FTP Banner and Communique from Revolutionary Abolitionists in Harrisburg, PA

Submission

To our comrades in Philadelphia, Rockford and across the so-called United States,

In the wake of the election and the subsequent putsch on the Capitol, the establishment and media apparatus have set out to douse memory of the multi-racial insurgency that spread across the country last summer and dampen the social contradictions that lead to it with slogans of calm and unity. Harrisburg was not been exempt from this revisionist trend in the slightest. During the summer, grifters and Black counter insurgents tried to funnel the long growing discontent into dead end electoralism and the bureaucratic machinations that grind the ember of revolutionary change in their gears at any given opportunity. In spite of this, the community rose up in defiance of both law enforcement and their neoliberal lapdogs in ways that have not been seen here in recent memory – cop cars smashed, streets shut down and police forced into retreat by a hail of bricks and debris.

As the heat of the summer lowered (relatively) to a tempered simmer and the electoral distraction served its role as sociological vacuum, the city’s leadership set its agenda on almost completely ignoring the events of the past year in order to return to some prelapsarian concept of normal – (a state which if it existed would be an amoral hellpit by any honest summation)- the exception of course, being their ongoing plan of repression against the true revolutionaries who participated in the uprising. At writing, there remains many ongoing struggles in the courts for the freedom of participants charged for their participation in the protests, both in Harrisburg and elsewhere. This is particularly disheartening as the loss of momentum of the movement from the summer means individual cases are harder to rally around, making intercommunal support from committed radicals that much more important.

Congruently, the local prison system has been revealed as the cauldrons of deathrot we have always known them to be. As Covid cases spike, the prison refuses to provide hand sanitizer, soap, masks and other lifesaving supplies to its inmates, resulting in the languishing of dozens of incarcerated people. What’s worse, there have been recent reports of widespread sexual abuse of inmates by guards, as well as many other violations of dignity, aided by an M.O. cultivated by deposed Warden Brian Clark, a well documented sex pest in his own right.
We are not liberals. We are appalled but not shocked by the injustice system acting as it always has no matter what century, context or administration – forever a punitive apparatus to repress the colonized and exploited for the benefit of a racist carceral state. Whether a red or blue chain, the shackle remains the same. Recognition of this basic fact informs our work building a culture of resistance to the inevitable crackdown on abolitionists and revolutionaries by the neoliberal state operating in the name of “fighting extremism”.

We believe that times like this, the seeming lulls between mass protests, uprisings and other sparks of civil unrest are as ,and possibly even more important than those moments of social fissure and are probably not even be so neatly disconnected as they may be initially perceived. It is of the upmost importance that we are expanding our networks, supporting our comrades , and deepening our roots in the communities we live in order to create a movement capable of not only sustaining itself in the calm, but also protecting itself when the pigs come knocking. This means building community defense councils and war chests to support our accomplices kidnapped and harassed by the State through every stage of their struggle. It is equally important to deny space and momentum to obvious opportunists and collaborators who attempt to swallow the flame of radical change through cooptation and subterfuge with the intent to isolate radicals and those members of the community willing to take justice into their own hands. This commitment lives and dies on solidarity with those most affected, and this communique is an representation of that commitment.

We unfurled this banner calling for the end to abuse of prisoners in Dauphin County Prison and mass release of all incarcerated in the death camps of Pennsylvania and across the United Snakes. We also want to uplift the connected struggle of the movement, in order to echo the many voices calling for dropped charges for all and add to the cacophony of dissent against the police state. Finally, we uplift the demands of the Black Philly Radical Collective to for the immediate release of Mumia Abu Jamal, Major Tillery, Arthur Cetawayo Johnson, Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, Omar Askia, Joseph “Jo-Jo” Bowen, and all Black Political Prisoners.

We demand that all protestors across the country be granted amnesty. All charges must be dropped. We have unconditional solidarity to all rebels, radicals and revolutionaries facing State repression.

Free Them All.

Fuck DCP, Fuck Warden Clark and Fuck 12 Forever

Say no to the new Cointelpro!

Black Liberation Now.

Fire to the Prisons, Set the Captives Free.

Student Group Draws Attention to Bigoted Social Media Posts Made By Kutztown University Police Officer Alan Swartz

from Community Research Opposing HatePictures of Swartz.Alan Swartz, a Bigot in Kutztown University’s Police Department

On February 3rd 2021, a student group called Kutztown University Activists (KUA) released a trove of racist, Islamophobic, transphobic, and conspiracy-driven public Facebook posts by Kutztown University Police Officer Alan Swartz. The content was shared to KUA’s Instagram account along with a petition and call for accountability in response to Swartz’s clear prejudice and bias. The student demands included not only the removal of Officer Swartz from KU’s Police Department, but also the creation of an accountability board comprised of students, faculty, and staff; a board with the power to discipline university police who engage in wrongdoing or display overt bias. Swartz has been with the department since 2012.

