Call to Struggle Around Bartram’s and Against the Proposal for “Cellicon Valley”

  • August 10, 2023 1:21 am

Submission

Development is officially moving forward – though very slowly – in destroying the alluring wastelands of Bartram’s North, the wooded riverside area just north of Bartram’s Gardens in Southwest Philly. For years, this area has been a favorite hangout spot for anarchists, ravers, feminist nude sunbathers, and other companions in being up to no good. Within the past eight months, a fence has gone up – twice – around the fields adjacent to the bike path that runs through the area, and a nearby building is slated to be demolished at the end of July. Earlier that month, three surveillance cameras were installed high up along Botanic Ave, the street that leads up to Bartram’s North. An unpermitted rave at Bartram’s in mid-July was reportedly broken up by police, which was to our knowledge the first time cops had kicked a party out of that location.

Resistance to the project has also been moving along, but slowly. According to websites like Philly Anti-Cap, over this calendar year so far the following events and actions have taken place:

– January: A zine is released entitled “Fuck a ‘Cellicon Valley’: Against the Proposed Development of Bartram’s North and South.”
– February: “Fuck Cellicon Valley” graffiti goes up along with “No Cop City” slogans.
– February: A Valentine’s Day-themed communique entitled “ISO Fence4Fence” notes that the fence around Bartram’s North has been broken down and is accompanied by anti-Cellicon Valley graffiti nearby.
– February: Iffy Books hosts a zine launch and social to publicize “Fuck a ‘Cellicon Valley.'”
– March: A communique claims the sabotage of a machine at Bartram’s North that was in the process of destroying “one of our favorite post-industrial wildernesses.” Bleach was poured into the tanks and tools were stolen.
– March: An anarchist assembly meets to discuss the various ecological and place-based struggles across the city, connecting the proposed struggle at Bartram’s with other campaigns like Save the Meadows, Save the UC Townhomes, No Arena in Chinatown, and the fight against the Cobbs Creek golf course.
– March/April: Anti-development and other anarchist graffiti goes up in Bartram’s North, including “Land Back” and Developers GTFO (A).”
– April: A communique posts photos of graffiti at Bartram’s North (with slogans including “fuck in the forest (A)” and “developers GTFO”) “for those Sexy Elves and Fairies out there in the Sex Forest. Let’s make the space more fun and cute while we defend the land. ;-)”
– May: A “work party” takes down most of the fence around the Bartram’s North fields for a second time and puts up more graffiti.
– June: “Feral gnomes” write a claim taking responsibility for pouring grit into the lubricating system of an earth-destroying machine at Bartram’s.

The proposal for “Cellicon Valley,” part of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, threatens to build a biotech campus at the sites of Bartram’s North and Bartram’s South. As well as demolishing the green spaces in those areas, the proposal also likely involves razing Bartram’s Village (the project housing nearby), and displacing its residents to build a new road to the Bartram’s South site.

This proposal is part of an ongoing effort by Philadelphia’s city planners to attract tech investment and brand the city as a new tech hot spot in competition with innovation hubs like Boston, the Bay and Silicon Valley itself. The city has been trying to do this kind of thing for a while, with mixed results, for example with Philadelphia’s failed attempt around 2018 to win the bid to house Amazon’s second national headquarters.

It is critical that we help them continue to fail in this goal. The effects of gentrification have already been devastating, and taking it to this level would make the city unlivable for everyone except a newly arrived generation of yuppie tech gentry.

The city is still looking for a partner to actually carry out the development process at Bartram’s. The PIDC (Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation) is reportedly in conversation with three development firms: Quaker Lane Capital, Gattuso Development Partners/AR Spruce, and Lincoln Property Company. The latest information we have, from February 2023, says they expected to select a partner and negotiate a development agreement by the second quarter of 2023.

It is much easier to intimidate potential developers, discouraging them from committing to the project in the first place, than it is to dissuade companies that have already signed a contract. Waiting until a developer is actually chosen might galvanize resistance by helping publicize the project and showing people it’s a real threat, but do we really want to wait til the deal is done, mainstream media has decided to start talking about (i.e. advertising) it, and everyone else on the opposition has been put on point to promote the project and squash resistance?

At this time, it’s not certain that any of the above development firms will even decide to commit to the project. If we act now, we can make this potential failure a reality. If we wait til later, we can still make construction a problem for the developers, but we’ll be at more of a disadvantage.

We don’t need to rely on our opposition’s timeline or their media; we can create our own. At this moment, we have the chance to widely publicize the project *ourselves*, spreading the information we want to see spread and finding potential accomplices, while the city waits around for their side of things to get finalized. It might not feel like it, but the time in which it’ll be most effective to act is now.

Who’s Responsible:
– PIDC (Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation), a non-profit founded by the city of Philadelphia and the Chamber of Commerce that funds development, is the main vehicle of this project
– Anne Bovaird Nevins, President of PIDC
– Angie Fredrickson, Vice President of Real Estate Services of PIDC (oversees the group’s marketing efforts in the Lower Schuylkill)
– Tom Dalfo, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Services for PIDC (oversaw the implementation of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan)
– Colliers Life Sciences, “elite” real estate advisors leading the effort to solicit developers for the biotech campus
– Joseph Fetterman, Executive Vice President
– Clifford Brechner, Vice President
– Matthew Barkann, Associate
– William Penn Foundation, funders of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan, along with the City of Philadelphia
– PennPraxis, local advisors and facilitators for the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan
– PHA (Philadelphia Housing Authority)
– Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philadelphia – assembled the panel of experts in 2021 (sponsored by PIDC) that recommended and specified suggestions for the development of Bartram’s
– All development firms that have shown interest in the project

Some ideas:
– Counter-information about the project (on site and in general)
– Actions against people responsible for development
– Work parties
– Dare to dream >:)

