from Instagram
Solidarity w Anaheim Rebels spotted downtown. #ftp #anaheimrebels #philly
Solidarity w Anaheim Rebels
Resistance, Repression, and Media Lies in Philadelphia: Reportback from the Black Resistance March, 2/17/17
from Crimethinc
Donald Trump has taken to his soapbox to carp about “fake news,” as if the corporate news media were a subversive force. On the contrary, while biased or outright dishonest reporting is the rule rather than the exception, it almost always serves those in power. The interests of the corporate news media cannot be disentangled from the advertisers who fund them and the authorities they count on for scoops. In this eyewitness report from a demonstration in Philadelphia last Friday, participants relate how police attacked them with batons and pepper spray, then persuaded local media to report that it was the demonstrators who pepper-sprayed them.
Last night in North Philadelphia, four people were arrested and many were injured by batons and mace during a march organized by a local militant Black Lives Matter group, Philly Coalition for REAL Justice. The flier described it as a “Black Resistance March.” The online description expanded on this:
“All are welcome as long as they make space for black people at the front of the march. The issues contained in the assaults on LGBT folks, on Muslims and refugees, occupation and militarization abroad are intersectional. Today we center our black women, our black immigrants, black LGBTQ family, and our black Muslims. Dress warm and be vigilant.”
The march kicked off with a line of Bodyhammer-style shields made from large city traffic cones. Each one had a letter painted on it so that together they read “U-N-G-O-V-E-R-N-A-B-L-E.” Even the protest chants had an air of militancy. “Bullets Trump Hate” resonated throughout the streets as the march headed north on Broad Street. One person with a megaphone paid homage to the words that became a rallying cry after police officers murdered Eric Garner. “They say ‘hands up, don’t shoot,’ but we have another one for you… ‘guns up, shoot back.’”
The march made its way north towards the Temple campus. We stopped at the bustling intersection of Broad and Girard, a main artery for traffic and public transit. The crowd blocked the streets and burned American flags while people of color talked about police repression and terrorism through a megaphone. “This is not my flag. It has never been my flag. We’re burning this flag for Emmit Till. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Freddie Gray. This is for Brandon Tate Brown.” There was more talk about the current racist stop-and-frisk policy, and, of course, the MOVE bombing of May 13, 1985. The list went on while the fire grew.
After it began to burn out, the march started to move again. The group wasn’t half as large as some anti-Trump demonstrations that brought out thousands only a few weeks ago. In a fashion typical of Philadelphia Police, the march was followed by dozens of squad cars and at least two police helicopters, and surrounded on either side by bike cops who seemed to outnumber participants by at least two to one. The strategy for policing mass mobilizations in Philadelphia is heavily influenced by former Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey; usually, the police avoid making arrests, while oversaturating the area with officers. This approach is informed by the “Vancouver Model” as outlined in the police manual Managing Major Events: Best Practices from the Field by the Police Executive Research Forum.
As soon as we neared Temple University, the march became confrontational. Those with megaphones tried to rush into the campus dining hall. Uniformed officers tripped over each other as they hurried to block the entrance and exits, using their bikes to shove people who stood in their way. They formed a line in front of the doors with their bikes as blockades.
Someone noticed a Bank of America across the street and everyone rushed in that direction. Only one officer stood guard before all the shielded protestors formed their own line at the entrance. Bike cops rushed over, clumsily tripping over each other again as they scrambled to catch up with the crowd. A scuffle broke out. Someone threw black paint over the bank window and perhaps an officer or two. Cops extended their batons. Shielded protesters stood their ground and moved forward, chanting “Kill the Rich.” Police pepper-sprayed a large portion of the crowd, then began swinging their batons and hitting many people. Four arrests took place. There was an unsuccessful attempt to de-arrest someone. I saw at least one person bleeding from the head after being hit by police. Street medics took care to help flush the pepper spray out of the eyes of those struck.