On February 3rd, Swartz’s Facebook page was public for anyone to see. The posted content included images supporting Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who crossed state lines with an illegally acquired rifle, murdered two racial justice activists, and critically injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, WI. This post referred to Black Lives Matter activists with racially charged language. A second post featured a Confederate flag, with derogatory language painting those who understand the white supremacist roots of the flag as ignorant of history. This line of neo-confederate thinking is rampant among far-right bigots. It stems from the racist historical revisionism of “lost cause” ideology perpetuated by the Daughters of the Confederacy and other neo-confederate groups after the Civil War. Another post is riddled with content demeaning transgender individuals, immigrants, and abortion rights.

Screenshots of QAnon, Confederate, and far right militia propaganda shared by Swartz
Screenshot of KUA’s Instagram page.

Alan Swartz also posted Islamophobic content to his Facebook page, including memes claiming Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib — Muslim women of color and democratically elected members of Congress — are ISIS sleeper agents. Conspiracy theories falsely defaming progressive Muslim women such as Omar and Tlaib are common refrains among the xenophobic far-right in the so-called United States.

Screenshots of Islamophobic memes shared by Swartz
Screenshot of KUA’s Instagram page.

Additionally, Swartz’s posts displayed his belief in a false conspiracy peddled by the fascist MAGA and Patriot movements; namely, that the coup attempt these groups carried out at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 was a false flag operation. Any analysis of the individuals charged for their role in the coup attempt reveals that nearly every person who breached the Capitol were supporters of the former President who believed they were acting on his explicit orders. And reporting by major publications and independent journalists alike has proven that the attacks on the building were planned and orchestrated by far-right individuals and organizations such as The Proud Boys.

Swartz's shares and posts in support of the January 6th coup.
Disclaimer: The above is a screenshot of KUA’s Instagram post. CROH recommends against the use of anti-terror rhetoric in reporting of the January 6th event. We have previously referred to the event as a riot and an attempted coup, with the latter being more accurate given the involvement of many law enforcement and military personnel, both active and retired.

Anathema Volume 7 Issue 2

From Anathema

Volume 7 Issue 2 (PDF for reading 8.5 x 11)

Volume 7 Issue 2 (PDF for printing 11 x 17)

In this issue:

  • Polluted Currents & Relations To Water
  • What Went Down
  • Cop Blotter
  • Two Prisoners
  • Let Us Bury Our Fangs In The Skin Of The Heteropatriarchy
  • Return Of The Welfare State?
  • Nuclear Costs
  • Infrastructure
  • Series Of Attacks On cars In The PNW
  • Call For Submissions
  • A Letter From A Jail Cell
  • Questions For Poets

March discussions: bolo’bolo, virtual and in reality

from Viscera

The weather is getting nicer, so we’re doing two discussions this month on the same reading! We’ll be revisiting (or, for some of us, reading for the first time) the classic work of anarchist utopia that’s neither, bolo’bolo.

bolo’bolo is also a modest proposal for the new arrangements on the spaceship after the Machine’s disappearance. Though it started as a mere collection of wishes, a lot of considerations about their realization have accumulated around it. bolo’bolo can be realized world-wide within five years, if we start now. It guarantees a soft landing in the second reality. Nobody will starve, freeze or die earlier than today in the transition period. There’s very little risk.

For those who prefer (or require) an online discussion, we’ll be meeting on jitsi in the room viscerapvd on Sunday, March 21st at 1-3 pm. Get in touch with us for the password!

We’ll also be doing an in-person discussion one week later on Sunday, March 28th in Clark Park (meet near the chess tables) from 1-3 pm.

This reading is a bit long, so we recommend staring early! It’s a lot of fun, and we’re looking forward to seeing people in one form or another for the discussion!

Submissions And Comments

It has come to our attention that we may not have received messages sent to us via the comment form on our Contact & Submissions page. We have removed the comment section and encourage you to contact us via email. For anonymous communication we recommend using Tempr.email or another anonymous mailing service or a one use email account combined with Tor, TAILS, or a trusted VPN. DO NOT use Guerrillamail, it does not work with our email address. We apologize for any miscommunication this error may have caused. If you have sent us content via the comment form recently please send it again via email. Our email address is phillyanticap [at] riseup [dot] net.

We have disabled commenting on posts. Very few visitors to the site were using the feature, and many of those who were seemed to be right-wing trolls.

