Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly Philadelphia virtual book launch

  • January 6, 2021 1:47 am

from Google Calendar

Join us for the Philadelphia virtual book launch of Peter Cole’s Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly on Wednesday, January 13th at 7pm EST hosted by Wooden Shoe Books and co-sponsored by the Independence Seaport Museum and Philadelphia IWW. Peter will be joined by labor journalist Kim Kelly and Royce Adams, a Philadelphia native and longshoreman in ILA Local 1291. Details and free registration link to be announced.

Ben Fletcher, an African American who helped lead the IWW’s most militant and effective interracial branch, epitomized the union’s brand of anti-capitalism and anti-racism. Fletcher (1890−1949) was a tremendously important and well-loved member of the IWW during its heyday, the first quarter of the 20th century. A brilliant union organizer and a humorous orator, Fletcher helped found and lead Local 8 of the IWW’s Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union. When founded in 1913, this union was a third African American, a third Irish and Irish American, and a third other European immigrants. Despite being hated by the bosses and redbaited by the government, Local 8 controlled the waterfront for almost a decade.

Peter Cole, a Professor of History at Western Illinois University and Research Associate in the Society, Work and Development Program at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the author of Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive Era Philadelphia and the award-winning Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area. He also is the founder and co-director of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19). He tweets from @ProfPeterCole.

 

Against the Party for “Socialism” and Liberation: Proletarian Feminism is the Weapon to Smash Revisionism!

  • January 6, 2021 1:21 am

from People’s Voice

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

Character Assassination and Denial: Steven Powers and PSL Philly

In July of 2020, Dakota of PSL Philly reported fellow member Steven Powers for sexual misconduct at the behest of Powers’ then-girlfriend, who used the name Griselda online. In the weeks following his report, Dakota was charged with violating PSL’s constitution, removed from organizational chats, slandered by his so-called comrades and generally isolated by party leadership. Dakota highlighted this process in detail1 after attempting to struggle over the issue through the proper channels. PSL claims that Powers was throroughly investigated, but thus far the only people to see any consequences for his predatory and abusive actions are the people he harmed.

Griselda, who brought his behavior to the attention of other party cadre, has been systematically harassed and stalked by party leadership. In a formal party statement, PSL even disclosed Griselda’s legal name and location, and declared that their investigation committee concluded that Griselda had falsely accused Powers. It’s worth noting that PSL has taken down the statement down due to Griselda threatening suicide; some members now insist that she was not doxxed, repeating the lie that that the original statement had only her first name in it.

What is perhaps most concerning about PSL’s treatment of Griselda is the fact that the party’s investigation into the matter was entirely internal, though she was never a party member. An internal committee of PSL members reading through text messages is not only unqualified to rule out abuse, it is obviously a ploy to avoid transparancy and protect the org’s reputation at any cost. Let us be crystal clear:This is not an internal issue of party discipline. This is an issue of a party member abusing someone outside of the PSL.

The process was further compromised by Powers’ close friendship with members of the Steering Committee, which headed the investigation. Steering Committee member Timour K. was seen hanging out with Steven Powers with other PSL members during the investigation, despite contact with Powers being restricted by the Party.

A recently released statement by former PSL Philly members2, originally intended for internal struggle, details how PSL manipulated Griselda’s accounts to make her out to be a “hysterical woman” and distorted the context for Griselda’s “consent” in order to find Steven Powers innocent of abuse. The Steering Committee also concealed the fact that Powers had another accuser.

If revolutionary parties truly wish to earn the position of vanguard, they must be accountable to the masses, both inside and outside party membership. PSL’s attempts to resolve contradictions between themselves and the unorganized masses through secretive internal meetings reveals not only a disconnect from the broader masses, but a deep fear and distrust of them as well. This is far from the first time that PSL has sprung to the defense of over-degreed white chauvunists in its ranks.

1. archive.is/yT5vp

2. docs.google.com/document/d/1ntjUqtB-k4wuBuN4bc8r9ABxfNsIDVU2YOHW9E92TzM/edit

Gentrifying Activist Spaces – PSL Philly

  • December 17, 2020 1:56 am

from Google Drive

[Document Here]

Two Missives from a PA Prison, from Comrade Elliot

  • December 7, 2020 1:57 am

from Dreaming Freedom, Practicing Abolition

ONE:

