Meadows Interviews, Unabridged

  • October 25, 2022 1:29 am

from Anathema

Anathema sat down with two people involved in defending the FDR meadows. Below are the complete transcriptions of the interviews with each of them.

First Interview
Anathema: Would you like to introduce yourself?

I am somebody who likes to hang out at the Meadows. I live close by. I have been involved in some land and anti-gentrification struggles in Philly for awhile and now I’m participating with different folks under different names organizing to try to stop the development at the meadows.

Anathema: Can you tell us a little bit about FDR park, the Meadows, and the development taking place there?

Yeah, I don’t know about the original history of this park. I know for long term residents of Philly, FDR park is called the Lakes because of the big bodies of water here. I think FDR park was built around these golf courses, and The Meadows was a golf course for a century. It was repeatedly flooded and decommissioned as a golf course in 2018. Although even when it was a golf course, you hear stories about people who have used this land to make a connection to nature. People have stories about foraging all kinds of stuff from South Philly communities. It’s kind of one of the last wild spaces in the South Philly area.

The development that’s taking place here, it’s titled “The Master Plan for FDR Park.” It is an ongoing city plan to raise the elevation of certain areas of the park and add 12 new sports fields. The plan is also connected to development plans with the Philadelphia Airport, which wants to expand and is destroying 40 acres of wetland. By law, it has to restore a comparable amount of wetland. So funds for the redevelopment of this park are funds from the airport to offset the wetland destruction there. They’re also going to “improve” 35 acres of wetlands here at FDR Park.

Anathema: What have the struggles against the development looked like so far? What’s happening?

I heard about it through these meetings happening in the Spring of 2022. They were organized mostly by this one person but under the banner of The People’s Plan for FDR Park. It brought a bunch of people to the park and made people more aware of the imminent development plans. I’m not a long term resident of Philly, I just started exploring the wild space here during the pandemic. So The People’s Plan for FDR Park were trying to let people know that the city had imminent plans to develop it. But the organization of The People’s Plan for FDR Park was more about convincing the city to change the Master Plan to actually include what people want for the park.

From there, a bunch of people were like, okay, The People’s Plan for FDR Park is not the avenue for struggling against this development. It wasn’t for everybody. It wasn’t decentralized. It was very centralized and hierarchical; not super supportive of people working autonomously. After that initial meeting, there were lots of splinters–people branching out and asking what we want to happen here. Do we want this to stay a meadow? Do we actually want the city’s ecological restoration plans to move through, but not the sports fields? There were a lot of conversations about how we are going to organize. One contingent that I was a part of was trying to map out the ecology here, to figure out what species of trees, bugs, animals have a home here. And to encourage more people to come down and hang out. It is a bit far south, and I know a lot of people who have never been to the Meadows. Wanting to encourage and grow other people’s connection to the space before development happened.

The dates for when the destruction was going to happen were pretty unclear. There were people from the parks saying it’ll happen in 2023, people saying it’ll happen in June 2022. There was a kind of waiting or complacency maybe, because we didn’t know when it would happen. There wasn’t a big offensive push. I think that equipment got staged in late August, and there was push back. People…serviced the machines that arrived *laughs.* I think there were a lot of people doing different things, discussing whether construction people had permits, or thinking of ways to put pressure on the construction company. People trying to put pressure on city officials in ways that had no real effect whatsoever.

At first, when the destruction happened in late August, there wasn’t a clear construction zone. Lots of people were just out and about amongst the destruction, kind of putting themselves at risk in hopes that the construction company would get some kind of retribution for endangering people. That didn’t have much effect. They put up more solid fencing pretty immediately. In the first week of destruction, people were messing with equipment, people may or may not have spiked some trees. That stopped the destruction for a week. The place was swarming with cops and the unusable machinery got replaced.

They did the destruction pretty quickly after that. I feel like they were destroying dozens of acres a day. After a few weeks in which there wasn’t much real material resistance, they had cleared like 70 acres. From what I hear, all they have funding for is this first phase of destruction. As far as I know, now that the first 70 acres are destroyed, there’s gonna be a pause. I’m not sure what the development schedule is, or what their priorities are…it seems with the FIFA bid for the World Cup, creating the soccer field is gonna be a priority. I don’t know if they’re going to do the wetland restoration first. I know that they’re going to move a 4 story soil mound pretty close to the entrance of the Meadows, which they’ll use to try to raise certain areas. As far as the schedule for what’s up next for the developers, I’m not sure.

Anathema: How have the city, the cops, the neighbors responded to the struggle for the Meadows?

The city doubled down on its greenwashing media blasts. The Inquirer and other news outlets are like “The protesters are out of control!” or “Why the city needs the development at FDR Park.” They’re just pushing a narrative that they’re trying to make the space better, of course. Gentrification. They’re trying to make the park welcoming to sports people.

A response from neighbors…I’ve definitely seen people who are used to using the land express heartbreak and dismay that they can’t access the space, that it’s being destroyed.

I think the city has a lot of talking points that seem to be pretty convincing for people, that sports fields are about equity for young people of color in the city. How this project for them is about creating more equity. People seem really confused about that. Trying to represent this wild space that people already use as needing to undergo some kind of city developed equity and inclusion transformation…people seem to be buying it. I haven’t heard any neighbors express excitement. I’ve heard some people be like, “Hopefully it’s worth it.”

What I have heard from neighbors is dismay or anger, and confusion.

The cops…I feel like the police presence was heavy for awhile, and was coming down to interrupt arts and youth programming just to intimidate people using the space. They definitely set up a lot of new fences, and there’s tons of signs saying “A wetland is coming to this space.” They city’s increasing its greenwashing efforts, the space has gotten new fences, there is a heavier police presence here. There was a 24 hour cop station here for awhile, but I don’t know if they’re still here.

Anathema: You kind of touched on this already, but a lot of the land in FDR has already been cleared. Has this changed how people are struggling and what are some of the next steps in light of this clear cutting, leveling, and bringing in dirt?

I think that once the destruction started and it was kind of clear that we were slow on having both an offensive and a defensive strategy. Once we weren’t able to hold ground anymore, a lot of people were like “Oh fuck, we lost.” I guess it’s real to feel disheartened. People have distanced themselves from this struggle.

There’s still around 100 acres of land that hasn’t been touched, that they plan to develop. There’s still a lot worth defending here. Trying to get ahead of what the developer’s plans are makes sense as a strategy. There could be a long lull until they get enough money to move forward. And continuing to make the project financially unviable for them will always benefit us in trying to stop them.

People are still doing programming to keep people connecting to the space and aware that the space hasn’t been destroyed; it’s still open, there’s a lot of life here. With winter coming, hopefully it’s a time to strategize.

Anathema: What would you say to anyone who wants to take part in defending the Meadows?

I would say there’s a lot of ways to do that. There are a lot of people invested in this project for whatever reason–annoying them and making their lives difficult is great. I think a lot of people would probably enjoy that. There’s still a lot of open space here to have parties, bring people out. I think A&P construction and the other subcontractors who stand to gain from this project…it definitely makes sense to try to make their lives more difficult.

If you’re looking for offensive or defensive entry points, there are many.

Anathema: Do you think there’s anything people outside of Philadelphia can do to contribute to this struggle?

I feel like having solidarity, especially in land defense struggles but I’m thinking in particular urban land defense struggles – like the Atlanta forest, or stopping big development projects. Continuing to boost each others’ struggles and bringing attention to them is bugging the people who stand to gain from them. Those people, those companies exist in different cities. It feels really good, fun, and exciting to be learning from each others’ strategies and boosting each other in those efforts.