All the local news media outlets that covered this event reported that protestors pepper-sprayed the police and that police were hospitalized with injuries. No one I spoke with has witnessed anything other than the police pepper-spraying protestors. One person’s account is as follows: “Here’s what happened. We wanted to get inside Bank of America. A bunch of cops started beating people up with bikes and batons because they care more about capitalist institutions than people. One of them started spraying us with pepper spray. I got it in my eyes. The cops started shouting to their own guy, “Who’s spraying? Stop spraying!” Now, in order to cover up their incompetence, the press is implying that we were the ones who injured them.”
Six more people were arrested outside the precinct the next day while doing jail support. It took over 24 hours before everyone was released. The Up Against the Law Legal Collective worked nonstop to find out where everyone was being held and when they would be eligible for bail, while the local Food Not Bombs chapter fed the gathering crowd of people expressing support outside the jail. The charges being filed against the arrestees are outlandish, but we plan to fight the system with solidarity.
The courts and the police want us to feel scared and isolated. As long as we have each other’s backs in the mounting resistance to come, we can win. And we will win.
Statement: Philly Police Harass Philly Antifa and Wooden Shoe Books
from Up Against The Law
Bundle Up With Solidarity and Resist The Chill
A Statement From Up Against The Law Legal Collective
On Saturday January 28th Philly Antifa held an event at Wooden Shoe Books featuring anti-fascist researcher Matt Lyons of the blog threewayfight. Some people arriving at the event noticed an unusually large police presence outside and across the street, others noticed a car parked out front that contained plain clothes officers from Civil Affairs, Philly’s protest police. Text messages bounced around to different people expressing concern. Were the cops going to try and come in and mess with people? Were they targeting Philly Antifa? What exactly was happening? Why were the Philadelphia Police staked out in front of public speaking event at a bookstore?
After the event some disturbing details were relayed by Wooden Shoe staffers to Philly Antifa organizers. Plain clothes officers from Civil Affairs had visited the Wooden Shoe the day before to voice concern about the Philly Antifa event. They alleged that Philly Anitfa may have been involved in a protest at which vandalism occurred, misidentified Philly Antifa as a fascist group themselves and speculated that right wing violence might occur at the event. They asked the staffers at the Wooden Shoe if they would consider canceling the event.
That the PPD thinks its acceptable to try to get anti-fascist public speaking event cancelled should be of concern to everybody in this city.
That the PPD thinks its acceptable to try to get anti-fascist public speaking event cancelled should be of concern to everybody in this city. For their officers to think they can enter a bookstore and suggest, imply or request that a speaking event should be cancelled is reprehensible.
What should be equally concerning is the ‘divide and conquer’ technique at play. We saw this tactic at play at Occupy Philadelphia in 2011 when the Civil Affairs warned Occupiers new to political movements to ‘watch out of the anarchists and black hate groups like Uhuru’. We saw it at play back in 2000 when civil affairs warned anti-stadium organizers in Chinatown that they had to watch out for the anarchists without knowing that the organizers trusted those same West Philly anarchists and that they were involved in providing security and marshaling for their march the next day. We’ve seen Civil Affairs deploy this tactic time and time again. The PPD has a history of trying to wedge movements and to cultivate suspicion among organizers and groups who may not know each other well or who they suspect may have some initial distrust toward each other.
We can resist by dragging this tactic into the light and letting other people know about it especially those new to organizing. When we let people know in advance that the PPD might spread misinformation about other groups it prepares them psychologically to resist this tactic and to dialogue with each other when the PPD attempts to play the divide and conquer game. It should go without saying that you should exercise your right to remain silent and refuse to answer the cops questions about others in the movements. However, If the cops approach you to speak about an organizer or organization you should absolutely contact that organizer or organization right away to talk about what happened and let them know the cops were asking about them and/or making claims about them. Exercise your right to dialogue with others in the movements and build with them.
