Steve & the Chocolate Factory; No Action Taken Against Neo-Nazi Employee – Yet

  • September 26, 2018 11:46 am

from Idavox

Life is like a box of chocolates. If just one piece is poisoned you get rid of it.

DUNMORE, Pa – Chocolate candy company Gertrude Hawk has not commented any further than a standard message regarding a neo-Nazi who is also a Republican committeeman that currently works in their factory.

“Thank you for contacting us. Your message was received and it has been passed along and will be looked into,”  the statement reads in response a week ago to a Facebook comment regarding their employee Steve Smith, one of the founders of the neo-Nazi crew Keystone United. “At this time, we will not be commenting further on social media. Any additional feedback can be directed to 1-800-822-2032, thank you.”

The statement was prompted by a number of calls and messages the company received regarding Smith, who works as a forklift operator in their Dunmore facility, after Antifa Philadelphia published an article about him as part of a series of articles that spotlight Keystone United, which was founded by Smith and others in 2001 as Keystone State “Skinheads”. The article also notes that in addition to being a former Klansman and onetime associates of Aryan Nations and former Klansman David Duke, Smith is currently serving his second term as a committeeman for the Luzerne County Republican Party. He first won the election in 2012, one year after he founded Smith co-founded the European American Action Coalition (EAAC), an organization “founded in the fall of 2011 by a few well known White activists,” that “advocates on behalf of White Americans,” according to the group’s Facebook account. Smith is also a member of the White supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens.

According to one report, Keystone United has been flagged by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium for its “increasingly violent” activities, one of those incidents committed my Smith himself in 2003, when we was arrested and served 30 days in jail for attempting to assault a Black man.

Efforts to persuade Gertrude Hawk, a family business founded in 1936, still continue. In 2008, a news article noted that Keystone United had a PO Box in Dunmore.

Banner Drop near Harrisburg: “End Prison Labor, Shut Down Berks”

  • September 25, 2018 11:21 am

from Friendly Fire Collective

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Comrades in Harrisburg, PA have contacted us and requested that we share this image, with their accompanied text.

We dropped our banner on an overpass near Harrisburg,PA in solidarity with this past month’s prison strike. We want to honor their wishes to keep this issue in the public eye, letting our friends (and enemies) on both sides of the prison walls know that this is struggle will be ongoing,and that it will be at the cutting edge of the radical agenda until the last ashes of the last prison are blown away. We also wanted to make the same connection the striking prisoners did by acknowledging the struggle of the migrant families imprisoned in our own backyard by a proto-fascist regime. One of the three family detention centers in operation, Berks Family Detention Center is a monument to all we find disgusting, so we decided to put up a monument of our own in defiance. We we’re inspired by our comrades in Frederick,MD, and we hope we can inspire even more actions like this.

Fire to the Prisons. Set the Captives Free.

-Concerned Citizens

Support the Vaughn 17 in court!

  • September 23, 2018 5:27 pm

from Facebook

In 2017, a large scale uprising was launched at the Vaughn Correctional Institution in DE. 17 prisoners are being accused of orchestrating the uprising, 16 of which are facing murder charges for the death of a corrections officer during the riot.

On October 8th the first trial will begin at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, DE. Let’s pack the court, write letters, and show support for the Vaughn 17 as they face state repression in the wake of a recent hunger strike and as they face trial.
All prisoners are now being held at the Sussex Correctional Facility, a poster with updated addresses can be found here;
https://itsgoingdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/vaughn-update918.pdf
Trial dates are currently scheduled as follows (but are subject to change, check back for updates);
Oct. 8/ Nov. 5/ Dec. 3/ Jan. 7/ Feb 11

SCI Chester Prison Strike Banner Drop

  • September 17, 2018 10:55 am

Submission

Some anarchists dropped a banner reading “#PRISON STRIKE – FREE ALL PRISONERS” off the parking garage for the casino next to SCI Chester. Timing was good, and there were folks in the yard of the prison when we dropped it. Hopefully people both in the yard and in the dorms facing the banner saw it clearly, and felt some sense of the solidarity we hoped to communicate.

