Joey Gibson is a local Alt Right organizer that has been putting on frequent rallies as “Patriot Prayer” (also “Warriors for Freedom”). At this next event he has asked Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman to be his keynote speaker. Chapman is a thrice-convicted felon who achieved far right internet fame by dressing up in a bizarre costume and attacking protesters with a stick.
Gibson’s rallies have been attracting a host of unsavory characters from the extreme right including explicit white nationalists and racist preachers. This newest event has an assortment of neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, and other violent bigots that have promised to be in attendance.
It is time that Portland stood up to these ceaseless rallies which are little more than opportunities for racists to network, mainstream their message, and intimidate vulnerable communities.
Note: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is calling for the federal government to shut down the neo-Fascist rallies in the wake of White Supremacist Jeremy Christian, one of it’s past attendees killing two people in a Islamophobic hate crime on May 26.
On June 10th, all over the United States, Act for America has called for marches against “Sharia Law”, which is clearly a thinly veiled stab at the Muslim community, given that Donald Trump is in office with GOP House and Senate majorities.
The United States is not at risk for Sharia Law.
However, our Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world are at risk from racist and violent policies as well as rhetoric. In word and in deed, the growing alt-right movement continues to merge with neo-Nazis, Klan, Southern Confederate groups and others who advocate “free speech” to support policies that threaten Muslims worldwide.
East Shore Antifa of Harrisburg, PA therefore calls for the entirety of our community to stand together against the rising threat of fascism in our state.
This is not a protest or a rally, although those actions can be found elsewhere on this day and we fully stand in solidarity and in support with those who choose to rally or protest instead.
This event is a shut-down. We will be gathering in number, beginning at 9:30 am, and if possible, we will move as a defensive formation to physically blockade their march route and we will not allow them to pass through our city.
Bring signs, banners, medics, drummers, scouts and anything else you feel can contribute to our success and safety.
Harrisburg is not a protest playground, so if you do come, come prepared to observe and respect the autonomy of those who live in this community. Any person or group who does not respect diversity of tactics as well as group consensus and revolutionary discipline during actions should not attend this event, and will not be supported by our bloc.
No Pasaran!
Bigots, Racists, Fascists out of NYC!
America’s proto-fascists have issued a national call for a “March against Sharia” on June 10th. In NYC, this thinly veiled racist rally will be taking place at Foley Square from 10AM – 2PM featuring such infamous bigots as Gavin McInnes of the Proud Boys and Frank Morganthaler of the Oathkeepers. We at the Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council (MACC) are taking this opportunity to announce a new campaign, No Platform for Fascism, which will seek not only to confront far-right organizations in the streets but will also pressure businesses like Squarespace that give them a mouthpiece and profit off of their hateful ideologies. We call on all of those in the broader anti-fascist movement to join us as we inaugurate this campaign with a counter-noise demonstration at Foley Square starting at 10 AM. We encourage all organizations allied with immigrants and the oppressed to use this campaign and to call their own parallel events. Together we can shut it down and show that racist movements have no place in our city!
To be clear, this rally for Christian supremacy has nothing to do with the First Amendment and everything to do with promoting terrorism against minorities. In the last week two people lost their lives in Portland (Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche), knifed to death after attempting to defend a Muslim woman from a known white supremacist spewing hate speech on the light-rail. This isn’t an isolated event. America’s own law enforcement organs state that the vast majority of fatal attacks on U.S. soil are carried out by white supremacists. We at MACC believe that the atmosphere of fear that the Trump administration and the far-right are cultivating in marginalized communities is an extreme form of a systemic violence that has long existed in the United States – precisely calibrated to deny these communities anything like “free speech” or a voice in the public sphere.
How can you expect the Muslim community to engage in dialogue, if being visible means the constant threat of attack, murder, deportation, or imprisonment? And how can the Islamophobic movement wrap themselves in the mantle of free speech and women’s rights when they recently beat a young woman at their rally at CUNY, where they were trying to prevent a moderate Muslim leader from speaking?
The anarchist and anti-fascist movement understands that we must fight both neoliberal terror and fascist terror wherever it arises if we are to create a new radically democratic and radically pluralistic society. A society in which all voices have a say in their political lives.
Anti-fascists to the streets June 10th! No Platform for Fascism!