That this is a seemingly clumsy use of this tactic should be no less concerning. It’s probable that the Civil Affairs knew their intervention would be rebuffed but knew that through speaking to Wooden Shoe staffers their primary message would be relayed to rebellious movements: we are watching you. This was especially clear the next day with the large police presence outside and around South Street. Cultivating paranoia is an important weapon in the cops arsenal.
While the Matt Lyons event was standing room only the police harassment and presence outside had a chilling effect. Some people received texts from friends warning people to stay away from the Wooden Shoe. In the future we would recommend the opposite. If you hear that a group is being harassed by police go down to stand by them and support them if it as at all possible for you to do so.
In 2014 we wrote this in response about police surveillance and harassment of Black Lives Matter activists at their homes and on their campuses:
“We would argue that surveillance’s primary function is for its targets to know they are being watched. It is used to instill fear; to get people feeling as if they are always being watched, monitored and scrutinized and that, implicitly, the police, like any other predator, might pounce on those they are watching. It is a powerful psychological weapon and one reason is that it’s viral. Once one person gets visited or gets a phone call or is followed home, other organizers are looking over their shoulder. Its goal is to make people feel isolated and targeted….
…Our response should be to resist this psychological war with our solidarity. The movement in Philadelphia will never let individuals be targeted and face the authorities alone. To borrow a phrase: our solidarity is our weapon. We should talk openly more about how we will support each other than how the cops may or may not be watching us or ways to evade their gaze.
They will be watching. But so will we. We, as a movement, will be watching to see if they try to start any shit with anybody and we will have each others’ backs. We, in the big picture are a powerful network that can mobilize people on the streets, support people in the courts and move ‘unlikely allies’ to our side. We, as a movement, will never let people face the authorities alone.
Our best defense is to build meaningful relationships with each other across organizations and sectors of the movement. Trust, clear lines of communication and relationship building are the inoculation to the viral fear and intimidation that surveillance tries to instill.”
This statement is more important than ever. Now is the time to have each others backs, build meaningful relationships across the movements and resist paranoia with public solidarity. Now is the time to draw a hard line and let the authorities know exactly what we will not tolerate and what we will not allow them to do to others in the movements. As the old anti-fascist slogan goes ‘No Pasaran’. They shall not pass. We will not let them harass or menace anybody in the movement unchallenged. We will be there for each other.
See Also:
Philly Antifa’s Statement: https://phillyantifa.org/repression-on-south/
Repression on South
From Philly Antifa
Something was not quite right Saturday afternoon when Philly Antifa arrived at local anarchist bookstore, The Wooden Shoe, to set up for a free community event. Cops had been waiting outside the store as early as 9:00 a.m. But later on, it looked like they were everywhere; blocks deep in either direction, out in large numbers, standing on corners, hanging around in all shapes and sizes of police vehicles, walking up and down the block, circling in packs of bicycle units. Counter terrorism trucks were parked at 7th and Bainbridge and were positioned with more police cars on the same corner.
An attendee left the bookstore and was followed by two police officers into a coffee shop, who monitored their activity and tailed them for blocks. More and more cops showed up, lining the street while filming and photographing everyone who entered or left the shop.
Concerned at the large and hostile police presence, some people who wished to come to the talk, thought it better to leave. The police seemed to be about to do something. In fact, they already had. The day before, two police officers entered the Shoe and asked that they cancel the event. The police made nonsense claims that they feared the presence of antifascists would result in street conflict, and made accusations about Antifa’s involvement with recent protest actions.
We want to reiterate: Philadelphia Police tried to stop this event.
They were trying to shut down a free, open-to-the-public speaking engagement about antifascism with author and political scholar Matthew Lyons. Lyons went on anyway and spoke to a standing room only crowd regarding his most recent work, “Ctrl-Alt-Delete: Antifascist Report on the Alternative Right.” So many people turned up for the talk we ran out of room, and those who could fit inside got to learn about the rising tide of alt-right ideology and fascist activity. We hope that the cops watching and filming us through the windows enjoyed the talk as well; they obviously have an intense interest in fascism.
