As long as there has been fascism, there has been anti-fascism — also known as “antifa.” Born out of resistance to Mussolini and Hitler in Europe during the 1920s and ’30s, the antifa movement has suddenly burst into the headlines amidst opposition to the Trump administration and the alt-right. They could be seen in news reports, clad all in black with balaclavas covering their faces, fighting police at the presidential inauguration, and on California college campuses protesting right-wing speakers …
Simply, antifa aims to deny fascists the opportunity to promote their oppressive politics — by any means necessary. Critics say shutting down political adversaries is anti-democratic; antifa adherents argue that the horrors of fascism must never be allowed the slightest chance to triumph again.
In a smart and gripping investigation, historian and former Occupy Wall Street organizer Mark Bray provides a one-of-a-kind look inside the movement, including a detailed survey of its history from its origins to the present day — the first transnational history of postwar anti-fascism in English. Based on interviews with anti-fascists from around the world, Antifa details the tactics of the movement and the philosophy behind it, offering insight into the growing but little understood resistance fighting back against the alt-right.
[September 16th from 7PM to 9PM at Wooden Shoe Books 704 South St]
PA Alt-Knights At Unite the Right providing security for Augustus Invictus (center with tie)PA Alt Knights 2nd in Command Jeff Thomas discussing providing security for eugenics promoting, holocaust denying, fascist politician Augustus Invictus. Apparently participating in a Nazi rally that ended in a murder was “a pleasure.”
As our readers are no doubt aware, this “Unite the Right Rally” was a disaster for the Alt-Right and led to the death of Anti-Racist demonstrator Heather Heyer as well as multiple hate crimes and assaults by Neo-Nazi and Far Right rally participants. In the fallout, many of the rallies participants and organizers have turned on each other and/or distanced themselves from the Alt-Right.
One group that seems to have very few regrets is the PA Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights (FOAK). Their members were observed by Anti-Fascists on the ground in Charlottesville, and confirmed through social media, providing security for Augustus Invictus (real name Austin Gillespie), Florida Senate Candidate, and total fucking cretin. Invictus was formerly a member of the Libertarian party, but even a party comprised almost entirely of Fedoras could not stomach Invictus’ Holocaust denial, advocacy of Eugenics, use of Fascist and White Nationalist talking points and imagery, and participation in animal sacrifice. This led to several conflicts within the party that ended with Invictus switching his affiliation to The GOP.
Most of these “Kekistanis” were spotted a few months ago trolling the Refuse Fascism rally at Dilworth Plaza. While these jerkoffs might seem like harmless fools, the murder of Heather Heyer goes to show just how dangerous and unstable the pathetic types attracted to the Alt-Right can be, and those that protect and enable them will not be spared their share of the blame.
We’re sure that the FOAK will describe this as “guilt by association,” a legal term appropriated by Nazi sympathizers to deflect and distract from criticisms. Guilt by association is supposed to be in reference to criminal charge having no evidence other than “this guy knew that guy.” It’s not intended to excuse actual behavior, like attending rallies or defending Fascists, nor to insulate someone from the social consequences of doing so. Why exactly shouldn’t someone feel guilty or be judged by others for rallying and defending Neo-Nazis and Klansmen? That’s rhetorical, FOAK.
Spotted at the Unite the Right Rally:
Ellsworth George Lewis III
Ellsworth George Lewis III,, head of PA Alt-Knights, at Unite the RightEllsworth George Lewis III at Trump’s Inauguration
Despite claiming on social media that he would not be attending at one point, Ellsworth George Lewis was indeed present at UTR.
In a video posted by Youtube user “Khaos Kekmander Khrone” Ellsworth can be seen milling around nervously in a Bloodsport T-shirt. I guess because he’s a tough underground martial artist (lol)?
Ellsworth works at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, PA. Taylor (part of the Crozer Keystone Health System) continues to employ Ellsworth despite his continued association with White Nationalist, Far Right and Neo-Nazi individuals and groups. Contact their public relations department (link above) and let them know how the public feels about that decision. He lives in Prospect Park, PA on Lincoln Ave.
Jeff Thomas
Jeff Thomas at Unite the Right
Present with Ellsworth was his “second in command” Jeff Thomas.
Jeff Thomas
Jeff Thomas, was last seen in Philly repeating “I’m not a nazi” over and over while hanging with “Illegal Aryan” and American Vanguard member Daniel Reardon, who was also in Charlottesville.
