Let us now look inside the crew that is comprised some of the lowest scum on earth! This is a long one!
Anne Frank Army
Illinois Gun Owners Together (IGOT) is a gun owners rights club with a presence on Facebook, whose members-only group is a hotbed of far-right and fascist militia thought and activity. The group is founded and led by Carl Arriaza, who is a temperamental and reactionary gun nut who uses his platform to recruit people for antagonistic operations against protest movements in the Chicago area. Other members have been using IGOT as a recruiting ground for local militias, including Patriot Front Illinois, the We The People (WTP) III% Militia, and also the Proud Boys.
Most members of their private facebook group of 9000+ people use the platform to shit-post vile anti-Semitism, racism, sexist, trans and homophobia. But they also glamorize and muse openly about inflicting deadly violence on the ‘radical left’ protesters in general, but also individuals they specify and target as enemies, people they have photographed at protests. IGOT has even gone as far as stake out houses and attend Black Lives Matter protests armed with “the hundo,” a small gun to hassle protesters, starting a fight that ended up getting two comrades arrested.
IGOT and their consortium are a fucked up coalition and it gets worse when you look at some of the people in it, especially people like Carl and his stooges who worship Kyle Rittenhouse and hold vigils outside where he’s incarcerated in Lake County, IL.
The Rittenhouse Connection
In September, IGOT organized a 2A “Self Defense is Not a Crime” rally in support of their hero, Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed Anthony Huber, and Joseph Rosenbaum, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz with an AR-15 rifle that he brought to a Black Lives Matter protest. Kyle joined an ad-hoc militia at the protest against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin:
The rally was held outside the Robert W. Depke Juvenile Complex Center where Kyle has been held in Illinois, awaiting extradition to Kenosha where he has been indicted on murder charges. Their event was livestreamed by IGOT TV, and the attendants were a grab-bag of deplorables personally moved by Kyle’s actions, members of the Chicagoland Back the Blue, Proud Boys, and WTP III% Militia movements. Three IGOT members in attendance of particular interest are Jimmy Bolf of Patriot Front Illinois, Shawn Canning of the Illinois WTP III% militia, and Allen Skillicorn (R) of the IL House of Representatives, all of whom are friends of Carl and actively support the proto-fascist activities of IGOT. (For those unfamiliar with the term “proto-fascist,” check out this Time overview and do note the similarities between then and now)
IL State Representative Allen Skillicorn
Allen Skillicorn is the incumbent running for Illinois State Representative in the 66th district. Not only is Allen personal friends with Carl, but he has also been praised publicly in the group for helping reinstate the IGOT Facebook group, after the group was taken down for promoting hate speech and racism in 2019.
Seems like there’s some quid pro quo happening here, as Carl and Co are doing some campaigning in exchange for their private facebook group being re-activated, taking orders from Rep Skillicorn. All of which is interesting as, per the Northwest Herald, Skillicorn has already been in hot water for voting ethics violations.
Rep Skillicorn was also very excited for the Kyle Rittenhouse rally planned by IGOT, both of which he is an enthusiastic supporter:
Rep Skillicorn is up for re-election in November, so if voting is your thing and you live in the 66th District (which covers McHenry County) do consider voting him out if only to watch him cry.
“Creepy” Carl Anthony Arriaza, of Mt Prospect, IL
Carl Arriaza is such a fucking nut, he leans into being an Antifa Predator. He is founder and most vocal member of IGOT, admin of multiple 2A facebook groups, in addition to IGOT and Self Defense is Not a Crime, as well as being quite active in the Illinois 4 Trump group. IGOT has backups ready for when their current group inevitably is de-platformed.
Carl and John Coyne are admins of Facebook groups Wisconsin Gun Owners Together and Women of IGOT, and Carl is a moderator. Carl Arriaza owns and operates Tech on Wheels from his home in Mt. Prospect in IL. For the spiciest info about Carl, check out this archived website we happened to find.
Here are examples of hate speech some of which were posted by Carl and other posts were left up in his group, which creates a culture of acceptance for vile ideas. People who end up at the IGOT fb group know this is the place to spew their bigoted beliefs against Jews, Muslims, women, LGBTQ folks, people of color, protesters and anyone else along with finding support for pedophilia and fetishization of children’s bodies. Even though some of the posts were made by other IGOT members, part of the work of being an admin and mod is to make everyone feel safe in the online organization so Carl’s inaction on commenters’s hatred speaks volumes about the ideology that’s welcome at IGOT.
Content warning – extreme hatred of all kinds.
Anti-Semitism
Islamophobia
Anti-gayness and transphobia
Creepy Male Gaze
Pedophilia
Hatred and Violence against Protesters
Do note that on the bottom right meme that IGOT member Jake Sackup posted meme of Pepe the Frog’s face on top of Kyle’s face. Pepe is a quintessential Alt-Right fascist meme, as explained in the Telegraph and further illustrated here:
Creepy Carl and IGOT stalking operations
Speaking of taking things to the next level, for a long time Carl has posted personal information of people with whom he has disagreed and disliked including mugshots, homes, cars and license plates on IGOT’s 9000-person strong Facebook group.
