“We’ve Got No Choice”: Interview with Elise Gerhart of Camp White Pine

  • July 4, 2017 9:42 pm

from Unicorn Riot

Huntingdon County, PA – In May, Unicorn Riot visited Camp White Pine, a direct action encampment on the Gerhart family’s property in the hills of Huntingdon County, PA. Several tree-sits currently sit on the easement for the Mariner East 2 pipeline, where Sunoco has claimed eminent domain to build the pipeline against the property owner’s consent. Read our report here.

We spoke with Elise Gerhart for almost two hours about the history of her family’s property, their struggle against encroachment by Sunoco, and what she expects in the fight ahead. We also discussed regulatory corruption in Pennsylvania, law enforcement responses to pipeline resistance, and the implications for climate activism in the post-Standing Rock era.

Listen to the interview below (1 hr 38 mins) or click here to download

[Interview transcript below the cut]

Fake Event Mobilizes far-Right at Gettysburg; Militia Member Shoots Himself in Leg

  • July 3, 2017 10:18 pm

From It’s Going Down

In the last two weeks, Alt-Right trolls have attempted to replay the events in Houston, Texas in June, where using over the top threats from fake antifa groups on social media, they galvanized a ‘counter-protest’ from the militia movement.

Moreover, it turned out that the people behind the trolling where also raking in thousands of dollars off of crowdfunding for the ‘counter-demonstration’ which drew several hundred and led to infighting between militia members and neo-Nazis. Seems like the Right has a business plan! Make a fake antifa group, make over the top threats, and then crowd fund money off of people that want to protest it.

This time around, trolls using the page ‘Harrisburg Antifa’ alleged that antifascists would burn flags and urinate on the graves of Confederate soldiers. These outright lies were then picked up by the ‘journalists’ at Fox News and distributed as actual truth. This connection between Alt-Right trolls and Fox News is not new; just last week Fox reprinted an article written by a member of the Alt-Right who wrote a hit piece about IGD at HeatSt.com.

Interestingly enough however, in the lead up to the protest, Navy Jack, a mover and shaker within the far-Right Oath Keeper militia, called out the event as total make-believe in a tweet (see image on the top-right), which has since been deleted. Navy Jack also included the photos of the two people he believed were behind the fake event and called it #FakeNews.

Other members of the far-Right, such as Joe Biggs, who recently left InfoWars because of the #Pizzagate conspiracy, have stated publicly that the rise of such fake antifa accounts have hurt the far-Right who continues to take them seriously.

In an interview with USA Today, Central PA Antifa, who IGD interviewed last year, also rightfully called out the event as a complete and total fabrication:

Central PA Antifa, based in the greater Harrisburg area, is planning to participate in an anti-Trump demonstration in Philadelphia on Saturday, according to the email.

The email claimed the rumors about the Gettysburg protest stemmed from a fake Facebook page called “Harrisburg Antifa.”

“This page is not run by antifascists but by alt-right trolls attempting to discredit antifa, create confusion, and attempt to stir violence,” the email stated.

Furthermore, Antifa took exception to the allegation that they would be desecrating graves, especially in Gettysburg, “a site of great historical importance in the struggle of oppression,” the email said.

“That battle was a turning point in the war that eventually lead to the freeing of millions of slaves,” Central PA Antifa said. “The Confederacy and their ideology were dealt a resounding defeat at that battle, as fascism itself will one day be defeated by the will of all people to be free from oppression.”

The BBC also ironically pointed out:

There’s a problem: although there is a cemetery at Gettysburg, no Confederate graves at the site are marked by stones.

Alt-Lite trolls, general adult failures at life, and conspiracy theorists like Cassandra Fairbanks and Jack Posobiec did flip flops with the story. First, they promoted it as fact and then when it became clear it was a fake, they took to laughing at the mainstream media for picking up the story after they helped to get it off the ground. Hilariously though, it was Fox News that picked it up and ran with it after hearing about it from the grassroots far-Right, even as some local Fox affiliates backpedaled on the story.

But regardless of the lies, militia members and the far-Right still showed up to Gettysburg to protest the hoax created by Alt-Right trolls. During their ‘counter-rally’ however, a young militia member apparently shot themselves in the leg. 

According to One People’s Project:

The rumor that antifa were coming to Gettysburg National Military Park to desecrate Confederate monuments there turned out to be false, but that did not stop a group of militia members from coming out, standing guard and shooting themselves in the foot – or literally in their left thigh.

According to Pennlive, a 20-year-old “patriot” accidentally triggered the revolver he brought to the park, which was inside a leg holster, when he temporarily rested the bottom of his flag pole against the holster. Park police who were nearby when the shooting took place quickly applied a tourniquet, possibly saving his life.

The accidental discharge happened near four designated fenced areas for demonstrators. Many of the ‘patriots’, did not go into those areas immediately reportedly because their permit was suspended because of a brief rain, but instead marched around the perimeter. After the rain cleared, they were allowed in.

Later, as police were trying to unload the revolver, it went off a second time while visitors were nearby. Police say the gun was “bad” and they had a hard time getting the rounds out of the chamber. After they forced all of the rounds out of the revolver, they secured the gun.

As Alt-Right trolls peddle lies, mainstream and corporate media like Fox News feeds off of the manufactured frenzy, which in turn leads to far-Right militia groups mobilizing to ‘fight’ these fake threats. This cycle has become increasingly clear. People like Cassandra Fairbanks and Jack Posobiec lose credibility when independent investigative journalism expose the facade. It is important that our movements continue to support, fund and defend such liberatory efforts.

Moreover, it was the far-Right, not anarchists and antifascists, which called for violence in the lead up to the demonstration and in the end, shot themselves with a gun and put people in the general area of Gettysburg in danger. This is the kind of reckless behavior they accuse our movement of engaging in all of the time, yet it is the far-Right which is creating a climate of violence, fear, and threats of bodily harm.

The far-Right has a symbiotic relationship with the State, the mass media, and is built on a foundation of dis-information and relationships of violence. In an attempt to get ratings they sow rotten seeds amongst the public, crowdfund off each other and peddle their rhetoric to anyone simple enough to be played. The joke is on them this time. Reap what you sow and maybe you’ll just end up shooting yourself in the leg.

 

Fighting Pipelines and Displacement with Camp White Pine

  • June 26, 2017 1:14 pm

from It’s Going Down

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What would you do if your family’s home was threatened by eminent domain to make way for a pipeline of fracked gas? Would you roll over? Give up? Take the money and run? Or would you stand and fight?

This interview, with Camp White Pine, details how one family in Pennsylvania stood up to a pipeline which is threatening to not only evict them from their home, but also build a pipeline which would pollute watersheds and ecosystems in the local area. From their Facebook page:

With construction season upon us, Camp White Pine is digging in our heels to fight the Mariner East 2 pipeline in the Susquehanna Valley of so-called Central PA on occupied Shawnee, Lenape, and Susquehannock Territories.