Orgs VS. Liberty

  • August 9, 2023 1:42 am

Submission

On the weekend of June 29 through July 2nd, some folx had organized to do what would turn out to be more of a block party then a protest. The weeks ahead saw numerous virtual zoom meetings between members of various organizations which included ‘Act Up’ and ‘Young Communist League,’ and almost seemingly endless group chat conversations on signal. The event discussed was because folx had gotten wind that a right wing neofascist christian group called “Moms 4 Liberty were coming to town at the end of the month. Amongst those conversations there seemed to have been talks of a “diversity of tactics” with the basic goal to run these fuckers out of Philly.
The next coming weeks  saw a few actions at various locations. We should also mention that separate from all the orgs bullshit, local and non-local anarchists and anti-fascists also began to plot various actions for the last couple of weeks before the event.
Fast forward to the last meeting before the mums got here. Basically, more talks of a variety of tactics. The vibes that left that conversation was one of an acceptance of more autonomous actions. The event itself had been scheduled for every day and every time slot. Actually, kinda fucking crazy how scheduled shit was. It’s almost as though they were really afraid that any unscheduled time slot would like, deter their plans to ultimately just fucking yell at people. We remember at one point, folks had discussed not “peace policing” anyone. Would you believe that there basically wasn’t a day that some MC on a microphone didn’t peace police in a way?
Basically, the whole weekend went like this from what we saw: Big crowds gathered in the middle of 12th and Filbert street for roughly 12 hours to put on various events, but mostly set up a place for folx to just dance and “make noise” next to the Marriott where the mums for liberty (also referred to jokingly as the “mums 4 hate”) were staying and hosting their big event.
Round the evening of the first rally, anarchists and antifascists took to the streets to spread art and agit-prop throughout old towne. The rally goers and the art march briefly met, with art marchers ultimately turning down an alleyway and going their own way. Seems both groups had different ideas. There were no clashes for either side.
However, the same could not be said about the so called “peaceful protestors.” Since the first night, interactions with the police happened more than once. Protesters were detained practically at each event. They seemed to also be released hours later so, we can at least all be happy about that. Unfortunately, some interactions left scars. A comrade had alerted us to one time that a brave soul dared to throw a easily breakable object into the crowd of people supporting the mums for liberty. The next thing, and we couldn’t believe we heard it, that brave soul was essentially brought attention by the mc on the mic saying “Get your boi!” (exact words may differ) and then chased off… Oh, in case it wasn’t understood, by the people supposedly protesting the mums for liberty… Not the cops. And before that, being confronted by what people call “march marshals.” Fucked up right? We’ll say again that this is what we heard so, check up about it if ya feel (stories and recollections may vary). The other “clashes” if you even wanna fucking call it that, just us but like, clashes usually mean that both individuals involved equally try to inflict harm, but we digress… There was also another brave soul that ran to wave goodbye to the mums in their own special way and they tackled by security. They suffered injuries and had to be taken to hospital. For such a “peaceful” event, sure was some fuckery that went down. We guess we could also mention “struggles” for space.
Which, ultimately, were won by the cops. The cops were granted EVERY SINGLE FUCKING METER they wanted. The protesters lost, you know what, fuck it, GAVE space away at both locations. Once at the local “revolutionary” museum, and again outside the hotel. It seemed that these communists and other socialist types couldn’t defend or hold the space like their precious daddies back in the day. (Shocker.) To be fair to all involved, they were basically, well wait no, not basically, DEFINITELY fucking kettled the whole time. It just seemed like the whole event was just meant to be a place where there wasn’t much room to move.
Ultimately, not a fun time if you wanted to actually accomplish scaring those bigots away. They laughed at everyone multiple days. That one pragur u dude even came out to see the spectacle.  Comrades, we have got to start taking shit in our own hands if we wanna accomplish shit. Ours enemies get stronger and chose violence at every single turn, we can BARELY keep comrades from getting caught up. The protesters liberal agenda is going to more people killed. It’s not funny, and dancing round instead of showing these fuckers what is actually up, is just a bad look and not doing us any favours. Bleh… fuck it. We need to show people that there is a different way. A more autonomous way, a more direct way. You know that direct actions yields more results rather than waiting for some authority or these phantom “masses” they fucking go on about. Yeah, we need numbers, but we can attract those numbers when people see we’re fucking serious. We’re a force to be reckoned with when we all find our self determination. The orgs have become so big in this fucking city. These orgs will organize our way into the system. It’s just the fucking truth from what we’re seeing. It’s called a ‘DIVERSITY OF TACTICS’ not Only ‘organization of tactics’ 🙄
And like, definitely fuck the mums for liberty and all these conservative and transphobic cunts, but part of that is showing them why their wrong in a more conflictual way.

In Contempt #31: New Support Campaigns Rally Across the US Against Repression

  • August 2, 2023 1:28 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.]

In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always are updates, fundraisers, and birthdays.

There’s a lot happening, so let’s dive right in!

Political Prisoner News

Upcoming dates in the political prisoner support calendar include the international week of solidarity with anarchist prisoners from August 23-30th, and Running/Pushing Down the Walls events that will be taking place in several locations, including Philadelphia on September 17th and Los Angeles on October 21st.

General Prison News and Abolitionist Media

Anarchist prisoner Sean Swain is being profiled by a new youtube channel, and Rebellious Hearts, a new collective founded by Dwayne “BIM” Staats and Jarreau “Ruk” Ayers from the Vaughn uprising, now has an instagram page.

Uprising Defendants

See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. To the best of our knowledge they currently include:

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Upcoming Birthdays

Lawrence Michaels

A former Vaughn 17 defendant, and contributor to the Vaughn zines, “Live from the Trenches” and “United We Stood.” While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Lawrence in relation to the uprising, he, like all of the Vaughn 17, deserves respect and support for making it through the entire process while staying in solidarity with his co-defendants and refusing to co-operate with the prosecution.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NW2894”.

Birthday: August 14

Address:

Smart Communications / PA DOC
Lawrence Michaels – NW2894
SCI Frackville
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

 

Summer reading series: Against His-story, Against Leviathan!

