, pro-Trump violence. They are working to oppose them now.

 

Photo from the originally Uhuru Flea Market SOURCE: Twitter

And here’s where it gets interesting: Philadelphia Proud Boys have a rough go of it, pretty much being regulated to trash talk online, sneaking around IRL and latching onto other people’s events so they can do something worth a damn. But they think they have a little juice via the knuckleheads that were trying – in vain – to save the Columbus statue by physically attacking anyone that comes near it – which is actually the catalyst which has resulted in plans to take it down. So we expect them to show up two hours before this rally at another one in Marconi Park in South Philly. That’s a rally organized by an outfit calling itself “Italian American Patriots” that is still trying to save the now-boarded up Columbus statue. The 26th rally was touted as protecting Italian Heritage, but now that this event was announced, they might have decided to use this as cover – which means Philly has a full day.

This is just one of a few rallies the Proud Boys have planned over the next few months. In addition to the one in Portland, there will be one in Columbus, Ohio as well.

Running Down The Walls 2020 Reportback

  • September 15, 2020 1:04 am

from Philly ABC

We’re happy to report the success of our third annual Philadelphia Running Down The Walls in support of political prisoners, held on September 6th 2020.

On this beautiful sunny day, participants began gathering in FDR park to check-in for their t-shirts, make donations, set up tables, and hang banners. With a nice breeze coming off the lake, Sheena Sood led another amazing yoga warm-up – this time right on the boardwalk by the shore. Blak Rapp MADUSA with the Dignity Act Now Collective kicked off the event with an epic introduction to Maroon and his book, Maroon the Implacable.

Walkers left the start line around 11:30 am, followed by folks moving at a medium pace, and finally the runners around 11:50 am. Afterward, we gathered to hear from two former juvenile lifers who were mentored in prison by Maroon– Kempis “Ghani” Songster and Robert Saleem Holbrook. We were also blessed to have Chuck Africa – the last of the MOVE 9 to be released from prison – speak for the first time since he was paroled on February 7th of this year. Check out this video for highlights of these speeches.

We’d like to thank Solidarity Food Not Bombs, Mike Africa Jr., and Dadaji Odinga from Akbar Originals for refreshments. More big thanks to Hate5six, Unicorn Riot, and photographers Joe Piette and Clifford Smith for media coverage, and the campaign to free Mumia Abu-Jamal for the banners that decorated the stage area. It was a huge honor to have all of the remaining Move 9 participating in this event with us; they not only donated themselves, but provided an additional donation from the Move organization. It was also an honor that we were joined by former Black Liberation prisoner of war, Ojore Lutalo, a founding member of the ABCF. We would like to thank Saleem and Ghani for sharing their powerful experiences spending time with Maroon, and Chuck Africa for choosing our event as the outlet for his first speech back home. We thank the tablers – Socialist Rifle Association, Here & Now Zines, the Never Give Up project, Khalid with the political prisoner artwork, as well as the families of Eric Riddick and Omar Askia Ali. Of course, we also thank the comrades behind bars who ran with us, and the families of people in prison who came out.

Together we raised a total of $14,012! As described in the event announcement, funds are split between Russell Maroon Shoatz and the ABCF Warchest– a fund sending monthly stipends to 19 political prisoners with lacking, little, or no financial support. A full breakdown of Warchest funds in and out since 1994 is available here. In accordance with Warchest policies, any funds over the reserved amount needed to send the monthly stipends will be disbursed as one-time donations to other political prisoners who demonstrate financial need. Philly ABC contributed our organization’s savings to the production of the event t-shirts, lovingly hand-printed by the Reclaim Printshop.

We look forward to more successes in the next year as we further the struggle to free Maroon and abolish the carceral system!

Until all are free!
Philly ABC

Proud Boys Coming to West Philly Sept 19

  • September 14, 2020 1:20 am

Submission

Proud Boys are coming to West Philly on Saturday, September 19th, to hold a rally in “the belly of the beast.” A far-right neo-fascist organization, the Proud Boys are racist, anti-trans, anti-immigrant, explicitly colonialist, anti-Muslim, misogynist, and generally authoritarian, using street violence across the U.S. to impose their politics on the rest of us.

We intend to drive them out of our neighborhood.
We keep us safe.

Saturday 9/19
12PM
Clark Park