The Mariner East 2 is a 350+ mile long Sunoco pipeline project, comprised of two new pipelines starting in southeastern Ohio, and running through northern West Virginia and across the length of Pennsylvania. These lines will carry natural gas liquids (NGLs) like butane, ethane, and propane to an export facility along the Delaware River in Marcus Hook, PA.

Resistance to the Mariner East 2 is spreading, with impacted residents and organizers working in communities all along the proposed route. Sunoco Logistics has no regard for the beauty of Appalachia, the preservation of its diverse ecosystems and the safety of the people who live here.

We also discuss the harassment, threats, and attacks that both law enforcement and corporations have leveled against those who are standing up for themselves, as well as the connections between the #NoDAPL struggle and ongoing pipeline battles happening across the US.

More Info: Bail Fund Donate Here, Camp White Pine Facebook

Harrisburg, PA: Reportback and Analysis of June 10th Counter-Demo

  • June 20, 2017 2:02 am

from It’s Going Down

On June 10th, ACT for America held anti-Muslim rallies across the country. They were assisted by American Vanguard, a white-supremacist fascist group, and the Oathkeepers, a hyper-masculine organization of former military and police officers. One of the rallies was held in Harrisburg, PA, where they were joined by the ultra-racist Keystone Skins. In an effort to create a strong counter-presence a call was put out to activists in the region to join Harrisburg comrades in shutting them down. We were among many who answered.

As anarchists, we firmly believe in self-criticism and learning lessons from every action. This is our attempt to do so.

Leading up to the day of the action, we had concerns about what we perceived as some organizers’ peace-policing discussions of militant tactics. We did not gain a complete understanding of their concerns, and felt that ours were not fully heard. Arranging a spokes council well in advance would have prevented much of the resulting tension in both preparation and execution, and provided clarity in terms of goals, contingency plans, support for autonomous actions, diversity of tactics, etc.

A spokes council, when properly implemented, is distinguishable from representative councils: the spokes (individuals comprising the spokes council) constantly rotate, must closely follow the affinity groups’ mandates, can be immediately recalled, and any decisions are non-binding. This provides a method for organizing the decision-making process of a large group while preserving the autonomy of all involved. A spokes council can help level the field of communication, so that everyone’s voice is heard, most importantly those of folks who are too often silenced, i.e.: women, people of color, lgbtqia+.

Decisions can be made using consensus, and agreements and understandings can be efficiently communicated from each crew to the spokes council and vice versa. Groups voluntarily opt in or out, and have time to speak amongst themselves to determine the nature of their relationship to the spokes council. Moreover, a spokes council provides the opportunity for people from different crews to establish personal connections, and potentially boost confidence in the strangers they will stand with as comrades on the day of the action.

For the action in Harrisburg, the spokes council would have been talking on a regular basis, met the night before and morning of, and been ready to meet quickly when necessary during the action itself. Instead, there was an attempt to make critical decisions among 40-60 people. While full participation in decision-making can function on the ground, with the lack of clarity between groups leading up to the action and with cops and fash looking to pick a fight, it proved ineffective.

The Action

Our crew plus one person from Harrisburg arrived at the meet-up spot at the designated time already bloced up. It took the rest of the day’s main organizers and crews over an hour to arrive, during which time we were scouted by both fash and cops. This put us at a severe disadvantage and deflated the morale of those who had waited around for so long.

Once more people arrived, a decision was made to move the group to a location that was not clearly communicated and to which several individuals and crews had severe misgivings, leading to further lack of confidence in some of the local organizers. A few crews even de-bloced and considered leaving town, and then re-bloced once we decided to take to the streets. That said, at least one of the local organizers was attentive and responsive to outside concerns, and did their best to relay messages to the other local organizers. We had established a rapport with them weeks prior, vibed well, and felt comfortable looking to them in times of critical decision-making, which speaks to the need for good inter-regional communication before an action. Unfortunately, other organizers appeared to drown them out and dismiss them, which not only hampered confidence but, in our eyes, actually led to harmful chaos.

Upon arrival at the capitol, it was clear we had arrived well after the fash and pigs, whose occupation of the capitol steps was reinforced by armed paramilitary, police barricades and mounties (pigs on horseback). For our movement to succeed we must constantly evaluate the situation on the ground and ensure we dictate the terms of success. The goal was immediately changed from stopping the march (which was clearly not going to happen) to preventing fash from approaching the rallying point and drowning out their chants. Crews continued to arrive, bringing noisemakers and other supplies. Fash continued to arrive, too, albeit in meager numbers, and when some people within the bloc attempted to hold the line as they approached, others did not, and they were able to break through easily, assisted by the pigs, who came armed with rubber bullets, smoke grenades launchers, and zip-ties.

Around this point, some crews left and de-bloced. While some returned, others did not. Organizers had continuously called for the bloc to “tighten up” so we could somehow reach consensus as a full bloc. This was clearly not working, and some of us recommended the creation of a spokes. An ad-hoc spokes was assembled, in which not all crews were represented, some individuals attempted to function as an actual spokes, a few attempted to dominate the conversation, and others seemed unsure of how to operate within that environment.

Amidst this spokes reevaluation, a peace-police antagonizer came into the bloc and began yelling incoherent nonsense. Rather than removing him, pigs arrested a person of color who was standing close by, and the bloc did nothing to stop it. We attribute this arrest to disorganization and miscommunication, and need to figure out how to avoid situations like this in the future: how to neutralize rogue antagonizers while protecting and maintaining the bloc.

Eventually, the spokes decided we should leave the location and begin a march as a way of coopting the fash’s plan and create an anti-racist march.

The march was immediately pursued by mounties, police on foot, and several police vehicles. In an attempt to outpace the pigs, the “leaders” of the march kept a fast pace, which was dangerous for several reasons. First and foremost, it was ableist—some who may have wanted to participate couldn’t. Second, it risked spreading the bloc thin. Luckily several individuals ensured this did not happen. We began to feel much more confident, forming lines in the street and pushing through aggressive mounties who tried to penetrate, reroute, and divide the bloc. We dictated the terms of the march and cut off police interference. A local civilian joined the march and suggested a densely populated public destination, and we marched there effectively.

Once we’d passed this location, the mounties became much more aggressive, charging the bloc in an effort to remove us from the street. Shit was going south. As we weighed separating from the bloc and some of us even began to so do, pigs started to make arrests and we were cut off.

After de-blocing, regrouping, and meeting up with others, we observed several roaming bands of Proud Boys (who appeared young and weak) walking the streets looking for members of Antifa to fight. Groups of pigs did the same, clearly in coordination with fash and also in pursuit of Antifa, stashed gear or perhaps even cars that looked out of place. Nonetheless, several members of different Antifa crews beat the shit out of a few Proud Boys with their own weapons (they later complained about their wounds, using social media to request safe spaces to spout their hatred).

Lessons

1) There should always be a secure and comprehensive scouting plan before any action, but especially a large-scale action. This includes leading up to and day of. We need to ensure that we have a complete understanding of the terrain: potential locations where we can demonstrate our power, choke points, escape routes, etc. This must be done carefully and thoroughly.