-Philly Anti-Capitalist

LAVA Fundraiser T-Shirts

from Instagram

Please share this far and wide! Excited to reveal three t-shirt designs and a preorder that just went live. If you live in Philly and don’t want to pay shipping, use PHILLYLOCAL in the discount field at checkout. If you live outside of the US, please send us a message to figure out shipping costs! A non-PayPal payment option will be available soon, and if you’d like to preorder with cash, please get in touch. • • We normally raise funds for the space via events, but due to the pandemic, we had to change that. Luckily we have some really talented friends! T-shirt preorders will be live for two weeks, and we won’t be making more than what gets ordered. Shout out to @lost.mirage @jim_shomo @crocodile___tears and @softhandscreenprinting for helping us with this. Can’t wait to see them when they’re printed up! Link in bio to order!

How many light bulbs does it take?

Submission

Exterior Decoration Tutorial and Communique

Supplies Needed:
gloves
glass light bulbs
paint
water
funnel
alcohol
screwdriver
pliers
duct tape
soft surface or container

Step 1:
Wearing gloves, use pliers to remove the top of the light bulb (to make a hole in the top). Be sure to break off any extra pieces. (Remove the small plate and dark glass, NOT the threaded metal sleeve.)

Step 2:
Use screw driver to pierce a hole through the top into the main section of the light bulb.

Step 3:
Mix paint with water.

Step 4:
Use funnel to transfer paint mix into light bulb.

Step 5:
Wipe everything (tape, bulbs etc) clean with alcohol.

Step 6:
Duct tape hole shut. You can use a soft surface (like an egg carton) to secure bulbs and keep them from falling over.

Step 7:
Pack your bulbs with cushioning in a container you don’t care about getting messy.

Step 8:
Find your target.

Step 9:
Aim high and throw hard!

In response to the March 6th Call for Action we paint-bombed a pro-life billboard because fuck pro-life propaganda. No one should have to have a baby who doesn’t want to.

Sabotage is fun!
Paint on patriarchy and gender!

-Insurrectionary Feminist Exterior Decoration Committee

Philly Proud Boys Exposed as Federal Snitches

from Twitter

This right here is why Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zach Rehl is not in jail with his buddies. The Philly PBs chapter is a cesspool of federal informants. The feds give them a long leash to do fashy shit so long as the snitches feed them a steady stream of intel.

Philly Proud Boys president Zach Rehl marched alongside leaders charged in Capitol riot

from Mainstream Media

Images from the day show Zach Rehl, the Philly Proud Boys president, at the forefront of a crowd that marched on the Capitol and eventually breached the security perimeter. He hasn’t been charged.

Proud Boys leaders Zach Rehl, of Philadelphia (camouflage hat, left), Ethan Nordean, of Seattle, and Joe Biggs, of Florida, (grey plaid flannel with neck gaiter) lead marchers to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Nordean and Biggs have both been charged with playing a role in the storming of the Capitol.
Proud Boys leaders Zach Rehl, of Philadelphia (camouflage hat, left), Ethan Nordean, of Seattle, and Joe Biggs, of Florida, (grey plaid flannel with neck gaiter) lead marchers to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Nordean and Biggs have both been charged with playing a role in the storming of the Capitol.

With top leaders of the Proud Boys now facing charges for their alleged roles in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack, scrutiny has increasingly turned toward one Philadelphia member of the group who stood by their side, helping to guide the organization’s march through Washington that day.

Photos and videos shared widely on social media show Zach Rehl, the self-described president of the Proud Boys’ Philadelphia chapter, assisting two other leaders of the far-right nationalist group — Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs.

Wearing a camouflage “Make America Great Again” hat and a Temple Owls backpack, he and the other two men led roughly 100 followers toward the halls of Congress, and ultimately beyond the building’s security perimeters, the footage shows.

Another photo, published in New Yorker magazine, appears to show Rehl checking his cell phone and smoking a cigarette, amid a crowd of rioters in the office of a U.S. senator.

But while Nordean, of Seattle, and Biggs, of Florida, have been charged in connection with the attack, Rehl had not been arrested as of this week.

He immediately hung up the phone when contacted by an Inquirer reporter and has ignored subsequent text message requests to discuss the photos of him at the Capitol.

Amateur online sleuths who first identified him from the photos have submitted tips to the FBI. But a bureau spokesperson declined to confirm or deny whether it has opened an investigation of Rehl’s activities that day. Since Jan. 6, agents have been flooded with thousands of leads about possible participants in the riot and continue to bring charges against newly identified defendants on an almost daily basis.