What’s so sad now a days these young men would rather fight someone over $5 then peacefully stand up for their rights and what they believe in. I must specify because these devils are crafty that everything I am doing and attempt to do in the future is PEACEFUL so I do not care if they read it or know its from me. I would like to put certain information on these social media sites such as what’s going on in the prison as well as the individual it is occurring with. Sci ***** is EXTREMELY corrupt! They plant drugs and weapons on inmates, the guards bring in phones and drugs. In other facilities when the inmates get caught with these things they’re usually transferred. Not here. They sweep it under the rug and keep it in house because then it will prove the corruptness of this institution. They took away our mail and visits so please explain why and how the drugs are still entering the facility at an all time high after all the jails having NO VISITS for over 8 months!! I was transferred from SCI+++++ for no reason 200 miles away from my family because of grievances and a lawsuit I was filing. They kicked me out and said I was a high ranking gang member calling shots and I was a threat with no misconduct, no proof or anything. Placed me in the hole up here for two weeks telling me welcome to *****. That was September of last year. In this past year I’ve seen staff abuse both physically and verbally, officers lying on misconducts, racism and bigotry at an all time high and basic corruptness. The racism even lies with the officers and their co workers smh. I would appreciate pen pals and any literature you may be able to share. I believe we need a social media site where we can expose not only the institutions but the individual staff as well.

TWO:

CW: Racist, homophobic slurs and violence

There’s this one sergeant who is not only racist, a bigot and disrespectful but also abusive physically, verbally and mentally! His name is Sergeant HATER. The staff below him are intimidated because of his stripes and those above him are intimidated because of the union. He’s assaulted inmates and wrote misconducts stating the inmate assaulted him but once video is reviewed it is seen to be a lie; dusted under the rug. He’s lied on numerous misconducts; dusted under the rug. He’s been assaulted due to his behavior after he was put on suspension and wasn’t allowed to work on any blocks! Dusted under the rug. Now I’ve dealt with racism, belittling sexual context (Mexican cocksucker and I’m not even Mexican!), retaliation for placing numerous grievances and complaints on him and all that happens is grievances are denied and/or rejected. He’s continuously denied me showers, phone calls and the opportunity to clean my cell all on his watch during a pandemic. Continuous racist and derogatory remarks. I’ve had one lieutenant attempt to assist me by the name of [FRIENDLY] but honestly NOTHING has changed it continues to get worst! Today he once again denied me a phone call which I was signed up for as well as a shower and when I asked the other guards who was working with him why I wasn’t allowed the response was “I’m not getting in between you and HATER’s gang war.” Just like in the street when an officer is doing something wrong, instead of his partner or fellow coworkers letting him know he’s doing things wrong they turn a blind eye or condone in his actions. There needs to be a way that we expose these guards and those actions to society and the public. We must let everyone know what goes on even if that means we start a webpage and post all grievances up as well as the answers to the grievances so EVERYONE is held accountable for their actions. I understand the job of a correctional officer but the racist undertone and continuous abuse can not be acceptable! Thank you

Image thanks to Just Seeds, created by Roger Peet, available here: https://justseeds.org/graphic/prison-pandemic-1/

Thomas J. Louden, Bucks County Civilian Defense Force Militia Leader of Pekasie, PA

  • November 3, 2020 1:31 am

from It’s Going Down

AntiFash Gordon has identified Thomas Louden, a volunteer firefighter and director of managed care at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. He also serves as Batallion Chief of the Sellersville Fire Department and Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator of Hilltown Township, Pennsylvania. This summer, Louden posted about looking to join a militia and hinted that the right should be prepared to violently defend itself from socialists. By September he was head of the Bucks County Civillian Defense Force Militia, posting about recruiting a sniper. Since then, his violent rhetoric has only escalated and he frequently encourages armed responses to leftist activity. Louden is heavily armed, trains multiple times a week, and should be considered a danger to the community. See the full thread below:

from Twitter

Meet Thomas J. Louden of Pekasie, PA.

He’s a volunteer firefighter and Director of Managed Care at @TJUHospital in Philadelphia.

But as “Fireeagle,” he’s the head of the Bucks County Civilian Defense Force militia, and spreads violent, racist, and antisemtic conspiracies. ImageImageImageImage

He’s also the Battalion Chief of the @SellersvilleFd and the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator of Hilltown Township, Pennsylvania.

You can email them at info@hilltown.org. Image

He’s also becoming increasingly radicalized in response to the upcoming election.

On June 30 of this year, he started looking for a militia to join, and hinting that he wants to kill anti-racist protesters. ImageImage

By August 28, he was openly calling for the murder of Black Lives Matter activists.

By September, he was talking about “cannon fodder” and “those behind the scenes” who “really need to be stopped,” and invoking the antisemitic “Soros” conspiracy theory. ImageImageImage

And simultaneously, he became the head of a newly formed unit of the Civilian Defense Force, a far-right militia, where he goes by “Commander Fireeagle.” ImageImage
And just days later, he began attempting to recruit a sniper for his militia. Image
This was right around when he stopped using his real name on the militia forum he joined.

Btw, those links are live and resolve to the profile of “Fireeagle.” Image

In June, he was trying to convince the other members of his militia forum that an armed response was needed to a satirical announcement of an antifa-sponsored flag burning. ImageImage
He’s also increasingly active on the Civilian Defense Force forums, where he’s adding contacts at an alarming rate. ImageImage
He’s been training to act on his violent fantasies, too.