Unfortunately we couldn’t safely get a clear photo of the banner itself after deploying it. But whatever, out target audience was closer.

The PA Dept of Corrections is currently imposing severe restrictions on those it holds captive, including absurd rerouting of all mail through a private corporation in Florida, increased security screening for visitors, and soon, implementing a system where inmates will only have access to e-books after buying devices with which to read them at their own expense.

Considering this, we gotta figure out more creative ways to communicate with people inside while escalating on the outside. Like, actually escalating on the outside.

For rebellion inside and out,
for severe escalation to end prisons,
– some philly anarchists



Vaughn 17 Update & a Call for Support

  • September 14, 2018 11:27 am

from It’s Going Down

For background on the Vaughn 17 see Live from the Trenches: Letters from the Vaughn 17 for reading or for printing. Also, check out the Bloc Party interview with a Vaughn prisoner, here.

1. All of those who were previously held at Howard R. Young Correctional Facility have been moved to Sussex Correctional Facility. This means that all 17 of them are now together at the same facility. A poster with their updated addresses for writing can be found here. Do continue writing them letters of support as they have expressed many times that it really boosts their morale.

2. While they are excited to be reunited with one another, they have also been experiencing new and intensified forms of repression since their relocation. This repression has led them to go on a recent hunger strike and they are asking for support in the wake of retaliation. An excerpt from a letter received from one of the Vaughn 17 states:

“Despite the appreciation and healing of being able to see my codefendants faces again after the struggles and suffering we endured together at J.T.V.C.C., I believe this transition has turned out for the worst. Why? Because since the arrival of my other codefendants the administration has switched our rec schedule to where we’re only getting an hour and a half every other day unlike the hour and a half we used to get every single day. So basically, our rec hours were literally cut in half from getting ten and a half hours a week to six and a half or four and a half hours a week. Not only is this rec schedule in contrary to CLASI (Community Legal Aid Society Incorporated, CLASI vs. Robert M. Coupe, 2016 US District, Lexis 237 28* 2017 WL 1055741), of what’s supposed to be implemented, but this is a retaliation attack against us. The moment ths new rec schedule was activated we addressed the warden to his face that this wasn’t gong to work. His response was “give me two weeks.” Fourteen of us waited patiently for two weeks and nothing got done, instead we were spinned and lied to as usual. To avoid any more lies and to get what we’re entitled as prisoners, we came together and organized a hunger strike. After about 2-3 days on the hunger strike, staff came to negotiate. Despite us having multiple requests that were reasonable, our man focus was rec because certain people were unable to call their families and attorneys because of the times we came out. After stressing our reasons for rec change to staff, they agreed to change t that following Monday as long as we came off of hunger strike. As a group, we agreed to get off hunger strike for the purpose of getting our new rec schedule. After that, they backdoored us with Class 1 demonstration infractions that carry 5 days hole, 10 days confinement of quarters, and 30 days loss of all privileges, and they still haven’t implemented the new rec schedule. Some already pled guilty to the infraction and some are in the process of appealing. We were hoping that you and your comrades can make a call to our judge and warden.”

3. A phone zap will take place on Monday, September 17th as per their request. A sample script with their demands as well as addresses and phone numbers can be found below. A shareable pdf can also be found here. The script below can also be used to write letters on their behalf.

“Hello, my name is —-, and I am contacting you about treatment of the 17 prisoners charged in connection with the uprising at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, who are now being held at the Sussex Correctional Institution. What is their condition currently? Are they being punished for their hunger strike last month?

Additionally, I am calling to insist on seven demands by the 17 Vaughn prisoners.

1. Elimination of the demonstration write-up. Their hunger strike peacefully sought a basic right, which they were denied, namely, 10.5 hours of recreation time per week. It is unjust that they were punished for seeking what is rightfully theirs. The write-up must be eliminated and their rec time returned to 10.5 hours per week.

2. More phone-calls. The Vaughn prisoners are limited to being able to use the phone only once or twice a week, which is inadequate for dealing with the burden placed on them and their families as they face their upcoming trials. They demand phone access four times a week.