Anathema: Totally. Is there anywhere people can follow these struggles and keep themselves informed about what’s going on around the Meadows?

Yeah, I think the news source I trust the most at the moment about it is the Save the Meadows. They have a website savethemeadows.com. The instagram account is @savethemeadows.

Anathema: What would you say are some strengths and weaknesses of the struggle to defend the Meadows?

Some strengths are that our opponents in this struggle–the city, parks and rec, the developers, the cops–are really stupid. The people involved in defending the Meadows are more creative and smarter.

There is a difference in resources, obviously. The city has machinery that can facilitate destruction really fast. The city’s monopoly on violence and destruction is an obstacle to work around. But I feel like there are a lot of artists, smart and brave people involved in the struggle. A disadvantage is that this plan created by the city precedes a lot of our knowledge. They had a big head start.

Hopefully we can outlast them. Their resources are going to run out and be dependent on other companies coming in to boost how they move forward with this project. If we can stay creative and continue to engage with this space, then that’ll be a strength.

Anathema: What are some of the biggest tensions involved in people defending the Meadows?

Politically, a lot of people involved are still invested in a centralized decision making around what happens here, whether that’s collaborating with the city or having a centralized organization. Of course you don’t have to participate in that, but a lot of organizers are still thinking in terms of how they can get other people to do things instead of doing the things that they want to do, or encouraging people to do the things they want to do. Maybe that’s an issue with how we imagine projects getting done, or how we imagine working together for a shared goal. There is a desire amongst some of the organizers to continue a top down model, and it’s a lot of work to continually challenge that.

Second Interview

Anathema: Would you like to introduce yourself?2.

I do a lot of autonomous work. That’s why I’m around.

Anathema: Can you tell us a little bit about FDR park, the Meadows, and the development taking place there?

I live in the suburbs and to be honest, I don’t know much about the history and background. From what I do understand, these meadows have been here for awhile and they have been enjoyed by residents and community members for years. It seems like the airport and the city want to develop the nature aspect of FDR Park, commonly referred to as the Meadows, to be somewhat turned into astroturf. To commodify the space in general. Also the airport wants to expand by basically digging into the wetlands and trying to cover that by making a new wetlands.

Anathema: What have the struggles against the development looked like so far? What’s happening?

So far, the things that have been happening that I’ve been witness to, have been bulldozing. So just clearing the area of natural trees and wildlife. Fencing it off from the general public who were once able to freely roam around it. The struggle has been trying to find the exact dates of when bulldozing will happen, and also people have done campaigns like phone zaps, and making banners and posters. There have been some events held around the Meadows such as foraging, tree-mappings to try and identify trees and other species within the Meadows to have a perspective on if there are some species that might be endangered.

Basically trying to find ways to halt the destruction. When that didn’t happen, the struggle has looked like more events in the park, more walkabouts, filming. Trying to spread as much awareness as possible. There has been some apparent sabotage of equipment, so you could also say some insurrectionary developments in there as well.

Anathema: How have the city, the cops, the neighbors responded to the struggle for the Meadows?

For the most part, the Friends of FDR Park have been going around telling people that they were going to make the Meadows into a different type of area, but that they were going to leave a certain amount for people to still use. Trying to talk about it being more nature. Ultimately it’s being discovered that that’s a lie and not what they were really going to do. The community really enjoys this area, so they have responded like “that’s really fucked up.” But there are still people who believe their master plan, if you will. Because of that, they are under a false assumption that the Meadows will be made into something different and better, so they’re all for the project.

The police response was very minimal at the beginning. As tactics escalated, they responded with a lot more surveillance. It went from a little surveillance, to 24 hour surveillance, to bringing in the FBI. They’ve also brought in the counter-terrorist chain. They’re really trying to snuff out any real sense of eco-justice of an insurrectionary nature.

There have been some neighbors that really wanted to have the project, because the city is going to talk about how it’s going to be better to have this happen, and FIFA is coming. They want FIFA and the World Cup to come through. Some people are not so happy with the resistance as well, just based on wanting things to be better for FDR as a whole, apparently.

Anathema: A lot of the land in FDR has already been cleared. Has this changed how people are struggling and what are some of the next steps in light of this clear cutting, leveling, and bringing in dirt?

People have definitely had to go and do things a little more under the radar or while knowing there are multiple FBI and security personnel that are constantly watching and trying to analyze where they’re going. There have been rumors of cameras being placed in the park every so often. That’s been a general concern which has deterred a lot of people from coming back into the park. A lot of equipment is now under heavy surveillance or is just off of the grid, so any type of sabotaging efforts have pretty much come to a standstill.

In light of the clear-cutting, the next steps have really just looked like more events in the park, trying to get awareness out there, collaborating with other projects such as the UC Townhomes struggle. Also trying to appeal to the city to stop future leveling efforts.

Anathema: What would you say to anyone who wants to take part in defending the Meadows?

Environmental defense of any kind is important. All ecosystems are important. All matters of wildlife are relatively equal to all of us, we’re not more than any animal that is out there. Ecological defense is very much needed. Any effort you want to give is very much appreciated. I understand people have different comfort levels and ideas, but if you were looking to start somewhere, definitely come out and take a walk around the area. Talk to the local people. Go on instagram. Come get involved, come through to an event.

Anathema: Do you think there’s anything people outside of Philadelphia can do to contribute to this struggle?

Some people outside of Philadelphia have done banner drops, calls for solidarity, sharing of information as best they can. Some people have also collaborated with the Meadows efforts, such as the Defend the Atlanta Forest people who have come through.

Anathema: Is there anywhere people can follow these struggles and keep themselves informed about what’s going on around the Meadows?

@savethemeadows

Anathema: What would you say are some strengths and weaknesses of the struggle to defend the Meadows?

The struggles for the Meadows really seem to be coming internally in the form of communication, even though there is an instagram and a website. For instance, there was communication of how much is being cleared, but not about how much all at one time. There was speculation of whether there were 100 acres left or less. I would say the struggle of communication is real.

There have definitely been internal struggles. Not everybody is on board with all the tactics that have been used or talked about through this entire movement. There are definitely people trying to control narratives, peace policing, and denouncement of tactics by certain organizers. A struggle is people not getting along or communicating.

The strengths are the diversity of tactics, when it’s celebrated and left to people’s own autonomy. For the people who might want to do, say, spicier tactics, they can leave the people who want to do paperwork or just spreading the word alone. The other side of that coin is when people who want to do spicier things are left alone. Or when they don’t ask a lot of questions about it.

Anathema: What are some of the biggest tensions involved in people defending the Meadows?

The biggest tension thus far is between organizers and people who are more of a free association, so to speak. People peace policing, people trying to fit a certain narrative or only wanting certain tactics. This has been really frustrating for a lot of people. Organizers have definitely talked a lot of shit on each other. The solidarity is not really there.

The tension has also been between some people who value security culture more and are trying to stay more anonymous, and some organizers who are being a little more public, use more public and unencrypted platforms such as discord, or a website where they want people to sign up with their fucking email addresses. To combat that I guess you could use a proton email or whatever, but people don’t always use that as much. Most of the time, people like to either use telegram or signal to try to communicate through more encrypted methods. Organizers in particular have been trying to push things out into a non-encrypted space and that of course leads to a lot of tension between loads of us who are trying to stay as secure as we possibly can.