He claims to be “hitting the range 4 times a week and flying at least 100 rounds each session.” Image

And he’s well-stocked on guns, too.

He claims to concealed carry a Sig Sauer P320x, and keeps a Beretta 92F at the ready. He also owns an Armalite AR, but doesn’t specify which kind. (Pictured is an Armalite AR-10.) ImageImageImageImage

So how’d we find his real identity?

On the Civilian Defense Force forums, he notes that he’s in Bucks County, PA, and that he’s a volunteer firefighter. And the Deputy EMC for his township.

But that still doesn’t tell us *which* town he lives in. Image

A quick Google search of “fireeagle” and “Pennsylvania” brought me to a Corvette stingray forum, where a user with that screen name (who also claimed to be a volunteer firefighter) posted a picture with a house number visible, but no town. Image
On the same forum, a picture of his car won the December 2019 photo contest.

Do you see what I saw? Image

Hacker voice: Computer, enhance.

We see a sign for a cross street. The top sign is illegible, but the bottom reads “VICTORIA LN.” Image

So I went to the Bucks County property records site, to see exactly how many Victoria Lanes there were in the district.

Three towns have a Victoria Lane– Chalfont, Levittown, and Perkasie.

A quick look on showed me the Victoria Lanes, so I checked for any intersecting streets that have the same number referenced in the photo from tweet 13 in this thread.

(I can’t give it out on Twitter– that’s a violation of Twitter’s policies.)

I compared the photo he posted with the Google Street View image of the house matching that number.

Huh.

Same garage, outdoor lighting, porch pillars, and bush. ImageImage

So then I checked the property records and saw that it’s owned by a Thomas J. Louden of Pekasie, Pennsylvania, and his wife.
On his militia forum, “Fireeagle” gives his location as Hilltown Township, PA, just five miles from Perkasie, PA.

(The latitude/longitude is not his home, just the location of the town center.) Image

And remember, he introduced himself as the “Deputy EMC for my township for over 15 years.” Image
On his LinkedIn profile, he kindly lists that he’s the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for Hilltown Township, PA. ImageImage
Anyway, @TJUHospital, your Director of Managed Care, Thomas Louden, is leading a far-right militia chapter and spreading rumors about “ANTIFA” who had been “trained by radical Islam” who planned on “killing as many Trump supporters and whites as possible!!” Image
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that @TJUHospital has the leader of a far-right militia working as their Director of Managed Care, given that they tried to deport one of their own patients, as @aurabogado reported in June.

So @TJUHospital, think about whether or not you want to have a heavily armed wingnut like Thomas J. Louden, aka “Commander Fireeagle” of the Citizens Defense Force in your offices, as he’s recruiting snipers for his militia.

Justice for Walter Wallace

  • October 27, 2020 1:41 pm

from Twitter

from Instagram

from Instagram

[10/27, 7pm, Malcolm X Park]

Unrest in Philly After Cops Shoot and Kill 27-Year-Old

  • October 27, 2020 2:48 am

from Unicorn Riot

Philadelphia, PA – West Philly saw a quickly escalating situation develop on 4 p.m. Monday afternoon and dragging into the evening and overnight. In a graphic and disturbing video circulating on social media, two white Philadelphia Police (PPD) officers are seen repeatedly shooting a Black man in front of his mother from several feet away as he walked while holding a knife. Neither of the two officers in the video seemed to attempt to use their taser, and they appeared to have fired around ten bullets while they were several arms lengths away from the man they shot.

The man struck down dead by the two PPD officers was identified as 27-year-old Walter Wallace, Jr.

His father, Walter Wallace Sr., told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his son was dealing with mental illness, was on medication, and “his mother was trying to diffuse the situation” when police came and shot him.

Many witnesses were present for Wallace’s death and his family, friends and neighbors quickly reacted with grief and rage to the sight of him being gunned down dead in the street.

Video of the scene taken by Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Ellie Rushing shows that police had placed evidence markers indicating as many as 13 shell casings.

The scene of the deadly shooting of Walter Wallace, Jr. by two Philadelphia Police officers. Screenshot taken from Twitter video by Ellie Rushing

Both of the white officers involved in the shooting death of Walter Wallace, Jr. have reportedly been suspended pending an investigation. If common police practices for “officer-involved shootings” are being followed, they are both presumably now on paid leave.

In an official city statement, Philly Mayor Jim Kenney said, “I have watched the video of this tragic incident and it presents difficult questions that must be answered.” Kenney promised “a speedy and transparent resolution” but the only specific detail he offered was that the “Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Unit of PPD will conduct a full investigation.”

Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner’s statement about the shooting avoided any specifics but also promised an investigation.

Police called in reinforcements to clear the mourning neighbors from the street and reportedly dispersed the crowd at the shooting scene by 6:30 p.m., according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Around 7 p.m. on Monday night, a crowd of several hundred protesters began to gather at Malcolm X Park.