2) The host crew and folks coming from abroad must be clear about where they stand, what they are willing to do, goals, and contingency plans. Clear communication is key always, and every effort must be made to listen to anyone who expresses concerns during planning. This is crucial when working with others as it ensures that people know they are being heard, and helps everyone to work as a more cohesive unit.

3) As a movement, we need to be more creative with our tactics. The fash and pigs have become accustomed to bloc strategies in these types of scenarios. In order to win we need to think about other ways to take them on.

Conclusion

We were able to enact an effective noise-making counter-demonstration, drowning out the fash’s pathetic chants and renditions of “God Bless America,” or whatever. We were then able to take the streets, creating decent optics by staying tight, chanting in unison, and maintaining the bloc through an extensive route in downtown Harrisburg. And, after the bloc dissipated, folks were able to de-bloc and make some fash regret leaving their keyboards. All of these elements of the action could’ve been improved with better communication and planning, and in the future, as we make a more concerted effort to do so, we must take into consideration lessons from the June 10th action in Harrisburg.

P.S.: Remember, horses are our friends, and even though they can be scary they don’t want to be involved in our oppression any more than we do. They are frightened in those moments, and will often defy their masters when the heat is on.

Crossing Paths on a New Terrain: Militant Leftism, Antifascist Struggle, and Insurrection Under Trump

  • May 25, 2017 11:47 am

Submission
This text is in part a reply to the “Drinking From the Cup of Fascist Tears: Boston Report Back” but is generally meant to be respond to the shifting political terrain since Trump won the election in November of 2016. All unattributed quotes are from the Boston Report Back.

The social terrain been changing in Philadelphia. For the last half a year, since Trump’s election campaign through to his current presidency, I’ve seen more and different types of opposition to the political system. This opposition takes many forms; an increase in the popularity of anti-fascist organizing, a re-emergence of black blocs within larger demonstrations and as their own demonstrations, and a broadening of progressive ideology to include revolutionary perspectives in the face of the Trump administration. This change of terrain has me both excited and worried.

An influx of leftist organizations and groupings has me nervous. Since November, I’ve found myself in the street running alongside leftist militants more than I have since 2012. I’m not interested in changing minds or offering the “truth”, instead, I’m interested in clearing up some misconceptions and clarifying the positions of some anarchists in Philly. This way when tensions arise between insurrectionary and leftist perspectives, when we inevitably step on each other’s toes (as must happen when paths cross, as opposed to run parallel), they can be understood for what they are, differences in approach, perspective, and trajectory.

New Energy and Practices
With the arrival of militant leftists willing to take conflictual action, the space to act and experiment has expanded and changed. For some time insurrectionary anarchists have dismissed most marches and demonstrations, jaded and bitter, after too many bad experiences with activists (despite their often fiery rhetoric). Every now and then some of us would attend a march or rally, but for the most part those places felt unwelcoming. Seeing so many people taking to the street in black has been exciting. The spread of anonymous attendance, material preparedness, and uncompromising messaging is appealing to say the least, not to mention that many within these blocs are not showing up empty handed. Many of us are trickling back into the streets, once again donning our black masks, excited to see what new potential exists for us on this new terrain.

The spokes councils and other open ended forums that have sprung up mesh well with our informal and affinity based approach. They provide space to share information and coordinate action without taking away individual or group autonomy, or becoming decision-making bodies, that aim to steer the entirety of an action.

These changes are exciting, the space and energy have made more things feel possible. They have created more lines along which solidarity can be shown, and also more tensions between political tendencies that can hopefully complement each other rather than detract from the overall struggle against this miserable world.

Philly Before Trump
Anarchist and anti-fascist struggle here has not always looked like it does today. For a long time progressive and revolutionary forms of struggle took different and less militant forms, with Trump around this has changed, insurrectionary anarchists have and most likely will continue to share the streets and take similar action with progressive and revolutionary leftists. However things were happening before Trump. I’d like to clear up some generalizations that don’t take into account how things have been.

“In Philly, blocs work closely in a sphere of mutual respect with local Left organizations to make sure that everyone is on the same page when actions combine the interests of multiple groups.”
The statement that Philly black blocs work closely and in a sphere of mutual respect with left organizations erases years of activity in Philadelphia. Black bloc is a tactic, not a group. No political tendency has a monopoly on it, nor can it be spoken for as though it was a formal group. It might look like black blocs have mutual respect for the left if we only look at blocs that have taken place since Donald Trump’s election, but even then when we squint we see blocs that don’t fit that narrative. The recent past has seen more black blocs within larger demonstrations, or as demonstrations of their own, many of these have been organized in coordination with left groups, but again not all. When looking into the past one can see the use of black bloc being upsetting to leftists. Whether organizing autonomous blocs to clash with police and disrupt civil society in solidarity with rebels in Ferguson in 2014, or the various attempts to escalate conflict during more Black Lives Matter protests than we care to count, to organizing against prisons as part of the nation-wide prison strike, to attacking police and business from within recent anti-Trump and anti-fascist protests, use of black bloc has mostly received mixed reviews until recently. This may be because for many insurrectionary anarchists, the black bloc was never meant to be a symbolic or spectacular display. For most of us black bloc is a way to hide our identities while we engage in forms of struggle we expect will bring about repression from the state or other groups intent on protecting the social order. Black bloc is a tactic we use to further our goals, not a representation of struggle we sacrifice and delay our desires for.

“Philly anti-fascist groups have moderated our own political urgencies to smash fascists and the state for the sake of building these relationships due to the advantages that strategic alliances with sympathetic noncombatants can provide.”
The above statement (like the one about black blocs in Philly) skips over the anti-fascist and anti-state activity here that has, and continues to take, an uncompromising position. The injured fascists, the damaged cars, the doxxing, and the hours of research were not the results of moderation. Before Trump won the election, a lot of anti-fascist activity here took place in a less spectacular context. White supremacists were confronted by occasional demonstrations, like Lief Erikson day for example, but mostly a less visible opposition did the job. Efforts to expose, sabotage, or otherwise disrupt fascist organizing were uncompromising whenever they could be. Potential alliances were not dismissed completely, but the times when they were prioritized over directly striking at white supremacy left us feeling disappointed.

Watering Down Of Struggle
It’s not hard to find someone opposed to neo-nazis; only the most conflict avoidant liberals wring their hands when a self-described white supremacist gets punched in the face. It’s harder to come across people who are in opposition to society and all the racist trappings that hold it together: work, police, gender, colonialism, government, prisons, etc. While not so distant memory reminds me that whole cities burned in response to unexceptional policing, and that prisoners across the country attempted to destroy the prisoner labor economy, it leaves me concerned to see the so much of the struggle against white supremacy retreat into a defensive one focused on a specific administration and a specific brand of overt racism. For me it’s not enough to want to defend myself and my friends from Trump and the white supremacists he has emboldened, I need to struggle against the society, the civilization, that created them. To sound cliche, radical for me means grabbing a hold of problems by the root.