Investigators have described the Proud Boys, a militant nationwide organization whose members are among Donald Trump’s most vocal and violent supporters, as one of the primary instigating forces behind the Capitol attack. More than a dozen members have been charged in connection with the insurrection so far — more than any other organized group.

And Rehl, 35, of Port Richmond, has emerged as one of the group’s most visible representatives on the East Coast. A former Marine and son and grandson of Philadelphia police officers, he has led the Proud Boys in the city since at least 2018 — a role that has put him at the fore of many of their most controversial moments.

When Proud Boys were spotted mingling with officers at a “Back the Blue” rally outside the Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Northeast Philadelphia this summer, Rehl was there, drinking beer and chatting with others in the parking lot who were openly carrying a Proud Boys flag.

He was one of the organizers behind the 2018 pro-Trump “We the People” rally outside Independence Hall, which drew a minuscule crowd of supporters but led to heated clashes with a much larger group of counterprotesters.

“It’s not a rally for the Proud Boys,” Rehl told The Inquirer at the time, denying affiliation with the group. “We’re not interested in having any racist groups there.”

And when Donald Trump called his supporters to Washington for a Jan. 6 rally to protest Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, Rehl took steps to attend.

He opened a crowdfunding account on the Christian website GiveSendGo, popular among far-right extremist organizations, that raised more than $5,500 to fund his travel. He urged his followers on the social media site Parler not to be scared off by increased security around Washington.

“Just FYI, WE’RE HERE with you in DC now!,” he posted the night before the Capitol attack.

A screen shot from an archive of Zach Rehl's account on the social media site Parler, which is favored by conservatives.
A screen shot from an archive of Zach Rehl’s account on the social media site Parler, which is favored by conservatives.Screenshot

In the days that followed the Capitol attack, Rehl defended the insurrection as “historical.”

He shared photos on Parler of rioters walking off with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern and, in another post, co-opted the language of the Black Lives Matter movement to memorialize Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran fatally shot by Capitol police, with the hashtag #sayhername.

“Some dumba — thinks that today wasn’t a historical day,” he wrote. “Shut up child. Maybe you will learn to take a history class.”

But unlike many of the insurrectionists now facing criminal charges, Rehl did not post photos and videos of himself from Jan. 6.

The FBI has cited social media posts from Nordean, the self-described Proud Boys sergeant-at-arms from Seattle, and Biggs, a Proud Boys organizer in Florida, in building cases against the men whom Rehl marched alongside that day.

In court filings this week, agents described Nordean, who goes by the alias Rufio Panman, as the de facto leader of the group’s activities in Washington and said he had been granted “war powers” by the group’s membership to take “ultimate leadership” of the Proud Boys after the Jan. 4 arrest of the organization’s national leader, Enrique Tarrio.

Prosecutors contend that Nordean led the Proud Boy cohort in tactical planning that day to avoid detection — a strategy that allegedly involved voiding clothing with the group’s distinctive black-and-gold laurel insignia, splitting into groups to approach the building from different vantage points, and looking to recruit so-called “normies,” or non-Proud Boys, in the crowds to join in the Capitol siege. Nordean has denied these allegations.

An Inquirer review of dozens of social media photos and videos of Nordean’s activities that day showed that Rehl was often at his side.

Members of the Proud Boys including Joseph Biggs (grey plaid flannel shirt) and Zach Rehl (camouflage cap) march near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Members of the Proud Boys including Joseph Biggs (grey plaid flannel shirt) and Zach Rehl (camouflage cap) march near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

One nearly two-hour Livestream — filmed by fellow Proud Boy Eddie Block of California — depicts Nordean, Biggs, and Rehl leading a group of more than 100 Proud Boys and followers on a meandering march around the Capitol.

They gathered as Trump’s rally was still ongoing at the Ellipse, near the White House, and began their procession a full half hour before the president had taken the stage. Visible among the crowd were several other Proud Boys and associates who have since been charged with assaulting police or property damage at the Capitol later that afternoon.

Nordean directed the marchers via bullhorn, leading chants of “Whose Streets? Our Streets” and “F — Antifa!” while Rehl and Biggs at various points used raised fists to signal to the Proud Boys behind them to stop or start their progress.

“Who is leading because Enrique isn’t here?” Block asked rhetorically at one point, before answering: “Biggs and Rufio Panman.” He does not mention Rehl by name.

Still, Rehl appears throughout Block’s footage at the fore of the group — dressed in the camouflage hat, a bulky black hooded coat, and Temple backpack, with a radio clipped to its shoulder strap — at times, smoking cigarettes or quietly checking his phone.

Warning: The video below contains offensive language.

Other videos show the same group of Proud Boy marchers joining a mob gathered at a barricade outside the Capitol just before 1 p.m.