Apparently hanging with Nazis suited Jeff Thomas fine because he was up to his neck in them at UTR.
In this video (at around 16 min) you can see he even has a brief moment of clarity and weakly comments that the guy carrying a swastika flag is “making them look bad.” No shit, Jeff. Racism and Fascism is a bad look.
Despite this comment, Jeff seemed to have no desire to exercise his first amendment rights to take a vocal stand against Nazism while surrounded by Nazis. How strange, since they love free debate and expression. Was he fearing for his safety should he object to open Nazism being the face of the rally he was attending? Certainly his associates are not violent individuals like the “evil Antifa” he’s so scared of, so one can only assume his only issue with Nazis was that they were making him “look bad,” and it wasn’t worth it to him to argue.
So this guy will plan and recruit to troll Communists, but can’t be bothered to loudly state opposition to Nazism when it’s right in front of him, despite his claims that he views them both as “collectivism.” Cowardliness, thy name is Jeff Thomas.
After UTR, Thomas took to social media for damage control, again denying any wrongdoing and reaffirming his belief that the greatest fight he could be undertaking at this historical moment is to protect the Free Speech rights of Neo-Nazis.
In a rather hilarious thread on his FB page, Thomas makes the following claim:
What came out in the thread was ample evidence of his ties and sympathies for Nazism/Racism/Bigotry.
He refuses to answer this person’s question outright:
Good question, Jeff
He then goes on to claim that Augustus Invictus is a “great friend” who is “not afraid to debate”
Invictus is then tagged in on the thread by a friend of Thomas’ and shows off his excellent debating skills when one of the commentators literally quotes his own Holocaust denial.
See, at this point in a conversation where someone is accusing you of denying the Holocaust most people would probably just affirm that the Holocaust happened. But Austin Gillespie is too great a debater for such an easy route. Instead, he invokes the supreme debate strategy of “people who think different things than me, their opinions don’t matter.”
But if a regular old racist, sexist, holocaust-denying capitalist isn’t proof positive enough, leave it to New Jersey Neo- Nazi Frank Marlowe (check out the public content for plenty of evidence of Marlow’s nazi views) to bomb into the thread to recommend to Jeff that he just lean into it and become a Fascist:
But how do we even know Marlow is a Fasc-
Nvm
It really is a hilarious thread we recommend reading for as long as he keeps it public. Just keep in mind Thomas is friends with many far right and White Nationalist figures who may be monitoring the thread so use good security should you decide to comment.
Thomas launches the same old “who, me?” routine while well-meaning friends try and talk sense into him about what it means to participate in a movement regardless of your alleged actual principles. We get it Jeff: you don’t think people should have to share. What we don’t understand is why you think that is a greater principle than human equality or freedom.
Seems as though Thomas is too much of a narcissist to really self-examine his role in helping create the circumstances in which Heather Heyer died. Even if he did nothing else, had attended no rallies earlier, had not helped organize and recruit for FOAK, insulated Nazis like Daniel Reardon from Anti-Fascists, etc. and ONLY provided security for Invictus, consider this Jeff: what if the speakers had been unable to get security and been forced to cancel UTR before it began? Heather Heyer would be alive today.
Movements are the sum of individuals. Everyone that participates, whoever minor, shares some portion of the credit/blame. Throwing up your hands, pointing fingers, or hiding behind the constitution will not wash the blood off your hands.
Deborah Nemeth
Deb Nemeth at Unite the Right
Another “not Nazi” attending the largest Nazi rally in the U.S. on decades was Deborah Nemeth.
Nemeth arrived with the Kekistanis but was seperated and can be seen in this picture leaving Emancipation Park in between the Traditionalist Worker’s Party and Hammerskins contingents, both open Neo-Nazi groups, and shortly before the group of Klansmen that included Richard Preston, who was arrested for firing a gun towards protesters.
Nemeth has shown no remorse or signs of leaving the movement since UTR. She’s all over the thread on Jeff Thomas’ page mentioned above “liking” all the right wing and apologist posts and arguing with anyone expressing disgust at their involvement in the largest Neo-Nazi rally in this country in decades.
We would like to encourage our readers to contact Nemeth’s employers and let them know that their employee is a willing participant in White Nationalist and Neo-Nazi movements and to ask them to fire her immediately.
Justin and Colin Emerle
Justin Emerle at Unite the RightColin Emerle at UTRJustin Emerle trying to blend into the Refuse Fascism rally but after Antifa started filming him he bounced.
