Neo-Nazi record label and distro house Micetrap Records is closing up shop, according to it’s owner.
For over 20 years, Micetrap Records has been distributing Neo-Nazi, White Nationalist, Neo-Confederate and other Fascist music, writings and clothing using a P.O. box in Maple Shade, N.J..
Micetrap was (to the best of our knowledge) a one-man operation for it’s entire run. Stephen Wiegand of Cherry Hill, NJ would distribute bands such as Skrewdriver and Bound for Glory as well as old issues of National Vanguard magazines and writings by Nazi Terrorist David Lane. Basically all manner of Fascist paraphernalia.
Despite the immeasurable damage done by Weigand over the years, he flew under the radar for much of his career due to his insistence that he was no ideologically motivated, his willingness to make ridiculous legal threats when he was exposed and other more pressing concerns demanding the time and energy of Anti-Racists and Anti-Fascists in the area.
This changed a few years ago with Antifa Philadelphia exposed Wiegand’s home address and description of his cars and posted them on our site. This eventually led to Weigand’s lawyers threatening WordPress and them caving into pressure and shutting down our old blog. We rebounded nicely, though, launching on noblogs and then eventually our own current site and keeping the Wiegand info up the entire time.
So in the wake of Charlottesville, with a huge upsurge in Anti-Fascist sentiment among people in the U.S., and his info already being made public by Antifa, and Philly Inquirer reporters showing up at his doorstep, Wiegand (allegedly) decided to call it quits.
From a statement on the Micetrap site:
“8/20/2017 – Micetrap Distribution will be soon closing down.
After many years of struggling to figure out the best way to shut down this business, it is with a very heavy heart that I have decided that the time has now come for Micetrap Distribution LLC. to close.
I am proud to say that I built this business from practically nothing and formed a company that I believed stood for everything our 1st Amendment was established for. But in doing this, I have endured personal issues and sacrifices that very few would have been strong enough to endure. But, I can no longer continue on with the passion and enthusiasm that made the business the success that it became. I have always been attacked from all sides of the spectrum and this is not a retreat or surrender, instead it is my attempt at finding my own self peace again. When my business is gone, the violence will still continue between the left and the right, but I will know in my heart that I am not associated with it in any way. I am going out on my own terms while sales are increasing at a rapid pace, simply to pursue a happier, less stressful life that also spares my friends and the neighborhood I love.
After the recent issues in Charlottesville, Virginia, it has forced me to take a long, deep look into myself. And after speaking with friends and neighbors, I can no longer be aligned with the violence (from all sides) that I have always been against.
I will continue processing all orders as I am going through the closing down process. No customers need to worry, if you are able to place an order, it will be completed. But once the shutting down process is complete, I will be completely taking down all websites and domains. I have already removed all social media pages and the streaming radio website. I don’t have any idea where the inventory will go or what will happen with the countless domain names, but over the 20 years, I feel I have done everything possible to fight for the freedom of speech that means everything to me. But now it’s time for me to focus on my own spiritual peace.
I pray that this country I love with all of my heart can heal it’s divides.”
It is worth noting the Wiegand is still taking orders of his repulsive merchandise, despite claiming to have had some vague change of heart. Wiegand also parrots the ridiculous assertions by Donald Trump that Neo-Nazi demonstrators and Anti-Racists in Charlottesville were somehow morally equivalent.
We have no intention of removing Wiegand’s information from our site as it stands. Wiegand is running or involved in running several “Anti-Antifa” blogs and SM accounts that have engaged in doxxing of real or presumed Antifa and has not engaged in any of the behaviors we would classify as evidence of a legitimate change of heart. Stephen Wiegand has been nothing if not duplicitous for the entirety that he’s been around WP scenes. There is no guarantee that this is a legitimate shutdown or that it will last.
For the moment though, we celebrate what seems like a victory in one of our longest running campaigns and recommit ourselves to go harder to ensure that no one can operate a business like Micetrap for 20 years with nearly no consequences and total anonymity.
Eternal War on the Hitler Youth and their Shitty Record Salesmen…
from Facebook
Help us raise funds for our new location in Philly!!!!
You can add to the www.gofundme.com/ramphilly
OOOORRRRRR…..PARTYYYYY!!!!
The Fundraiser will have entertainment from:
The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement has sought since its inception to spread nationwide, and create international connections to further the cause of abolitionism and revolutionary anarchism. Today, August 20, 2017, we are proud to announce the formation of the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement – Philadelphia Branch (RAM Philly). With the growth of each new branch we inch ever closer to the day when we can realize our revolutionary aspirations, live in a world of true freedom, and decisively eradicate the abhorrence of 21st century slavery.
The struggle in the US seems like an unrelenting weight being pushed down on revolutionary forces, but that same force has been bearing down on criminalized communities for decades with no reprieve. Mosques are being ruthlessly bombed, state agencies and vigilante groups are deporting Latino people with relentless vigor, LGBTQ people are being battered, and the destruction of black life continues unabated as millions languish in the plantations of the modern day slave system.