I’m worried that the new wave of antifa oriented struggle will leave behind the wider fight against white supremacy, and the state (which necessarily includes anti-fascism anyway). While as an anarchist I am against the existence of fascism and fascists, I am also convinced that white supremacy and authoritarianism are much more powerful and popular in the form of the state and society. Police and snitches are a much bigger threat to my existence than self-described white supremacists or nationalists. I’m not going to dismiss them as non-enemies (I’ve connected a pole to a skull, a rock to a racist, surely not for the last time). The rioting across the U$A against police and race (aka anti-blackness, aka white supremacy aka…) was more interesting to me than the more narrow, “most common denominator” focus on overt and/or self-described white supremacists. Additionally, these riots confronted many of the same white supremacists, while continuing to fight forward on their own terms. Angry crowds confronted Oath Keepers, right-wing militias, and other organized racists bent on policing the joyful chaos, without having to seek them out or deviate too far from their attack on society at large. The antifa struggle seems to be an entirely defensive one, focusing only on the most socially unpopular forms of white supremacy while leaving the rest of society mostly unchallenged. As a defensive struggle it doesn’t push toward an anarchic unknown, but toward a moment that many can agree was better, the moment before Trump’s election, or the moment before he ran for office, as though he didn’t emerge from a racist society that will continue to exist for as long as we do not to destroy it, whether he remains in office or not.

Hierarchy Rears Its Head
“Would-be bloc participants need organizers to let them know how they’re going to win the day rather than resigning themselves to a loss.”
“Boston bloc leaders…”
“…our troops…”
“Being a militant vanguard against the fascist tide means simultaneously moderating two fronts – the enemy front, against which we must stand strong and push hard – and the allied front, to which we must stay close enough to encourage support for our militancy.”
I am against hierarchy. I don’t want to lead or be led. I want to organize with friends, not organize “the struggle”. It’s up to each individual to make their own path, without coercion or outside authority. Being against hierarchy means being against any sort of vanguard, bloc leaders, or acquiescence to being someone’s troop. Everyone who attends an action or demonstration has their own idea of what winning the day is (let’s not even get into a critique of the idea of winning). No one needs an organizer to tell them how to win, since there are at as least many ways to win as there are people present. The notion that someone needs an organizer to let them know how to win, is paternalistic at best and authoritarian at worst, it assumes that individuals can’t make their own agenda of how they want to struggle, that it’s possible for an action feel like a victory to everyone.

My Idea Of Freedom
“Anarchy cannot exist when individuals or social groups are dominated — whether that domination is facilitated and enforced by outside forces or by their own organization.”
Post-Left Anarchy: Leaving the Left Behind
As insurrectionary anarchists our goal is insurrection, this much should be obvious. What that means is less simple and will differ from person to person. Broadly it can mean we are interested in moments of rising up against authority and social relations of domination. Some of us include revolution in this trajectory, many of us do not. Revolt is its own reward. Each of our experimentations with insurrection look different, for some it tends toward the personal, individual pursuit of fulfilling anti-authoritarian desire, for others it tends to be a social and even communal path, shared with others in revolt against this world.

I organize with others informally, along lines of affinity. This means I don’t try to build mass organizations tasked with taking on every aspect of struggle, instead I act with others to accomplish specific tasks without forming a permanent organization. This informal organizations are made up of people who feel drawn to both each other and the group’s intended project.

I’m not against working with leftists when our paths run parallel, I don’t expect a pure struggle of only isolated anarchists. I decide who I act with based on the affinity I feel toward someone. As any two people get to know each other, the appeal of doing certain things together goes up or down. The deepening of affinity — through conversations, shared experiences — can lead to taking action together. I’m open to working with anyone whose long, medium, or short term goals line up with mine, whether leftist, anarchist, or otherwise.

“What organization are you in?” “What group is doing this?” These questions and others like them point toward the sometimes confusing nature of an informal approach. Informal means not building membership organizations, instead coming together around specific projects (writing a text, planning a demonstration, carrying out an attack, etc) then disbanding. An informal organization exists for only as long as it takes to complete a project or until it is abandoned. There’s no membership lists, whoever takes part is in. Permanent organizations get bogged down by the task of maintaining themselves, are more susceptible to repression, and tend toward bureaucracy.

I am for the attack. I don’t believe the powers that be will step down, and I can’t just walk away from society. As anarchists there are so many aspects of this world that we are against, what better way to get rid of them than to strike at them? Besides the material damages, attacking heals the attacker, reminds them that they’re not completely domesticated, allows them to leave behind the obedience and compromise of daily life, and sharpens their daggers for when they find ourselves in larger revolts.

I am for revolt pointing toward rupture with society, not revolt as a means of social progression. I don’t believe that progress is good, or that things are getting better over time. Rupture means as complete a break with the existing order as possible, whether for a minute or a month, alone or across the whole city. There’s no clear path toward it, only constantly experimentation with what might bring it about. Some believe that when ruptures are taking place closer and closer to each other in both time and space, this can lead to revolution. Others feel that rupture is a good time in itself and needs no justification.

Philly, Spring 2017

Anathema Volume 3 Issue 4

  • May 24, 2017 2:53 pm

from Anathema

Volume 3 Issue 4 (PDF for printing 11 x 17)

Volume 3 Issue 4 (PDF for reading 8.5 x 11)

In this issue:

  • An Anarchist Response to Anti-Gentrification Attacks in Philly on May Day
  • Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners
  • Krasner Wins Primary
  • What Went Down
  • March for Immigrants
  • Philly Anarchists Fuck Up Gentrification on May Day
  • Why Did Anarchists Destroy Downtown Olympia?
  • Violence Exposed at Local Fraternity
  • In Reply to the Science March
  • Delaware May Murder Again
  • We Will Not Win
  • Health is in You
  • Pure Black: an Emerging Consensus Among Comrades?

Drinking From the Cup of Fascist Tears: Boston Report Back

  • May 15, 2017 11:09 pm

from It’s Going Down

A crew from Philadelphia made the long drive north on Friday night to support the efforts of Boston anti-fascists to disrupt the “Free Speech Rally” held by a coalition of fascists including Gavin McInnes’ Proud Boys on Saturday, May 13. The disruptive counter-protest held a solid defensive bloc on the ridge above the fascists, maintained strong unified energy among all participants, protected against attempts by fash to infiltrate and instigate, and ultimately won the day by being stronger, louder and better-organized. In order to bolster the strategic and tactical efforts of anti-fascists everywhere to fight against the growing tide of ethno-nationalism, Philly offers this analysis of what went right in Boston and how groups around the country can learn from what went down.

When we arrived, settled in and got to planning, it became clear that the bloc would be outnumbered by a factor of at least four or five to one. Fascists were expected to draw about 100 people from paramilitary Oath Keepers groups, Proud Boys, and whatever white nationalist filth answered the call. A Daily Stormer post confirmed their intention to have “a popular front to drive the communists out of the public space…for actual free political discourse to take place,” indicating attempts at aggression. Hopeful estimates of 30 and realistic estimates of 20 total were expected to show up in bloc against this incursion.