Justin Emerle, aka “Hipster Douche Fascist” briefly attempted to infiltrate the Refuse Fascism crowd a few months back at their rally but dipped out as soon as Antifa began shadowing him around Dilworth. At the time he claimed to be “wasn’t with them” (meaning the Alt-Knights) and was just “checking things out.”
The Emerle brothers sometimes perform as the band Echo Orbiter in the Philly area, though have been on various periods of inactivity the past few years.
Justin and Colin Emerle in an older pic. Note the matching skull tattoo on Justin’s left wrist. Also the fact that these guys are aging hipster douchebags.Emerele and Lewis discussing Charlottesville. Guess Lewis decided to go after all.
Justin Emerele is even less remorseful than Jeff Thomas, preferring to argue online about semantics or his being offended at being called racist than address the fact that he was rallying with Nazis and Klan, which btw is a pretty fucking racist thing to do. He is repping Augustus Invictus’ website The Revolutionary Conservative as his FB profile photo.
Eh… no thanks.
Justin Emerle is listed as living on New Street in Westville, NJ.
This is our first time spotting Colin at a far right event, but that’s likely because we didn’t know to look for them, or they were hiding out, possibly as a scout.
This Nazi Kid
Nazi kid at UTR
This Nazi Kid was also trolling at the Refuse Fascism rally. Despite adamantly pointing out that he “wasn’t white” (his mother, who appeared to be South Asian, was waiting for him nearby) this little guy claimed to support the Traditionalist Worker’s Party and claimed “Hitler did nothing wrong.”
Despite his not-so-aryan heritage, This Nazi Kid was welcomed into the Neo-Nazi contingent of UTR, marching along in a white polo shirt along with Vanguard America, the Neo-Nazi group that the murderer of Heather Heyer was also marching with.
Commando Barbie Alt-Knight
This guy was with the PA Alt-Knights contingent and seemingly very eager to fight Antifa from behind police barricades but demurred from actually backing any of it up. Anyone with information regarding this winner or any of the scum who went to UTR should send it our way.
—
Let’s pretend for a second we believe that PA FOAK really believe that they are not racists or fascists. Excuse the unappetizing metaphor, but essentially what Ellsworth Lewis, Jeff Thomas and the rest of PA FOAK are doing is smearing shit on themselves, and then when someone complains about the smell, saying “But we don’t have any body odor! It’s not US, it’s the SHIT that smells!”
It’s not any less disgusting and doesn’t mean you’re entitled to keep your jobs, friends, be served by local businesses, or be free of people pointing out that you smell like shit. Free association cuts both ways you fake-ass “libertarians.”
We have every intention to hold PA FOAK and every other group/individual who attended UTR on the Fascist side accountable.
Some more pics of the PA FOAK crew at UTR:
Love and Solidarity to all Anti-Racists injured in Charlottesville, the family and friends of Heather Heyer, and all those taking a stand against the Fascists and their allies. Rage to our enemies.
Neo-Nazi record label and distro house Micetrap Records is closing up shop, according to it’s owner.
For over 20 years, Micetrap Records has been distributing Neo-Nazi, White Nationalist, Neo-Confederate and other Fascist music, writings and clothing using a P.O. box in Maple Shade, N.J..
Micetrap was (to the best of our knowledge) a one-man operation for it’s entire run. Stephen Wiegand of Cherry Hill, NJ would distribute bands such as Skrewdriver and Bound for Glory as well as old issues of National Vanguard magazines and writings by Nazi Terrorist David Lane. Basically all manner of Fascist paraphernalia.
Despite the immeasurable damage done by Weigand over the years, he flew under the radar for much of his career due to his insistence that he was no ideologically motivated, his willingness to make ridiculous legal threats when he was exposed and other more pressing concerns demanding the time and energy of Anti-Racists and Anti-Fascists in the area.
This changed a few years ago with Antifa Philadelphia exposed Wiegand’s home address and description of his cars and posted them on our site. This eventually led to Weigand’s lawyers threatening WordPress and them caving into pressure and shutting down our old blog. We rebounded nicely, though, launching on noblogs and then eventually our own current site and keeping the Wiegand info up the entire time.
So in the wake of Charlottesville, with a huge upsurge in Anti-Fascist sentiment among people in the U.S., and his info already being made public by Antifa, and Philly Inquirer reporters showing up at his doorstep, Wiegand (allegedly) decided to call it quits.
From a statement on the Micetrap site:
“8/20/2017 – Micetrap Distribution will be soon closing down.