At times, IL State Rep Allen Skillicorn, of the 66th District, has even praised Carl’s harassment and stalking. After the Rittenhouse rally, Carl has been attempting to mobilize people in his network to take indiscriminate action against Chicago protesters with no or inaccurate information on who they are. Here he is admitting to a friend that he is committing petty vandalism while staking out taking pictures at unrelated addresses on multiple non-consecutive occasions.
Carl’s obsession with antifa is far-reaching and he eventually becomes unhinged, compiling imaginary data on where “antifa” will be on election night.
We see Carl totally lose it and warns his facebook that he was going to a BLM rally with a gun and “dress up like Rittenhouse.”
Carl bragged on his Twitter account that IGOT did indeed drive the 40 minutes to stake out the BLM rally, then hassled protesters as they were leaving.
From eyewitness accounts, Carl and his creeps started a fight that caused two comrades to be arrested. Later, Later, he posted their mugshots on his social media until Twitter removed them. Carl displayed a picture of the gun he brought to threaten protesters, which he’s nicknamed “the hundo:”
Jimmy Bolf, of Kildeer, IL
Jimmy is an aspiring firefighter, a 2A trumpie, and a bootlicker for the Blue Lives Matter movement.
Jimmy is also a Civil War re-enactor – yes thats right, Jimmy is a bonafide Confederate Solider in the #ArmyforTrump.
He begs to run security as an IGOT member at several Back the Blue and Patriot events, as he did at the Kyle Rittenhouse rally outside the jail in which he is incarcerated in Vernon Hills, IL.
In his work as security, Jimmy ends up holding Carl back as he is hassling counter-protesters at a rally.
Clearly, they have a close bond and Jimmy is like Creepy Carl’s “2A Protege.”
In addition to being active in IGOT, Jimmy is also a moderator of a new group that formed in September which shares its name with known white nationalist accelerationist organization Patriot Front (who marched in Charlottesville under the name Vanguard America, which the murderer James Alex Fields marched alongside), whose internal communications were leaked by Torch Network and most recently, Buzzfeed. We call this a coincidence or unintentional reference, noting the WWG1WGA (stands for “where we go one, we go all”) across the Punisher skill above the cross-rifles logo of the group, which is a connection to the Qanon conspiracy cult, as explored in the NYTimes.
If someone you love is struggling with the Qanon conspiracy, we highly recommend this three-part article series in Psychology Today about accepting help for a Qanon obsession.
Remember Full Cend TKM AKA Richard Poisso from Bartlett, IL? For a refresher, you can check out Richard’s youtube channel Full Cend TKM. If not, check out our dossier on him for a fuller picture of this veteran mechanic with memberships in Patriot Front Illinois and We The People III% Militia:
How were we able to confirm all this? Easy, he tells us himself:
Richard Poisso claims to be instrumental in the re-establishing a new facebook group, using a dummy name “Squirrel Nuts” in order to get past the algorithms that prevent troll, extremist, or de-platformed accounts from using Facebook to organize.
Further, it’s not just Poisso who’s in both Patriot Front Illinois and We The People III% Militia. The two organizations work together, as Richard is promoting a WTP III% Illinois American Patriot event for “1A, 2A, Police Support, Veteran Support, POTUS Support, Amendment Support.” From the outside, it looks like this is a loose umbrella of militias gathering, forming coalition, getting organized and hyped up as the last hurrah for patriots before the election. We believe communities should be concerned.
The Proud Boy connection
Proud Boys have been on the protest frontlines along with the other bozos Patriot Front and WTP III%. For those who are blissfully unaware, the Proud Boys are a neo-fascist violent far-right fraternity who are connected to dozens of street fights against progressive and radical protesters across the country, as reported in The Guardian.
Jimmy is definitely looking like buddies with Edgar “Remy del Toro” Gonzalez of Rockford, IL at the Rittenhouse rally. Remy was promoted to the V.P. of the Proud Boys Chicago chapter after their previous president “Trigger” Tom Christensen went to jail for stabbing someone he believed to be “antifa” at a concert. The Chicago Proud Boys have previously been identified by comrades and included in their ranks:
- Chicago Police Officer Robert Bakker
- Mike Chubb of Franklin Park
- Nick John Stiso of Chicago
- Dylan Daoud of Skokie
- Jeff Schwier now of Chicago
- Adam Richard Glenn, now of Wisconsin
Their group has always been overly defensive and aggressive towards counter-protesters, getting in faces, hurling insults and threatening violence, and then kevetching about how people always show up to protest their events, as Bob Garza, an administrator of IGOT facebook, amusingly complains about on this radio interview.