Protesters marched throughout the area, taking the streets and followed by supporting honking vehicles. They also congregated for a time outside a nearby police precinct.

At some point outside the precinct, objects such as rocks and bricks reportedly began to be thrown at officers.

Police with riot gear and shields then pushed the crowd away from the police building, charging people through the street as trash cans and various other projectiles were pelted at them by an increasingly militant local crowd.

Police appeared unable to contain the community’s furious response to their having shot a Black man to death in the middle of the street in the middle of the day. Crowds went on to smash into several area businesses and take commercial goods, smash and burn police vehicles, launch fireworks, and reportedly commandeered at least one construction vehicle.

In one photo captured by Inquirer journalist Samantha Melamed (who was arrested by PPD while reporting on a protest in June) a police cruiser can be seen burning in front of a billboard reading “the power of justice”:

Image
Image

As of early Tuesday morning, protesters remained out in the streets of West Philly. Police made several arrests, with the Major Crimes Unit reportedly having been deployed.

Around 12:45 a.m., police were using batons and charging tactics to encourage the remaining crowd to disperse.

According to Philly journalist Jason Peters, some arrested protesters are being held at PPD’s 18th precinct.

Philadelphia’s lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which supported officers involved in brutalizing protesters earlier this year, has indicated it will defend the cops who ended Walter Wallace, Jr.’s life while his family watched.

Fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. prompts heated overnight protests in West Philly

  • October 27, 2020 2:40 am

from Mainstream Media

Fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. prompts heated overnight protests in West Philly

Police officers fatally shot a 27-year-old Black man armed with a knife during a confrontation Monday afternoon in West Philadelphia, an incident that quickly raised tensions in the neighborhood and sparked a standoff that lasted deep into the night.

Late Monday into early Tuesday, police struggled to respond to vandalism and looting along the commercial corridor of 52nd Street, an area that was the scene of clashes between police and protestors earlier this summer. At least one police vehicle was set on fire Monday night and destroyed, and several police officers were injured by bricks or other objects hurled from the crowd. One officer was hospitalized after getting run over by a speeding truck.

The episode began shortly before 4 p.m., police said, when two officers responded to the 6100 block of Locust Street after a report of a man with a knife. Family members identified him as Walter Wallace Jr.

A video posted on social media showed Wallace walking toward the officers and police backing away. The video swings briefly out of view at the moment the gunfire erupts but he appeared to be multiple feet from them when they fired numerous shots.

Police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp said the officers had ordered Wallace to drop the weapon, and he “advanced towards the officers.” Gripp said investigators are reviewing footage of what happened. Both officers were wearing body cameras.

He said both officers fired “several times.” After the man was shot, he fell to the ground, and Gripp said one of the officers drove him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died.

Walter Wallace Sr., the man’s father, said his son appeared to have been shot 10 times.

“Why didn’t they use a Taser?” the senior Wallace asked outside a family residence on the block. “His mother was trying to defuse the situation.”

He said his son struggled with mental health issues and was on medication. “He has mental issues,” Wallace said. “Why you have to gun him down?”

Walter Wallace Sr, the father of Walter Wallace Jr., talks about the shooting of his son, on the 6100 block of Locust St. Oct. 26. 2020.

One witness, Maurice Holloway, said he was on the street talking to his aunt when he saw police arrive. Wallace had a knife and was standing on the porch of his home, Holloway said, and officers immediately drew their guns.

Wallace’s mother chased after him as he walked down the steps of his porch, still holding the knife, according to Holloway. His mother tried to shield Wallace and tell police he was her son.

“I’m yelling, ‘Put down the gun, put down the gun,’ and everyone is saying, ‘Don’t shoot him, he’s gonna put it down, we know him,’” said Holloway, 35.

Wallace brushed off his mother and walked behind a car before emerging again, Holloway said.

“He turns and then you hear the shots,” Holloway said. “They were too far from him; it was so many shots.”

Gripp said it was unclear how many times the man was shot or where he was struck. The officers fired possibly a dozen or more times, according to an account by witnesses and family members. Police marked the crime scene with at least 13 evidence markers.

Both officers, who were not publicly identified, were taken off street duty pending an investigation.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw arrived at the scene shortly after the incident as a crowd of neighbors yelled at police and questioned the use of force. By 6:30 p.m. police reopened the street and the crowd had largely dispersed.

Protest in response to the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. on Monday after police officers fatally shot the 27-year-old Black man in West Philadelphia.

But dozens of protesters then gathered at Malcolm X Park at 51st and Pine Streets, chanting “Black Lives Matter.” They marched to the police station at 55th and Pine Streets as they chanted, “Say his name: Walter Wallace.”

For hours, protesters confronted officers who stood in a line with riot shields behind metal barricades at the station. People in the crowd could be seen throwing objects at the officers. A group also marched into University City, at least one TV news vehicle was vandalized, and police reported that windows had been broken on Chestnut Street.