After many years of struggling to figure out the best way to shut down this business, it is with a very heavy heart that I have decided that the time has now come for Micetrap Distribution LLC. to close.
I am proud to say that I built this business from practically nothing and formed a company that I believed stood for everything our 1st Amendment was established for. But in doing this, I have endured personal issues and sacrifices that very few would have been strong enough to endure. But, I can no longer continue on with the passion and enthusiasm that made the business the success that it became. I have always been attacked from all sides of the spectrum and this is not a retreat or surrender, instead it is my attempt at finding my own self peace again. When my business is gone, the violence will still continue between the left and the right, but I will know in my heart that I am not associated with it in any way. I am going out on my own terms while sales are increasing at a rapid pace, simply to pursue a happier, less stressful life that also spares my friends and the neighborhood I love.
After the recent issues in Charlottesville, Virginia, it has forced me to take a long, deep look into myself. And after speaking with friends and neighbors, I can no longer be aligned with the violence (from all sides) that I have always been against.
I will continue processing all orders as I am going through the closing down process. No customers need to worry, if you are able to place an order, it will be completed. But once the shutting down process is complete, I will be completely taking down all websites and domains. I have already removed all social media pages and the streaming radio website. I don’t have any idea where the inventory will go or what will happen with the countless domain names, but over the 20 years, I feel I have done everything possible to fight for the freedom of speech that means everything to me. But now it’s time for me to focus on my own spiritual peace.
I pray that this country I love with all of my heart can heal it’s divides.”
It is worth noting the Wiegand is still taking orders of his repulsive merchandise, despite claiming to have had some vague change of heart. Wiegand also parrots the ridiculous assertions by Donald Trump that Neo-Nazi demonstrators and Anti-Racists in Charlottesville were somehow morally equivalent.
We have no intention of removing Wiegand’s information from our site as it stands. Wiegand is running or involved in running several “Anti-Antifa” blogs and SM accounts that have engaged in doxxing of real or presumed Antifa and has not engaged in any of the behaviors we would classify as evidence of a legitimate change of heart. Stephen Wiegand has been nothing if not duplicitous for the entirety that he’s been around WP scenes. There is no guarantee that this is a legitimate shutdown or that it will last.
For the moment though, we celebrate what seems like a victory in one of our longest running campaigns and recommit ourselves to go harder to ensure that no one can operate a business like Micetrap for 20 years with nearly no consequences and total anonymity.
Eternal War on the Hitler Youth and their Shitty Record Salesmen…
An amazing friend and accomplice Sophia was beaten by police at an Alt-Right Counter Rally in Seattle the day after Charlotesville. Most of y’all knew her when she lived in Philly, but now she goes to school in Seattle.
At the counter-rally, she was hospitalized and had to get a ct scan and stitches in her head. We are trying to raise money for her to cover her hospital bills (copay for insurance, and any healing requirements). We are looking for bands willing to play a set for her! if you are interested, please message us, or comment!
Door fee will be sliding scale, if you can do 5-10 bucks, that’d be great, if you can’t donate, no one will be turned away.
Here is her statement:
“Hey y’all I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing okay. Yesterday I had to go to the hospital after being hit in the head multiple times with a wooden baton. I had to have lacerations in my scalp stitched up and get a ct scan. All results came back clear with no internal bleeding or skull fracture. I am still on watch for any vision, neck and nerve problems that might occur from blunt force to the head. I am so thankful that I currently have health insurance and all of my medical expenses besides a co-pay are covered. Thank you to so many of you who reached out about helping with medical expenses. I encourage you to donate funds to folks effected in Charlottesville. My injury resulted from police protecting white supremacists. They are reporting no injuries even though many folks were attacked with chemical weapons, flash bangs, and blunt force. The police do not exist for protection. They exist to uphold oppression, white supremacy, capitalist interests and will use any means necessary to do so. This injury will not keep me off the streets and I will continue to fight. I am just so thankful that injuries were not worse.” please to not share for protection, but you can copy/paste if you would like”
[August 24 from 8PM to 10PM at LAVA Space 4134 Lancaster Ave]
We’ve written about Ellsworth George Lewis on the site before, but we’ve learned he was recently appointed as the leader of the Pennsylvania Alt-Knights.
In response, Anti-Fascists around the state and region are launching a push to get Lewis fired from his job at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, PA.
Take a few minutes and call the hospital at (610) 595-6000 and let them know what you think about them employing racist misogynists like Ellsworth George Lewis.