In one, Biggs appears to briefly huddle with a man in a red “Make America Great Again” hat who then charges the police barriers, toppling them, injuring officers, and making way for the crowd to storm into restricted grounds. Authorities identified that man as Ryan Samsel, 37, of Bristol, and arrested him last month.

Rehl, Biggs, and Nordean again appear together in footage taken later that day on the front lines near the Capitol steps.

But while Biggs and Nordean were caught on camera entering the building — a fact that prosecutors have cited in the cases against both men — no similar footage of Rehl appears to have surfaced.

Still, a photograph published Jan. 25 in New Yorker magazine of a crowd of rioters carousing in the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D. Ore.) shows a man wearing Rehl’s same bulky black coat, camouflage hat, and striped neck gaiter smoking a cigarette while checking his cell phone.

Sent that photo by a reporter this week and asked to comment, Rehl did not respond.

Nordean and Biggs face charges including obstruction of Congress, illegally entering a restricted area, and disorderly conduct. Both have been released while awaiting trial.

Dauphin County Phone Zap

Submission

*Content Warning: Sexual Harrassment and Exploitation of Vulnerable adults*

Correctional Officer Adams of the Dauphin County Prison, PA has been strip searching and video recording trustee inmates on several occasions starting February 15th, 2021. CO Adams also had 10 men from H Block strip down while video-recording them. This is sexual harrassment, this is predatory behavior, this is a violation of human rights. This is a direct violation of the DOC’s Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).

We urge community to contact Dauphin County Prison and demand justice for these inmates.

Please Contact:

Dauphin County Prison Phone: (717) 780-6800

Dauphin County PREA Manager: J. Scott Burford T: 717-780-6307 Email: sburford@dauphinc.org

Department of Corrections
Central Office Main Phone Line: 717.728.2573
Central Office Email: ra-contactdoc@pa.gov

Tabb Bickell, Executive Deputy Secretary for Institutional Operations 717.728.4122 ext: 4123

Demand the immediate termination of CO Adams, Demand that the PREA Manager for Dauphin County conduct an internal investigation as officers rarely act alone in these instances

Sample Script

“Hello,

I am a resident of _________ (county/city) and I am contacting you regarding the ongoing sexual harrassment and predatory tactics being used on inmates of Dauphin County Prison. CO Adams has repeatedly violated the Prison Rape Elimination Act by strip searching and video taping inmates. We demand the immediate termination of CO Adams and a full investigation by the DOC and PREA Contact J. Scott Burford. ”

In Contempt #2

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.]

Biden Administration Continuing Program to End Mail in Federal Prisons

Alec Karakatsanis of the Civil Rights Corps has highlighted that the Biden administration shows no sign of ending a Trump-era program aiming to replace all postal mail to Federal prisons with scanned and printed copies.

Alec writes:

From what we can tell so far: Biden admin transition team chose to keep this Trump pilot program to begin end physical mail in BOP, as is already happening in cruelest state prisons. It was probably easiest for Biden transition team to keep the company’s contract: these companies are powerful, BOP wants to surveil prisoner mail, they don’t care about families and prisoners, and b/c not enough people hold them accountable politically for this. Our staff still being barred from sending physical mail to a BOP institution and forced to send to this company–appears that BOP allows wardens to opt into or out of the pilot program. We are all so desensitized to this stuff that we don’t even recognize that, in a reasonable world, Biden transition would have immediately announced investigation and end to this profiteering instead of quietly continuing the contract that allows wardens to expand it. Keep in mind: Biden issued very mild (insufficient) order re: private prisons but didn’t touch all of the rampant profiteering inside and related to *public* prisons.

Although there’s not much coverage of this issue at the moment, it’s worth learning from the effects of the same policy when it was instituted in Pennsylvania, as covered in outlets such as The Appeal and Mother Jones. There, resistance to the policy included a number of lawsuits and a series of protests by families and outside supporters.

Call to Action from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and Beyond

It’s Going Down has a reportback from the National Freedom Day actions calling for mass releases. Dreaming Freedom Practicing Abolition is calling for people to help defend their comrade Stevie Wilson against retaliation from staff. The Prisons Kill project is fundraising for Tim, who was released recently and needs re-entry support, and for Mustafa, a revolutionary prisoner in Ohio who needs help paying for legal funds. The Final Straw has just put out an interview with Perilous Chronicle about their work recording prisoner resistance during the pandemic.