On June 10th “Act for America,” an anti-Muslim hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, will be rallying at the state capitol for a “March Against Sharia” (event details here: https://www.facebook.com/
Join us in showing support for our Muslim neighbors and opposing anti-Muslim bigotry outside the State Capitol at 11:00am. Together we can outnumber, drown out the racists, and rally as a progressive community to appreciate our religious, racial, and national diversity and oppose these kinds of anti-Muslim and racist actions in the future.
On Saturday, June 10, a recognized Islamophobic hate group is coming to Seattle to spread fear and divide our community. We are coming together in solidarity with our Muslim neighbors. We will say loud and clear that hate and Islamophobia are not welcome here. We will be peaceful and we will be resolute. We ask you to join us.
Information on ACT for America:
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/act-america
We invite all members of the Seattle community to participate, regardless of political stance, religious affiliation, etc. We do ask that all participants respect the principles we are organizing around:
Center the voices of Muslim communities.
Don’t deconstruct and try to counter ACT’s points or automatically assume the defensive position. Build positive messages, we’re here to uplift, support, and work towards lasting unity.
Avoid “Not all Muslim” type arguments- people deserve respect solely on the basis of their personhood. We don’t want to contribute to the idea that marginalized folks need to prove themselves first.
Remember – these are our neighbors, friends, community members so give them the respect and space that’s due and also keep this in mind with your message.
White supremacists are particularly ticked off at the City of Charlottesville, VA. That’s because the city has spent the past several months stripping away public tributes to the Confederacy. It hasn’t made the “Heritage not Hate” crowd all that happy either, but when it comes to protests and rallies, they have pretty much let the “Heritage IS Hate” crowd have their go at it while they say nothing.
Ever since some white supremacists came out with tiki torches a few weeks ago to defend a statue, a few other groups have been feeling their oats. Enter the Loyal White Knights, which is probably the most visible Klan group in recent years, even while they don’t really amount to anything.
While the Klan plans to have a rally on Saturday, people on our side are planning to come out to oppose them. Leading that effort is the group Showing Up for Racial Justice – SURJ Charlottesville who will have a “Community BlocKKK Party” at Justice Park (formerly Jackson Park – as in Stonewall) just before the Klan gets there, ending just after they leave.
This rally will be a precursor to Matthew Heimbach’s “Unite the Right” rally at Emancipation Park (formerly Lee Park – as in Robert E.) on August 12.
So yeah, we will have a busy summer – and let’s face it, in Trump’s reign, we expected it. We don’t think these MAGAts expect how badly they will lose though!
The Group Islamberg Friend or Foe? is hosting a “Ride for Homeland Security” that is targeting an isolated Muslim Sufi community near the Delaware River in the Catskills. In the past, Islamberg, which is in Thompkins, NY, has been threatened by various right wing individuals, most notably Robert Doggart of Tennessee, who was convicted a few months ago and sentenced last month to almost 20 years for plotting to build a militia that would attack the community. And this ride has happened before last year , but that only brought out 5 bikers to over 400 counterprotester, and well…that’s just embarassing. So this time, Gavin McInnes’ Proud Boys are jumping into this crap. The ride was announced in The Official Proud boys magazine, repeats disproven allegations that the community is associated with terrorism. The announcement promises to have “Proud Boys, and Alt Knights, and Red Elephants, and Oath Keepers, and III%ers, and Veterans, and Bikers for Trump, and Gays for Trump, and Republicans, and Libertarians, and Democrats”. The Alt Knights are a branch of the Proud Boys that specializes in an apparently relishes street fighting. And as their announcement noted, militia groups want in as well. The primary event announcement originated on facebook and appears to have been created by a III% supporter.
The community of Islamberg was created over thirty years ago by Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani in order to house mostly African American Muslims escaping poverty and inner city problems in New York City. After a rocky start, the relationship with the town has been positive. But that doesn’t matter when you have a political agenda that does not jibe with reality. Enter the Proud Boys. The neo-Fascist group calls itself a “Western Chauvinist fraternal organization” but their actual structure and praxis is more like a street gang. Their initiations, like many other violent gangs includes “being punched in” which for them is being beaten while reciting the names of 5 breakfast cereals. Their 4th degree initiation which makes you an “Alt Knight” is to get in a violent fight with an “antifa”. They don’t differ much from the many gangs that inflict violence on neighborhoods throughout the US, and their penchant for their jokey style of going about their day to day is no different from the “ludicrous initiations, the baffling of public curiosity, and the amusement for members” that Albert Stevens in his 1907 Cyclopædia of Fraternities said defined the original Ku Klux Klan. The neocon Bikers for Trump is generally a group for Trump supporters to posture as tough guys, but they have reportedly participated in violence against protesters during the Inauguration and they may have played a part in violent removal of protesters during the Trump campaign. The Oath Keepers and III% have participated in the many “March against Sharia” events this year and they have provided armed security for right wing events, even neo-Nazi ones like the one recently held in Pikeville, KY.
