The Alt-Observer Weekly Summary highlights activities from revolutionary communist, radical anarchist, fascist and other ‘alternative’ political groups that fulfill our intelligence requirements for both the Alt-Left and Alt-Right groups. This report is available for Alt-Observer subscribers.
Priority Intelligence Requirements
- PIR1: What indicators describe the Alt-Left movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, and capabilities?
- PIR2: What indicators describe the Alt-Right movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, and capabilities?
- PIR3: What are the new indicators of future politically related violence?
- PIR4: What is the current threat index score for the Alt-Left movement?
- Culture War Roll-Up
PIR1: What indicators describe the Alt-Left movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, initiatives, and infighting?
National
Upworthy: An 80-year-old Holocaust survivor named Barbara Roose published an article this week on Upworthy, in which she details her first encounter with groups like Antifa and Patriot Prayer while at a protest in Berkeley. In the article Roose claims that when she encountered Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson alongside his three “burly” bodyguards, she started shaking because she was in the presence of who she believed were neo-Nazis. Despite her fear of Patriot Prayer, Roose claims in the article that she was “comforted not by the presence of any police officer that day, but by the presence of the Antifa”. Roose claims that Antifa has been vilified by the media and that she feels gratitude to them for “being our first line of defense” and for “being willing to stand up to the hateful actions of neo-Nazis and white nationalists like Gibson.” (Source: http://www.upworthy.com/here-s-what-one-holocaust-survivor-has-to-say-about-the-rise-of-the-antifa-movement) (SC: Joey Gibson is not a neo-Nazis and neither is his organization, Patriot Prayer. “Upworthy” was intended to be an uplifting website, although it’s turned out to be another outlet for the social justice movement.)
East Coast
District of Columbia: Activists dropped a banner in Washington D.C. this week over Highway 66 in solidarity with the J20 defendants who are still facing charges. An anonymous contributor published a report back on It’s Going Down that explains why the banner was dropped:
“This banner was dropped in solidarity with J20 defendants, but also in solidarity with all people on the frontlines of a white supremacist patriarchal capitalist State.
This banner was dropped in solidarity with J20 defendants, but asks what is solidarity if it doesn’t extend to the people who are born into a world which is inherently violent against their bodies, as in poverty, as woman, as queer, as trans, as a person of color, as indigenous, as oppressed.
This banner was dropped in solidarity with J20 defendants, but asks what is solidarity with J20 defendants if it’s not also solidarity with the people of color who are forced to run through this exact same courthouse day in and day out.
This banner was dropped in solidarity with J20 defendants, facing rioting charges based on a law enacted on black liberatory riots of the ’60s (repression has already happened), for broken windows of banks which have already enacted violence on us by houses foreclosed and pipelines injected into the veins of the land we live on (violence is happening).
This banner was dropped in solidarity with J20 defendants, against a politick of morality in protest and diplomacy, against a politick of nonviolence.
This banner was dropped in solidarity with J20 defendants, whom the court charges as organized rioters, to whom we ask what is protest, what is resistance, how do we express ourselves in a society which is trying with all its might to tell us how we can speak, show anger, stand up, fight back. We won’t be told any longer.” (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/washington-dc-banner-drop-support-j20-defendants-even-the-innocent-ones/)
West Virginia: On 28 May, 2018 a tree-sitter named “Sprout” was forced to abandon her post by federal law enforcement officers who ordered her to appear in court. Sprout was protesting the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia when she was ordered to descend from her tree sit-in. A statement by Sprout in regards to her sit-in was included in an update on the pipeline protest that was published on It’s Going Down:
“The ropes attached to trees directly in the path of the proposed MVP are supporting my platform. If even one of these ropes is cut, I could sustain a serious or even fatal injury. My life is on the line to defend these trees from MVP’s destruction.” (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/mvp-and-federal-marshals-force-new-tree-sitter-to-abandon-post/)
Midwest
St. Louis: The St. Louis, Missouri-based revolutionary Communist and Black Identity Extremist group Black Red Guard, published an article on Medium entitled “On Respectability Politics Left and Right.”