A few notable upcoming dates: As noted above, Malik’s defense crew are holding a rally in the Tenderloin (in San Francisco) on March 7th, March 8th is International Working Women’s Day, which is observed in some countries as a women’s strike, and March 15th is observed in some countries as a day against police brutality, so you or your crew might want to organize something for one of those days. Further ahead, there’s a call for a day of actions focused on parole on April 3rd, and further ahead still, Jailhouse Lawyers Speak have issued the following call:

Nationwide call to action: August 21st, 2021 and September 9th, 2021 in the spirit of Abolition please clear your schedules to organize demos at your local jails and prisons. Time to raise the awareness levels during these dates. A full Jailhouse Lawyers Speak statement will be forthcoming!

Uprising Defendants

Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. Also, as this column was going to print, a post on Philly Anti-Capitalist brought our attention to the case of Anthony Smith in Philadelphia. Info on how to support them here. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:

Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal #70002-066
FDC Philadelphia
P.O. Box 562
Philadelphia, PA 19105

David Elmakayes #77782-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Shawn Collins #69989-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Steven Pennycooke #69988-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Really Free Market Philly

from Instagram

Happening every last Saturday of the Month @ Malcolm X Park, corner of Larchwood & 52nd Street, promoting a gift economy through mutual aid ????

https://linktr.ee/RFMP

[Last Saturday of every month
Malcolm X Park
Larchwood / 52nd side
10:00AM – 3:00PM]

Bangor Resident Amie Eckert Chartered Buses to Violent “Stop the Steal” Rallies & J6 Coup Attempt in Washington, DC

from Community Research Opposing Hate

Four images of Amie Eckert.

Amie Eckert Charged with Harassment & Disorderly Conduct at October 2020 Pro-Trump Event She Organized in Easton

Amie Eckert is a Bangor, PA resident and Lehigh Valley Tea Party (LVTP) member who — over the course of 2020 — became increasingly active in organizing for the MAGA and Patriot movements in the Lehigh Valley. She also exported her far-right organizing, going as far as arranging a bus charter and transporting dozens of Lehigh Valley residents to the January 6th fascist coup attempt at the US Capitol Building.

Amie was a regular participant at local “pro-Trump flag rallies” leading up to the 2020 US Presidential Election. She was so active, in fact, that she quickly began organizing more flag rallies herself. Take, for example, this event that took place in Easton on October 30th, 2020.

On the left, a screencap of the "Pro Trump Flag Rallies for Lehigh and Northampton County" Facebook page promoting Amy Eckert's "TRUMP flag waving rally" event. On the right, a screencap of the event page. Listed as host of the event is Amy Eckert.

At this particular event, Amie was charged by Palmer Township Police for harassment and disorderly conduct. Of course, she lawyered up, hiring LVTP Chairman Tom Caroll as attorney. If the name Tom Caroll sounds familiar, it may be because he was forced to resign from his position as Assistant District Attorney for Northampton County after a he engaged in a racist prank against a black colleague.

Caroll succeeded in convincing the court to drop Amie Eckert’s charges. But the fact that charges were laid against Eckert in the first place speaks to her willingness to engage in elevated confrontation with political opponents far beyond passionate dialogue.

Amie Eckert Chartered Buses from Lehigh Valley to the November 14th & December 12th “Million MAGA Rallies” in Washington, DC

Amie Eckert’s far-right organizing extends well beyond the Lehigh Valley. Eckert organized bus trips to both the November and December “Million MAGA Rallies” in Washington, DC. Both of these events were covered widely in the media due to the extreme violence and mass intimidation that far-right street brawlers carried out on DC residents and anti-racist activists.

Two screencaps from Amie Eckert's Facebook page. Each is a series of images from the November 14th and December 12th bus charters to DC.

In the weeks leading up to both of these events, activists in DC raised alarm bells and implored white liberals to acknowledge and respond to this burgeoning campaign of fascist violence. Aside from a small contingent of committed activists, calls to show up and outnumber the Proud Boys and their coalition partners largely went unanswered.

Among the Lehigh Valley residents that Eckert bused to DC was Benjamin Jacques. Eckert and Jacques expressed their support for the Proud Boys — a far-right street gang — in the below screen capture from Eckert’s November 14th Facebook post. Not only did Eckert and Jacques express support, they admitted interest in starting a local chapter and went as far as e-mailing the Proud Boys organization. Eckert suggested that Jacques (a graphic designer) begin work on a flag design for their “division.”

Screencap of a November 14th Facebook post by Amie Eckert. In the comments Amie, Benjamin Jacques, and others discuss creating a Proud Boys chapter.