Between 100 and 200 people then moved to the 52nd Street commercial district and caused considerable property damage from Market to Spruce Streets. Shortly before 1 a.m., a speeding black truck ran over an officer at 52nd and Walnut Street. The incident was captured on an Instagram livestream. The condition of the officer was not immediately known.

The 52nd Street corridor was the scene of unrest on May 31 and early June as nationwide protests erupted over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protesters clashed with Philadelphia officers and set police vehicles on fire; police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas on residential streets. Since then, the police department has forbidden the use of tear gas.

At times Monday, the scene threatened to repeat. Just before midnight, someone set fire to a police vehicle on the street. Ultimately, more officers in riot gear arrived and flooded the neighborhood, dispersing the crowd.

Did We Hit a Nerve? Philly Proud Boys Interrupt Teach-In About Them – Then Left Antifa to Continue

  • October 10, 2020 1:20 am

from Idavox

This all stems from them being clowned for not showing up at a rally they announced. It’s ironic that the Philadelphia is in the Keystone State because the Philly Proud Boys are the Keystone Cops of that entire crew!

PHILADELPHIA, PA – “One thing you can guarantee (is) we will show up, motherfucker!”

That was a declaration from one of the handful of Proud Boys that attempted to disrupt a teach-in organized by the antifascist group Refuse Fascism to address them in the wake of Donald Trump’s call to arms in last week’s Presidential Debate. It was a declaration that came with irony as they did not show up to a rally the Philadelphia Proud Boy chapter called for in a park in West Philadelphia that ended up teeming with residents coming out to oppose neo-Fascist outfit, as well as another announced rally during a anti-mask car caravan in May that the group Refuse Fascism overwhelmed.

Over the past three weeks, that chapter has been attempting to recover from those embarrassments, first with a flash mob rally on Sept. 26 that was a date they once had for a rally but canceled and then with last night’s antics outside Independence Hall as the teach-in was going on.

One People’s Project’s Executive Director Daryle Lamont Jenkins was invited by Refuse Fascism to speak about the Proud Boys. Ironically, it was the fourth anniversary of a pseudo art show in New York City sponsored by neo-Fascist Milo Yiannopoulos that featured supposed art from right wing figures, where one of the Proud Boys’ first appearance was providing security for the event. Jenkins recorded video of them attacking one person they threw out, with Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes breaking the person’s phone on the ground and chasing him off.

[Video Here]

It was while Jenkins was speaking that about 20 persons, most of them men, approached the teach-in, some carrying weapons, and began berating Jenkins and the group of ten participants that were there. The teach-in then became a real-time lesson as those participants began to berate and record the Proud Boys in return. “We chanted, we circled up to keep each other safe, and three of our leaders spoke to our crowd,” a post on the Refuse Fascism Facebook page read. “We spoke about what these fascists represent with their misogyny, white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, American chauvinism and their connection to and worship of power. We spoke about the fact that they exist to intimidate, threaten, and cause pain and that they are already doing this at polling sites in Black, Latinx and Indigenous neighborhoods; protests; and through the media.”

[Instagram Post]

The Proud Boys notably attempted to dissuade the idea that they were not White Supremacists, a charge that has been leveled at them repeatedly particularly since the Presidential Debate. While Proud Boys are indeed a multiracial organization, they have regardless have been condemned in the past for having associations with neo-Nazis and White Supremacists. When the Philly chapter held their flash mob-styled march on Sept. 26, many took notice of who looked to be American Guard’s Brien James amongst them. James has a history spanning three decades as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, the Outlaw Hammerskins, and the organization he founded, the Vinlanders Social Club which boasts its history of assaults and murder. Despite this, some of the Proud Boys attempted to defend him as a friend who has since renounced such beliefs, even though he was a participant in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville on August 12 2017 and two months later participated in a Vinlander annual meeting and two months after that paid tribute to Robert Jay Matthews, the leader of the neo-Nazi terrorist group the Order that was responsible for robberies and murders in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s.

In 2013, James was in Philadelphia with over fifty neo-Nazis including Matthew Heimbach of the Traditional Workers Party for Keystone United’s annual “Leif Erickson Day Celebration” at a Viking Statue near Fairmount Park that had since been pulled down by unknown persons. That rally was countered by over 200 protesters and since then neo-Fascists have attempted to avoid such confrontations by not announcing the event and holding them at night. It is not known if they will have an event this year.

Of the group that came out Thursday, only one person, an Asian man, seemed to be the only one that wasn’t White.

[Instagram Post]

After about 20 minutes of the exchange that never reached beyond a shouting match, the group retreated toward Market St. and the teach-in continued.

Last year, the Philly Proud Boys were doxed by antifa via a blog titled Doxx Your Local Proud Boy that detailed a number of persons associated with the Proud Boys at the time. Of those profiled was Bruce McClay who at the time was a Lieutenant for the fire department in nearby Havertown, PA. Upon learning of his associations, residents called for his removal, and when the department refused to do so, the town shut down that department which was one of five. McClay resigned within 24 hours. Despite a flyer they attempted to distribute yesterday saying they reject racial division, many of those profiled were shown to harbor racist and bigoted beliefs.