Here’s a good example of what might want to say when you call.
Hello,
You are currently employing Ellsworth George Lewis III, who was recently appointed to be the Pennsylvania Commander and State Point of Contact of the Pennsylvania Alt-Knights. Alt-Knights are a group of alt-right fighting squads and has been featured in Hate Watch by The Southern Poverty Law Center.
Lewis has been in the news several times in the last few months for his involvement with the “Kekistani Movement,” which has involved Lewis carrying a modified version of a Nazi battle flag around the country and participating in various far right and fascist rallies while looking for confrontation with protesters. The “Kek” flag also has added elements from 3%er militia groups and Ku Klax Klan imagery. Lewis intends to be in Charlottesville this coming weekend to participate in the “Unite the Right” rally being organized by Neo-Nazi and other far right groups including the National Socialist Movement and American Vanguard. Lewis’ activities should be cause of grave concern for you and represent a threat to your staff and patients, and do to his recent move to a leadership position within the Alt-Knights I would like to see him terminated immediately.
Lewis announcing his leadership of Alt-Knights
Ellsworth George Lewis III with Kek Flag at InaugurationEllsworth (left) with other PA Alt Knights demonstrating against an Anti-Trump rally in Philadelphia. Lewis is speaking with Daniel Reardon, aka “Illegal Aryan,” the Neo-Nazi who has been posting vile racist flyers in West Philly.
In the dark hours between July 24th and 25th two vacant residential construction sites and a back hoe had their windows smashed in Greys Ferry in South Philly.
Solidarity and complicity with grand jury resistance in North Carolina! Solidarity and complicity with J20 rebels facing repression! Solidarity and complicity with imprisoned anti-fascists!
“Lol only half of us are actually Nazis and the others are being ironic. We’re so funny.”
On Saturday July 15th Refuse Fascism (an anti-Trump/Pence coalition with no affiliation to our crew) held several “Drive our the Trump/Pence Regime” demonstrations around the country.
Having been thoroughly embarrassed over and over in the past few months, one might think that the racist right might have taken the hint and left these nice communists alone. And for the most part, you would be right. Gone were the throngs of suburban MAGAts, Bikers for Trump, and crews of White Nationalists we saw back in May during the failed “Make America Great Again” march. Even the pathetic turnout on July 2nd could not be repeated. (See links if you are not a regular reader)
No, what turned out this past Saturday with some vague notion of disrupting or trolling the Refuse Fascism march represented the dregs of the Pennsylvania Alt-Right. Less than a dozen individuals brought together through social media and shared stories of catching beat downs for having bad situational awareness and worse politics, “rallied” on the corner of 15th and JFK.
We say “rallied” because they were basically silent the entire time, preferring to talk among themselves or occasionally argue with the Anti-Racists and Anti-Fascists that walked by on their way to the Refuse rally, which went off without a hitch across the plaza. They handed out two different fliers. The first was as vague as it was pathetic, listing a bunch of “posi” slogans about how “We can be great again” though refraining from using Trump’s name, and a bunch of masked pleading about how the alt-right are poor victims of Leftist violence. The 2nd flyer was largely a cut and paste job of that idiotic article put out by the NJ DHS claiming the Antifa are an “extremist group.” The article, riddled with inaccuracies and bias, was followed by an article detailing the far right’s acts of violence, including ACTUAL murders, but these lovers of informed discourse declined to distribute any information about THAT article. Instead, they preferred to (incorrectly) assert that an article online means that all Antifa are now “classified as terrorists,” when in reality none are.
After the Refuse march departed from their rally, barely even noting the MAGAts, they (along with their police escort and a handful of Anti-Fascists and media) walked over the the Fox and Hound on 15th street. The right wingers ordered food and drank for several hours.
Undercover police and surveillance made for a calm scene, but Antifa did inform the management of the identities of the alt-rightists, including the fact that one of them was non other than Mark Daniel Reardon, aka “Illegal Aryan,” the Neo-Nazi troll who has been putting up Neo-Nazi flyers in West Philly (more on that below). Reardon hopped into an Uber not long after. A few more of them would make similar exits until a core group headed back towards city hall to distribute more of their Anti-Antifa fliers. It did not take long for them to realize their folly and they were soon calling the cops for protection again.