  • July 23, 2023 1:10 am

from Viscera

This summer we’ll be hosting our first multi-part reading series, where we’ll be reading the entirety of Against His-story, Against Leviathan! Each discussion will take place on the last Sunday of the month between July and September, as follows:

July 30th chapters 1-10
supplemental reading: baedan – Against the Gendered Nightmare I-XI

August 27th chapters 11-18
supplemental reading: tbd

October 1st chapters 19-24
supplemental reading: Alejandro de Acosta – History as Decomposition

You can find the full text of Against His-story here

As usual, we’ll be meeting at Clark Park near the chess tables from 1-3! Supplemental readings are optional but highly encouraged!

NJ Hate Watch: S14 Member Mathew Bair of Dover, PA

  • July 22, 2023 1:48 am

from Jersey Counter-Info

Back in May 2023, Mathew D. Bair was identified by Philly Antifa as the leader of the First Capital Proud Boys/Common Sons of Pennsylvania and a member of other PA far right groups like White Lives Matter. Bair was rightfully exposed as a Neo-Nazi and his ties to far right groups in the Tristate area were revealed. Since his initial unmasking, further information has been gathered on Bair showing that he is also a member of S14, a regional Neo-Nazi crew.

A recent photo of Bair.

 

The details on Bair’s organization are listed in this Telegram screen grab. After issues with the national organization and chapters Bair rebranded the First Capital Proud Boys as the Common Sons of Pennsylvania.

Bair, who goes by “Cotton Hill” on Telegram, first publicly joined S14 during the Spring of 2023. Bair quickly got acquainted with Mark Kauffman, a leader of S14, and began cross posting propaganda from different local far right organizations. He also bragged about the amount of graffiti and stickering he was doing for White Lives Matter over the Dover and York PA area.

Bair’s personal telegram account.

 

Here Bair is discussing some stickering he did and also making a point to get more involved in S14 activities.

At some point during this time, Kauffman and Bair got closer and began hanging out socially and doing different actions together in person.

Mark Kauffman posing while Bair takes his picture.

 

Bair, with his face covered doing the same pose as Kauffman. The number 88 is a nazi dogwhistle, read as “HH” (the eighth letter of the alphabet) and standing for “Heil Hitler.”

Bair was interested in impressing his peers and getting more involved in S14. When Bair’s doxx by Philly Antifa dropped in May, he used it as an opportunity to try and gloat and look tough to his fellow Neo-Nazis, declaring on the S14 public telegram channel that his address listed in the doxx was incorrect.

Bair attempting to troll antifascists and impress other nazis by detailing he does not currently live in Spring Grove, PA.

If Bair’s ego had been in check he wouldn’t have made the serious operational security (opsec) mistake of publicly mentioning that the address listed for him was wrong. Bair and his family have moved upwards of half a dozen times over the past four years, muddling their living history. He could have easily chosen not to say anything and protect his and his family’s anonymity but ultimately, Bair’s arrogance got the better of him.

Bair’s revelation enabled local antifascists to identify and confirm his actual current address: an apartment in a large multi family house on N Main Street in Dover, PA. Bair lives there with his long term girlfriend and their kids.

Antifascists were able to pull recent pictures from Bair’s family and compare them to photos from Bair’s rental history. Through a process of elimination the house on N Main Street in Dover, PA was positively identified as Bair’s current residence.

The N Main Street house’s features like doors and molding in these pictures are identical to those pictured on social media.

 

Additionally, the N Main Street house’s floors were found to be identical to those from social media.

For whatever reason Bair thinks the information released about him in the May 2023 doxx, including his dropped lawsuit against York PA police, prior drug arrests, his positive identification as a failed January 6 insurrectionist, and his court martial and discharge from the Marines, is a badge of honor. Bair has no sense of self reflection or preservation, as he has functionally changed nothing about how he operates, further opening up his entire family to potential consequences for his own independent actions.

An article from 2018/2019 detailing Bair’s dropped lawsuit against York PA police.

 

To top things off, Bair has recently been in the habit of promoting S14 and the Common Sons of Pennsylvania by directly involving his very young children and his girlfriend in propaganda. At the time of publishing it is unclear if Bair’s girlfriend has any direct involvement in either Neo-Nazi group.

Bair with his family as of July 2023, taken from a family members social media account.

 

Bair’s girlfriend on the left and his three children on the right. All of his children have a “nazi death head” or totenkopf concealing their identity. This picture was specifically promoted for S14 and the Common Sons of Pennsylvania’s propaganda.

 

A picture Bair took during one of his stickering actions for the Common Sons of Pennsylvania. Two of his children can be seen in the background.

Bair’s hubris and opsec may in fact be the worst out of the entire group, even outshining Kauffman. During the week of July 17, 2023, Bair posted a series of voice messages whining about NJ Hate Watch’s coverage of Kauffman stating verbatim “what do I have to do to be mentioned”. Bair was likely trying to act tough while sucking up to Kauffman.

Bair’s voice messages about the S14 doxxes that have been published. He also mentions the recent Southern Sons Active Club doxx, which he was also mentioned in.

Despite awareness of the continued coverage and exposure of S14’s members, the group is largely acting as if nothing has happened. This is of course on top of them being surveilled by the state (Nicholas Mucci was connected to WLM and S14 members after getting picked up by the federal government and several state agencies after a protest).

S14 members consider this a warning: With addition of Mathew Bair, five of your members have officially been identified and doxxed including Paul Minton, Daisy McGowan, Mark Kauffman, and Sara Sheaffer. If you continue to operate your members will continue to be exposed, the pressure will be increased, and there will be real world repercussions.

Send tips and information: njhatewatch@protonmail.com

How do we Build Liberatory Capacity?: Solidarity Economy Assembly #2

  • July 21, 2023 1:54 am

from Making Worlds Books

As we work to build a solidarity economy, where we truly take care of each other and have our collective well-being at the heart of our everyday, the summit can sometimes be a steep climb in a world currently created to keep us separate and in competition with one another. A question organizers must ask themselves, and each other, again and again is: how do we build capacity for this work while also knowing and respecting our own individual and communal capacities?In collaboration with PACA member co-ops: Obvious Agency and Making Worlds, PACA continues its solidarity economy assemblies on Thursday, June 29th, 2023, from 6:30-8pm.