Not only did Eckert and Jacques communicate with Proud Boys online, they actually formed real life connections at the December 12th “Million MAGA Rally.” Take for example, Jacques’ Dec. 12 Instagram post featuring a photo from this event. In the photo, Jacques poses with a unit of Proud Boys and other far-right street brawlers in full tactical gear. Included in this photo is Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zach Rehl, who was captured on video repeatedly as he helped direct the fascist coup on January 6th. Also in the selfie is Dion Cini, a far-right provocateur with ties to neo-Nazis who actually breached the US Capitol Building at the aforementioned coup. A third person posing for the selfie is Philadelphia Proud Boys Vice-President Aaron Wolkind-Whallon. All three men display the “white power okay sign” in Jacques’ selfie.

In the middle, a selfie that Benjamin Jacques took at the December 12th "Million MAGA Rally" in DC. Surrounding this image are photos highlighting the fascist exploits of Zach Rehl, Dion Cini, and Aaron Wolkind-Whallon.
Some info pulled from sources linked above. Thank you to all researchers who laid the groundwork for us to identify these individuals.

We know that Eckert marched the streets of DC threatening anti-racist activists with members of the Proud Boy street gang because she live-streamed it to her Facebook profile. In the video below, you can actually see the moment that Benjamin Jacques asked these Proud Boys for a selfie.

In another live-stream from December 12th, members of Eckert’s crew walk past the US Capitol Building and discuss the police presence. One man asks “Do they really think we’re gonna rob the Capitol?” to which a second man replies “Well, we won’t today. But we might.”

As the video above implies, these November and December “Million MAGA Rallies” can best be understood as dress rehearsals for the fascist coup attempt at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Amie Eckert & the LVTP Charter Bus to January 6th Fascist Coup Attempt at US Capitol Building

On December 19th, 2020, Amie Eckert posted to her Facebook account imploring her followers to join her on the multiple buses she was organizing for the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally-turned-coup-attempt in DC. Three days later, on December 22nd, the LVTP posted a flyer to their website and Facebook page advertising a bus charter to DC. It’s clear that the LVTP’s bus charter and Eckert’s bus charter are one and the same because the flyer reads “Contact Amie ASAP: 484.626.2529.” A comment on the LVTP Facebook post reads “Guns optional?”

On the left, a screencap from Amie Eckert's Facebook profile imploring her followers to join her bus charter to DC on January 6th. In the middle, a screencap from the LVTP's Facebook account a flyer advertising this bus trip. On the right, a screencap from LVTP's website advertising the same bus trip.

This comment serves as a good representative of right wing online chatter in the weeks approaching the January 6th coup attempt at the Capitol. And Amie Eckert’s social media posts were no exception. Below are several posts from her Facebook account that indicate a militant disposition to the approaching event.

Series of photos displaying Amie Eckert's militancy leading up to the J6 Capitol coup attempt.

Most images and commentary about the January 6th coup attempt have since been removed by Eckert and her associates. However, we were able to capture comments by Benjamin Jacques which confirm Eckert and Jacques’ J6 contingent were on the steps of the Capitol engaged in direct confrontation with Capitol police:

“We were on the front line… On the steps… We were tear gassed, pepper sprayed… peppered pellets.”

Screencap from Steve Lynch's Facebook post. Benjamin Jacques comments on the post, claiming that he was personally on the capitol steps in conflict with Capitol police.

This next subject is incredibly sensitive, and we have done our best to handle it with care. We have never and will never post images of children; even images from violent, far-right political actions. That said, the information below is so egregious, we felt we had to address it.

Amie Eckert Brings Her Elementary-Age Child to Fascist Rallies, Child Streams Confrontation & Poses for Photo with Proud Boys

Unfortunately, Amie Eckert has made a habit of bringing her elementary-age child to the events described above. While we could not confirm that Eckert brought her child to DC on January 6th, it was very clear that Eckert brought them to the November and December “Million MAGA Rallies.” In December, she actually allowed her child to live-stream their march with Proud Boys on the streets of DC.

During this live-stream (taken from Eckert’s phone and broadcasting to Eckert’s Facebook profile), her child wandered among a crowd of Proud Boys capturing video. It’s important to point out that the Proud Boys have recently been classified a terrorist group by the Canadian government, and the FBI considers them an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism.” After the crowd began marching, their group engaged in verbal altercations with DC residents; verbal altercations that the child engaged in personally.

In another video captured from her Facebook profile, Amie Eckert’s child anticipated the antifascist presence in DC, saying “I think antifa is here if I’m not mistaken. Because there are so many cops coming up. I hope they’re here.” Offscreen, a man can be heard asking the child, “You gonna beat them up?”

The next topic is likely the most egregious action that Amie Eckert took in regard to her child at these fascist rallies. At the November 14th “Million MAGA Rally” in DC, she had her child pose for a photo with two Proud Boys in tactical street-fighting gear along with the text “(child’s name) and the Proud Boys.”