So who were this patchwork crew of Alt-Knights, “Classical (racist) Liberals,” MAGAts and outright Neo-Nazis who struggled to even exist in Philadelphia while under constant police protection? Here’s some of what we know about them:
Jeff Thomas
Jeff Thomas
Jeff Thomas is a member of Greater Philadelphia Alt-Knights. He is “not a Nazi or White Supremacist.” He tries (repeatedly) to make that clear to Anti-Racists that object to his organizing events for Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists to attend. Thomas claims that he is an anarcho-capitalist or right libertarian, both nonsense terms invented to hijack leftist language about individual liberty to serve the rich. When confronted with the fact that everything he organizes (including this past Saturday) is at least 50% comprised of Neo-Nazis, Fascists or other White Supremacists, Thomas only shrugs his shoulders and mutters some absolution of responsibility based on his inability to control others. When you’re full of shit you’re gonna attract flies, Jeff.
Jeff claims on social media to be living in Collegeville but has a partner who lives in Philly and he’s still listed at his parents’ house on S. Mountain Drive in Reading. He loves to debate, which we caution against as a waste of time, but if the mood strikes you he can be reached at 610-207-2223.
Thomas is working on a book on right and left politics. We imagine that when he wants to call it quits, he will claim this was all just research. Anyone remember Jacques Pluss? Anyway, time will tell. It’s irrelevant because when you help organize and protect Neo-Nazis, your own personal politics are moot.
There’s no shortage of con-men or short-sighted demagogues on the right who may not consider themselves racist (again, completely irrelevant and laughable considering the circumstances). This is true for Jeff Thomas, and this is true for Gaving McInness, Donald Trump, or any other not-textbook-fascist who associates with, enables and emboldens Neo-Nazis and other racists and/or Fascists.
Mark Reardon
Mark Daniel Reardon, aka “Illegal Aryan”
Regular readers of this site will remember Mark Daniel Reardon, aka “Illegal Aryan,” a The Daily Stormer poster who we exposed after he anonymously claimed responsibility for putting up Neo-Nazi flyers along Locust Walk a few months ago. According to a man who was at the rally Saturday and lives in West Philly, Reardon has been spotted putting up more flyers, including one at 36th and Chestnut. Reardon is a Neo-Nazi who attended the Traditionalist Worker’s Party rally in Pikevilly, KY in May and returned to find out he was no longer anonymous.
Reardon attending the private conference portion of the Traditionalist Workers Party’s event in Kentucky.
Since then he was kicked out of his apartment but is still staying somewhere in Philadelphia and recently stopped by a Food Not Bombs serving at an anarchist space then took to twitter to gloat about how he had visited our “headquarters” (lol) and escaped detection.
However this past Saturday he was just a shook one who feebly refused to answer an elder’s question as to whether the Holocaust happened (though he stuck out his tongue and smiled when Jeff Thomas and others acknowledged the Holocaust happened).
Reardon pretty much refrained from talking with anyone other than the other Alt-Rightists, and was generally about as craven as we all expected. He did post a boasting report back afterwards about his ability to survive a day out in Philadelphia with police and sympathizer protection, in which Reardon also speaks highly of just how sympathetic the others there were to his politics and activities.
Ellsworth Lewis
Ellsworth George Lewis III
Ellsworth George Lewis III is a far-right wing racist troll who is a member of Greater Philadelphia Alt-Knights. He is 31 and lives on Lincoln Ave in Prospect Park, PA. He works at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park PA.
Here is a screengrab of Lewis discussing the “Unite the Right” rally being held in Charlottesville in August with the explicit aim of merging the outright racist elements of the right such as National Socialists and White Nationalists and the so-called “non-racist right” like Ancaps and various so-called “sovereign citizens.”
Deborah Nemeth
Deborah Nemeth
Deborah Nemeth lives in center city. She works as a paralegal and business manager for Piscitello Law as well as Project Manager for Diamond Contractors. Her bigotry of choice seems to be Islamophobia. This is only her second appearance with this crowd by our count, and is another one of this crew that claimed to not be a Nazi or White Supremacist. For our feelings on that argument, see Jeff Thomas.
Howard Caplan
Howard Caplan, aka “Pizzagate Howie”
Howard Caplan, also known as “Pizzagate Howie” or by his (now suspended) twitter handle @pghowie1, is a local wingnut and the seemingly the last man on earth (or at least in Philadelphia) willing to publicly claim that the endlessly debunked Pizzagate conspiracy is a real thing. Caplan also burst into Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul during midnight mass on Christmas eve to deliver a tirade alleging a link between Pizzagate and The Catholic Church’s (very real) scandals regarding sexual abuse. Before he was on Pizzagate, Caplan was the “Hillary 4 Prison sign guy” for flying said sign along Roosevelt Boulevard near where he lives in NE Philly.