3. Visits: The Vaughn prisoners receive only 45 minutes of visitation time. Many visitors are travelling more than an hour and a half to SCI. As many of the Vaughn prisoners could be transferred across the country after their trials, the Vaughn prisoners are demanding that visitation time be increased to an hour and a half.

4. Law library: Two of the Vaughn prisoners will be representing themselves pro se at their trials. Their current access to the library is insufficient and obstructs their pursuit of justice. They need more physical access to the library or more paralegals honoring their requests.

5. Hotpot/Microwave: Given that many of staff who assaulted the Vaughn prisoners after the uprising work at SCI and have threatened them since, the Vaughn prisoners have reason to believe that their food is being tampered with. They demand microwaves or hotpots so that they can cook their own hot meals every day.

6. Property review: The Vaughn prisoners have reason to believe that their electrical appliances have been tampered with. Since they do not have electrical outlets, they cannot test them. They demand that their appliances be tested in front of them to make sure they work before they leave SCI.

7. Haircuts: The Vaughn prisoners demand that they receive haircuts before and throughout the duration of their upcoming trials so that they look well groomed and presentable.”

Warden Robert May
Warden IV, SCI
Georgetown, DE 19947
(302) 856-5280
Fax: (302) 856-5072

Judge William C. Carpenter
Superior Court of Delaware
New Castle County Courthouse
500 North King St., Suite 10400
Wilmington, DE 19801
(302) 255-0561

4. Trials for the Vaughn 17 are set to begin in October. If you wish to help coordinate support for trials email folks in philly at vaughn17supportphilly@protonmail.com

Community Groups Across Pennsylvania to Protest Mariner East Pipelines, Jailing of Huntington County Resident Ellen Sue Gerhart

  • August 25, 2018 8:01 pm

from Earth First! Newswire

On Saturday, August 25th, community groups across Pennsylvania will participate in a coordinated day of resistance to Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners’ Mariner East pipeline projects. The events will highlight the safety and environmental concerns associated with the Mariner East pipelines, as well as the unjust jailing of grandmother and retired teacher Ellen Sue Gerhart for opposing pipeline construction on her family’s property.

Since construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline began, there have been an astounding 224 documented spills, including a 4,000 gallon hazardous drilling fluid spill on the Gerhart property. Over a dozen families across the Commonwealth have lost access to their well water due to spills, while over 40 schools are situated in the blast zone of the pipeline.

In a variety of coordinated actions across the state, residents and community groups will demand that Governor Wolf halt construction on the Mariner pipelines, which pose a grave risk to residents, schools, communities, and waterways of the Commonwealth.

Ellen Gerhart, known by many as “mama bear”, has been unjustly incarcerated for nearly one month.  Organizers of the events chose the #WeAreMamaBear hashtag to demonstrate that residents across the state stand in solidarity with the Gerharts, and that Sunoco’s attempt to intimidate residents into silence is only causing more people to speak out.

 

WHAT: Statewide Day of Community Resistance

#DefendWhatYouLove #WeAreMamaBear

 

WHEN: Saturday, August 25 | All day

 

DETAILS: A map of public-facing events is available here: bit.ly/wearemamabear. Highlights include:

 

  • In East Goshen, Chester County at 10am, Uwchlan Safety Coalition & Goshen United for Public Safety will host a family friendly rally to voice opposition to Mariner East, in solidarity with Ellen Gerhart. Residents directly impacted by pipeline construction will be available to speak to press.

  • In Butler Township at 11am, Marcellus Outreach Butler will host a die-in at PNC Bank, one of the major funders of Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Mariner East pipelines.

  • In Annville Township at 4pm on Friday, August 24, Lebanon Pipeline Awareness will create a ‘human billboard’ along Main Street to demonstrate opposition to Mariner East and solidarity with Ellen Gerhart

 

Several actions have yet to be announced.  Releases will be forthcoming throughout the day

DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL IN LEFTIST SPACES: ALEX STEIN

  • July 24, 2018 6:02 pm

from Keeping Our Spaces Safe

COMMUNITY ALERT: ALEX STEIN

[CW: SA, misogyny, racism]

(Written content contains brief references to sexual assault, harassment, and predatory behavior.