And also organizers trying to throw shade, really belittling the work because it wasn’t approved by them. Really trying to go after this narrative of “the movement is 95% white and half of these people are not from the community, so their opinions don’t matter. The ways they choose to enter into the struggle don’t matter.” It’s a real fucking shame because it’s going to show there’s not solidarity amongst everybody, and I think it’s going to turn a lot of people off, if it hasn’t already.

Anathema Volume 8 Issue 2

  • October 25, 2022 1:26 am

from Anathema

Volume 8 Issue 2 (PDF for reading 8.5×11)

Volume 8 Issue 2 (PDF for printing 11×17)

In this issue:

  • What Went Down
  • Interviews from the Meadows
  • Alabama Prison Strike
  • The Social and Survival: On Becoming a Threat
  • When One Door Closes….Break It In: Thoughts on the Criminalization of Abortion
  • The Conscious Soldier-Brother: Puerto Rican Struggle
  • Cospito on Hunger Strike
  • Service

Support Philadelphia’s People’s Townhomes and Show Up to Prevent Their Eviction

  • September 22, 2022 1:35 am

from It’s Going Down

Report on ongoing struggle to stop the eviction of the UC Townhomes, which would displace 68 families in so-called Philadelphia. Originally posted to PM Press. 

By Dan Hoylin and Charlie Allison

The sale of the land that would become the UC Townhomes in 1982 to the IBID/Altman Management Company was both a part of, and in response to, the longstanding tradition of the city of Philadelphia conspiring with local universities and property developers to evict low-income, predominantly black families and to transform a neighborhood once literally referred to as “Black Bottom” into the new paragon of gentrification, “University City.”

In July of 2021, Altman notified the residents of UC Townhomes that it would be selling the property, and not renewing its government contract, for a potential total of millions of dollars, displacing a community of 68 families from their long-term home.

This particular gentrification process was begun in the 1960s (the first gentrification in what-is-now-Philadelphia and the surrounding areas was the stealing of land from the Delaware and Lenape peoples centuries ago). The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority partnered with local universities and hospitals–such as the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and University of the Sciences–to invoke eminent domain in the section of West Philadelphia known as “Black Bottom.” To quote from current townhomes residents and writers, Rasheda Alexander and Sterling Johnson:

Back in 1968…[the residents of Black Bottom]…were leading a fierce resistance to displacement through “urban renewal” by digging trenches and stretching barbed wire across the street. Frank Rizzo, then Philadelphia’s Police Chief and already positioning himself for his 1971 mayoral campaign, mobilized against that resistance both in the streets and the press.

In the end, the City of Philadelphia forced out countless impoverished, mostly black, families, to expand the university’s campuses and make way for commercial properties and residential properties for students and staff. In the early 1970s, this issue was spotlighted by HUD with help from volunteers and activists from the Black Bottom, who sued the city for these openly racist and predatory housing practices under Frank Rizzo’s mayorship. As a result, the city was made to invest more in subsidized and public housing, resulting in the Dollar-Baby deal of the 3900-3999 block of West Market Street, becoming the spot for Altman’s private, government-subsidizing housing property: UC Townhomes.

UC Townhomes would become subject to much of the same neglect that housing projects across the country deal with mounds of garbage bags left uncollected piling up in the trash enclosure, unshovelled snow leaving walkways hazardous in the winter broken ACs in the summer, busted lights, roach and rat infestations. When the residents of the town homes notified Altman, their landlord, about these problems, the most consistent response was apathy and inaction. Their landlord was happy to collect their rent, but not to keep their living spaces livable.

In July 2021, the families of 3900 Market Street received a notice that Altman would be selling the property. Altman planned to sell the property to National Real Estate Advisors, potentially flipping the block for $100 million. A wave of protest followed that announcement. The residents organized themselves into councils and committees and met to discuss their options. They met with local activists and volunteers. All through the winter and spring they organized to resist having their homes sold from under them.

Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier passed legislation that prevented the demolition of the townhomes. The legislation, did not, however, prevent any evictions. A well-organized and from-the-bottom-advocacy led by townhomes residents created significant delay for Altman’s scheduled date of eviction from July of 2022 to September, and now to October 8th. Also, despite what Altman seems to think, his tenants do in fact have protected people’s rights under the Fair Housing Act, which helped give them tools to resist this encroachment. Altman sued in lower court and doubtless believes that the eviction will go on as scheduled.

To emphasize the fate that likely awaited them if nothing was done, the residents, with the help of volunteers, set up a protest encampment on their common lawn, by the 40th and Market Street Station of the Market-Frankford Line in summer of 2022. They invited volunteers, activists and fellow organizers to help, but made one thing abundantly clear: the residents speak for the residents—none speaks for them to the press. Many times, the residents had to correct journalists who passed by the encampment (and the staffed tables up front, distributing literature, shirts, pins and stickers) that this was not a homeless encampment, but a representation of what was likely to be the fate of the residents if their landlord had his way.

When we visited the (newly renamed) People’s Townhomes this summer to donate gear, a friendly atmosphere reigned. The residents and volunteers made a brightly painted knee high fence out of pallets around the common grassy area, adorned with slogans. The rules—no weapons, no alcohol, respect the resident’s space and noise level etc.—were posted for all to see on a lamppost.

Children ran around the lawn, even in the summer heat, or sold water out of a cooler on the corner to commuters. In the evenings, I was told, there were more communal activities—movie nights for the children, storytelling. The residents had a couple of shade-makers up over tents, asking locals to sign petitions to prevent the eviction. It was a bit of the commons—well provisioned with bottled water, food, tents, paint, games—snatched from the jaws of the increasingly privatized world.

With each article written about the encampment, some enterprising soul made a copy of it, laminated it and zip-tied it to the iron grids around the 40th street subway stop for commuters to read. A sign out front read: “Honk if you want to save the People’s Townhomes!”

When the protest encampment first went up, Altman Realty’s reaction was a fit of pique: they ordered onsite laundry room locked and forbidden to the residents– a wildly illegal and telling act of petty thuggery (that little tantrum of Altman’s was swiftly undone—as the laundry room was opened less than 24 hours after being closed).

Altman’s legal team, however, wasted no time suing in lower courts to have the encampment at the townhomes—made up of volunteers and residents resting on their own property—broken up by the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department on Monday August 8th. This was done, and scores of people rallied on short notice in protest to this act, briefly shutting down Market Street. In an email the sheriff’s department was good enough to acknowledge that there was a need for affordable housing in Philadelphia.

But in a brave stance that completely avoided personal responsibility for their actions, legal or no, the Philadelphia Sheriff’s department nobly argued that they were simply following orders by removing tents that in no way interfered with the public good. The sheriff’s department took down the tents, forbade tables to be set up and took down the majority of the signage.

As French anarchist Proudhon once said: “Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of government.”

It is clear to anyone that Altman’s strategy is to let the weight of laws, extractive capitalist culture and inertia do his dirty work for him. Throughout this whole process, he and those who work for him have refused to deal in good faith or basic decency or even speak to the people they are dispossessing.

Sixty eight families—many of whom are older or disabled or both—will be effectively homeless and without recourse if Brett Altman gets his way. Of course, his company will be implicated in this moral crime writ-large, but who cares? They’ll be rich. That’s what matters to them, not the human cost of said riches.

The townhomes location is what has the realtors and landlords licking their chops, right in the core of the UPENN part of West Philadelphia. Close to everything—food, transportation, entertainment, and perhaps most importantly medical care. People’s Townhomes resident Ms. Lyles writes in a widely distributed pamphlet:

After we moved to the Townhomes, my daughter was diagnosed with kidney failure. Our living room became a clinic with her IV tubes and treatment equipment as she went through home dialysis for over a year. Then, my health failed causing me to have to use a walker. When we got the call that they had found a kidney for her, I did not have money for a taxi but thankfully we were able to walk over to the UPenn hospital nearby. She still needs access to healthcare as doctors closely monitor her health. Through these times, the close community of neighbors and lifelong friends that I have made at the Townhomes have relied upon each other. I would not have survived without friends like Wanda Goss, we depend on each other daily. I’m afraid that this stability may be ripped away from us.