Self-crit is important if we want to do better, and if more people aren’t showing up to bloc when a 100-strong fascist group shows up to rally in public, then we need to ask ourselves as Left organizers on how we might be able to improve. Things like flyering beforehand could have improved our numbers. Also, developing realistic win conditions by planning to use appropriate tactics based on our numbers and capacity is vital if we want to keep the morale of our troops high going into a fight.

“This is the lesson we learned from Berkeley: We must be organized and maintain tight, tactical blocs if we’re outnumbered either by cops or fash, and we must control the terms of engagement so we don’t have to needlessly sacrifice ourselves in order to win.”

Would-be bloc participants need organizers to let them know how they’re going to win the day rather than resigning themselves to a loss. If one tactic will lose in its sphere of impact, choose different tactics to win within different spheres of impact. If we don’t find ways to control the narrative and win on our own terms, the fash will become emboldened to hold “free speech rallies” elsewhere in the country to spew their far-Right, white nationalist hate-mongering. This is the lesson we learned from Berkeley: We must be organized and maintain tight, tactical blocs if we’re outnumbered either by cops or fash, and we must control the terms of engagement so we don’t have to needlessly sacrifice ourselves in order to win.

Philly had come well-prepared to throw down against a large group of fascists. We had 16 shields and multiple other items – flags, poles and flares – ready to be deployed as force multipliers in a defensive line and provide impressive optics to steal their thunder. Several suggestions to turn our reduced numbers into a win for the broader antifascist narrative were offered, including deployment of shields and poles and other suggestions of potentially dubious legality. However, we understood that we were guests on Boston’s turf and that they should guide the overall look and feel of the action. So, after deliberation about potential strategic collaboration and gathering information on Boston’s plans, Philly decided to hold off on joining their bloc based on our own situational analysis, instead promising to contribute in our own way.

Our affinity group showed up unbloced at Boston Common at about 9:30am and did recon posing as normies to get a sense for terrain, numbers, and political affinities and relationships. We saw about eight people in bloc stationed at the bottom of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument hill, while 20 or so Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Socialist Alternative (SAlt) were at the top of the hill and growing. We interviewed a member of Socialist Alternative and asked about the bloc, getting the sense that it was not welcome by the folks at the top of the hill. Meanwhile, about 30 or 40 fash were at the Bandstand about 300 feet to the east, also growing. Those in bloc began yelling at the fash, calling them racists etc. This drew them into a battle line, mostly comprised of “Based stickmen,” American and Kekistan flags, and shield bearers – and they started shouting back.

At this point, we became concerned for our comrades’ safety. The most pressing tactical consideration we determined at that moment was that the bloc needed to use the cover of the liberal socialists to protect themselves and bolster their numbers, but they weren’t standing in solidarity together. Being a militant vanguard against the fascist tide means simultaneously moderating two fronts – the enemy front, against which we must stand strong and push hard – and the allied front, to which we must stay close enough to encourage support for our militancy.

We monitored the shouting match for signs of escalation and soon determined that the fash were a low-energy group with multiple internal fractures despite their numbers. Police presence was minimal and non-threatening, so we decided to bloc up and join our comrades despite being outnumbered.

First, we gathered about 15 flags in a trash bag – simple blackout cloth stapled to 2-foot 2” by 2”s – and approached the monument in our normie clothes to drop them off. However, we were told by liberal organizers that we had to leave. We explained that we weren’t interested in messing with them or endangering their people and were only interested in doing our own thing. We stressed that we were committed to using our flags to support a defensive formation and making sure things didn’t get out of hand. This was apparently the first that these organizers had heard of the bloc plans, and basic outreach proactively addressing their safety concerns had a positive impact on their attitude and willingness to go along with us.

“This fosters trust that while we may be militant ourselves as a bloc, we will not put comrades unwilling to throw down at needless risk.”

In Philly, blocs work closely in a sphere of mutual respect with local Left organizations to make sure that everyone is on the same page when actions combine the interests of multiple groups. This fosters trust that while we may be militant ourselves as a bloc, we will not put comrades unwilling to throw down at needless risk. Philly anti-fascist groups have moderated our own political urgencies to smash fascists and the state for the sake of building these relationships due to the advantages that strategic alliances with sympathetic noncombatants can provide. We encourage this attitude among antifa-affiliated mass orgs around the country. Also, within even the most liberal Left-leaning groups, there are always folks willing to be in bloc. Maybe they joined SAlt or whatever else because they wanted to make a real difference, and didn’t know how to get in touch with other people doing more direct actions. Unless we maintain good relationships with other organizations, these comrades will never find their way to join us and will never have the chance to develop their own politics of Left militancy, and our ranks will never grow.

At this point, socialists on top of the hill had swelled to 50 or so, and more radical Leftists seemed to be showing up to join them. The bloc was about 10 strong at the bottom of the hill, stationed at the footpath splitting the Bandstand and the Monument. Philly showed up in full bloc, and we brought the party and the noise.

We stationed ourselves at the middle of the hill to gain the higher ground as well as try to close the gap between the liberals and the bloc. We joined in with chants led by the socialists, getting hype, dancing and going hoarse, emphasizing with our raised voices and body language that in this instance, we were in full solidarity. This visceral show of support across common ideological barriers reduced tensions and made it clear that even though antifa often acts like we’re cool as shit (and let’s be honest, we are), we are not too cool to party with SAlt or DSA when the situation warrants it. Because our victory conditions did not require militantly approaching and confronting the fash, nothing we were prepared to do would rub these liberal socialist groups the wrong way, and our defensive stance was appreciated. This drew the rest of the bloc toward us, and things progressed from there.

At about 10:30am, Boston bloc leaders made the strong and ideologically effective decision to elevate non-men voices by going into the socialists’ ranks to find some who wanted to stand with the bloc. It can’t be emphasized enough: this was some good-ass praxis, and every organizer should learn from it. This tactic helped folks build a space where everyone felt comfortable to take defensive militant action. It doubled our numbers and formed a link between the bloc and the socialists. We then had enough people to hand out fliers to interested passersby and explain what we were doing, while still maintaining an impressive presence. Philly then got our bag of flags and distributed them to the newcomers. Popularizing revolt can be as simple as bringing someone to the front and handing them a flag (aka whacking stick) and a mask.

The Proud Boys began sending instigators into our ranks to try to provoke fights, but we were ready for them. Police presence began to ramp up with about 4 bike cops on either side, mounted cops patrolling with the fash, and motorcycle cops with zip ties at the far end of the Common. Philly took the lead and organized block participants into a defensive line further up the hill to prevent any attempts at kettling. We worked with Boston to station lookouts on either side for fash/cops trying to flank our position. Meanwhile, the bloc had reached a critical mass point whereby it continued to slowly swell. While taking advantage of the relentless chanting tactics that the DSA/SAlt employed to keep our morale boosted, we charged in small swarms to repel the instigators as they approached, making it clear that we would stomp their fucking faces if they tried anything – or allowing our numbers, organization and body language to nonverbally convey that message.