For more information about the Proud Boys in the suburbs, see these posts by our friends.
Shawn Canning, of Jefferson Park, Chicago, a Walgreens manager and organizer with IGOT & We The People III% Militia
Shawn M Canning Jr, age 44, is a moderator and organizer for IGOT facebook. Shawn is believed to be a member of WTP III% Militia. Shawn has the “We the People” tattooed on his arm which seems to be a marking pattern for members of this militia. Besides his tattoo, Shawn recently updated his profile picture on facebook which hints to his involvement with WTP III%ers. In addition Shawn has created and advertised shirt designs for IGOT that include WTP Three Percenter logo’s and references. It is believed that Shawn is IGOT and Carl Arriaza’s connection to extremist groups like the Three Percenters and Proud Boys.
Above is Shawn Canning (Center wearing IGOT shirt) with known Chicago Proud Boy Edgar “Remy Del Toro” Gonzalez to the left of Shawn and in the second pic, Sean’s in the green next to IGOT administrator John Coyne (Third from right. Wearing black and gold IGOT T-shirt). Clearly a member of the group seeking acceptance, Canning seeks feedback for the logo of the militia in the IGOT facebook page. Notice the usage of the Three Percenter logo and Canning coining his militia’s name, “We the People.”
Do note Shawn Canning’s “We the People” tattoo, which is eerily similar to the tattoos of other WTP members. Further, the same distinctive art is pulled from Shawn Canning’s Facebook profile, displaying a Three Percenter Logo in the American Flag with “We the People” written next to it.
Note the similarities with the punisher and crossing rifles of the WTP III% and the Patriot Front logos.
Check out Sean’s reposting of the recent extremist rhetoric often used by Three Percenters to tout a civil war they very much want to see, like those Three Percenters who planned to kidnap the governor of Michigan. It’s clear that Sean identifies with these ideas and is awaiting the opportunity to harm, maim or kill his fellow Americans.
With his tattoo, his militia and his propensity for hanging out with neo-fascists and gunloving militia members, it’s fair to say that Sean is a danger to the community and anyone who doesn’t share his beliefs.
Shawn was also at the Free Kyle rally with IGOT, talking All Lives Matter alongside Jimmy Bolf and Proud Boy Remy del Toro, and this yet unnamed woman who may be a member of WTP, as she also shared the same tattoo as Shawn, as do numerous other individuals in this scene. Although WTP III% is an Illinois Militia with at least 7 confirmed members, a social media presence alone does not make a militia.
For more information, see our previous article.
Shawn has spent a good amount of time organizing and recruiting for IGOT. Other III% members also use IGOT for recruiting, as well as the group Illinois Sons of Liberty, that Carl boosts on his IGOT platform.
So-called “patriot groups” like those Jimmy, Carl, Shawn and a few others belong may just be another scummy pig-love hole on the internet where the alt-right lurk, radicalizing each other in the same way that Kyle was, to be pawns during the rise of the MAGA regime. Some of them take it to the next level, and we know from what happened in Kenosha – these chuds are deadly.
It’s pretty easy to spot this Walgreens manager and civil war internet warrior, Sean advertises on his and his wife’s minivan:
Shawn spends a lot of time organizing within IGOT and recruiting for IGOT as a means to fill their financial coffers along with planning public events.
For some very personal information about how to get ahold of Shawn Canning at home in Jeff Park, please see this archived site: https://archive.is/JxGlz
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time,” Maya Angelou.
Carl and IGOT have repurposed the rhetoric and imagery of white nationalist hate group AntiCommunist Action and Proud Boys to connect their 2A militia to the “free helicopter rides” reference, which directly relates to the practice of killing people by dropping them from helicopters. People who support President Trump and his neo-fascist policies support the murders that were popularized by 1970s Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Hundreds of political dissidents are still unaccounted for from the Pinochet era, but a conservative government estimate from 2001 puts the number of people killed in Chile by being thrown from helicopters at 120. For a deeper explanation, see Gizmodo’s dive.
We, as Anne Frank Army, have been documenting Chicago-area Alt-Right and militia scenes for some time, and now with the Boogaloo Bois movement (as expertly explained by Bellingcat journalists) invoking specter of civil war on the horizon, we determine that IGOT, WTP III%, and Patriot Front Illinois are serious threats. They are organized counterinsurgent organizations agitated and primed to rise up in the Chicagoland and surrounding areas against the mass protest movement needed to oust Trump should he attempt to remain in office in a fascist coup d’état.
We encourage everyone to share this article far and wide, making sure to recognize faces and keep your eyes peeled for more info and identifications from us
A C A B 1 3 1 2 Antifascist!
A strong community is an organized community! We keep us safe and the militias on high alert. Send us tips and info on white nationalists and 2A militias in your area! Follow us on Twitter @AnneFrankArmy.
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