This second assembly will be facilitated by Obvious Agency and it will be a communal discussion of how we can build, investigate, honor, and take care of our collective capacities.Together we will investigate what drains and robs our capacities (bullshit jobs and isolated realities, for starters), as well as how we take our time and energy back. We will discuss how we’ve been conditioned to show up to “work”, how we decondition from that which does not serve us and only moves us towards the problems of burnout or accumulating social capital instead of dollars, as well as how we reframe showing up to efforts which matter to us. We will discuss how do we actually create capacity for this work (*cough* – more people – *cough*). Also, what is the world we’re actually trying to forge so that our practices of self- and collective-care aren’t just maintenance to shove us back into the grind, but instead we have spaciousness and possibility to allow us to have elements of being with those we love, being in regenerative solitude, showing up to the work which matters to us, immersing ourselves in other activities which gives us joy and meaning, and so much more.

We hope you’ll join us for this critical conversation around our collective capacity.

The good folks of Obvious Agency are, “Makers of games and interactive performances.” They are a “Worker-owned cooperative.” And they are, “Developing Space Opera – a game engine for building community”. https://www.instagram.com/obviousagencycoop

  • Thursday, July 27, 2023
  • 6:30 PM 8:00 PM
  • Making Worlds Bookstore & Social Center 210 South 45th Street Philadelphia, PA, 19104 United States (map)

A TENANT WAS SHOT BY A MERCENARY DURING AN EVICTION (AGAIN)

  • July 21, 2023 1:07 am

from Instagram

A TENANT WAS SHOT BY A MERCENARY DURING AN EVICTION (AGAIN)
On Tuesday, July 18th, a “deputy landlord-tenant officer” shot a 33-year-old woman in the leg during an eviction. On Wednesday, June 28th, a “deputy landlord-tenant officer” shot a dog during an eviction. On Wednesday, March 29th, a “deputy landlord-tenant officer” shot a woman in the head during an eviction. THEY CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT! Marisa Shuter needs to be held accountable for the violence enacted by her deputies !Stay tuned for further calls to action

Running Down The Walls 2023!

  • July 14, 2023 1:46 am

from Philly ABC

RDTW 2023

Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross and MXGM Philly invites you to our sixth annual Running Down The Walls (RDTW)! Join us for another revolutionary 5K run/walk/roll and day of solidarity amplifying the voices of our comrades behind bars, lifting them up in their struggles, and maintaining material support. If you would like to participate in light yoga and warm-up stretches before, please arrive by 10am and bring a mat if you can.

Running is not required! You can also walk, roll, or cheer. 5K is two loops around the park and at a walking pace will take about 45-60 minutes. Light refreshments and socializing will take place in the park afterward.

This year’s event will benefit the ABCF Warchest, and community and Weelaunee forest defenders facing repression from the ongoing efforts to #StopCopCity. Join us as we once again raise energy and funds for the freedom of political prisoners and the struggles they are caged for.

Cop City Will Never Be Built!

Vive vive Tortuguita!

#StopCopCity #DefendWeelaunee #JusticeForTort

This year marks a milestone in the Warchest program as we surpassed $205,000 in funds raised! Due to the abominable conditions that political prisoners and freedom fighters are subjected to, and the prevalence of health issues from medical neglect, they need our support now more than ever. Join us as we celebrate our successes this last year and build momentum for the struggles ahead!

If you cannot make it to the event or would like to make an additional contribution, please sponsor a participant either outside prison, inside prison, or one of each. Contact us for more information on sponsoring!

We will ship official shirts nationwide to people who register to participate remotely, pay online and leave their shipping address in the comment box!

Proceeds will be split between the Warchest Program and legal aid to support arrestees from the movement to Stop Cop City. The ABCF Warchest program sends monthly stipends to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have insufficient, little, or no financial support.

[Sunday, September 11, 2022
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am)
FDR Park

Deadline is September 3rd. Don’t wait until the last minute!]

NJ Hate Watch: Neo-Nazi Crew S14

  • July 11, 2023 1:14 am

from Jersey Counter-Info

S14, known officially as Storm 14, is a Tristate (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York) Neo-Nazi organization that has been increasingly active in the region as of March 2023. They have been busy with banner drops, conducting protests, and doing large scale stickering and graffiti campaigns, in an effort to recruit masses of young people and push their fascist agenda. Their escalating activity, includes the rollout of a propaganda subcommittee, which stages flashy fascist demos like their recent midnight New Brunswick march, as a part of their larger organizational growth strategy.

The New Brunswick propaganda event.

 

S14, Embrace Struggle Active Club, NJEHA and other fascist groups have been coordinating their releases of information together.

To analyze S14’s current activity and future organizational trajectory a closer look at their origin must be taken.

Back in October 2022, an Illinois based Neo-Nazi known by the alias Stephen Quest, put out a call on Stormfront that he was forming a national socialist organization called the National Socialist Youth Alliance (NSYA), aimed at young people. Quest modeled this organization after the National Alliance. He requested that interested people message him to help form on the ground attachments.

Stephen Quest’s NSYA announcement on Stormfront on October 8, 2022.

Quest created a closed Gab account for the NSYA and altered his personal account to recruit young people and create tangible on the ground cells. At this point in time, Quest began actively recruiting and connecting with prospective members on Gab.

Quest’s personal Gab account, which he altered to recruit for the NSYA.

 

Quest’s NSYA Gab organization and recruitment page.

At some point in late 2022, Quest formed a circle of other leaders and began to push for in person attachments and actions to take place. Quest placed a Nazi using the alias “Joachim Peiper”, as the leader or “commandant” and took up post as the second in command. (Peiper has since been unmasked as Philadelphia resident Mark A. Kauffman). Kauffman’s Gab account was created during this time as well. Kauffman took charge in leading on the ground support and action for the NSYA in the Tristate area.

Kauffman created his Gab account during this time to connect with Quest and other fascists interested in the NSYA.