Immersed in these struggles, against the state and its white supremacist militias, we are developing the capacity to liberate ourselves and others. We fight side by side with those facing state and reactionary violence and with each person we free from captivity the stronger we grow. As demonstrated by our resistance in Charlottesville, we will not cede one inch of ground to racists. As each new collective forms, we begin to create new political realities and continue the march together against white supremacy and for a dignified world.
We continue in the legacy of Philadelphia’s rich revolutionary tradition, demonstrated by Mumia Abu Jamal, Russell Maroon Shoatz, and the MOVE organization.
We are now establishing a revolutionary political movement that can confront the challenges ahead of us, and together with Philadelphia based comrades, we are taking one step closer.
Victory to Those Behind the Barricades!
Victory to Those Behind Prison Walls! Victory to Revolutionary Forces!
This morning, Philadelphia police arrested a dear friend and anti-racist organizer, allegedly in connection with the most recent defacement of the Frank Rizzo mural in South Philly. Frank Rizzo, former mayor and police commissioner of Philadelphia, was a notorious white supremacist whose legacy the city continues to celebrate. Active campaigns to take down the statue of Rizzo outside City Hall are ongoing.
Please DONATE and SHARE this fundraiser to support action against systemic racism and white supremacy in Philly! Any funds you can give would be deeply appreciated and will help get our friend out of jail as soon as possible!!! Any additional funds will go to the PHL Anti-Repression Fund to help support future arrestees.
Fun BBQ for the Philly IWW there will be vegan/vegatarian options. Note: there will be an IWW meeting at the some sopt and ay at 3pm an hour before the BBQ starts. It will be ar the corner of 43rd and Baltimore ner the farmers market. We will also have liturature and information about the IWW. Feel free to bring music ,play guitar or read poetry.
[August 26 2PM to 6PM at Clark Park 43rd St and Baltimore Ave]
Back by popular uprising! On August 26th from 10AM-3PM Food Not Bombs will be holding ANOTHER all vegan brunch, book and art sale to raise funds for comrades. $5-$10 for brunch (no one turned away for lack of funds!) Tons of great books, radical merhcandise and art for sale.
ALL money collected will go to in need comrades, we will update with specific recipients soon!
An amazing friend and accomplice Sophia was beaten by police at an Alt-Right Counter Rally in Seattle the day after Charlotesville. Most of y’all knew her when she lived in Philly, but now she goes to school in Seattle.
At the counter-rally, she was hospitalized and had to get a ct scan and stitches in her head. We are trying to raise money for her to cover her hospital bills (copay for insurance, and any healing requirements). We are looking for bands willing to play a set for her! if you are interested, please message us, or comment!
Door fee will be sliding scale, if you can do 5-10 bucks, that’d be great, if you can’t donate, no one will be turned away.
Here is her statement:
“Hey y’all I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing okay. Yesterday I had to go to the hospital after being hit in the head multiple times with a wooden baton. I had to have lacerations in my scalp stitched up and get a ct scan. All results came back clear with no internal bleeding or skull fracture. I am still on watch for any vision, neck and nerve problems that might occur from blunt force to the head. I am so thankful that I currently have health insurance and all of my medical expenses besides a co-pay are covered. Thank you to so many of you who reached out about helping with medical expenses. I encourage you to donate funds to folks effected in Charlottesville. My injury resulted from police protecting white supremacists. They are reporting no injuries even though many folks were attacked with chemical weapons, flash bangs, and blunt force. The police do not exist for protection. They exist to uphold oppression, white supremacy, capitalist interests and will use any means necessary to do so. This injury will not keep me off the streets and I will continue to fight. I am just so thankful that injuries were not worse.” please to not share for protection, but you can copy/paste if you would like”
[August 24 from 8PM to 10PM at LAVA Space 4134 Lancaster Ave]
We’ve written about Ellsworth George Lewis on the site before, but we’ve learned he was recently appointed as the leader of the Pennsylvania Alt-Knights.
In response, Anti-Fascists around the state and region are launching a push to get Lewis fired from his job at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, PA.
Take a few minutes and call the hospital at (610) 595-6000 and let them know what you think about them employing racist misogynists like Ellsworth George Lewis.
Here’s a good example of what might want to say when you call.
Hello,
You are currently employing Ellsworth George Lewis III, who was recently appointed to be the Pennsylvania Commander and State Point of Contact of the Pennsylvania Alt-Knights. Alt-Knights are a group of alt-right fighting squads and has been featured in Hate Watch by The Southern Poverty Law Center.
Lewis has been in the news several times in the last few months for his involvement with the “Kekistani Movement,” which has involved Lewis carrying a modified version of a Nazi battle flag around the country and participating in various far right and fascist rallies while looking for confrontation with protesters. The “Kek” flag also has added elements from 3%er militia groups and Ku Klax Klan imagery. Lewis intends to be in Charlottesville this coming weekend to participate in the “Unite the Right” rally being organized by Neo-Nazi and other far right groups including the National Socialist Movement and American Vanguard. Lewis’ activities should be cause of grave concern for you and represent a threat to your staff and patients, and do to his recent move to a leadership position within the Alt-Knights I would like to see him terminated immediately.