Images contain examples of misogyny and feature course language; images have been edited for hate-speech and to protect uninvolved individuals.)

It is our hope that this information may serve as a warning to others of the dangers posed by the individual known as Alex Stein; a predator with a history of sexual assault, and a supposed “anarchist” with fascist associations who has repeatedly attempted to organize, infiltrate, and recruit in leftist spaces.

Alex has been known by many names. In the fascist’s circles, where Alex appears to spend much of his time, he may be known as “Brandon Woods” (aka “Brandon W PA”) or “Sam Specter” (aka “Sam Specter PA”). While attempting to purport himself as a “leftist” Alex has operated under numerous aliases, including: “Alex Stone”, “Terry”, “Felix”, “George Bailey”, “Woody”, and “slyalex”.

He is the creator & primary author of the Twitter account “Anticommunist Action Philly” (@AnticomPHL) and the page “WolftrapAF”, which operates on multiple social media platforms under the usernames “WolftrapAF”, and the associated account, “TwolftrapAF”.

Alex is also believed to utilize numerous additional accounts under his various personas -ranging from democratic socialist to insurrectionary anarchist, which may be listed in locations across the country- using multiple social media platforms. Evidence suggests that this is done in order to continue to attempt to cultivate new relationships with leftists; and <b> <i> to avoid accountability for his history of abuse, including multiple accounts of sexual assault and predatory behavior, repeated attempts to incite dangerous and high-risk situations against the consent of others in the area, volunteering information on activists to far-right groups [and the state,] and his wide-spread banishment from spaces.

While living in New York, Alex’s reported history included harassment, abuse, and aggressive behavior which resulted in his expulsion from radical spaces.

After moving to Pennsylvania in late 2016, Alex quickly attempted to insert himself into activist spaces, almost immediately acting with a complete disregard for the safety of others.

In late 2016 Alex began using his social media accounts to repeatedly make public posts calling for people to engage in “antifascist” organizing, tagging unaware individuals across the country, and encouraging others to form local organizations operating under his personal guidance.

Over the holiday season he launched an online fundraiser for an action in Montana using his legal name, along with the name of a legitimate local activist group. As an individual publicly raising money for an antifascist cause he was almost immediately doxed. The funds, which were intended to support local activists on the ground, were never accounted for and numerous reports suggest they were stolen. During this time he participated in media interviews, purporting himself as a ‘representative’ of various local groups and organizations as it suited his cause and as he perceived it would be of interest to each particular news agency.

In early 2017, Alex began to attempt to force his way into radical spaces claiming to offer expertise gained through membership in groups he was never a part of, and taking over control of tasks and events being organized by others against their wishes. Playing off his youthful appearance and lying about his age, he targeted spaces occupied by younger activists and consistently attempted to push others to engage in actions they did not consent to participate in. He employed these forced associations, along with the city-wide success of a MAGA counter-demonstration in the spring of 2017, to further establish his credibility within local activist circles. Over the following months, Alex used this notoriety to commit multiple acts of sexual assault. Using his position in the local community and his strong manipulation skills, he quickly created an environment of fear to silence his victims through threats of danger to themselves and of ostracization from their community.

From March through June of 2017 Alex’s intermittent presence and consistently toxic behavior in various local spaces persisted, as did the demands for him to be accountable for his actions. To avoid expulsion from the community he continuously ‘took accountability’ for smaller indiscretions and offensive behavior- making superficial motions towards responsibility while insisting that his inexperience, heavy alcohol use, and lack of understanding of social cues relieved him of any ‘guilt’. Instead, he repeatedly created ‘roles’ for himself in order to force his way back into spaces, while he continued to intimidate his victims and engage in abusive and predatory behavior. During this time he befriended an individual working at a local crisis center who cited their experience as a victims’ advocate to justify their championing of Alex’s continued presence.