In early January 2023, Kauffman officially launched the NSYA’s Tristate attachment at a collaborative protest in Hamilton NJ, in support of the right wing January 6 insurrection prisoners. Kauffman and other NSYA members, including Kauffman’s fiance Sara Sheaffer, worked with WLM-PA and  NJEHA and their leader Dan D’ambly for this protest.

A telegram post about the early January 2023 Hamilton NJ protest, where NSYA had their official unveiling with the help of WLM-PA and NJEHA.

Kauffman and the NSYA also unveiled their organization flag at this same protest, signalling its usage for the first time on the ground.

Kauffman is pictured here with the NSYA flag and with NJEHA, NSYA, and WLM-PA members.

Kauffman and the NSYA Tristate attachment continued to do actions with D’ambly and NJEHA, WLM-PA, and other fascists like Embrace Struggle AC and Atlantic Nationalist Club throughout January and February 2023. They coordinated cross posts on all of their respective organizations social media to promote their partnership.

Evidence of strategic cross-posting from WLM-PA as a part of a larger united far right in the Tristate area.

Despite increasing organizational overlap and connections being forged within the Tristate far right, as of February 2023, Kauffman and Quest were drifting a part organizationally. Reportedly Quest began acting erratically.

According to multiple members Quest’s paranoia seeped into the NSYA and halted most major organizational activities.

After an internal power struggle the NSYA split, with Quest keeping the NSYA organization and moniker and Kauffman leaving with the majority of membership behind him to start a different iteration of the group, S14.

Evidence of the split between Quest and Kauffman and ultimate separation of the NSYA and impending formation of S14.

Kauffman launched S14 in March 2023. With Kauffman now in place as the organization’s head, or “commandant”,  he instituted a new ranking system, logos, and different organizational structures with a primary focus on recruitment and propaganda.

At some point during NSYA/S14’s time of flux, former antifascist now turned fascist Paul Minton and his girlfriend Daisy McGowan, also joined the group.

S14’s official organizational launch announcement which details their organizational structure.

 

From left to right: an unidentified nazi, Sara Sheaffer in a red hoodie, Mark Kauffman, and Paul Minton. All are members of S14.

 

Mark Kauffman kneeling, Paul Minton on the far left, Daisy McGowan in the middle, and an unidentified short Nazi on the right.

 

Sheaffer on the left and McGowan on the right at the Spring 2023 Easton PA action held by S14, NJEHA, and Embrace Struggle Active Club.

 

S14’s logo on a flag they had made during the Spring of 2023.

 

Kauffman and Sheaffer are pictured at the recent Easton PA rally holding the new S14 flag. Minton was also present at this rally.
S14’s official logo, which debuted in March 2023.

 

S14 also has several variations of their logo, in this case, projecting it onto the liberty bell.

Notably, Kauffman has forged strong bonds with several subordinates, who he has given leadership positions to, in order to help direct S14’s subcommittees and regular day to day activities. This includes his fiance Sheaffer, who now acts as his second in command and is taking on greater responsibility for S14’s functioning. As such, S14 has been producing recruitment propaganda and running in person actions between NJ and PA at a steady rate since the split.

An example of new propaganda stickers Kauffman and other S14 members had specially made. The recruitment details have been edited out.

 

News coverage from a June 2023 S14 Delaware County PA stickering action, where they threw up recruitment stickers all over Ridley Township.

Internally, with Kauffman at the helm of S14 and Sheaffer at his side, the organization’s main drive is on building up base membership numbers. Kauffman specifically has special interest in recruiting underage teenagers and those in their 20’s and 30’s.

It has been confirmed that S14 does currently have underage members, some as young as 15 years old.

 

Kauffman and Sheaffer holding the original NSYA flag for the march S14, Embrace Struggle AC, WLM, and NJEHA had in Tom’s River in the Spring of 2023. This is the same march that Nicholas Mucci was at and later arrested at as it was winding down. This only further solidifies the link between Mucci, Kauffman, and Sheaffer.

Kauffman and his circle, which includes minors in organizational leadership roles, has been very active inundating both PA and NJ with physical and virtual recruitment materials, as evident by both the mainstream news and their own propaganda videos. Their propaganda subcommittee has been prolific in creating  both general S14 propaganda and merchandise for them internally.

Fascists, including S14, often use more covert symbols and ways to signal to other fascists when out in public. S14 members often wear these and other patches on jackets or hats to signify their status.

 

An example of what S14 members wear to detail their affiliation. This set of patches is being displayed on one of Kauffman’s every day jackets.

 

Kauffman pictured during the Ridley Township action wearing some of the newly made S14 accessories.

 

Another set of new made patches that are being disseminated and worn by S14 members.

Externally, Kauffman and S14 has put a lot of energy into promoting cross-organizational membership and solidarity between the different fascist organizations in the area. Kauffman is open about the fact he is also personally a member of WLM-PA and routinely references that members of NJEHA, S14, the Garden State Nationalists, WLM-PA, Embrace Struggle AC, and Atlantic Nationalist Club have crossover membership. Kauffman and his crew can also be seen in their varying propaganda videos putting up graffiti and stickers from these organizations as well.

 

Kauffman and other members are very public about their crossover membership because they aim to have a united far right, another one of S14’s tenants.

 

This Spring 2023 joint action that Kauffman, Sheaffer, D’ambly, and others held further highlights their goal for a united far right.

While S14’s activity in the region has been escalating over time their bad security culture practices, probable swarming of state agencies, and resistance from antifascists leaves one to wonder how long they can keep this up before their behavior catches up with them. This is especially true now that certain S14 members like Kauffman, Sheaffer, Minton, and McGowan have been exposed and now have a magnifying glass on them. The heat will likely only be turning up higher considering their ownership over their Ridley Township white nationalist flyering action and their proven connections to Nicholas Mucci, who has the force of the state crushing him down.

Despite all of this including the recent doxxes of Kauffman and Sheaffer as covered NJ Hate Watch, S14 and their members don’t seem to be changing anything they are doing and are navigating their social media platforms as if nothing has happened. There are changes on the horizon however and S14 members will continue to be exposed for who they really are.