“The character of the so-called free speech ralliers thus showed itself for any onlookers to be hypocritical trash. They’re bullies who cry about free speech until the conversation doesn’t go their way, then they seek out the most vulnerable dissenters to physically intimidate and assault.”

By and large, instigators were 4chan/Reddit keyboard warriors – cowards unsuited for actual confrontation. They soon retreated, and folks in bloc returned to holding the line. Oath Keepers and overt white nationalists seemed bored by the keyboard warriors’ antics and remained deployed around the bandstand, not offering them any assistance. Police presence was such that we didn’t have the numbers to approach them and test those waters. It was clear from their body language that the cops were protecting the fascists, and chants to that effect – “Cops Protect Nazis!” – started up. At one point, after one Proud Boy took his aggression out on a random 13-year-old child and was subsequently detained, a larger group of fash seemed like they were going to charge the hill. Our bloc made an impressive line, holding flagpoles horizontally to repel as a unit, and they decided to back off. Another Proud Boy later punched a teen-aged femme within the bloc, and when our bloc member tried to defend themselves, both were arrested. The character of the so-called free speech ralliers thus showed itself for any onlookers to be hypocritical trash. They’re bullies who cry about free speech until the conversation doesn’t go their way, then they seek out the most vulnerable dissenters to physically intimidate and assault.

 

As the action wound down, comrades thanked the Philly contingent and expressed interest in our organization as well as working with us again. Militancy means energy, and as long as they feel protected rather than threatened by our presence, people will feed off our militancy rather than tell us to go away. The difference between a feeling of protection and a feeling of threat is communication – fostering the sense that we are on the same page. While ideological disagreements are important to hash out at times, we must also be a unified Left Front when it comes to fighting against large numbers of fash taking to the commons. Coalition-building beats out adventurism every time, especially in cases of uneven numbers.

“Militancy means energy, and as long as they feel protected rather than threatened by our presence, people will feed off our militancy rather than tell us to go away.”

We won the day this weekend – but it won’t always be this easy. We ended on a high note and then dispersed. The fash milled about the hill and the rest of the Common after, unsure of what to do beyond taking selfies and posting on social media. They were aiming for another Berkeley – an opportunity and excuse to catch us out, beat us up, instigate a brawl, and lead to our mass arrest, unmasking and doxing – and we denied them that opportunity. They looked like a bunch of strange, sad folks all day. Philly’s organization on the fly as well as Boston’s follow-through, combined with disarray among the Right, gave them the loss instead. We got videos of them attacking children, and we disrupted their event. The Alt-Right bemoaned on /pol/ being “humiliated”.

We drink deeply of fascist tears.

18403579_1783944101920877_787782734523836263_n.jpg

But our enemies are getting more organized all the time. The fact that they were able to have this event at all should be considered a partial failure among Left organizers. While Boston didn’t give them much of a platform, they were able to take the streets at the end of their disrupted rally, which must be prevented in the future. We must aim to be able to shut this shit down before it starts. But we didn’t have the numbers to actively confront a mass of trained right-wing militia at this time, so we had to frame our victory to be achievable and based on conditions on the ground. And we did. We accomplished what we sought out to achieve.

Our ultimate goal is building blocs strong enough to smash the State, and achieve liberation for a unified, multi-racial, multi-gendered, militant working-class. But first, we have to grow and build unity. As hip-hop artist Ab Soul said in the song, Terrorist Threats, “If all the gangs in the world unified, we’d stand a chance against the military tonight.”

“ours will be a five, ten year struggle at least, and we must think long-term, stay strong, be smart, build coalitions and alternative economic models to support our work, expand political education and class consciousness…”

That work is ongoing and must be pursued on multiple fronts. Ethno-nationalist fascists will only get more organized as the Right consolidates its power in government and rolls out an increasingly draconian police state that preys upon the most vulnerable populations – disabled, immigrants, women, people of color, trans folks and other LGBT people, etc.

All indications are that it will get worse before it gets better. Realistically, ours will be a five, ten year struggle at least, and we must think long-term, stay strong, be smart, build coalitions and alternative economic models to support our work, expand political education and class consciousness, keep training, grow our forces, and continue thinking up new tactics to take the fight to the Right. We can’t tunnel vision on “being in bloc” – there are so many other historically effective anti-fascist tactics that can and should be used. The Black Panthers gave out free breakfasts and became local heroes, for instance. But they were militant as fuck.

We don’t have the luxury of allowing our egos to be stroked by LARPer adventurist tendencies or suicidal, disorganized impulses. But we must remain prepared for the worst. We must make use of all available options to challenge the corporate state. We must take care of ourselves and our comrades while we fight the fash on all fronts. We must be able to sustain our revolt by thinking strategically toward a narrative win every time, finding situational allies wherever we can, because we’re in this for the long haul, and we are all needed. As freedom fighter Assata Shakur famously said, it is our duty to fight for our freedom, and it is our duty to win. The Rev is a life-long and long-life commitment.

Philly out.

doing being out of control.jpg

An Anarchist Response to the Anti-Gentrification Attacks in Philly on May Day

  • May 9, 2017 11:59 pm

from It’s Going Down

What do vandals get out of destroying a neighborhood? Why do people resort to violence to send a message? Are those who allegedly participated in such an action our comrades? Won’t this kind of action alienate people at a time when we finally have the opportunity to build a broad movement against fascism? Since all these questions surfaced in public forums following the May Day demonstration in Philly, in which expensive condos and cars in a gentrifying area of Northern Liberties/Kensington were smashed, maybe the answers are still not so obvious.

The black bloc is not symbolic. Unlike symbolic actions, which intend to convey a message, its reason for being is practical – wearing similar styles of all-black outfits allows people to stay anonymous while taking action. One of the more compelling aspects of anarchist tradition is its belief in direct action – we try not to accept other peoples’ control over our lives, and we don’t expect authorities to act in our best interests, so we try to accomplish what we want ourselves instead of asking permission from politicians or anyone else who seeks to protect the social order. Unfortunately, for many anarchists today, direct action remains more of an abstract belief than a way of life. In Philadelphia, we’re more used to seeing anarchists doing support work or lobbying for reforms than attacking institutions or businesses they believe shouldn’t exist. But some anarchists still respond to the violence of everyday life in the U.S. by directly fighting it.

Though invisible to most people, the U.S. has been waging a war since its inception on indigenous peoples, black folks, the poor, and all the other populations that it’s dispossessed and marginalized. As a settler colonial nation-state, it cannot exist without exploitation, slavery and genocide, and it continues to try to crush and control those populations that it’s oppressed and those who resist, while proceeding with its ongoing project of capitalist and colonial development.

This war between the social order and those it seeks to contain is called the social war, and one of its major fronts in Philly for years now has been gentrification. While the city was originally developed by displacing and devastating Lenape peoples and land and accumulating capital through the slave trade, for the past two decades Philadelphia’s economy has grown through displacing black and brown people and rebuilding their neighborhoods for wealthier people to move into. This process of gentrification, which is happening at the most rapidly accelerating rate in the country, has been so obvious that it’s produced widespread public outcry and relative sympathy for those using “violent” means to attack agents of gentrification. While attending community meetings with developers and politicians has accomplished nothing, and forming nonviolent community organizations against gentrification has done very little to stop it, vandalism has successfully demoralized and deterred development in many areas of the city.