Many of the townhomes residents are older folk and many have medical issues. Their abrupt eviction would not only remove access to essential medical care, but destroy the essential bonds of community and solidarity created by their neighborhood and put them in very real danger.

The residents of the UC Townhome’s demands are simple. They are as follows in a widely distributed pamphlet:

  1. Stop the Demolition: We demand an immediate halt to the sale and demolition of the UC Townhomes and that it be made 100% permanently and deeply affordable.
  2. Give Us More Time: Residents demand an extension of 2 years if we are indeed being forced to leave.
  3. Make Immediate Repairs: We demand that repairs and maintenance be addressed by immediately assigning a maintenance person to the UC Townhomes and meeting with a group of residents to discuss these outstanding issues.
  4. Provide Just Compensation: We are demanding 500,000 financial compensation per family, amounting to 35% of the total sale price.

As this article was being written, the stated eviction date of September 7th was moved to October 8th. This is of course still not nearly enough time to move, especially in a city that largely doesn’t accept housing vouchers—as the residents know all too well.

Kevin Feeley, Altman’s spokesperson, insists the opposite in defiance of plain facts. Partly because that is his job and because he is (presumably) at no risk of being forcibly evicted from anything, let alone his home or community at the present time.

The residents of the People’s Townhomes have embraced a diversity of tactics. Most recently, they have put together their own plan to help buy the Townhomes.

A spokesman for the City Of Philadelphia issued a statement in response to the residents of the People’s Townhomes and their supporters marching in significant numbers in Center City. It was a diplomatic statement, if we remember that old proverb of Bismarcks: (“I am learning to be a diplomat—speaking a great deal and saying nothing at all.”)

What you can do as the eviction deadline approaches:

Call Mayor Kenney’s office and make your support for the People’s Townhomes known—he has systematically refused to meet with them throughout this scandal.

Call Councilwoman Jamie Gauther’s office.

Call Altman. A script can be found here.

Show up in person to demonstrate solidarity with the UC Townhomes on October 8th, the date the eviction is due to be served.

I can think of no better closing quote than this. As residents Rasheda Alexander and Sterling Johnson write:

To sit silently by today, as the city allows these projects to expire and return to the market, is a betrayal of the long fight against desegregation and discrimination. Indeed, it is nothing more than a return to the racist housing policies of the past.

Nazareth Liberals let Local Fascist Speak at “Nazareth Together” Event

  • September 15, 2022 1:05 am

from Community Research Opposing Hate

On Saturday September 10, a group of Nazareth business owners & community members held a “Nazareth Together” event in response to backlash they recieved for placing pro-LGBT and pro-inclusion signs on their properties. In a letter published in early August, the far right anti-LGBT group Parents for Choice expressed concern that local business owners were part of a “dark and insidious campaign” that was pushing “LGBTQ+ and transgender ideology” on their children. The event was covered by WFMZ and the Morning Call. But both outlets left out key facts, presenting their readers with a false impression of the event.

Several speakers read statements submitted by individuals not physically in attendance. At least one of those speakers admitted this was due to safety concerns. And those concerns were valid. Known far right goon and January 6 insurrectionist Benjamin Jacques was in attendance with several of his associates.

Jacques was also allowed to speak at the event. In fact, he got the last word. WFMZ’s coverage was particularly misleading in this regard.

“I, personally, do not agree with the sign, and the only reason why is I think that if there’s a racist person in Nazareth, we should call them out,” WFMZ reported Jacques saying, referring to him only as a representative of Parents for Choice.

But WMFZ failed to acknowledge essential context. Jacques spoke for over 8 minutes in a bizarre, often incoherent rant full of blatant lies and non-sequiturs that eventually inspired heckles, a question regarding his involvement in January 6, and an accusation of bullying. WFMZ, however, chose to interpret this through the words of an unnamed associate of Jacques.

“A man who was with him noted off camera, ‘This speaker was the only one interrupted by the audience as he shared his view,’” WFMZ reported. They quoted only one other sentence in Jacques’ speech.

“So let’s start planting a seed of love and compassion no matter what your personal beliefs are.”

Jacques’ speech started with the strange declaration that Nazareth is his “Pleasantville,” perhaps a reference to a movie starring Toby Maguire & Reese Witherspoon. Ironically, the film was about a fictional 1950’s sitcom town that was seemingly perfect, but devoid of any real forms of individual expression or personal freedom. The lead characters introduce modern art, literature, and literal color to the monochrome Pleasantville. As a result, they are treated as dangerous radicals by the conservative mayor of the town. The town government eventually bans “colored” people from public venues and instigates a pogrom against them. “Colored” businesses are looted. Books are burned. Perhaps metaphor isn’t Jacques strong suit. Or maybe that’s what Jacques is planning to get up to.

Jacques continued, “Ever since I stepped foot in Nazareth, race has never been used as a weapon against me.” Jacques is, by his own admission, a white Latino. Instead of recognizing that he may be treated differently than others because he passes as white, Jacques then goes on to argue that “speaking of race does not belong in this town,” because Martin Luther King, Jr. told us to judge people on the content of their character, and that “If there’s a racist person in Nazareth, I personally will tell them to get the hell out.”

Jacques is personal friends with Nazareth business owner and fellow January 6 insurrectionist Amie Eckert. CROH documented Amie’s public displays of racism and transphobia in our article covering her far-right activism in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, including her bus charter to DC on January 6. There is no record of Jacques ever telling Eckert to leave town.

Jacques then went on to say that it must be the content of his character that ensures that he has good interactions with the police, insinuating that anyone who has had bad interactions with Nazareth police have poor character. He then admits that he belongs to Parents for Choice, insisting that they are not white supremacists (no one asked), but just parents with concerns that they want brought to the table. This is when the heckling started.

One person in the crowd asked why Jacques wanted to boycott the businesses with inclusive signage. He said that he did not want to. Another asked why he went to DC on January 6. He replied, “Oh, this again,” without further comment. A bit later, another in the crowd told Jacques to, “Stop bullying people.”

“Oh yeah, stop bullying people, too.” A nonsensical response.

When Jacques finished his speech and headed toward the back of the pavilion, the MC for the event quickly closed the open mic portion. “We’re out of time,” she said. Jacques was given the last word. The local business owners who run Nazareth Together seem more invested in giving local fascists a platform to lie about their aims than they are in creating space for marginalized voices at their events. How many LGBT residents did not show because they knew there would be dangerous bigots at the event? How many LGBT residents did show up, and had to listen to a dangerous bigot lie?

Meet Oathkeeper Michael Shelton of Catasauqua, PA

  • September 12, 2022 1:22 am

from Twitter

CROH would like to introduce you to Michael Shelton of Catasauqua, PA. In ’21, Shelton was a member of both the Oath Keepers & Three Percenters, according to emails leaked by #ddosecrets. Shelton was a contractor with the DHS from 2015 to 2020, when the ID he sent expired.

We were able to confirm his identity based on a listed phone number he sent to the PA Oath Keepers email address, along with his government ID.
We were unable to find any social media presence for Shelton. We do not know if he is currently still contracted with DHS. If you have any more information regarding Shelton or any other local militia members, please don’t be afraid to reach out to us.