Send tips and information: njhatewatch@protonmail.com

Gender Fascist “Mom’s for Liberty” Conference Met with Resistance in Philadelphia

  • July 6, 2023 1:57 am

from It’s Going Down

Report from Philadelphia on the recent protests against the ‘Mom’s for Liberty’ conference.

What follows is a short blow-by-blow report from the streets of Philadelphia, as people turned out to shout down the gender fascist “Mom’s for Liberty” conference which saw speeches from both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.

Thursday

 

Resistance to the far-Right and anti-LGBTQ+ conference started early with banner drops, an anarchist organized counter-march where graffiti slogans are written, and a direct action against a venue hosting Mom’s for Liberty attendees.

 

Friday

As the Mom’s 4 Liberty summit kicked off with their first day of meetings, the dance party outside enjoyed themselves with raucous joy. Despite an absurdly large police presence when Donald Trump arrived to speak, the partiers managed to hold the street in front of the Marriott for the day. With temperatures pushing 90 and and air quality advisory from the Canadian wildfires, revelers were encouraged to mask up, drink water, and take care of each other.

Speakers from Act Up Philadelphia, Indivisible and other local organizations spoke about the need for solidarity and compassion in the shadow of this most recent rise in fascism. Large groups of Philadelphians joined from simultaneous actions around the city including striking Starbucks workers and librarians and educators focused on keeping the Pride events at area libraries safe.

 

Reports from inside the Marriott shared that all of the speakers at the M4L summit mentioned the protests and door knockers were hung on room doors calling out the fascists meeting in the building. The message is getting across loud and clear that fascists are not welcome in Philly.

 

As attendees left the building, many with police escort, they were heckled and shouted at. Once again Philly showed that we are a city that will fight fiercely for each other. The party continues Saturday and Sunday, kicking off with a specifically tailored Children’s Protest from 11-1pm on Saturday and culminating in an amazing line up of local DJs.

 

Saturday

Saturday’s protests outside of the Marriott in Philadelphia began with a protest specifically tailored to youth. Coloring books, chalk, sign making equipment and a truck for the children to be able to climb on and look out over the demonstration made for a cheerful, exuberant family focused atmosphere.

While fascist dignitaries such as Dennis Prager and the IG account “transition_justice” attempted to argue with the protestors, most people kept up the joyous dancing in an effort to “Dance the Hate Away.” An impromptu line dancing workshop and the Drag Queen Gospel Choir kept protestor spirits high and showcased all that the incredible queer community has to offer.

Philadelphia pigs showed themselves to be more aggressive today and maintained an intimidating presence across the street in partial riot gear. In reality all they did was idle their trucks and busses in a tunnel next to signs that clearly said “no idling” and collect overtime.

Sunday is the fourth and final day of both the conference and demonstrations.

Sunday

As the fascist hate group Moms 4 Liberty wrapped up it’s final day here in Philadelphia, the dance party continued outside. Revelers took the block by 10am, dancing to classics and new beats alike. Cases of water, coffee, snacks and activities for kids kept the party vibes going. The skate ramp from the day before was rolled out and the people of Philadelphia continued to make it clear that hate and fear would be countered with love and joy.

At 11am five local activists took the intersection at 12th and Filbert outside of the iconic Reading Terminal Market. Chanting “Philly is a Trans City” and wearing large silkscreened patches that said “Protect Trans Kids,” the activists stayed focused and calm as police pushed and shoved them, arresting all five.

As the conference wrapped up and members checked out, more aggressive provocation came from the out of town attendees. Two M4L conference goers came running towards the barricades laughing and throwing tee shirts at the protesters. One of them was quickly and thoroughly egged by a protester, and walked back in with a look of shock that there had been a consequence to her action.

As some higher profile media activists strutted around wearing sandwich boards with bible quotes on them and videoing the protestors, a woman ran through the barricades waving a trans flag and dancing. She was brutally thrown to the ground by an officer and arrested. The incident was posted on several social media accounts owned by M4L attendees, celebrating the Philadelphia Police Department for serving as the front-line defending gender fascism.

 

All arrestees were cited and released, one received medical attention at a local hospital.

The Mom’s 4 Liberty fascists decided to come to Philly and definitely found out that Philly is a queer city.

photo: Kim Kelly via Twitter

NJ Hate Watch: S14’s Neo Nazi Leaders Mark Kauffman and Sara Sheaffer

  • July 5, 2023 1:07 am

from Jersey Counter-Info

S14, officially known as Storm Division, is a tristate (NJ, PA, NY) area neo nazi group that has been very active over the past few months. They have been busy doing pop-up propaganda demos, trying to recruit virtual and in-person members, mass stickering and putting up fascist graffiti in the region, specifically in the Philadelphia area and NJ. They have also been pushing a united front amongst the far right in the area and openly hold multiple different memberships within groups like NJEHA, Embrace Struggle Active Club, WLM, Atlantic Nationalist Club, and the Garden State Nationalists.

Their activity has been increasingly organized with some of their most recent actions making local media headlines. Despite their high level of organization and escalating actions, S14 and their members have gotten sloppy with their own security.

Due to lapses in S14’s security, antifascists have been able to identify their two leaders, “commandant Joachim Peiper” and his “wife”, as Mark A. Kauffman and Sara Sheaffer respectively.

Sheaffer and Kauffman in plain clothes on the left and in their “disguises” on the right during a neo-nazi demo.

Kauffman and Sheaffer are engaged to be married and are both originally from Massachusetts, having lived in different parts of the state. According to Kauffman, they bounced around a bit in MA and settled in Philadelphia several years ago. Antifascists were able to independently verify Kauffman’s account and confirmed that as of now he and Sheaffer live in North Philadelphia on East Wishart Street. Kauffman also supposedly owns property in the south, “on the Mason Dixon line”.

Sheaffer’s Facbook profile featuring a picture of her and Kauffman from several years ago. Both of them look notably different in 2023.

 

Kauffman’s Facebook profile, which has an updated picture of himself from a month ago.

 

Another recent picture of Kauffman from his Facebook page. Kauffman is subtly showing his neo nazi views by wearing a shirt with a “black sun” on it. This is one of many symbols that neo nazis use to covertly flag to other neo nazis about their views, as the general public is not aware of its meaning.