Lewis announcing his leadership of Alt-Knights
Ellsworth George Lewis III with Kek Flag at InaugurationEllsworth (left) with other PA Alt Knights demonstrating against an Anti-Trump rally in Philadelphia. Lewis is speaking with Daniel Reardon, aka “Illegal Aryan,” the Neo-Nazi who has been posting vile racist flyers in West Philly.
A Conversation With Tilted Scales Collective, Human Rights Coalition and Philly J20 Defendants On How To Beat The Authorities When They Drag Us Into Court
In April of 2010 six prisoners at SCI-Dallas were charged with riot after a coordinated protest against abusive conditions in solitary cofinement durng which they covered their cell doors with sheets and bedding material. On January 20 2017 over two hundred protestors who attended a spirited ‘anti-fascist, anti-capitalist’ march were chased by police, assaulted with chemical weapons and mass arrested. They were initially charged with riot and conspiracy. Several months later those charges were expanded to include numerous other felonies and the 211 remaining defendants face up to 75 years in prison. The case against most defendants is not that they specifically commited a crime, but that they entered into a criminal conspiracy by covering their faces and wearing black. How do we defend our movements when the authoriteis attack? How do we work together to win in court and protect each other?
Join Human Rights Coalition (a group of prisoners families and supporters), Philly J20 defendants and The Titled Scales Collective (a Los Angeles based legal support collective) for a conversation about how we act together to keep each other safe. Tilted Scales will be in town discussing their ‘Tilted Guide To Being A Defendant’, a comprehensive guide to facing charges in the criminal legal system to help defendants not only figure out how to handle their legal cases, but also how to think about their cases personally, politically and legaly. People who have faced cases or who are currently caught up are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. Of course we will not talk about specifics about any case (what someone did or did not do that led to charges) in a way that could jeaporadize anyones legal defense. However, we will talk about ways we can act in solidarity in the courts and through the legal process and how we can build resilient movements that can withstand state repression. Come and be a part of the conversation!
Sponsored By Up Against The Law Legal Collecitve, Philly J20 Solidarity, Tilted Scales Collective, Human Rights Coalition, Irish Against Oppression and Decarcerate PA
[August 8 from 6:30PM to 8:30PM a Arch Street United Methodist Church, 55 N Broad St]
Harrisburg, PA – On Tuesday, July 25, a judge on Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board ordered a temporary stop to all horizontal drilling operations underway to construct the Mariner East 2 pipeline. The ruling against Sunoco Logistics (which recently merged with Energy Transfer Partners) was issued as part of an ongoing lawsuit by Clean Air Council and other environmental groups. It requires the pipeline company to cease all horizontal drilling activities, but permits other construction activities, including non-horizontal drilling, to continue.
One day earlier, on July 24, a Public Utilities Commission judge had also ruled to grant an emergency order sought by West Goshen Township to “cease and desist all current construction” in their area. West Goshen alleges Sunoco violated the terms of a Settlement Agreement made with the township in 2015 by building on township property without permission, ignoring local regulations, and parking in front of the local fire department’s driveway.
Pipeline contractors employed by Sunoco Logistics have had a series of “inadvertent returns“ (drilling slurry spills into groundwater) along the pipeline route, including but not limited to; spills in Chester County, Blair County, Delaware County, Westmoreland County, Washington County, Allegheny County, Indiana County, and Huntingdon County.
According to Clean Air Council, court filings made last week “disclosed 61 drilling fluid spills and water contamination in multiple Pennsylvania regions.”
The $2.5 billion dollar pipeline would carry natural gas liquids such as propane, ethane, and butane from frack fields in Scio, Ohio, across West Virginia and Pennsylvania to export terminals at Marcus Hook, near Philadelphia, where they would be shipped across the sea for use by the European plastics industry.
In Huntingdon, in central Pennsylvania, tree-sits at Camp White Pine have blocked the Mariner East 2 right-of-way for many months. Sunoco work crews began preemptively clearing trees on the Gerhart family’s property in 2015, bringing sheriffs’ deputies who arrested several people. Many trees of a conserved forest plot were cut down but some trees were occupied, and remain to this day as part of a tree-sit village. Sunoco is active in areas near Camp White Pine, but despite a recent court injunction giving police more authority to make arrests on the family’s private property, they have not yet tried to retake their eminent domain easement on the Gerhart’s land.
The order to halt horizontal directional drilling lasts until the next Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board hearing on August 7. Sunoco reportedly expects to be able to resume drilling after the hearing, promising to “demonstrate that we have expended every effort to meet the strict conditions of our environmental permits.”
The lawsuit, filed in 2015 by Clean Air Council, Mountain Watershed Association, Inc., and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network seeks to stop Mariner East 2 entirely, asserts that permits from the Department of Environmental Protection “failed to adequately address the severe negative impacts of the pipeline project on Pennsylvania’s streams, wetlands and forests.” The case heads to trial at Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court later this year.