Let’s be real: the bottom line is these groups wish to bully a small Muslim community in the Catskills. While their call asks people not to commit crimes against Islamberg, they say in their Facebook announcement they are doing this “as American Patriots prepare for what promises to be a Holy War”. The risk is that that they will attract people and inspire people who will not follow their guidelines as we have seen with Joey Gibson’s “Patriot Prayer” in Portland, or that they will provoke violent individuals like Jeremy Christian who murdered 2 people also in Portland who tried to stop him from harassing a Muslim woman on a train. People of conscience need to stand against this cowardly bullying tactic. Hopefully this years bigot biker ride will be as much of a flop as last years but let’s not just assume that’s the case.
It was first announced on Stormfront and immediately it started going through the antifa circles, so you know that AmRen 2017 is going to be met with opposition. They know it too. That’s probably why the theme of this year’s conference is “Turning the Tide”, That’s not just a reference to what they think might be happening during Trump’s reign. It is also the name of a popular antifa publication by Anti-Racist Action L.A.-People Against Racist Terror! That’s a good sign that they are picking a fight, particularly with antifa, but after years of going it alone throwing Jared Taylor & Co. out on their asses from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the Washington, DC area to Charlotte, NC, antifa are finding out that thanks to the Electoral College giving Trump the White House they are joined. Significantly. So Montgomery Bell Park Inn just might find itself with the biggest anti-AmRen rally they have seen since AmRen had been hosting conferences there in 2013.
Now for those who don’t know, this is at a conference center at Montgomery Bell State Park. It’s 45 minutes from Nashville, Tennessee and there is no public transportation there. They chose this location not just because it is a public facility – which means by the way that the public has a right to be inside the conference center that we should say has a great restaurant – but because it is so remote. That’s not going to deter folks this time around, and the fact that this is taking place in the summer as opposed to the usual spring outings they have, expect that even more.
The third in a series of rallies in Charlottesville, VA by White Supremacists to protest the removal of Confederate memorials will take place on Aug. 12, and this one will be organized by local bonehead Jason Kessler. This one however might be particularly interesting because it is basically a call for every neo-Nazi and neo-Fascist that we have been seeing all over the place to come out to what is now called Emancipation Park, and they pretty much answered the call at this point. Of course, being that one of them is Matthew Heimbach and his Traditionalist Worker Party, that means due to the coalition of boneheads he and the National Socialist Movement and League of the South cooked up, that means those two groups are coming as well! This just might be the first time we have see the likes of Richard Spencer – who just stepped down as Executive Director of the White Supremacist National Policy Institute – rubbing elbows with National Socialist Movement’s Jeff Schoep! The fact that in-the-beltway, suit-and-tie Nazis are perfectly fine with being seen with the uniformed ones (and in the case of Spencer, especially given how much he said they hated him) has definitely been noticed not just by antifa, but also by a community that has grown weary of one rally after another by this crowd. And they have been planning to play with this crowd for a while now. Hell, they are even urging people to call the hotels that might be booked by Nazis attending! Failing that, however they are planning to be out there before during and after the Nazis show and they want those who support them as they work to dismantle memorials to white supremacy to come out and join them in confronting those that are upset about that. Considering that 1500 came out to oppose the Klan on July 8 when they came out, and Spencer and his crew were opposed in a clandestine attempt to hold a rally holding torches May 13, this one does not bode well for those pushing neo-Fascism coming to defend the neo-Fascism of yesteryear.
From SATX4:
“This is Texas Freedom Force” (TITFF) has decided that they would like the monument of white supremacy– the Confederate statue– in Travis Park to stay. They are masquerading their white supremacy behind the notion of “preserving history.”
SATX4 will not stay silent in the face of white supremacy. History of white power belongs in a museum, not in the heart of our city. Let’s show up and show San Antonio that we will not stay silent nor will we tolerate white supremacy and hate. Join us at our counter protest to continue to petition the removal of the Confederate statue.