Philly Anti-Capitalist Philly Anti-authoritarian News

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.