 

Kauffman provides details about where he lived previously in MA and verifies he currently lives in Philly.

 

At the time of publishing Kauffman’s claim could not be independently verified.

Kauffman reportedly works in construction as a foreman at A Woman Owned Contractor, a “Hispanic owned” construction firm which does large scale commercial roofing and construction services. (More details on Kauffman’s employer and how to contact them will be listed at the end of the article).

Prior to moving to Philadelphia, Kauffman was in the US Army for several years and completed two combat tours in the Middle East. At that point he was already a nazi, as he stated in a public message on S14’s telegram channel.

Kauffman upon returning home from his second tour in the the Army.

 

Kauffman’s account of his time in the US military. Given Kauffman’s actions and beliefs one has to wonder what war crimes is he responsible for.

After his time in the Army, Kauffman was homeless in MA for some time, at one point staying at an NGO that provides assistance to homeless veterans. During this time he and Sheaffer were also using hard drugs and in 2018, Kauffman was brought up on drug trafficking and weapons possession charges in MA. Kauffman reportedly had several ounces of meth and illegal firearms in a storage unit.

At the time of publishing it is unknown if Kauffman was convicted of any of the charges against him in this case.

There was no media follow up on how the case against Kauffman turned out and nothing was publicized. It’s not clear exactly when Kauffman and Sheaffer got clean and moved to Philadelphia, but it is suspected to be around the 2018/2019 time frame.

Kauffman’s white nationalist activities prior to 2022 are hazy, but it seems that Kauffman decided to publicly organize and establish ties with other fascists during 2022 on Gab. He was then connected with a fellow white nationalist, going by the alias Stephen Quest, who was recruiting members and leadership within a neo nazi organization called the National Socialist Youth Alliance (NSYA).

Kauffman’s Gab account, which was created in 2022, coinciding with the timeline of his efforts to publicly organize other fascists and white nationalists.

Kauffman officially launched S14 in March 2023, when he and others split from the NSYA. Upon starting this new nazi organization, Kauffman, with the help of Sheaffer, instituted new organizational security and logistical guidelines and started recruiting efforts both online and in-person. Kauffman made a serious effort to create a nazi safe space on telegram, shying away from infighting and trying to build camaraderie among members.

Kauffman and Sheaffer also have a special interest in recruiting minors.

He also increased the rate of in-person actions within his tristate area crew encouraging pop-up style protests during the day and night time propaganda dissemination actions.

Kauffman pictured during a recent midnight propaganda run where he and other S14 members covered Ridley Township in white nationalist leaflets.

In addition, Kauffman implemented different security guidelines for the public S14 Telegram chat like not discussing illegal activity, not giving out personal info or personal phone numbers to other group members, no infighting, and no glorification of white nationalists who have committed mass shootings. Kauffman has thus far strictly enforced his group’s code, often banning members for breaking these rules.

Ironically though, Kauffman does not hold himself to the same high standard. Kauffman’s first major mistake was providing a detailed background of his life in public Telegram chats which enabled antifascists to construct a profile on him. This included his time in the military, prior life in New England, veiled details about his day job, and the fact he currently lives in North Philly.

His second major mistake was providing information about the level of his fiance’s involvement and unintentionally revealing his fiance’s identity on the S14 public telegram channel.

Kauffman often refers to Sheaffer as his wife, though they are not legally married. Here Kauffman is discussing S14’s reading group.

 

Sheaffer does not have an individual discernible presence on Telegram. In a different situation this could give her plausible deniability over her level of involvement in S14 but Kauffman’s repeated reference to her on Telegram in combination with her heavy in-person involvement shows otherwise.

 

Kauffman’s most egregious error was revealing her legal name.

At the time, Kauffman likely didn’t think too much about mentioning his fiances legal name, because he was using it to try and recruit more women to his crew. Fascist and white nationalist groups are well known to have an absence of women for a variety of reasons, so leveraging female membership is something that would have been valuable to Kauffman and S14 as a whole.

Unfortunately for him, Kauffman’s revelation is the only reason that antifascists were able to find Sheaffer and confirm her identity. Kauffman took basic steps to erase information about himself on the internet, removing many links that could potentially expose him. This coupled with the fact that he and Sheaffer are not legally married added another layer of removal, functionally creating a situation where Sheaffer would be very difficult to identify without her legal name. Because antifascists had her first name they were eventually able to definitively identify and link Sheaffer to Kauffman and S14.

Kauffman and Sheaffer during one of S14’s stickering actions. Kauffman is pictured slapping up neo nazi stickers and Sheaffer is walking with her hair up in the background.

 

Sheaffer and Kauffman holding a new S14 flag at an action in Easton PA with S14, NJEHA, Embrace Struggle Active Club, and other fascists.

Other white supremacist activity in the area, the source of which has not been able to be identified until now, can also be ascribed to Sheaffer. A female member of Atlantic Nationalist Club has been trolling Philadelphia area antifascists on Telegram for a period of time throwing up racist stickers across the city.

<MEDIA>@https://jerseycounterinfo.noblogs.org

The individual in the Atlantic Nationalist Club video is a white female wearing an engagement ring who quickly puts up a sticker on a utility poll. Given Sheaffer’s background info and the shooting style of the video, the likelihood of this being anyone but her is incredibly low.

S14 has prided themselves themselves on their anonymity, security culture, and ability to do things anonymously for months from behind the comfort of a mask. That time is now over. Kauffman and Sheaffer must be exposed for the nazis that they are.

Kauffman’s reported most recent employer, AWOC, can be reached at their main offices at 215-219-3579 or through email through their website. The following script and photos from the article can be used to contact AWOC about Kauffman.

“Hello I am a concerned Philadelphia resident and I am calling to inquire about the status of an AWOC employee. Mark Kauffman, an AWOC foreman, is a neo nazi and white supremacist. Kauffman regularly engages in bigoted and even illegal behavior directed towards minorities and marginalized people. I am happy to provide concrete evidence of his actions. If Kauffman is still employed at AWOC, it is not a safe environment for anyone. I request that action be taken immediately through terminating his employment. Thank you for your time.”