At the time of this posting, the Philadelphia Proud Boys have barely commented on the events of last night.

Philly Proud Boys Rally With North Carolina Proud Boys, American Guard

  • September 30, 2020 1:11 am

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

One week after being humiliated at their own rally in Clark Park, where hundreds of counter-protesters gathered to face the fewer than five Proud Boys who managed to turn up for the rally. The Proud Boys who did show up were immediately identified by antifascist researchers, though they attempted to intimidate anti-racist protesters, threatening to dox them and stalking researcher Gwen Snyder’s house, where antifascists had posted guards.

The Philadelphia Proud Boys, led by President Zach Rehl, were joined by members of the North Carolina Proud Boys, as well as Brien James, founder of the Vinlanders Social Club, Outlaw Hammerskins, and the American Guard. James is also a former member of the Ku-Klux-Klan.

This represents an escalation for the Philadelphia Proud Boys. Prior to the summer of 2020, Rehl refused to publicly identify himself as a Proud Boy, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2018 that a Proud Boys rally he organized was simply the members of a Facebook group, “Sports, Beer, and Politics.”

In the Spring of 2019, Rehl was among a group of Proud Boys, American Guard, and militia members who attempted to organize a string of violent rallies across the northeast, trading pictures of the weapons they planned to bring and the specific leftist activists they wished to assault at the rallies. However, the group was stymied when their chats were leaked and the members were doxxed, and the rallies were cancelled.

Far-right Proud Boys march through Center City

  • September 27, 2020 1:13 am

from Mainstream Media

The alt-right Proud Boys conducted a march through Center City Saturday with nearly 60 participants, many wearing body armor and helmets, some waving American flags, and occasionally engaging in sharp verbal exchanges with onlookers.

They stopped in front of Independence Hall to sing The Star-Spangled Banner and then proceeded to City Hall, where they posed for a group photo, some displaying a white power sign with their fingers.

On the way there, they crossed paths without incident with the March to End Rape Culture, a protest to raise awareness about rape and express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Later, the Proud Boys chanted “Back the blue” as they made their way to a parking garage at Penn’s Landing, where police closed off access until members of the group drove off.

The action came a week after the Proud Boys were expected to rally in Clark Park, when instead about 500 counterprotesters showed up to the popular West Philadelphia site in a progressive, racially diverse neighborhood.

Social media posts claimed Proud Boys were present, but were disguised as journalists to gather information about leftist activists.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified the Proud Boys as a “general hate group.”

Philly Proud Boys Are Western Cowards and they Refused to Show Up For Their Own Rally

  • September 22, 2020 1:26 am

from Ida Vox

Sept. 19, 2020 – Proud Boys didn’t show to their rally in Clark Park, but we got Gritty!

It’s pretty much a joke at this point to say that if you put together a rally that brings out more opposition than you expected that you were not really coming out anyway. #ProudBoysLie

 

PHILADELPHIA – No one who came out to Clark Park Saturday could be sure that the neo-Fascist Proud Boys would actually come out for the rally they announced just a few weeks ago. The group has never shown a large degree of strength or support in the city, and they were attempting to hold an event in a park that many of those they say they hate regularly frequent. Indeed, a flyer announcing one group’s counter-protest against them indicated what they will do either if they came or if they did not.

In the end there was no Proud Boy rally, and the 500 residents of West Philadelphia who came out took the opportunity to enjoy each others’ company. This neighborhood is regarded as one of the most progressive, racially diverse neighborhoods in the city.

In addition, another rally organized by a group calling itself Italian American Patriots that was to be held at Marconi Park in South Philadelphia at the site of the Christopher Columbus statue two hours before the Clark Park rally was called off on Friday, organizers saying there was no need to hold the rally since everything regarding the fate of the statue is held up in court.

Originally, the Proud Boys announced a rally for Marconi Park next Saturday to coincide with the rally the group was holding in Portland, but many in the Philadelphia chapter may reportedly travel to Portland for that rally, changing plans. In fact they attempted to make their absence look like a planned thing all along saying that they never intended to rally at the park but wanted to be there to dox everyone that showed up. This account was played up on right wing websites and other media outlets, particularly in an a Gateway Pundit article written by Cassandra Fairbanks, a longtime associate in “alt-right” circles. A post on the Philadelphia Proud Boys Telegram account specifically noted otherwise. however. “Due to conflicts with the Portland Rally the event for the 26th has been moved to the 19th,” the post notes. “We need all available patriots to show up for the rally on the 19th, as we march into the Belly of the Beast to demand an end to them terrorizing our communities.”