In June an individual confided to fellow community members about a specific instance of Alex’s predatory behavior which had left them feeling extremely unsafe and requested support to eliminate any possible future situations where he may be able to approach them while alone. The public recognition of the need for this safety measure created a space for additional victims of his abuse to come forward. Following an extensive review of all presented accounts of experiences Alex was held accountable by the community for r*ping a local activist along with a series of additional instances of predatory behavior, expelled from the space, and banished from all future events. Warning calls were immediately made to contacts and other local groups Alex had been known to engage with to urge that steps be taken to ensure the safety of community members in any spaces where he may be present. Hours after Alex was informed of his expulsion from the local community a large-scale public campaign of extreme harassment began against an individual acting as an advocate for his victims, and their family, which placed them in personal and legal jeopardy. This resulted in some local groups hesitating to formally ban Alex from their events out of fear of similar retaliation against themselves and their loved ones.

In July it became publicly known that Alex had begun associating with local fascists, as well as with the white nationalist group, Vanguard America, while they engaged in the planning process for “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, Virginia. During this period Alex attempted to contact numerous groups and organizations in an effort to build connections and networks by exploiting the promise of information regarding these plans, which was needed to ensure the safety of the local community, in order to create relationships of dependency with activists from around the country.

For the next month Alex leveraged these awaited critical details, and his unique ability to provide them, to avoid further censure for his actions as the word of his history of abuse and the resulting calls for him to be banned from additional communal spaces spread widely. Having failed to ever provide the information as promised, Alex actively participated in the events of “Unite the Right” all the while continuing to subject activists on the ground to rapidly escalating levels of danger in an attempt to maintain the indispensable role he had created for himself with activists and organizers.

Shortly after “Unite the Right”, Alex was arrested in the company of local fascists following a[n alleged] ‘fight’ and charged with possession of a retractable baton. Afterwards, he told local activists that he had been released from custody after [reportedly] telling police that despite appearances, he was in fact “an antifascist infiltrator”, and had information he wished to share regarding the nationalist group, Vanguard America. Following subsequent court dates he once again attempted to enter local spaces, despite repeatedly being told that he was unwelcome due to his history of abusive and predatory behavior.

With his abusive and predatory history now widely known, Alex found himself barred from more and more spaces upon his return to the Philadelphia area. In late August he attempted to contact members of the local community once again, claiming to have been ejected from the group Vanguard America where he had participated in chats under the alias “Brandon Woods” aka “Brandon W PA”, accusing respected local activists of “outing him” to Vanguard America leadership and demanding they be banned from future local events, in an attempt to once again force his way into the community.

Upon finding himself still unwelcome, and his claims quickly and easily disproven, Alex sought to once again create a role for himself and engineer relationships by reaching out and offering information to activists around the country who had not yet learned of his history of assault. Promising that his help would better ensure the continued safety of their local communities, this time he purported to offer information regarding the actions of the newly-formed white nationalist group, Patriot Front, which he had gained entry to through his new alias, “Sam Specter” [aka “Sam Specter PA”].

Throughout the fall Alex strived to find a place for himself in small regional circles, attempting to exploit their decreased access to the larger community and its resources. When he was instead confronted with knowledge of his past actions he offered elaborate falsified accounts of events and circumstances, customizing the details to suit each audience.

When efforts to hold him accountable continued and he was denied acceptance into spaces he attempted to garner sympathy for his exclusion, and when that failed, he resorted to threats, intimidation, and sexually-predatory behavior. -Once again, individuals were forced to go to great lengths in attempts to block his access to their spaces and warn their communities of his danger in an effort to maintain their own personal safety.

In Winter of 2018, it came to light that Alex had been in ongoing contact with an individual who was engaged in gathering personal information on individuals whom they considered to be ‘activists’. This information was later published and used for targeted harassment campaigns against those identified. Additional reports suggested that while Alex had been engaging in outreach to individuals to offer information and build relationships, he may have also used the opportunity to request additional details and contact information during these conversations. The exact purpose of these inquiries, and whom, if anyone, that information may have been shared with, cannot be conclusively confirmed. The majority of these [known] attempts were quickly shut down and rumors began circulating that he had begun spending a significant portion of his time in New Jersey despite retaining his official residence in Philadelphia.