(Analyst Comment: We’ve posted some excerpts from the article.)
“There’s a nasty habit of assimilationism and desire to be accepted by European dominated formations, individuals, and institutions on both the Left and on the Right… White people do not respect you, like you, or value your opinion… We cannot assimilate en masse into this shit because America was built on our backs and against the material interests of the masses of our people. There is no assimilation with the enemy. White, as constructed in the United States, is the polar opposite of black… This means revolution. If you are black and you do not participate in the revolution of your people and the project to destroy America, you are a damn fool. This goes for all sectors, excepting the highest bourgeoisie and the comprador class, people like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and DeRay McKesson…
Furthermore, white people don’t trust you. Why should they? They know the revolutionary potential of our people, that’s why they fuck us over and seek to throw wrenches into our plans. Redneck Revolt gallivanting around with mommy’s guns is not a threat, the Black Panther Party patrolling the police was, however. White people, as white people, are not, never have been, never will be revolutionary in this country and white formations claiming to be revolutionary are 99% of the time the exact opposite… We are who they fear.
There were house slaves back during the slavery era, the revolutionary minded ones poisoned entire families of slave owners, leaked news to the field slaves, stole, broke tools, set fires, and generally made as many messes as they could before getting caught… The revolutionary slaves massacred these along with their masters and other whites during uprisings, rightfully so. There’s a lot of Left and Right respectibility politicians who will get the same treatment, again, rightfully so…
Actively work to seize positions of leadership, promote un-apologetically Black lines, and isolate or purge people with white-excusing, white explaining lines from the movement. Take over all you can get hold to… White people have no revolutionary history on this continent, so yes, we have them beat. Is whiteness a sin? Yes, it is, the biggest one in human history, bigger than Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun put together. Are they guilty? Do they commit crimes against our people every day? Yes, they do.” (Source: https://medium.com/@BlackRedGuard/on-respectability-politics-left-and-right-7cf902a8a40b)
Southeast
Virginia: The Republican Standard recently published an article titled, “Is Eco-Terrorism Coming to Southwest Virginia?”. In the article the author shows various screenshots of activists openly advocating for and discussing the usage of violence to prevent what they perceive to be the irreversible destruction of the environment. These violent and sometimes lethal actions to protect the environment have been designated by the FBI as “eco-terrorism”:
“The FBI defines eco-terrorism as the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature.”
One of the most common forms of eco-terrorism is what is known as “tree-spiking.” An article titled “Tree Spiking An ‘Eco-Terrorist’ Tactic,” which was published by The Washington Post in 1990, details the usage of tree spikes by eco-terrorists and explains how they work. According to The Washington Post, “Tree spikes are among the most vicious of the strategies. While the tree is still in the forest, the spike is driven in at an angle so the head is hidden in the bark. It can shatter a chain saw on impact, sending pieces of razor-sharp steel flying.” The article by The Washington Post also tells the story of George Alexander, a third-generation mill worker who was nearly killed when his saw came in contact with a tree spike:
“It was May 1987, and Alexander was 23. His job was to split logs. He was nearly three feet away when the log hit his saw and the saw exploded. One half of the blade stuck in the log. The other half hit Alexander in the head, tearing through his safety helmet and face shield. His face was slashed from eye to chin. His teeth were smashed and his jaw was cut in half. Alexander had never even heard of a sabotage tactic called tree spiking until he became a victim of ‘eco-terrorism.’ Someone who objected to tree cutting had imbedded a huge steel spike in the log that violently jammed the saw.”
(Analyst Comment: Radical environmental activist groups such as Greenpeace, Earth Liberation Front, and Earth First! have been using tree spiking and other eco-terrorist tactics since the 1980’s. Given the history of these terrorist groups and the rise of more modern groups such as Green Antifa, as well as the open call for violent action by environmental activists and the increasing tension between police and activists in southwest Virginia who are protesting the Mountain Valley Pipeline — the hypothesis put forth in the article by The Republican Standard is plausible, if not an entirely accurate prediction.)