This behavior should sound the alarm. The state is poised to crack down on communities simply based on political ideology. Radical spaces, groups and associations are being targeted. Philly Antifa and antifascists everywhere are being threatened. We will not accept a world in which it is possible to silence a public talk at a bookstore. We must work together now to resist this blatant repression. We are hosting a fundraiser this coming Saturday at LAVA to support the PHL Autonomous Anti-Repression Fund. This Fund and show are the exact things we need to bring us together and sustain our spirits and resistance. Coming out to shows and fundraisers is not only really fun, but essential if you value radical spaces and groups fighting on the frontlines. We hope to see old friends and make new ones on Saturday.
As Philly Antifa, we exist to combat fascism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all forms of oppression. We must reject the repression and intimidation tactics the police are trying to use to impose on us. We will not stop fighting, we will not be subdued and we will not be silenced.
Philly Police Cars Vandalized At Anti-Trump Philly GOP Retreat Protest
From local media
“Protests continued on Thursday night following President Donald Trump’s visit to Philadelphia to address the GOP Retreat.
Although President Trump departed the city hours earlier, protests continued.
By 10:00 p.m., the protests had died down, but a police presence remained in Center City as some protesters still remained.
During the night, the day long demonstrations did take a destructive turn when three police vehicles were vandalized with spray paint while parked on 13th and Arch.
Also, police stood watch in front of the Wawa on Broad and Walnut when they were confronted by a group. A sign appeared to have been thrown and was confiscated. This all occurred following President Trump’s visit to the GOP Retreat taking place at the Loews Hotel.
About 3,000 protesters took to the streets during the day to express opposition to the new administration.”
Anti-Trump: Rally for Police Abolition
from Facebook
The election of a racist, sexist, xenophobic fascist man was a slap in the face to all people of color. The Fraternal Order of Police endorsed and campaigned for a racist, sexist, xenophobic and fascist.
THE FOP is UNFIT to serve our communities.
The police have chosen their side – a president who is anti-black, anti-immigrant, anti-Lantinx, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ, anti-US…so we are anti-POLICE.
We are calling for the police to be abolished. Only the complete dismantling of our current system of policing will lead to liberation for black and brown people. The police have no capacity or commitment for protecting and serving our communities. We will create just alternatives to policing that reflect the aspirations of black and brown folks. We demand:
-The immediate end of Stop and Frisk
-Reject Martina White’s HB1538 that allows police to remain anonymous after murdering citizens.
-End bail and fines
-Increased funding for public defenders
-End drug-testing for parolees
[November 16 from 4PM to 6PM at Philadelphia Police Department 750 Race St]
Zero Thrill Show
from Anarchadelphia
Have you heard of this fundraiser for children of deceased cops and firefighters called the “Hero Thrill Show?” It’s beautiful! A bunch of leather-daddy’s get dressed up in cop uniforms to do antiquated, homoerotic motorcycle tricks, mocking the outwardly hetero-normative, patriarchal, and (at times) down right homophobic police force. And calling these violent, sometimes murderous thugs “heroes” while claiming the community can trust them? It’s a nice touch. The group of men holding hands while straddling one or more bikes being called thrilling is so hilarious that I can’t believe any one would be so mistaken as to take it seriously.
Have they seen the neighborhood kids doing wheelies on dirt bikes? Sure, the kids have the advantage of illegality to make things more exciting, but their tricks are still be more fun to watch, otherwise.
And bringing the firefighters in on the mockery seems worthwhile enough, though I’m fairly neutral on the subject of “fire pigs,” as some call them, since they haven’t been putting out our fires (mostly because we haven’t really been setting any, unfortunately).
As the laughing grows tiresome, though, I’m reminded of the good cause of raising college money for these kids who may have had a 40% chance of witnessing, or even suffering, abuse in their household perpetrated by the parent who’s death we’re celebrating. Certainly they didn’t choose to be born to a cop, and the promoters don’t even inquire as to whether the child suffered at the hands of the officer, opposing the commonly accusatory retaliations against abuse survivors by the law.