History, and personal experience, have shown that nonviolent social movements and activist campaigns for reform can’t fix or win against a fundamentally violent state – this is why some engage in “violent” tactics that more directly move towards accomplishing their objectives. Concerns within radical circles about how such actions will alienate the public seem unfounded so far, since the mainstream media has been unusually understanding of the May 1st demo. Because the demo exclusively targeted expensive cars and new condo developments, it’s hard to mistake its intentions. Such actions will attract some and alienate others, and this is not a bad thing – it’s good to know what side people are on. Unlike symbolic marches and peaceful protests, actions like the May Day demo offer people the opportunity to deepen their capacity for anti-capitalist, anti-social offensives and open up space for new people to get involved who aren’t interested in more symbolic forms of action.

At a time when global capitalism and the society it’s created are more and more obviously disastrous, it seems important to push these initiatives and build our capacity to fight, rather than watering down our goals.

As to the question of whether those who participated in the May Day demo are our “comrades,” or deserve our support – those are some of the people in Philly going the hardest against the forces of domination and exploitation, and risking state violence and social marginalization in order to do so. Such actions are not above critique, but to condemn them and those involved wholesale in the name of hypothetical concerns about public opinion puts you on the side of defending and replicating a violent social order, rather than amongst those trying to get free from it.

Philly anarchists fuck up gentrification on may day

  • May 3, 2017 9:15 pm

Submission

Lots of people said they went harder than they ever had, and learned and experimented at this demo. At least four large condos both finished  and unfinished were smashed up so bad that it felt like a competition to get a swing in. People described feeling terrified and thrilled participating. Compared to the J20 march on South St, this demo is an escalation and a step up. The successes of this demo feel like they’re a result of the lessons learned on J20. Shout out to everyone who came prepared, brought things to share, and showed up on time. Cars, condos and cameras were hit with everything: bricks, porcelain, hammers, slingshot marbles, spray paint, and paint bombs!

All the above is a testament to the demo’s ferocity, since the neighborhood was challenging to say the least. There weren’t many little dip spots to duck into, there were many cameras around (fewer now). Neighbors were quick to snitch and formed ad-hoc vigilante groups that pursued participants. At one point someone was tackled by a good citizen; a comrade with a hammer intimidated them, allowing the demo-goer to escape. Let’s remember to look out for each other, even when the cops aren’t around, especially in white, yuppie, or  right-leaning areas.

The meet-up chosen by the organizers felt ideal; it was dark, wooded, and off the street. Organizers regret not having distributed a legal support number that had been set up in advance of the demo. Due to technological and communication failures, as well as unforeseen circumstances, two intended targets were not hit. Towards the end of the route, an unintended split between a smaller group with a banner and a larger group further back took place, causing the march to end early.

It feels like in recent months we’ve all been learning a lot, and it shows — things are happening harder and more often! There are a few things we can do better next time. To lessen confusion and worry, let’s choose crew names that keep us anonymous, let us find each other in hectic situations, and also don’t sound like or rhyme with words for police. Let’s be careful with each other while we get dangerous, let’s throw from the front of crowds, making sure we don’t accidentally splash paint or rain glass on comrades in front of us using hammers.

See you in the streets

<3 bitches with hammers <3

Down With The Pipeline and Its World

  • May 2, 2017 11:03 am

from It’s Going Down

[Video]

On this International Worker’s Day, we are inspired by the resistance around the world from the streets of Paris to nearby Philadelphia. Solidarity with workers everywhere on this May Day and here’s to a long (hot) summer of fighting capitalism, colonization and ecocide!

Please check out this video about our front in that struggle, and please consider donating to our fundraiser here: www.fundrazr.com/campwhitepine!

Nazi Who Flyered in West Philly Last Week Identified As Mark Daniel Reardon of Philadelphia

  • April 30, 2017 11:46 pm

from Philly Antifa

Update 5/2/17: We have received word that Reardon has been evicted from his apartment. As a result, we have removed the address at 44th and Sansom. We have also been informed that someone damaged a car of another resident of Reardon’s building. While we do not know for sure that is related to this we would like to make it clear that no one from Antifa Philadelphia was involved and  that sloppy or misdirected actions reflects badly on Anti-Fascists as a whole.

Update 5/1/17: Word has spread fast about Illegal Aryan being exposed. We would like to remind our readers that Reardon lives in an apartment in a building, and there are other tenants there with no ties to him or his Nazi activities. We understand that residents are (understandably) upset about a Nazi living in their midst and spreading propaganda,  just please be mindful of that.

We have confirmed that Reardon is no longer employed at the Law Firm he had listed as his Facebook employment. We have removed the contact info and thank both the Firm for being understanding and everyone who called for keeping it civil.

Mark Daniel Reardon, aka “Illegal_Ayran.” Neo-Nazi living in Philadelphia.
Reardon attending the private conference portion of the Traditionalist Workers Party’s event in Kentucky last weekend.

As many of you are aware, last week Nazi flyers were briefly put up on Locust Walk on UPENN campus in West Philly as part of the “Day of the Flyer” initiative started by Alt-Right internet Nazis.

The flyers were taken down almost immediately by numerous crews of Anti-Fascists, students and other people from the area. Responsibility was claimed by the twitter account @Illegal_Aryan.

Illegal_Aryan was also at the Traditionalist Worker’s Party and National Socialist Movement Rally in Pikeville, KY on April 29.

Note the t-shirt
Note the goggles and helmet
Screengrab of “Illegal_Aryan” Mark Daniel Reardon in Pikeville, KY on April 29th, 2017 demonstrating alongside Traditionalist Worker’s Party and National Socialist Movement.

Due to some good investigative work from a supporter and some supplementary research by our Intel team, we have confirmed that “Illegal Aryan” and Mark Daniel Reardon of West Philadelphia, are one and the same.

Mark Daniel Reardon, aka Illegal_Aryan, Neo-Nazi.

Reardon is a rather recent convert to Nazism.

If one was to look at Reardon’s facebook, they would find no obvious indicators to his Nazi views. He definitely posts some questionable content, such as videos by notorious right wing charlatan James O’Keefe and of distraught Hillary Clinton supporters upon finding out their candidate lost, but nothing that would lead you to believe he would be moonlighting as a Nazi troll and putting up vile racist flyers in West Philadelphia.

According to Illegal Aryan, he is 32 and lives in West Philly between 2 mosques and within a few blocks of the spot where those 2 cops were ambushed last summer.

Illegal Aryan also was nice enough to describe themselves on the Stormfront dating section. Also mentions that they like to bike.

Illegal Aryan also posted on TDS that they went to Temple University ten years ago.

 

Mark Daniel Reardon is 32 years old.

Mark Daniel Reardon went to Temple University and graduated 10 years ago.

Mark Daniel Reardon is tall, slim, is European, and likes to bike.