Despite claims in Spring of 2018 of leaving the left in May, Alex once again began reaching out to leftist spaces. After claiming to have participated in May Day actions in NYC, he also attempted to reach out to radical organizations in the Philadelphia area in June, though these efforts were quickly rejected. Recently, it was reported that Alex had begun attempting to build new relationships and connections in an effort to create a role for himself in the response to Unite The Right II events to be held in D.C. this year.

This information is an open warning call; this individual poses a danger to all communities. Due to nature of his tactics, his extraordinary manipulation skills, his enjoyment of “playing a character”, and his use of multiple aliases both in real life and online, protective steps should be implemented across all spaces and platforms. In addition to ‘activist’ spaces, Alex frequents burlesque, film, theater/performance spaces, and sideshow spaces. He particularly enjoys “haunted attractions” and may seek employment in these venues. He appears to spend most of his time in the Northeast and is most frequently in the Philadelphia, South Jersey, and New York City regions.

Over at least the last year, Alex focused the majority of his recruiting energy on engaging with those he perceived as liberal. In doing so he attempts to offer guidance and create dependence on his involvement to access additional resources and educational opportunities. This also allows him to control not only his own narrative, but to ensure new contacts remain isolated from the larger community where they may learn of his history. In reality, Alex uses his new friends not only for access to new spaces and for the creation of networks under his control, but also for his personal entertainment.

Please help to ensure others in your area are alerted to this risk by sharing this information in local activist and performance spaces as able. If Alex has attempted to organize or is involved in burlesque or other community spaces in your area, to report additional accounts/aliases, or for a shareable flyer version of this alert, please contact KeepOurSpacesSafe@protonmail.com. Thank you.

Sabotage at Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Site

  • July 18, 2018 12:34 pm

Submission

In late June, we sabotaged construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline in Pennsylvania by tampering with the liquidation system of an excavator being used on a construction site. We did this in a way that would not be noticeable until operating the machine afterwards had ruined it permanently.

Despite conditions changing after several scouting trips, we were able to adapt our plans in the moment and find a different suitable target. If you visit the pipeline route, machines and other infrastructure are everywhere, and many are still unguarded.

According to Sunoco/ETP, the pipeline is 98% complete. But the pipeline project is struggling due to growing opposition, other vandalism incidents and repeated shutdowns of construction due to heinous environmental violations. These major financial losses and plummeting stocks make ETP a prime target for further sabotage, which could tip the scales so that this and future earth-destroying pipeline projects are no longer viable. We encourage people to safely do their own research and join in on the fun!

Keystone United/KSS Nazis Attack Black Man in Avalon, PA

  • July 18, 2018 12:32 pm

from Philly Antifa

The Jackman Inn in Avalon, PA, where KSS attacked a black customer and a bartender on July 7th.

Coming a few weeks after holding a picnic in the area, Keystone United members were cited by police (but tellingly not arrested or charged) following an unprovoked attack on a regular patron of the Jackman Inn in Avalon PA on July 7th.

According to a local news report:

“An alleged neo-Nazi group is being accused of targeting an African American customer, assaulting him and using racial slurs against him at the Jackman Inn…

It happened when the victim, patron Paul Morris, walked into a backroom where a group of men were playing pool. The men allegedly used a racial epithet against the victim.

Police say the group of men may have been from Keystone United, which they describe as a racist neo-Nazi group formerly known as the Keystone State Skinheads…

when the bartender asked the group to leave, they attacked Morris…

‘Eight of them jumped Paul,’ (the bar manager) said. ‘He was hit in the face. He bent down to pick up his glasses. He was hit again’…

Morris is now California, but KDKA’s Andy Sheehan spoke with him on the phone. He says one member who called him the n-word said his group would eradicate blacks one-by-one, and then he attacked.

‘They attacked me because they had hate in their hearts. I didn’t do anything to these people,’ Morris said.

Avalon Police detained some members of the group, but did not charge them. Avalon Police Chief Thomas Kokoski said he believes they will be charged, but the incident is still under investigation….

The incident happened on July 7, and Morris’s lawyer, Fred Rabner, questions why no arrests have been made, saying they should be charged, not only with assault but with ethnic intimidation.