Kevin Nally
Kevin Nally, JR
Kevin Nally Jr. is fucking gross. He is otherwise known as “pill eater” and he runs a website asianaryanism(dot)com (NSFW. Disgusting misogynist and racist content), the crux of which is advocate for a home for racist alt-right white men who fetishize east Asian women as submissive sex objects. When we say home we are being literal; the site claims to advocate for “a new ideology called ‘Asian Aryanism’ where a new white male-asian female ethnostate is established right next to the white ethnostate that Richard Spencer proposes…” Nally’s website features his writings and music, including an album called “Rape is Love” with a disgusting cover featuring battered women.
Nally lives at 606 Nantucket Court in King of Prussia. He was with a woman, who people were calling “Molly”.
So so far we got an Ancap who is either playing dumb or is just really dumb, a far-right LARPer, an Islamophobic nazi sympathizer, an actual Neo-Nazi, a racist misogynist, and fucking “Pizzagate Howie.” This is a wonderfully diverse collection of unique fashy snowflakes.
Also spotted with the Alt-Right contingent included:
This douche had stars and stripes socks.This guy was with them. He seemed to be trying to blend into the Refuse Fascism rally but after Antifa started filming him he bounced.
There was also a 15 year old boy who expressed sympathy for the Traditionalist Worker’s Party and claimed “Hitler did nothing wrong,” though they quickly backtracked and said “some things.” His (hopefully ashamed) mother was literally waiting a few yards away behind a row of police. Daniel Reardon beamed about the little Nazi in his report back, claiming he had a “bright future.” Sounds like wishful thinking coming from a guy with a lot of hard times on the horizon .
And that was pretty much all of them, except for one or two who kept more or less silent.
Oh and there were some total P.O.S. Anti-Gay preachers there with their kids. Something about everyone going to hell. It was stupid. Later they went to Clark Park during a Dead Milkmen show and some of the attendees confronted them. Maybe there’s room for them with Jeff and Howie and Deb’s crew of people who are safe nowhere in Philadelphia.
Takeaways from this rather uneventful event are some classics (cops protect Fashies/the alt right is a bunch of rich kids and wingnuts getting duped by White Supremacists) as well as some disturbing new ones (Reardons report back, which we won’t link for obvious reasons, makes it very clear there is no limit to who this crowd associates with) as well as the always worthwhile goal of taking some time to let racists, sexists, homophobes and other assorted fascists know they are (still) not welcome in Philadelphia.
Five people were arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department today while acting against MAGA white supremacists in center city. It is still unclear what charges they will face, but they will need financial support both to get out and afterward.
All funds will go directly to bail and legal fees for arrestees. Any additional funds will go to the PHL Anti-Repression fund to support future arrests. Please help our friends taking action against white supremacy and fascism!
Philadelphia, PA – A rally calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump took place Sunday morning at Liberty Bell Plaza. A variety of liberal and progressive organizations generally denounced the Trump administration, calling for Medicaid for all, and drawing attention to the ongoing Trump-Russia investigation.
Area antifascists were also in attendance. An announcement was published days before the event calling on people to come oppose various white supremacist, so-called ‘alt-right’ elements who threatened to disrupt the impeachment rally.
The permitted march got underway shortly before noon, as planned.
Anti-Trump march of several hundred starting to take the streets in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/m6tyUXA8hJ
The heavily policed march eventually ended without incident at a plaza downtown. However, a group of neo-nazis, white nationalists, and Trump supporters was also holding an event nearby.
Small Trump/alt right crowd marching down Ben Franklin blvd in downtown Philly with 4chan/Nazi flags pic.twitter.com/q47Wm7wVqF
The white nationalist pro-Trump march eventually ended at Logan Square, where the small crowd of a few dozen listened to speakers. One of the speakers presented his own version of Richard Spencer’s call for a “white ethnostate”, which was met with applause.
Several individuals at the white nationalist event were carrying ‘Kekistan’ flags, a visual reference to online harassment culture based on 4chan and other image boards. The ‘Kekistan’ flag is a variation on the original German Nazi flag.
The ‘Kekistan’ flag is based on the German Nazi flag
The pro-Trump rally then ended, but many of the group walked directly from their rally point to Tir na nOg, a nearby Irish pub where many of the white nationalists had planned to meet. In the alley outside the pub, several fights broke out between anti-fascists and white supremacists.