Proud Boy supporters, including one on another telegram account, expressed their anger over the possibility that if this was indeed an attempt to prank people to come out to the park to oppose them, such a move put them at risk in what was expected to be a volatile situation for them. One supporter said he even went to the rally and left after not seeing any Proud Boys present. Indeed, two individuals in the crowd were identified as Proud Boy associates, and they quickly left.

In January 2019, the New Jersey European Heritage Association announced a rally in Princeton, NJ and when they failed to show, they too attempted to explain away their no-show by saying it was a prank of some sort.

Instead of confronting hatemongers, those who came out to the park heard speeches from community leaders and local politicians. “Clark Park remains a place where folks from all walks of life come to recreate and to convene and to just be,” City Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier, who represents the neighborhood, said to the crowd in a speech that addressed racial injustice. “If these Boys come here today, they’re going to go home to their miserable lives, but we will still have work to do.” Some attendees made the event a jovial one, bringing games and musical instruments, while many came out to remember those innocent Black men and women that were murdered by police across the country, with one group led by the Rev. Jeffrey Jordan of the Whomsoever Metropolitan Church presenting and installation called the “Last Word of the Unarmed.” where seven signs bearing the last words of Eric Garner, George Floyd and Elijah McClain. Breonna Taylor’s sign was marked with just quotation marks, noting how she might not have been able to speak before being shot and killed by police. Others simply appreciated the chance to meet people and forge relationships.

YouTuber Jame Klug with a sign he no longer posseses, and his partner, former Middle East Forum Communications Director Lisa Reynolds-Barbounis.

There were a few skirmishes, such as one person some said had a gun that was chased out of the park, and another with a right wing YouTuber from California named James Klug who was there carrying a sign declaring Donald Trump to not be a racist which prompted rally attendees to confront him snatch his sign and eventually eject him from the park to a nearby corner where he remained for the rest of the rally. He came with Lisa Reynolds-Barbounis who ran video for him and was also a part of the scuffle that ensued with the crowd. Reynolds-Barbounis was until August 2019, the Director of Communications for the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum (MEF), the Islamophobic organization founded by Daniel Pipes that promotes the idea that Muslims are a threat to Western civilization and is a major source of Islamophobic propaganda and false information about Muslims. In December, the MEF filed a lawsuit that is reportedly still pending against Reynolds-Barbounis alleging breach of contract, computer fraud and abuse charging further that she forwarded their proprietary information, trade secrets, donor lists and business relationships to an email account not associated with the organization.

Reynolds-Barbounis was working with the MEF when they worked to bring Steven Yaxley-Lennon, aka “Tommy Robinson” of the Islamophobic and neo-Fascist English Defence League (EDL), to the US to speak with congressional leaders. Similar to the Proud Boys, many leaders of the EDL has had associations with neo-Nazis including Yaxley-Lennon himself who was a member of British National Party. Reynolds-Barbounis has a link in her Twitter description to a Tommy Robinson-related website.

In addition to the Portland rally, the Proud Boys say they will rally in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 3

Meet Philadelphia Proud Boy Richard Schwetz, aka “PhillyDick” aka “Dick Sweats.”

  • September 22, 2020 1:23 am

from Twitter

Meet Philadelphia Proud Boy Richard Schwetz, aka “PhillyDick” aka “Dick Sweats.”
He was at the Proud Boys’ “rally” in West Philly on Saturday, threatening to dox protesters.
He works for @InovaPayroll in Reading, PA.
Hey, @InovaPayroll, why do you employ hate group members?
Saturday’s rally was a complete failure for the Philadelphia Proud Boys.
Only a handful of them showed up, compared with 400-500 protesters.
Richard was *pissed* and took to Twitter to make threats. idavox.com/index.php/2020/09…
On Twitter, Richard Schwetz makes threats to dox journalists and activists, and generally spreads racist propaganda.
Like all Proud Boys, he also hates trans people, using the hashtag “#TrannyLivesDontMatter.”
He’s also a homophobe, referring to antifascists as “antifags.”

On Telegram, he claims to be a 4th Degree Proud Boy, which requires that he attacked someone for the hate group.

If anyone from HR at @InovaPayroll is reading this, you can find more context on the Proud Boys here. huffpost.com/entry/proud-boy…
@RuthlessWe identified Richard back in June, but we never got confirmation that he was fired. [Twitter Thread Here]
If you’re a regular follower of mine, you know what’s coming next.
We contact @InovaPayroll to get this hate group member fired.
Given their feelings about the death of George Floyd, it seems strange that @InovaPayroll employs a hate group member. [Twitter Thread Here]
You can call @InovaPayroll‘s corporate office at 615-921-0600.

Ask to speak to Human Resources, and tell them about their employee Richard Schwetz, a member of the violent hate group the Proud Boys.