(Source: https://therepublicanstandard.com/is-eco-terrorism-coming-to-southwest-virginia/) (Source: https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-threat-of-eco-terrorism) (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/03/05/tree-spiking-an-eco-terrorist-tactic/a400944c-a3a0-4c03-ab99-afada6f44e7a/)
West Coast
Olympia: Antifascists in Olympia, Washington published a report back on It’s Going Down detailing how they chased two alleged Neo-Nazi’s out of downtown Olympia. According to the author, a small group of about 8 Neo-Nazi’s were hanging out and painting graffiti in downtown Olympia when they were spotted by antifascists. After the antifascist group nearby grew to 12 or so people, all but 3 of the Neo-Nazi’s had left. Once the group of Nazi’s was small enough in number the antifascists confronted them and demanded that they leave Olympia saying “We don’t let Nazis roll through our town.” The author claims that they became flustered and started packing up their spray paint in an attempt to leave, however, one the antifascist “comrades” told the Nazi’s to leave the paint as a “community poll” for letting them leave peacefully.” (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/olympia-wa-neo-nazis-chased-out-of-downtown/)
Portland: Antifascists in Portland, Oregon are attempting to have Dr. Jordan Peterson’s upcoming lecture at the Keller Auditorium in downtown Portland cancelled. The Portland antifascists published on It’s Going Down calling for a call in campaign and social media blast to get the theater to cancel Peterson’s 25 June lecture.
In addition to their call in campaign, Portland antifascists are meeting at the Oregon Convention Center on 06 June for a “display of disapproval and to demand that these venues not support dangerous bigots.”(Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/portland-or-call-in-campaign-against-jordan-peterson/)
Southwest
Austin: Anarchist Black Cross Austin (ABCA) posted on their Facebook page this week after a lengthy period of inactivity. In the post ABCA explained their recent absence on social media, provided some insight into the current state of their organization, and listed some upcoming events that they are organizing and/or participating in. According to ABCA their recent inactivity on social media is “an indication of how spread-thin we’ve been in recent months.” ABCA also stated in the post that they receive many advocacy requests, but simply cannot handle all of them at their “current capacity” and that they have decided to “respond to advocacy requests on a very case-by-case basis.”
The following is the list of upcoming events and fundraisers that ABCA is organizing and/or participating in that was included in their Facebook post:
01 JUNE: “A fundraiser for our comrades and allies, Inside Books Project. They send free books to prisoners in Texas.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/188500988464366/)
11 JUNE: “June 11 is the day of solidarity w/ long-term anarchist prisoners. We’ll be showing a short documentary about Rita Bo Brown, a revolutionary butch lesbian, anti-authoritarian, prison abolitionist, and freedom fighter! We’ll follow up with letter writing to political prisoners.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/142334156622237/)
18 JUNE: “We are co-hosting an event with SWOP-ATX (Sex Workers Outreach Project-Austin, Texas) to link up pen-pals w/ incarcerated sex workers, as well as provide them with reading materials & resources.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/611601782549568/)
20 JUNE: “Austin ABC volunteer night! Our first one since we took a hiatus to catch up on everything. Wanna get involved or simply check out what we’re all about? Swing by and let’s chat about prison abolition.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/231439370954899/)
(Source: https://www.facebook.com/AustinAnarchistBlackCross/posts/2170603502954864)
Austin, Texas: Red Guards Austin (RGA) published a blog post this week on their website titled, “But Who Controls the Guns?” RGA is one of the many Alt-Left groups across the US who advocate for the use of firearms as protection from the “fascist” state. In the document RGA states that “Communists do not contend with the question of gun control versus gun rights—the contradiction we focus on is power: who has power, and who must take it with force of arms.” The following are some notable quotes from the post:
“We see self-defense as a necessity and antifascism as self-defense. While it is not our desire to see consistent armed standoffs against better-armed and state-protected opponents, only those with a death wish would march into battle against such an enemy unarmed when it is well within their means to arm.”