Screencap of Amie Eckert's Facebook post from November 14th, 2020. On the left, an image of Eckert's elementary-age child (blacked out for the child's privacy), posing with two Proud Boys in street fighting gear. On the right, comments in support of the Proud Boys.

It’s bad enough to personally throw one’s support behind a fascist movement. It’s bad enough to personally view white nationalist paramilitaries as one’s friends. But to bring a child to fascist rallies where white nationalist paramilitaries engage in violence against local residents… the irresponsibility cannot be understated.

In Conclusion

Over the course of 2020, Amie Eckert rapidly radicalized around the MAGA movement. She organized events in support of this fascist movement. She was charged with harassing a political opponent at one of these events. She repeatedly posted racist, transphobic, and conspiracy-driven memes and messages on her social media accounts (see below). She organized bus charters to multiple violent, fascist rallies; including the January 6th coup attempt at the US Capitol Building. She brought her elementary age child to these events and had them pose with members of a far-right street gang. For all these reasons — in the interest of community safety — we have compiled this article, as well as the information below.

Additional Information:

Full Name: Amie Lynn Eckert
AKA: Amie Yankowy
DOB: 4/19/1976 (age 44 at date of writing)
Address: 6787 Fairview Ave, Bangor, PA 18013
Home Phone: (610) 264-8459
Mobile Phone: (484) 626-2529
Mobile Phone (possible): (610) 462-4826
Email Addresses:
ayankowy@yahoo.com
ayankowy@gmail.com
Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/amie.eckert.5
(Another FB, possibly linked to business account: https://www.facebook.com/pete.sells99)
Political Groups and/or Movements: MAGA, Patriot, Tea Party

Amie’s Business (co-owner): Carera Organix
Carera Organix Web Site: http://careraorganix.com/
Carera Organix Address: Martins Creek, Pennsylvania
Carera Organix Phone Number: (484) 626-2529
Carera Organix Email Address: sales@organix.com
Carera Organix Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carera-Organix-318432655438361

Additional Images:

Support the #FreeAnt Movement

from Instagram

Photo by #FreeAnt on February 24, 2021. May be a cartoon of text.

We appreciate y’all’s support so much and we know it’s been a long road already, but we still have a ways to go before we can #dropthecharges and truly #freeant. We’ve added a linktree in the bio so you can more easily find all of our links to support and please save/share/engage with these graphics so that a.) our community can know how and where to best support Ant and b.) we can mass share with y’all that we have new modes of donating (we heard the requests to have more than PayPal), an updated/new PayPal link, and a Twitter that is now live! . Thank you all again for everything you’ve done already and will continue to do. Having Ant with us is the best feeling and we need him here in our community free of all charges so that he can continue to support his people who rely on him and love him, continue to support our youth, and continue to support our movements as an irreplaceable and beloved member of our neighborhoods. And as always, we name that Ant is not an isolated victim of state and carceral oppression and we stand in solidarity with other political prisoners and incarcerated folks, so when we say #FreeEmAll know we mean that. Let’s Gooooooo!

Monday February 22nd: Letter-writing for Doug Wright

from Philly ABC

doug-wright.jpgDoug Wright left home at age fourteen and became involved in radical leftist activities and anti-war rallies in California. Shortly thereafter, Doug picked up train hopping and made his way all over the country. On one occasion he accidentally found himself in Anderson, Indiana where he met people with a music company that hosted all-age punk rock shows. These folks became Doug’s new family for the next five years.

Doug was then in Cleveland during the Occupy movement and became the target, along with three other activists, of an elaborate FBI setup operation. They were accused of plotting a series of bombings, including that of an area bridge. However the real story is that the FBI, working with an informant, created the scheme, produced the explosives, and coerced the four of them into participating. Doug received the longest sentence of all the Cleveland 4 – 11.5 years.

Doug’s life has been a series of tests, trials, and tribulations. Prison has been no different. He is luckily entering the last year of imprisonment, but his struggle is not over. Because he will be on lifetime probation, he will be unable to travel and live nomadically in the way that he loves again. Please join us in sending some heartfelt messages of solidarity to him.

This event will be held on Jitsi – we’ll post the meet link on social media the day of. You can also message us to get the link beforehand.

If you are unable to join us on Monday drop Doug a line at:

Doug Wright #57973-060
USP Florence-High
P.O. Box 9000
Florence, CO 81226

We will also encourage sending birthday cards to political prisoners with March birthdays: Joy Powell, (the 5th), Andrew Mickel (the 13th), Ruchell Cinque Magee (the 17th), and Jaan Laaman (the 21st).