The Oath Keepers have targeted law enforcement, military, and government officials for recruitment since their inception in 2009. It is a critical part of their plan to seize state power. adl.org/resources/report/oat…

Thanks to a tip, we are able to confirm that Michael Shelton was the principal officer for United Government Security Officers of America (UGSOA) Local 363 (EIN 47-3174908) in 2016. The local is still active but it appears that it has not filed a 990 since then.

ALERTA! Paul Minton is a neo Nazi living in South Philly

  • September 10, 2022 1:18 am

from Sunlight AFA

ALERTA! Paul Minton is a neo Nazi living in South Philly and currently operating with “Active Club” and “White Lives Matter”. Paul has masqueraded as an antifascist in the past, hence this alerta. Many of you reading this know of Paul, militant and dedicated antifascist. This is no longer the case. We’ll cover the change below, that makes him a TRAITOR.

On February 14, 2022, the official WLM channel posted two pictures and a message.:

The pictures were on Paul’s Nazi Telegram he called Sedition, other picture is from Andy Ngo doxxing Paul about a separate thing he did.

The following day the user “Sedition” left the WLM-PA chat and on twitter @teaktreeturmoil posted the Telegram screenshot and commented on Twitter “Paul runs Anti-AntifaUSA, which was previously PA AntifaWatch”

Paul Minton is a former nazi who was “deradicalized” after his arrest two decades ago for involvement in a murder. Paul spent the ensuing years traveling within antifascist and leftist circles and was known as a militant and dedicated antifascist.

In the summer of 2020, Paul was at Marconi Plaza and got suckered punched by disgraced Proud Boy Dick Schwetz. Below is a picture of Schwetz reacting to the news of Paul Minton getting outed just a short time later.

Here is the link to the Inquirer when Paul got convicted as a Nazi for abusing a corpse. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18337045/the-philadelphia-inquirer/

Paul became redpilled sometime between 2020-2021 and since then has been operating “Embrace Struggle Active Club” alongside well-known Keystone State Skinheads Joe Phy and Nunzio Pellegrino. 

(Joe Phy made the 5400 mile round-trip for this and was easy to recognize. https://leftcoastrightwatch.org/articles/neo-nazi-fight-clubs-held-mma-tournament-in-san-diego-area/)

Paul mostly spends his time putting up low quality nazi stickers to channel his manlet rage. His group’s campaigns have hit various sections of Philly and the surrounding areas.

Paul has also recently been interacting with civic nationalists like cop-wannabe TJ Cahill. So much for ACAB. He has a history of using a network of fake profiles to infiltrate spaces online and manipulate/troll people for information.

Paul knows how to fight and possibly carries a weapon so keep that in mind if you happen to cross paths with him while he puts trash all over street signs.

Please send in ANY tips.  -🖤 

South Philly FDR Park Meadows Face “Blitzkrieg” of Quick Destruction

  • September 7, 2022 1:45 am

from Unicorn Riot

By Dan Feidt, Unicorn Riot September 6, 2022

South Philadelphia, PA – During the worst days of the COVID pandemic local residents sought refuge and reconnection in an unlikely place – a series of fields, wetlands and woods that swiftly grew into the “South Philly Meadows” in an unplanned, untilled emergence on the grounds of a shuttered and often-flooded golf course on the west side of FDR Park. In recent days, private contractors have destroyed large swaths of the meadows, and Unicorn Riot found indications of intensive herbicide use in large areas of the wetland. Meadows supporters held back tears as they led us through heavily damaged and destroyed wild ecosystems on August 31, voids that once hosted teeming insect, mammal and bird life only hours earlier.

 

A large swath of reeds and other discolored flora in FDR Park has started sagging and curling in recent days, according to Deena Willow, a volunteer caretaker of the meadows area, as seen on August 31, 2022.

This poisoning of entire areas appears intended to assist “clearing and grubbing” of the area as implementation of a “Master Plan” to introduce artificial turf fields and other amenities has begun in earnest. Organizer, Kat Kendon, told Unicorn Riot multiple dogs have needed veterinary treatment with environmental causes deemed likely in some cases.

UPDATE 9/6: Since September 1, we have not received comment on this possible herbicide use from Fairmount Parks Conservancy. Today the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department says that no herbicides or other chemicals have been used in the park during August 2022 – full responses below.

Noise pollution from I-95 has intensified in FDR Park after trees in the southwest corner have been clearcut under the “Master Plan.” The area was not sealed off during the early days of the process, endangering park visitors and their pets as trees fell.

The lopsided nature of the plan has spurred criticism and calls for revision as an issue of GridPhilly explored in June.

An ad-hoc coalition of several groups, under the flag “The People’s Plan for FDR Park,” has pushed local officials to reconsider the plan and preserve more meadows while unlocking often-shuttered sports fields around the city. SaveTheMeadows.com, as well as @savethemeadows and @savethemeadowsfdr on Instagram, are advocating for an alternate park design.

“Spiked” Signs of Autonomous Action

Unicorn Riot also discovered an entire stand of pine trees in the far southwest corner with official Parks and Recreation Department signs warning the trees were discovered to be “spiked” on August 24, a tactic which deters clearcutting by presenting a risk of damage to equipment. None of the groups involved have claimed any affiliation to this tactic or other similar tactics. This spiking seemingly saved the trees from the near-clearcut of old forest all around them, as a crew wrapped up nearby amid dozens of felled trees on the afternoon of August 31.

A stand of pine trees with warnings they have been “Spiked” discovered in FDR Park August 31, 2022, amid a larger clearcut swath.

Messages Call to Preserve Meadows

Messages opposing the bulldozing dot the landscape while opponents say park administrators have been removing their posters from bulletin boards, many made by local children who have grown attached to the meadows.

A “Save the Meadows” message on a bench tucked into an area nicknamed “Narnia” that is believed slated for destruction.

Opponents of the FDR Park plan believe that preserving more of the Meadows as a wild, sometimes submerged wetland, area, is a more resilient adaptation to these impending climate trends, while protecting endangered and threatened wildlife like monarch butterflies and bald eagles. Witnesses spoke of the likely destruction of a bald eagle nest as well as the obliteration of a monarch butterfly refuges in recent days. A disturbing photo of a dismembered small mammal like a mink discovered in the construction area also circulated.

The meadows supporters spoke of a silence that has descended on the area; as we pivoted our camera the microphone ceased to pick up the dense sounds of insect life, amid planes of scraped dirt and piles of crushed turf. Unfortunately, the clearing of a large stretch of giant trees in the south has immediately caused noise pollution from Interstate 95 to spill deep into the park.

Unicorn Riot previously covered Running Down the Walls, a charity event for prisoner support, in FDR Park last year, and protests that moved into the park during the nearby 2016 Democratic National Convention, a heavily policed National Special Security Event.

“Master Plan” Continues to Shift, Fueled by Airport Infrastructure Money & Army Corps Planning

As a city built on a coastal plain, Philadelphia faces intense climate change pressures and new stormwater retention systems along much of Interstate 95 are aimed at containing stormwater surges, similar to those faced by New York in 2014’s Hurricane Sandy.

The Master Plan and its backers, the private Fairmount Park Conservancy, Friends of FDR Park, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department claim to address this future by building more resiliency into the landscape, and reworking its hydrology while also increasing revenue within the park, after a multi-year process that included community input, starting before the COVID pandemic. (In spring 2022, locals were surprised when city-owned Cobbs Creek Golf Course suffered hundreds of tree cuts, and a similar type of criticism and organizing is happening there as well.) The plan itself has changed in recent weeks as a smaller golf course was canceled.