‘This is a hate crime, there’s no doubt about it,’ said Rabner. “

Fortunately, Morris received no serious injuries, nor did the bar employee, who was also attacked when they intervened.

It is unknown which KSS members were involved in the attack, but the event is not dissimilar from an attack on a black man by 3 KSS members in Scranton, PA back in 2003, one of whom was Luzerne County republican committeeman and co-founder of KSS Steve Smith.

Steve Smith is a longtime Neo-Nazi. He is a former Klansman, co-founder of KSS and Luzerne county republican committeeman.

Smith was in attendance at the KSS picnic in the area at the end of May, but it is unknown if he was involved in the attack on the 7th.

We could go on forever about state/cop bias in favor of white supremacists (and white people in general), for example, participating in an Anti-Racist march where some windows got broken can get you arrested and looking at 70 years while attacking 2 people during a hate crime gets you cited with no charges. Or we could belabor that those who equate Antifa with Nazis, or claim we have “Anti-White Bias” would be hard pressed to find an incident where Antifa randomly attack a white man for his race when he comes into a bar to deliver a thank you note to one of the employees, but we won’t.

This was a horrific attack that could have ended in much more serious injury or even death, as attacks by KSS members have in the past. We are glad Mr. Morris and the bar employee escaped serious injury.

Keystone United/KSS have been a blight on PA for too long. If we can hope for any silver lining to this attack, it is that people in this state will start taking the threat they represent seriously again, and that the years of PR spin KSS has employed to try and convince people that their “old days” of randomly attacking People of Color, Queers and Anti-Racists were behind them in favor of “positive white activism” have been debunked.

Anyone with information about this attack, specifically which KSS members were involved, should contact us. We plan to identify those involved and release their names, which is more than the state could be counted on. No one should be able to commit a racist assault on Saturday and go back to anonymity on Sunday.

Time to shut these fucks down. More to come.

The Local Kids – Issue 1

  • July 3, 2018 11:30 pm

Submission

The Local Kids – A compilation of texts, a contribution to a correspondence between those who desire anarchy and subversion.

Issue 1 – Summer 2018

The year is 2018. Our living environment is increasingly interconnected and transparent. This is obvious for the digital reality but is also true for the physical – if the distinction between the two hasn’t already become too artificial. These tendencies have reinforced the validation of the self through affiliation to a group and subjugation to its norms. Before our eyes identities are being constructed, clashes erupt in the scramble for a space to carve out and claim. A bonus for its members is that the enforcing of the norms now is horizontally distributed. As society becomes more totalitarian, the main feeling becomes anxiety. Will for one more day our imperfections pass unnoticed, or maybe just tolerated? And while we invest everything in this socially acceptable image of ourselves we have created, we become the role we were only playing. Is this life?
No, it is a defeat, and we should refuse it. To acknowledge the richness of our desires, to explore them, to feel the power in developing them.
Nothing will make us repent of the choice for full life, the substance of which is autonomy, individual and collective. So we move towards the subversion of social relations.

PDFs on thelocalkids.noblogs.org

Banner Drop in Delco

  • June 21, 2018 2:25 am

Submission

We dropped a banner over the local “beep beep bridge in glenolden with a torched flag attached to it in solidarity with juneteenth and solidarity with the immigrants that are being locked in cages

“Live From the Trenches”: The Vaughn 17 Speak

  • June 20, 2018 10:23 am

from It’s Going Down

In early 2017, a large scale uprising was launched at the James T. Vaughn Correction Center in Delaware. For background information, see Bloc Party’s interview with a former Vaughn prisoner here, and print out an awesome poster with addresses to write to, here.

“Live From the Trenches” Zine for Printing HERE
“Live From the Trenches” Zine for Reading HERE

Between the months of January and May of 2018, a small group of friends in Chicago reached out to the 17 individuals charged with involvement in the February 2017 uprising at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Delaware.

This zine is an attempt to share the thoughts and experiences of these comrades as they shared them in their letters. We asked for and were generously given their consent. We hope that reprinting them for others to read will deepen connections with these individuals and help to multiply acts of solidarity and support. Contact information for the Vaughn 17 may be found throughout and at the end of the zine.