Send tips and information: njhatewatch@protonmail.com

Antifascists Kick NJEHA, Embrace Struggle Active Club, and Garden State Nationalists Out of Princeton, NJ

  • July 4, 2023 1:12 am

from Jersey Counter-Info

Local antifascists received a tip from a concerned Princeton area resident on the morning of July 1st, 2023 that NJEHA and other fascists were at a Walmart on the outskirts of Princeton. Based on this tip, antifascists were able to mobilize and disrupt their meet up in the Walmart parking lot and gather intel. The group included members of NJEHA, Embrace Struggle Active Club, and Garden State Nationalists.

NJEHA members and the other fascists were spotted at the Walmart around 9am July 1, 2023. They soon found themselves unexpectedly surveilled by antifascists. They were visibly taken by surprise and it was clear they were not expecting anyone other than their own comrades as no one took any effort to cover their faces, license plates, or other personal property.

Two fascists in shock over being discovered at their meet up. At the time of publishing these two individuals have yet to be identified.

 

A fascist and their Black Nissan Sentra with PA plates “LPB1567”.

 

A group of three nazis at the Walmart parking lot, including former antifascist Paul Minton.

 

A white Dodge van that the fascists used to transport a banner and supplies. PA plates “ZVB3926”.

 

Paul Minton, who crawled back to fascism in 2020, was present too. He was wearing Embrace Struggle Active Club gear. Minton is a confirmed member of Embrace Struggle AC.

Some of the fascists must still be identified, however, there were some familiar faces including Paul Minton and Dan D’ambly. Minton, who was previously an antifascist, but backslid into fascism in 2020, was caught with his mask off talking to two other fascists. D’ambly was caught by his blue/green Toyota Camry with another fascist.

D’ambly and his Toyota Camry.

 

D’ambly and another fascist caught by surprise.

The fascists scrambled on what to do next and divided into two groups, one group lagged behind at the Walmart lot and the other set out to their intended destination, which ended up being downtown Princeton, NJ. Antifascists were able to discover this in real time through on ground surveillance work, which was successful because of the fascist’s sloppy tactics and security measures. While they attempted to use counter measures like staggering the time their members left, and later, waiting around Princeton in the hope that antifascists would leave, NJEHA, Embrace Struggle Active Club, the Garden State Nationalists, and their associates were unable to shake antifascists.

The group of fascists marching on the sidewalk attempting to conduct their demo.

 

An antifascist disrupting the Princeton demo.

Antifascists were able to mobilize quickly in Princeton once D’ambly and his crew hit the ground for their march and immediately began to disrupt their efforts. They were shouted down with a bullhorn and random passerby’s started to harass them as well. At one point one of D’ambly’s grunts tried to pass out NJEHA fliers and members of the public refused to take them, crumpling them up and throwing them on the ground like the trash they were.

NJEHA were unable to spread their fascist due to the efforts of antifascists.

 

One of the crumpled NJEHA fliers that was thrown out by the general public.

With their efforts foiled and heavy resistance from the general public and antifascists the assorted group of fascists gave up unceremoniously. They were spotted shortly after waiting for public transport by antifascists who were in the area.

The visibly dejected fascists waiting for public transport to take them back to their cars at Walmart.

 

D’ambly, Minton, and their fascist lackeys will probably try and spin their march and actions taken today as successful. That they were brave “American patriots” who took on antifascists in the streets. We know however that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Graffiti Welcomes M4L to Philly

  • July 4, 2023 1:04 am

Submission

Someone wanted to welcome M4L to Philly

Banner Drops Against Moms For Liberty

  • June 30, 2023 1:44 am

from Twitter

Banner drop over I-95 this morning. The M4L hate summit begins tonight with a opening reception at @AmRevMuseum. Show up at 5pm to, uh, “welcome” them. “Philly Protects Trans Kids” “Bad Things Happen to Fascists in Philadelphia”

Philadelphia: The Anti-Parent Turn: A report back from the art march

  • June 30, 2023 1:42 am

Submission

Tonight a group of around 20 people took to the streets to spread propaganda against the joyless losers and haters known as Moms for Liberty*. The march moved through Olde City toward the Museum of the American Revolution, which was hosting the opening reception for the Moms (booo!). They were being bused in from the bedbug ridden Marriott two blocks away because they’re too scared to walk through the city of brotherly love. Accompanied by a sound system and walking behind a banner reading “Revolt Against Misery + Moms (A)” the march put up posters and stickers, gave out fliers, and wrote graffiti. People joined the march as it went toward Center City. After passing the museum the march picked up a tail of two of Philadelphia’s swinest. The anarchists showed great professionalism and restraint to this affront to our freedom to be lawless vandals. After a couple more blocks the march dispersed without incident.
We appreciate everyone who came out to the march, especially the person who carried the sound system and the vandal with the cool handstyle. It’s been a while since anarchists were in the street like this, it felt like we were getting our bearings and relearning to move together despite a heavy police presence. We thought it was great that people talked to passersby, blocked traffic, and were looking out for each other during the march. The intent behind the march was to mobilize against Moms for Liberty, and create space for a smidge of crime while remaining relatively accessible, and to end America. We accomplished two of these three goals. Anarchist mobilizations in Philly can often feel intimidating and stressful, we’d like to get better at opening space for people to feel good, dance, chant, and grow confident in what we’re able to do together. Anarchy can be an expression of cathartic rage through which we feel fleeting moments of joy. We know this can be harder to do when we’re on federal property, surrounded by cops, in Olde City. We would love to hear about how other people felt about the march.

Death to birth! 😏
No future for hateful moms!
Long live mob vandalism!

xo
Moms for Anarchy — An informal organization of Baedan subscribers

*Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that wields exceptional cultural and financial power over American politics. Their mask off brand of white supremacist, queerphobic, and transphobic genocidal beliefs and policy proposals increasingly shape the realities of daily life in the US. Pennsylvania has the second most chapters after Florida. Fuck em frfr!