Philadelphia police officers arrested four antifascist demonstrators, while not arresting any of the several Trump supporters who were also involved in the fights. (The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.)
When asked about white supremacists using their pub as a venue to meet, the manager at Tir na nOg declined to comment. The pub’s twitter account later tweeted a statement in response to comments made on social media.
— Tir na nOg Philly (@TirNaNogPhilly) July 2, 2017
In a separate incident from the fights outside the pub, a man who had been carrying a ‘Trump 2020’ sign at the white nationalist event appeared to have been involved in a fight by Suburban Station in downtown Philadelphia. He was visibly covered in blood as he was removed by paramedics on a stretcher. SEPTA transit police arrested three individuals.
Man with ‘Trump 2020’ sign at Philly march/rally w Nazi flags, speeches for ‘white ethnostate’ later carried away on stretcher by paramedics pic.twitter.com/wQyxYS4E7V
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 Newsand distributed as actual truth. This connection between Alt-Right trolls and Fox News is not new; just last week Foxreprinted 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.
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.”
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 Newsthat 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.
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.
On July 19, 1936, Spanish anti-fascist organizer Dolores Ibárruri gave a speech calling her people to stand in solidarity against fascism during the Spanish Civil War. The speech concluded on a passionate call to arms: “Long live the Popular Front! Long live the union of all anti-fascists! Long live the Republic of the people! The Fascists shall not pass! THEY SHALL NOT PASS!”
On Sunday, July 2, 2017, members of fascist “alt-right” groups will attempt to disrupt a Philadelphia liberal-organized march calling for Trump’s impeachment. We are calling for groups and individuals to mask up, crew up, and show up to send a strong message to the far-right that they are not welcome in our city. We will smash the growth of fascism by any and all means necessary.
First, let’s be clear. We aren’t there to support the liberal strategy of impeachment. The focus on impeachment is strategically ineffective from a Left standpoint, as the media frenzy will mask discussion of fundamental policy changes desperately needed by working people.
It is also tactically idiotic. If the impeachment succeeds at removing Trump from office, there will be one more imperialist, bigoted, misogynist prick to pick up where he left off.
Philadelphia anti-fascists do not endorse wasting time while neo-Nazi, white nationalist groups grow in strength and number. Liberals twiddle their thumbs while the country fractures and its most detestable ideological elements bubble to the surface. We are the future that we need to see, and no one’s fighting but us.
This is our city, and we have home turf advantage. But they know we’re coming this time, so we need to up our game even further beyond our victory at the Disrupt MAGA march. Alt-right groups including the Alt-Knights are looking to make their first splash in the streets of an east-coast Left stronghold. We need the numbers to humiliate them and send them scrambling back to their pathetic holes. Let’s show them how organized we can be.
There come times in history when we have to decide where we stand. The future of America is in flux, being fought on battlegrounds across the country. The growth of the neo-fascist Right must be countered by a united, active front from the Left. Make no mistake, July 2 will be another battleground moment.
We are calling on everyone to come together and fight against white supremacy and all the unconscionable ideologies held by the far right. We must deny them a platform to promote hate and let them know they are not welcome in our communities. Come masked, come with comrades, come ready to fight, come ready to win.
We meet at 10am at the Liberty Bell on Sunday, July 2.
NOTE: The purpose of the mask is to protect your identity and your freedom of expression. It’s hard to be as courageous as we need to be on the streets if we’re worried about alt-right doxxers uncovering our identities and harassing our families. It also allows us to identify at a glance who’s militantly anti-fascist and willing to put their bodies on the line for their values and beliefs.
We fully support this call to defend our city. The ranks of those coming to Philly to try and disrupt the liberal Impeachment march will be filled with avowed Neo-Nazis, racist Libertarian Capitalists and Anarcho-Capitalists, and other assorted Far-Right wannabe storm troopers. Philadelphia is an Anti-Fascist city now and forever.
from Facebook
Members of “Altright” groups took to Twitter calling for the disruption of a mainly liberal trump impeachment march on July 2nd in 12 cities including philadelphia, These groups don’t deserve to be called by names other than fascists so we will leave it at that.
We are calling for direct action against the disruption and asking the community to stand togther against hate and bigotry. Fascists should never be given a platform to spread hate, let’s these fascist know Philadelphia is a hate free zone.
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.