So as to conclude this review, I must say it was well worth my time to watch these pigs (no offense to actual pigs) maneuver their cruisers across empty asphalt.
Wait, wait wait…you don’t mean to tell me this event is actually serious?
FLAWLESS 8: America WAS NVR GR8
from Facebook
Ⓕ Ⓛ Ⓐ Ⓦ Ⓛ Ⓔ Ⓢ Ⓢ ➑
AMERICA WAS NVR GR8
FUNDRAISER HOUSE PARTY FOR:
RED WARRIOR CAMP LEGAL FUND #NoDAPL
CHARLOTTE PROTESTORS BAIL FUND
ⒹⒿⓈ
PRECOLOMBIAN
DJ HARAM
AURA
BBA
MARCELLINE
ⓂⒸ Ⓢ
BB GIRL
GEESISSY
$6-20 SLIDING SCALE
ⒸⒶⓈⒽⒷⒶⓇ
BONFIRE
FALL LQQKS, ANTAGONISTIC BITCHES, RAGING FEMMES, RIOT AND LOOTER APOLOGISTS, LIBRAS CRUSHING ON AT LEAST A DOZEN OF YA’LL, BOOTIES SHAKING, YO FAV MEAN HOTTIES, QUEERS GRINDING, CHAIR DANCING, AHHH SHITTTT, ITS BEEN A MIN!
[October 8 from 10pm to 2:30am at Fancy House]
Graffiti for Charlotte Uprising in South Philly
from It’s Going Down
Tonight we smashed five billboards along I-76 in South Philly. Two say “PHILLY TO CHARLOTTE FUCK THE POLICE”, one “COP LIVES DON’T MATTER” and two had paint thrown on them.
Complicity with the Charlotte uprising.
Philly Police Officer Outed as White Supremacist with Ties to Blood and Honor
from Philly Antifa
Those of our readers who have been Anti-Fascists for a few years may remember that during a period from 2010-2012 there were several successful hacks of Neo-Nazi websites that led to the identification of dozens of Neo-Nazis and White Nationalists.
One of the more interesting cases was that of Ian Hans Lichterman. Lichterman was listed as a member of Blood and Honour, an international network of Neo-Nazi organizations started by Ian Stuart Donaldson, the lead singer of Skrewdriver. Upon some investigating, it was discovered that Lichterman was also a Philly PD officer who had even recently been commended at a crime stoppers awards ceremony.
Shortly after the hack, Lichterman left the Philly PD and was working as a private security contractor (mercenary) in the middle east for some time, presumably using his connections from his time as a Marine. Recently, at the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice’s march during the DNC, someone noticed that one of the bike cops working the event had some shady tattoos. That cop has been identified as Ian Lichterman, back on duty in Philly.
Iron Cross Tat on Left Elbow is just the beginning
One was a rather generic Nationalist tattoo of an AR-15 over an american flag with “For God and Country” written above it. That is the motto of the American Legion, a veterans organization that was very sympathetic to Fascism in Europe before WWII.
“The president of the American Legion in 1923 was quoted as saying, ‘If ever needed, the American Legion stands ready to protect our country’s institutions and ideals as the Fascisti dealt with the destructionists who menaced Italy.’ In reply to whether this meant taking over the government, he said ‘Exactly that. The American Legion is fighting every element that threatens our democratic government-soviets, anarchists, I.W.W., revolutionary socialists and every other Red ..Do not forget that the Fascisti are to Italy what the American Legion is to the United States.’”
If that wasn’t bad enough, the other tattoo was this:
real subtle, Ian
That eagle design is called a partieadler. With wings outstretched and a simplistic design, the partieadler is distinct from the national emblem in every other era of German history, a history that stretches from the reichsadler’s first appearance in the 12th century, to its present design. It is the eagle of Nazi Germany specifically. And the word “fatherland” is also a reference to Nazi rhetoric oft-used to describe Germany during the Third Reich.