At the confluence of the Schulykill River, Delaware River, and several creeks, the historic FDR Park was shaped out of a tidal wetland. Swaths of the park are still below sea level at high tide, but an aging tide gate in permits the park to drain at low tide as it absorbs untreated stormwater from the city. The park is also surrounded by sports stadiums, a huge swath of surface parking, the Navy Yard, an enormous fossil fuel complex called the Girard Point Refinery, and the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).

A proposal to expand cargo facilities and destroy a section of wetland near Eastwick is part of the rationale for altering the wetlands in FDR Park. Source: Philadelphia International Airport.

PHL aims to use new federal infrastructure funds to expand its cargo terminal, while paving over wetlands on its western side.

Planning diagrams show sections of wetlands near the Delaware River to be destroyed during cargo expansion. Source: Philadelphia International Airport/ US Army Corps of Engineers.

To satisfy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a very expensive deal has been struck to deem the sub-sea-level southern section of FDR Park as in part a new wetland, as a supposed “no net loss” offset. (The Corps has blessed the cargo project with a “Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision” (FONSI/ROD)).

Then contractors would dredge it to lower its height, then push the dirt underneath a new hill and the artificial turf fields, while “clearing and grubbing” or entirely destroying large swaths of “the Meadows,” a phase which has now begun with “blitzkreig” speed according to opponents.

On the other side of PHL, Eastwick residents fear that the cargo project will only worsen future flooding in their town.

FEMA designates most of FDR Park as a “100-year flood zone” (teal)

While not all of it is below sea level, virtually the entire FDR Park area lies within a FEMA “100-year flood zone” and routinely floods during rains; stormwater discharges from the city into the park’s waters.

Topographical maps show large swaths of FDR Park are effectively below sea level. Source: TopographicalMap.com

Some opponents suspect that the artificial turf fields are aimed at attracting a FIFA World Cup bid and renting out to affluent suburbanites. Others suspect that real estate owners are pushing the plans to profit from commercialized, non-union concession businesses that would replace the “wild” area.

The Schulykill River flooded into apartment buildings near downtown Philadelphia on 23rd Street on Sept. 2, 2021. Pennsylvania National Guard personnel responded to the disaster in flooding-resistant trucks like this one.

Upstream of FDR Park, about a year ago the Schulykill River flooded throughout central Philadelphia, damaging businesses and apartment buildings. The probability of such events is expected to increase as climate change alters moisture patterns.

Authorities Respond to Habitat & Chemical Use Questions

Unicorn Riot submitted questions to both city and nonprofit leaders regarding the suspected use of chemicals, destruction of habitat used by monarch butterflies, possible destruction of a bald eagle nest, and related issues.

Update 9/6/2022: The Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department responded to several questions we sent, while they said additional documentation could be obtained via the city “Right to Know” process.

“Unfortunately, the premise of many of your questions is based on false accusations from outside groups opposed to any work to restore the former golf course at FDR Park into high quality recreational and natural lands. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation is committed to maintaining safe and healthy natural lands.

“The Philadelphia International Airport and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation are creating a 33 acre native forested coastal wetland on the Southwest corner of FDR Park. Clean fill excavated from the wetland site will create a 9 acre temporary soil hill on the former golf course. In August 2022 contractors prepared the site for construction. No herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals were sprayed on the site by PHL, PPR, or its contractors. 

“[…] No herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals were sprayed on the site by PHL, PPR, or its contractors in August 2022.”

-Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department responses to Unicorn Riot, 9/6/2022

UR: “Were any staff hours in your organization expended on wildlife protection from direct construction? Were the presence of monarch butterfly habitats within the FDR Park area affected by August 2022 construction documented by your organization? Were any staff hours spent to move wildlife like bird nests and mammal nests out of the construction area before construction started?”

Parks & Rec: “No.”

-Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department responses to Unicorn Riot, 9/6/2022

The Friends of FDR Park organization co-president responded:

“The Friends have absolutely no information on the topics in your email.  They are issues that have never come before us in the past or currently on this development. I have forwarded your inquiry to Fairmount Park Conservancy and the Parks and Rec Dept for followup.  Only they have any answers on these subjects. Thank you for writing.”

Barbara A. Capozzi, Esq., Co-President – Friends of FDR Park 

The Parks & Recreation Department has received our inquiry and it will be added here when available. Fairmount Park Conservancy Executive Director, Maura McCarthy, Ph. D., has not responded.

“Philadelphia Three” Political Prisoner Khalif Miller Languishes Pre-Trial in Federal Prison

  • August 31, 2022 1:03 am

from Unicorn Riot

By Niko Georgiades and Dan Feidt, Unicorn Riot August 30, 2022

Philadelphia, PA – Federal inmate in the Bureau of Prisons, Khalif Miller, says his rights are being violated while in prison awaiting trial on federal arson charges from the 2020 anti-police uprisings. Miller said he hadn’t had an attorney visit for his first 19 months incarcerated, that he was stabbed 10 times and almost killed in an attack, and has caught COVID-19 twice in prison while awaiting trial as part of a what he says was political targeting by former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain.

Miller was arrested on October 28, 2020, and charged along with three others, Carlos Matchett of Atlantic City and Anthony Smith, a prominent activist, for allegedly throwing flaming materials into a police car near Philadelphia’s City Hall on May 30, 2020, during the George Floyd Uprising.

Miller has dubbed them the “Philadelphia Three” and the federal government say they conspired together to burn the cop car. Yet, Miller said he’s never even “met nor spoken” to the other co-defendants of the alleged conspiracy and said he was simply taking a picture from atop the police car when it was set aflame.

“The same photo that should’ve set me free, the federal government used to create an elaborate plot in which I have become a political prisoner that I’ve termed the “PHILADELPHIA THREE”, because there are two other people that I’ve never met nor spoken with who the federal government has roped together and charged us with arson and conspiracy all in their endless effort to dismantle and alter the progress of the “BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT.”

Khalif Miller

Miller wrote to Unicorn Riot from his prison cell and called for support by sharing his story, writing him, and donating for legal support (full letter below with address). Miller is one of over 300 people across the United States who were federally charged during the height of the anti-police and anti-racist uprising of mid 2020. (This wave of prosecutions contradicts claims by supporters of January 6 riot defendants, who often falsely claim the government has declined to serious prosecute nearly anyone for rioting in 2020.)

Miller, a father and business owner, was only 25 years old when he was arrested.

Khalif Miller in 2016 (L, M) and 2018 – via social media

The Philadelphia Three were indicted (pdf) on October 20, 2020, after a grand jury charged them with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and two counts of arson. If convicted, they face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison with a maximum of 65 years, with three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $750,000.

Guilty Plea, Arson Charges Dropped, and Sentencing for Woman Who Set Police Cars on Fire

After the massive uprisings against anti-Blackness and police terror across the country in 2020, dozens of cities were left with millions of dollars in property damage. The federal government then levied arson charges and a rare 1960s vintage civil disorder charge in attempts to punish protesters with long federal prison sentences. For more on the recent use of civil disorder charges, see our 2020 report on an Illinois man charged with civil disorder by the feds for participating in the uprising in Minneapolis.

In Philadelphia, there were several other high-profile arson cases from activity on May 30, 2020. Directly related to the Philadelphia Three was the case of Lore Elisabeth Blumenthal, a 32-year-old white massage therapist. Wearing a bandana over her face along with goggles, Blumenthal was seen in photographs throwing flaming material toward a police car. Authorities traced the t-shirt she was wearing to an Etsy review and arrested Blumenthal within days.