A news report from the TWP and NSM’s private conference portion of their event provided the final piece of proof.

 

Reardon’s most recent address (removed do to being evicted) close to the area where the flyers were put up and where those cops were ambushed.

Getting the picture?

Reardon recently was working as a Desktop support engineer at a law firm , but we have confirmed that he has not worked there for several months.

It also appears that Reardon was trying to go onto Nazi website The Daily Stormer recently while working and apparently using the Wireless network of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We are working to confirm or dis-confirm whether he is currently working there; an unsettling possibility if there ever was one.

That service desk number is CHOP’s
oh and make sure this article gets plastered on these groups

Mark talked a lot of big fucking game about Antifa when he was anonymous. Let’s see how he feels about us now. Nazis are not welcome in Philadelphia, and any attempts by them to organize, recruit or intimidate will be annihilated. If you do attempt any of these things, you have already ruined your life; even if you don’t know it yet.

Solidarity with everyone who stood strong in Pikeville on the 29th despite the threats of violence by the Nazis and law enforcement harassment.

Eternal War on the Hitler Youth,

Anathema Volume 3 Issue 3

  • April 15, 2017 12:50 pm

from Anathema

Volume 3 Issue 3 (PDF for printing 11 x 17)

Volume 3 Issue 3 (PDF for reading 8.5 x 11)

In this issue:

  • MAGA March Counter-Demo Achieves Partial Successes
  • Queer Solidarity and Resistance
  • What Went Down
  • Global Action News
  • Sacrifice for Naught
  • Funding A War Economy
  • Horoscopes
  • Fashion Column

Libertarians Continue Support for Augustus Invictus as Brutal Assault Accusations Emerge

  • March 25, 2017 2:21 am

from It’s Going Down

Editor’s Note: The Hilton Hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has canceled the Mid-Atlantic Liberty Festival. According to Steve Scheetz, one of the official organizers for both the MALF and the Pennsylvania Libertarian Party 2017 Convention (and Facebook friends with Austin Gillespie), they are currently trying to find another venue. 

After IGD released an article about how Libertarian Party of Florida member and former Senatorial candidate Augustus Sol Invictus, real name Austin Gillespie, a fascist and fellow traveler within Alt-Right and neo-Nazi circles, was speaking at an upcoming Libertarian Party event in Pennsylvania, we received a flood of emails. These didn’t come from Libertarian Party officials or from Gillespie; instead they came from people within the Libertarian Party who were glad that we were finally shining a light on fascists making inroads into Libertarian circles. On Facebook however, various people connected to the Libertarian Party downplayed the article or claimed that the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania itself was not officially organizing the Mid-Atlantic Liberty Festival (MALF), or “soiree,” and thus should not be held accountable.

At the same time as this was going on, Gillespie himself issued a statement responding to the article, painting himself as a weak victim. Meanwhile, Will Coley, the former Vice Presidential Candidate for the Libertarian Party who Gillespie is set to debate, also made a statement attacking people who were pushing to shut the event down, claiming it would affect him negatively economically.

Meanwhile, new information has come forward that shows that a second fascist, friend of Gillespie, and another contributor to his website, The Revolutionary Conservative, is also scheduled to speak at the conference. Furthermore, the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania also gave $1,500 to the MALF in order to help fund it.

Lasty, according to Alexandria Brown, a journalist that interviewed Gillespie several times and had developed a friendship with him, now claims in a recent blog post that Gillespie “raped, brutally beat, and threatened his [19 year old] ex-fianceé with a gun.”

Will the Libertarian Party continue to associate with fascist trash like Gillespie or will they draw a line?

Pennsylvania Libertarians Invite Fascist Augustus Invictus To Speak on Immigration

  • March 21, 2017 7:13 pm

from It’s Going Down

“It has been said that I associate with neo-Nazis and skinheads. You’re goddamn right I do. I am a criminal defense lawyer, and I am proud of the work I have done for the American Front.”

Augustus Invictus

On Saturday, April 1st, 2017, the Pennsylvania chapter of the Libertarian Party will host the “Mid-Atlantic Liberty Festival and Soiree,” bringing together Libertarian Party members and activists together from across the region. The event will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Harrisburg, the capitol of Pennsylvania.

Reportback/Critique of the Solidarity Forum

  • March 17, 2017 11:59 am

Submission
We know we need to help turn Philly into the site of a radical resistance to Trump and the social forces he represents.  But there is no clear, widespread sense of what that kind of resistance might look like in this city.  Right now, we mostly have a series of disconnected efforts.

One way to deal with this is to think critically about the kinds of resistance we *do* have and about how to radicalize and deepen it.  The Solidarity Forum here in Philly is an extremely limited, ineffective response to Trumpism.  But it’s valuable for the questions it raises about how to radically resist.

1. Reportback on the Solidarity Forum

The Solidarity Forum has been a monthly event at Arch Street Methodist Church since December that’s attempting to drum up resistance efforts in the city (last meeting: March 11th).  It’s organized by many of the same people behind the DNC Action Committee, which organized some very light resistance during the 2016 DNC. The Forum is built on the “speed dating” model: people move from table to table every two minutes to hear a pitch from groups who want them to join.  It has had some decent turnout. At its February meeting, I’m estimating about 150 people total showed.

Some of the groups there are, thankfully, more radical: the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice and Philly Antifa come to mind.  But a lot of the groups fall into the more liberal variety and avoid any image of conflict at all.  For example, one group wants to march to Harrisburg and ask elected officials to change their ways.  The idea seems to be the people in office just don’t realize what they’re doing is hurting people.

The forum is somehow a step backwards from the DNC Action Committee.  The goal of the Action Committee was largely to coordinate the most local groups possible.  This meant rejecting any possibility of confrontation or conflict so as not to offend. Early on, the committee was called the DNC Protest Committee.  After an early debate, the leadership decided the goal and language of protest would be dropped completely as too alienating.  But
at least (and this is hardly anything) it was an attempt at some kind of solidarity.

The Solidarity Forum, by contrast, has jettisoned the idea of organizing. It’s more like Amazon than anything: it wants to connect people to their favorite baubles, which they can then play with in private.

2. An anarchist response?

What should a radical leftist, anarchist response be to events like this? An obvious answer would be to ignore them.  But I think this is a mistake. Events like this are symptoms, not causes; and more than this, they’re fairly popular place for more and less radical groups to gather. Like it or not, this is one of the places organizing in Philly is starting from.

There’s no clear path towards mass, radical politics in Philly.  But the forum shows us a clear roadblock: the “common sense” of a lot of the left in Philly that resistance should be totally allergic to disruption and confrontation.  How do we start shifting this common sense?  Is it possible for the more radical left to engage and work with the Solidarity Forum without itself becoming too reformist and reactionary?

How can we start pushing the political culture in Philly to the more
radical left?  How can we avoid, as anti-authoritarians, being a vocal but isolated clique?  Can we develop a “polyamorous” and “queer anarchism” that works with different kinds of people and approaches, but keeps pushing ideas and people to the antiauthoritarian left?