There is also a callout for a phone zap on Monday, July 2nd starting at 9 AM. All of these individuals still experience daily retaliation over a year after the uprising took place. All are still held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, with only one hour out of their cells. One inmate was badly beaten just last week after being shocked with an electric shield and jumped by Correctional Officers at Howard R. Young.

In response this individual has started a hunger strike which may still be ongoing. A number of other letters containing documented cases of retaliation by both guards and administration can be found throughout the zine. These folks face brutal conditions every day for their suspected role in the Vaughn uprising and it is imperative that we show them continued support. We want the prisons to know that we are watching and their retaliation against these individuals doesn’t go unnoticed. Calling in can be a very effective way to do this. Please do call but also be creative in the ways you show your solidarity. Some other ways to show support are included at the end of the zine. A flyer containing the numbers to call and a sample script can be found below.

SNITCH DISCLAIMER: While there are 18 individuals charged with some form of connection to the uprising, one individual– “Royal Diamond Downs”–has collaborated with the authorities by giving statements against other prisoners. As such we refer only to the Vaughn 17 herein. May Royal Downs and all snitches get what they deserve…

Harrisburg, PA: Solidarity Action for la ZAD

  • June 11, 2018 1:14 pm

from It’s Going Down

In the early hours of the 8th of June we immobilized an earth mover in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at a new development project.

This small gesture was taken in solidarity with la ZAD of Notre-Dam-des-Landes, France, where rebels have fought to maintain an autonomous zone, free from the state and it’s plans for almost a decade.

The ZAD was first occupied 9 years ago to prevent the construction of a recently abandoned airport project and has inspired eco-rebels across the world, especially it’s inspiring defense against ‘Operation Ceaser’, a massive eviction attempt in late 2012.

Once again la ZAD is facing a fresh wave of repression, in the form of intense both police violence and a recuperative negotiation process which seeks to tame and legalize the uncontrolled zone.

For the defense of territory against the interests of capital
For sabotage against the instruments of ecological devastation

Pipeline Sabotage

  • April 10, 2018 9:41 pm

Submission

Early last week, we made the two tractors that Energy Transfer Partners was using to construct the Mariner East 2 pipeline near Exton, PA inoperative by cutting their hoses and electrical wires, cutting off valve stems to deflate the tires, introducing sand into their systems, putting potatoes in the exhaust pipes, using contact cement to close off the machines’ panels and fuel tanks, and a variety of other mischievous improvised sabotage techniques.

We feel called to fight for the natural world and would be lazy to submit to the demise of the earth, animal and self by not fighting against its destruction by machines and corporations who seek to kill it for capitalist growth. It was surprisingly easy and brought us so much joy. We’ve read since that ETP has had to acknowledge the damage, which they are usually careful to cover up, and see that this wreck of a project could be seriously compromised by the proliferation of more actions like these.

For those restless, angry warriors out there, we hope you find similar happiness in destroying little by little the tools of this capitalist settler-colonial nation. Death to colonization and capitalism… Shout out to everyone out there still attacking in spite of repression and grief.

Daniel McMahon (Jack Palehorse Corbin) Gets a Home Visit and Flees US

  • April 6, 2018 3:37 pm

Submission

After infiltrating fascist networks, learning of Jack Corbin’s real identity, and passing info to other antifascists in Philly to put out a true dox on Daniel McMahon, we decided to give Palehorse a home visit in Florida. Messages were left on Daniel’s home reminding him that “Philly ARA” (lol) can be anywhere and his poor old folks got a number of calls to let them know what their son is. Soon after, we noticed he stopped posting over 9000 things a day on his many social media accounts. Turns out he left the country then got mugged in a red-light district!
Keep in mind, putting out that dox on the real Jack Corbin and putting pressure on him personally completely ruins his whole praxis. He ascribes to some ghost internet warrior bullshit that requires him to stay anonymous. He talks more on various social media about how great Europe is, why American morons should consider fleeing to Europe, and that he’s taking a break from outting antifa.
So that’s 3 fascist fucks Philly antifascists have driven from the fuckin’ country.
Signed,
The very real Philly ARA