Image of Lore Blumenthal with flaming material directed toward a police car – Khalif Miller is seen standing on a police car in the distance – image taken on May 30, 2020 – source: U.S. District Court

In March 2022, Blumenthal pled guilty to two counts of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder in connection with what the feds state was “arson of two” police vehicles, the same vehicles the Philadelphia Three are charged for. Her arson charges were dropped in the plea deal. She was subsequently sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

In a key photograph, Miller is visible in the background standing on the police car, while Blumenthal is the right foreground with the flaming material in her hand. Miller is being charged with arson for the vehicles, yet, he maintains his innocence:

“As the protest started to take a turn, I was taking photos when suddenly mid-photo chaos erupted and the car that I was standing on (a government official vehicle) erupted into flames as it was firebombed. Eventually every vehicle in the area received the same fate.”

Khalif Miller letter to Unicorn Riot

From Coast to Coast: Open Letter by Anarchist Prisoner Toby Shone

  • August 27, 2022 1:21 am

from Philly ABC

toby-shone-statement.jpg

I’ve previously written about the need to recreate an Atlantic bridge, based on international revolutionary solidarity and reciprocal knowledge, that moves towards affinity and direct action in support of our imprisoned comrades. Since then, I was recently visited by a comrade from Anarchist Black Cross Philadelphia here at the G4S facility in which I’m held. G4S is originally an American company, Wackenhut, which has pioneered the private prison and security industry all over the world. As part of our discussion between the comrade from ABC Philadelphia and myself, we spoke of the need to prevent our groups and commons becoming inward-looking and closing in on themselves in microscopic scenes and myopia. The anglophone world is particularly susceptible to this trend, although it is not solely confined to English-speaking territories. How can we translate rhetoric into practical activity? Words and deeds must coincide, and that is what?

For too long, a kind of one-way discourse has been in effect, breached by too few valiant individuals and groups. We can speak of a loss of solidarity flowing across the Atlantic between north and south, east and west. Without wanting to advocate any kind of anarcho-tourism or the colonial approach of the wholesale export-import political programs of the activist left, I’m in favor of strengthening our international networks in the face of an increased technocratic authoritarianism. To remain locked up in our local areas without considering the struggles elsewhere is self-defeating, as repressive operations seek to confine us and stem our anarchic contagion specifically to promote sterility. Can we renew an Atlantic bridge that connects our tendencies, that connects the uprisings in the North American metropolises to those in Europe, Latin America and Asia? Can we join together the struggles of the long-term COINTELPRO prisoners with those elsewhere in the global prison industrial complex?

As a very basic contribution with the small means I have, I’ll join the Running Down The Walls 5K run event organized by the comrades of the American chapters of the ABC, called for September the 11th-18th this year, during the time I have out of my cell on the yard or the gym. This event aims to create a sense of togetherness through athletics. Keeping our fitness and health is important outside, and money raised by the event will supply funds to the ABC Warchest.

The real challenge is to enable an evolution in self-organization, osmosis, decentralization and cooperation; critical and practical action. As a first principle and minimum start, we can mention the exchange of letters and postcards that break the isolation of the prison walls and national borders that separate us. Since I am forbidden a large part my correspondence, and especially that of political content, it is fair to say that this constitutes meaningful solidarity of a certain type. Then there is the collation and publication of the letters and updates of our imprisoned comrades, and the incendiary dialogues which are always breaking out and multiplying as written about by comrades Alfredo, Gabriel, and Gustavo. This dialogue between inside and outside is very important. We need to cut through the bars which divide us all to support our hunger strikes, to identify structures of repression, to raise funds, to carry out campaigns, to hold events and give a helping hand to those next to our side even though an ocean may seem to separate us. I hope certain comrades can forgive me for laboring the topic as I’m positive everything I’ve written about already exists to varying degrees over several territories, but I’m aware of the need occasionally to reiterate key aspects of our practices to spread them and create new connections.

Let your voices be heard in protest from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Maine to Mexico. Serve notice upon the murderous capitalistic class that you will not again stand idly by and see your brothers made victims because they so will it, and they will dare not do it!

– Lucy Parsons, The Proposed Slaughter, 1905

Everyone to the streets,
Toby Shone
19 August 2022

Anathema Volume 8 Issue 1

  • August 22, 2022 1:34 am

from Anathema

Volume 8 Issue 1 (PDF for reading 8.5×11)

Volume 8 Issue 1 (PDF for printing (11×17)

In this issue:

  • Land & Freedom
  • Munich Raid
  • The Electrification of the World
  • On Hopelessness
  • Situational Awareness
  • Jane’s Revenge
  • The Facts of Art

Neo-Nazi Publishers “Antelope Hill” of Green Lane, PA Exposed

  • July 31, 2022 1:48 am

from Philly Antifa

Dmitri Loutsik, Vincent Cucchiara and Sarah Cucchiara, proveyors of neo-nazi publishing house Antelope Hill.

The Southern Poverty Law Center recently published a story on their Hatewatch blog exposing the principals behind the Pennsylvania-based White Nationalist publisher “Antelope Hill Publishing.”

Antelope Hill is being run by Vincent and Sarah Cucchiara (née Nahrgang) of 134 Main St., Green Lane PA and Dmitri Anatolievich Loutsik of Lehigh Valley, PA.

Vincent Cucchiara of Antelope Hill Publishing
Sarah Cucchiara of Antelope Hill Publishing. Unsurprisingly, both she and Vincent were involved in anti-choice organizing.

The article goes into great detail about the history of Antelope Hill as well as their ties to the neo-nazi National Justice Party and The Right Stuff podcast.

In addition, check out this thread by AnonCommieStan on twitter, which details other individuals associated with Antelope Hill as well as reveals that Vincent Cucchiara works as a real estate agent at EXP realty. Sarah Cucchiara was, alarmingly, working as a public school teacher until she was fired for racist facebook posts.

[Twitter Link]

Publishers like Antelope Hill do not seem like urgent threats when compared to companies of fascist Stormtroopers operating all over the U.S., but Antifascists should remember the lessons of Resistance Records or Micetrap Distributions. Both of which operated with impunity for years and helped indoctrinate new individuals into Fascist movements. The ripple effect of harm done by those individuals is incalculable. While we don’t advocate for government censorship of these kind of companies, we do think there should be financial, social and personal consequences for profiting off such books as “Hitler: In His Own Words” and using your home to form neo-nazi political parties with Mike Enoch.

As with any political movement, there are factions in Fascism that usually can be divided into Militant Vanguardism and Incremental Entryism. For example, nazi Boneheads vs. Suit-and-tie nazis attempting to infiltrate local GOP groups.

However, like in most political movements, individuals themselves will move between these factions over a lifetime and work with both. Ultimately, the factions are working towards the same or similar goals. While the militant fringe nazis will openly provoke a response with their constant terror attacks, the suit and tie types, in the past, have flown under the radar for many Antifascists.

A prime example of this is the American Renaissance conference, organized annually by Jared Taylor and other “intellectual” racists. While groups like One People’s Project and local Antifascists have long raised the alarm and protested the conference, it took years before any larger responses were mobilized. Yet Amren has been as damaging as any regional bonehead crew or Patriot Front cell.

This is not to turn our nose up at confronting the Fascist stormtroopers, whose role in trying to “control the streets” should also not be understated. The cold reality is we must fight them on both front. We are paraphrasing, but there’s an old quote that goes…”They have a political agenda that must be confronted politically. They also have a physical agenda that must be confronted physically.”