And if any Proud Boys are reading this right now– this is what happens when you come into our communities to spread your hate.
You come out to Portland on the 26th, you get identified and then we get you fired.
It’s as simple as that.
We don’t run crying to the cops or the courts.
Who protects us?
We protect us.
❤️????✊

History of the Proud Boys in Light of Their Upcoming Rally

  • September 18, 2020 1:35 am

from Twitter

On Saturday, September 19, 2020, the Philadelphia Proud Boys are holding a rally at 1:00 in Clark Park, in West Philadelphia. They timed it to disrupt the Uhuru Flea Market, a 20-year institution in West Philly. If you can, come out to counter it. tockify.com/idavox/detail/97…

Quick history lesson so we know what to expect– the last time the Philadelphia Proud Boys had a rally, in November 2018, their “Security” featured a collection of violent hate group members. See this screenshot from their leaked security chats featuring Alan Swinney.

Swinney’s in Portland at the moment, where he’s been rolling with Haley Adams’ crew of Proud Boy rejects. On August 22, after spraying protesters with mace and shooting them with a paintball gun, Swinney pulled a gun on the crowd. [Video Here]

Their head of security in November 2018 was Jerry Smith, an antisemite with militia ties. See this thread for more information. [Thread Here]

Zach Rehl, the President of the Philadelphia Proud Boys, told the papers at the time that no hate groups would be present. Zach was the President of the Philly Proud Boys at the time, and the papers credulously swallowed his lie.

The 2018 rally also brought out NYC Proud Boy David Kuriakose, who was fresh off of attacking protesters in Manhattan on 10/6/18. manhattanda.org/d-a-vance-an…

The rally was a failure, but Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zach Rehl continued to organized with Alan Swinney, attempting to plan string of violent rallies across the northeast for the summer of 2019. huffpost.com/entry/proud-boy…

Their planning chats were leaked to the @HuffPost, showing them trading pictures of the weapons they wanted to bring, and photos of the leftist activists they planned to assault, dubbing them “HVTs”– “High Value Targets.”


After the chats were leaked and the members were exposed, the rallies were cancelled, so the Philly Proud Boys decided to just start showing up at the homes of leftist activists, threatening @gwensnyderPHL in June 2019. [Thread Here]

You can read more about that incident here. thedailybeast.com/far-right-…

Since the outbreak of anti-police protests across the country, the Philadelphia Proud Boys have attempted to insert themselves into white reactionary vigilante patrols. [Thread Here]

The Philadelphia Proud Boys also have deep ties with the Philly police, as revealed by @KELLYWEILL in July. thedailybeast.com/the-distur…

The Proud Boys revel in misogyny and police violence. After I posted about police using sexual violence as a weapon against protesters, noting that I’d been punched by a cop after interrupting him, Zach Rehl posted “Couldn’t have happened to a bigger scumbag. #FuckAntifa”

In June, a mob of armed reactionaries showed up to attack protesters and journalists at the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza, in South Philadelphia. Instead of intervening, a police captain threatened a journalist with arrest. [Thread Here]

The Philadelphia Proud Boys immediately rallied to support the police, and forge ties with the new Italian-American vigilante gang, who dubbed themselves the “Gravy Seals.” [Thread Here]

Those same vigilantes are holding an event at 11:00 a.m. in Marconi Plaza, home of the Columbus statue, on September 19th. My sources expect that the Proud Boys will be there to recruit, and try to bring them to Clark Park at 1:00.

So if you can, come out to help us say no to hate in West Philadelphia at Clark Park on Saturday, September 19th. There will be families present, so we’re going to keep things as peaceful as we can, but the Proud Boys are a known violent hate group. tockify.com/idavox/detail/97…

If you can’t come join us on the ground, there’s still ways you can help! @raveneyes77 will be there live-streaming the event, so be sure to follow and share that stream and tell the world who the Proud Boys are– a violent, bootlicking hate group.

Who protects us? We protect us. And on Saturday, September 19th, we’ll be protecting our community in West Philadelphia from a violent hate group. Come join us. ❤️????✊ tockify.com/idavox/detail/97…

Quick Correction: The Uhuru Flea Market has been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, the Proud Boys event has interrupted the Farmers Market normally held on Saturdays in Clark Park. Statement from the organizers here. facebook.com/thefoodtrust/po…

ALERT! Proud Boys to Rally in Clark Park on Saturday 9/19/2020

  • September 16, 2020 1:47 am

from Philly Antifa

 

Wear a mask. Bring your friends. Defend your city.

We are not the organizers of the event (though some reporters and nazi bloggers will insist otherwise regardless) but stand in solidarity with the organizers and everyone coming out to let the Proud Boys know their “Klan 3.0” bullshit is not welcome.

Original Flyer that prompted the above Vigil being called:

 

This move by the Proud Boys (should they show up) is not only an escalation, but a transparent provocation. Remember that these groups are coordinating directly with Philly PD. Their collective goal is to assault, doxx, entrap, and falsify charges against anyone who stands against Fascism.

Forever Liberty, Solidarity, and Equality,