There will always be trendy leftists, who didn’t have the time of day for Antifa before we started getting media and political slander hurled from all directions, who will either dismiss the fascist militants as “idiot thugs” while also dismissing the fascist intelligentsia as “nerd internet nazis.” The reality is they aren’t going to fight fascism, and their insecurity around that compels them to try and discourage others who do.

Publishers like Antelope Hill, podcasts like The Right Stuff and Daily Shoah and their affiliated parties are equally a threat to our communities as any network of Nazi bonehead crews or Attomwaffen terrorists. They are all part of the same movement. Which seeks to “correct” the demographics of the U.S. through mass murder and deportation, destroy the left and feminist movements here, and impose a far right, ultra-authoritarian nationalism. A society of forced conformity through rigid gender and sex roles and eugenics. A nation of militarism and slavery, with themselves at the top.

That’s the world that our enemies want. Moreover, it’s the world we are headed towards if we fail to stop them. On all fronts.

Eternal War on the Hitler Youth (and all fascists),

Big Brick Energy: A Multi-City Study of the 2020 George Floyd Uprising

  • July 24, 2022 1:53 am

from Its Going Down

A critical overview and analysis from Unity and Struggle on the George Floyd rebellion. Check out a booklet version here.

by: Ever, Lamont and Chino
photos: Lorie Shaull, Creative Commons

Introduction

The 2020 George Floyd uprising was a major event by whatever measure you use. It deepened the generational Black revolt that began with Black Lives Matter in 2014. It marked the most profound challenge to racial capitalist rule since the 2008 financial crisis. It saw the National Guard deployed to multiple U.S. cities for the first time since the 1960s, and by one estimate, it was the costliest wave of civil unrest in the postwar period.(1) The uprising was rich with lessons, and it will shape a generation of us who moved in the streets.

But rigorous analysis of the uprising remains limited. Many of us haven’t had time to reflect on it deeply: individuals and organizations have had to navigate state repression, sectarian infighting, interpersonal harm shaped by gender and race, and all kinds of tragedies stemming from the ongoing pandemic. More often, clusters of friends and comrades have drawn conclusions from local experience, and lefty commentators have produced think pieces that draw single themes out of the uprising, or spin it to fit their dogma.

Big Brick Energy takes a step beyond anecdotes and hot takes. For a year, members of Unity and Struggle studied the uprising by interviewing fifteen comrades in five cities, compiling news coverage from the same cities, and surveying official reports from local governments and police departments in seventeen cities nationwide. (For more on our methods, see Appendix A.) We drew out common dynamics across locations, identified tactics and strategies that the movement and the ruling class used, explored what worked or didn’t, and highlighted important challenges and questions that a future uprising will likely encounter.

Generally, the uprising involved a common sequence of moments unfolding at different speeds and intensities, based on national trends and local turning points. When the rebellion erupted, it decisively defeated the police and paralyzed the local ruling class, usually for several days. People launched waves of protests and looting, and improvised tactics from community self-defense groups to small autonomous zones. Different factions of the state (and white mobs or fascists) reacted in conflicting ways, but eventually settled on a mix of repression and cooptation that was able to contain the unrest. The movement was channeled into nonviolent protest and legislative reforms, which yielded much shallower gains than most of us hoped for.

Within this story there are many variations and nuances, and lessons to be learned. Below we draw out aspects of the uprising that carry implications for our tactics, strategy, and race politics.

For Russell Maroon Shoatz: The tradition of Maroon “anarchism”

  • May 28, 2022 1:44 am

from Abolition Media

Russell Maroon Shoatz, activist and writer, was a founding member of the revolutionary group Black Unity Council in 1969, as well as a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. In 1972, he would be convicted for a 1970 killing of a Philadelphia police officer. He would spend 49 years in prison (22 of which in solitary confinement), being released in October of 2021 on grounds of compassion, only to die in December of the same year.

 

While not describing himself as an anarchist, Shoatz’s history of decentralised slave and indigenous rebellions in the americas looks “a whole lot like anarchism”. For Shoatz, it was in the diffused, archipelago like resistance of autonomous maroon communities, that colonialism and plantation slavery would find its greatest opposition, to which the colonial would be forced to respond.

Against the “Dragon” of colonial authority, Shoatz celebrates the “Hydra” tradition of a black-indigenous “anarchism” that did not bear this name, but from which anarchists, and others, must learn.

Below are two essays by Russell Maroon Shoatz, to celebrate his legacy.

A Philly protester charged with setting cop cars ablaze during 2020 demonstrations has pleaded guilty

  • March 19, 2022 1:20 am

from Mainstream Media

A Philadelphia woman charged with torching police cars during the 2020 racial injustice protests in Philadelphia has struck an agreement with federal prosecutors that will spare her the seven-year minimum sentence she would have faced had she been convicted on arson charges.

Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, 35, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of a lesser offense — obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder — each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Her attorney Paul J. Hetznecker called the deal “appropriate” after condemning the previous arson charges — and the harsh sentence they carried — as a ”political decision” and an overreaction to crimes he argued should have been pursued in state court.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to say whether the deal signaled a wider reevaluation of its stance on protest-related cases. In all, five other defendants are still facing federal arson counts in Philadelphia for setting squad cars ablaze during the heated protests that erupted May 30, 2020, outside City Hall after the police killing of George Floyd.

At the time of the arrests, Attorney General William Barr had urged federal prosecutors across the country to pursue stiff federal penalties against defendants who committed violence and property destruction during the unrest that roiled the country that spring.

Blumenthal’s case became a cause célèbre on both sides of the debate surrounding protests and policing.

Prosecutors described her as a danger to the community who put hundreds of lives at risk by setting fire to cars that could have exploded and endangered packed crowds of peaceful protesters nearby. Left-wing groups labeled her a “political prisoner” jailed for an act of dissent in response to police brutality. They vandalized the Federal Detention Center in Center City, where Blumenthal has been incarcerated since her arrest, calling for her release.

But Blumenthal — a massage therapist with a peace sign tattooed on her wrist — appeared to fit neither the profile of the violent firebrand nor the political martyr that she’s been made out to be as she stood meekly in court Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Barclay Surrick.

Hands clasped behind her back, she spoke slowly and deliberately as the judge ran her through a series of questions to make sure she understood the consequences of her guilty plea. She paused to shout “I love you” to her brother and mother seated in the courtroom gallery, as U.S. Marshals led her back to prison.

Federal agents have said they identified Blumenthal from surveillance photos and video of the chaotic scene that unfolded outside City Hall that day.

They showed a woman, dressed in a blue shirt and wearing flame-retardant gloves, grabbing a burning piece of police barricade that had already been used to set one squad car on fire and tossing it into a police SUV parked nearby.

More photos taken by amateur photographers at the scene helped them zoom in on the woman’s distinctive peace-sign tattoo and T-shirt she was wearing with the slogan “Keep the immigrants, deport the racists.”

March discussion: Hello

  • March 2, 2022 1:03 am

from Viscera

Hello – it’s a term we use in some form every day, it’s also the name of an essay about friendship, commitment, and alienation among anarchists. With the weather warming up, we’ll be discussing “Hello” this month in Clark Park (meet near the chess tables) on Sunday, March 13th from 1-3 pm.

When we invoke commitment to commitment, we are speaking of a form of organization that is far from all the boring clubs and pseudo-military formations. The strength of this form is entirely dependent on the intensity with which one enters into it and how well it shrouds itself. You do not have to believe that you are doing something more serious than playing a game to play it seriously, to win.

Find the reading here