“Ideally, we would prefer that they were unarmed and that the street fighting that inevitably takes place any time fascists show up could be carried out without firearms involved. It would be preferable to bash them hard and scare them out of organizing without ever having to consider the possibility of armed escalation. Nonetheless, these are not the conditions we face in Texas as antifascists.”
“Mao Zedong said that we must pick up the gun in order to put down the gun. For us, this means that as long as we are dispossessed, then by all means, including guns, we must seek to prevail against our enemies. Only with victory over them can we birth a better world.”
“Communists believe in armed struggle to overthrow the current ruling class as well to institute the proletarian state, which will use guns to suppress the former ruling class. The question for us is power: revolution and how to develop it toward victory, how to fight counter-revolution after victory, and how to propel socialism forward to communism, to a world where the gun has been put down. It is our position that we cannot win this war by simply enduring death, although endurance is a vital part of a protracted struggle. We insist that it is by inflicting death upon our enemies in power that the power of the proletariat is established, preserving ourselves and destroying the enemy.”
“When it comes to revolutionary armed struggle, there should be no thought of legality. Revolution itself is a violent, illegal act, but is both just and correct. Anyone who claims to rebel within the confines of the law is not actually rebelling at all—they are merely performing a dance.”
“It has long been our position that serious left-wing groups need to master arms and that in our conditions, it is necessary, although not preferable, to practice open (or concealed) carry against fascists and the right-wing movement, which are already doing this to intimidate or defeat our movements.”
“Individual acts of terrorism are the hallmark of far-right reactionaries and are not at all a tactic of the left. Revolutionaries staunchly oppose such actions—actions that not only alienate the masses, but also in most cases target them with violence.” (Source: https://redguardsaustin.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/but-who-controls-the-guns/)
PIR2: What indicators describe the Alt-Right movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, initiatives, and infighting?
IE: Identity Evropa (IE) activists was busy this week. For Memorial Day IE activists paid homage to U.S. soldiers who have fallen in war by laying flowers at war memorials in 30 different cities across 21 different states. The following is a full breakdown of IE’s activity this week by state and city:
Arkansas: Siloam Springs
California: Chico, San Diego, San Jose
Colorado: Colorado Springs
Florida: Springhill, Youngstown
Illinois: Springfield
Kansas: Fort Dodge
Kentucky: Shelbyville
Louisiana: Baton Rouge, New Orleans
Massachusetts: Boston
Montana: Richfield
Nevada: Las Vegas
New Jersey: Bernardsville, Gladstone, Morristown
Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus
Oklahoma: Durant, Enid
Pennsylvania: Hershey, Philadelphia
Tennessee: Murfeesboro
Texas: Austin*, Dallas
Washington: Spokane
Wisconsin: Marshfield
Wyoming: Rock Springs
Washington D.C.
(Source: https://twitter.com/IdentityEvropa)
PIR3: What are the new indicators of future politically related violence?
01 JUNE: Get Lit with Literature: A Fundraiser for Inside Books Project — Austin, Texas (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/188500988464366/)
01 JUNE: Rally to #EndFamilySeparation — Austin, Texas (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/382156862288618/)
02 JUNE: Abolish ICE protests at ICE Field Offices Across the US (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/1958748074435499/)
03 JUNE: Tiny’s Freedom March hosted by Patriot Prayer, Portland, Oregon (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/391782791328655/?ti=icl&__mref=mb)
03 JUNE: Call to Resist Patriot Prayer Bringing Nazis to Portland (Source: https://rosecityantifa.org/articles/call-to-action-june-3-2018/)
09 JUNE: Counter-protest against Patriot Prayer’s Rally against Planned Parenthood, Kent, WA
(Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/kent-wa-call-to-defend-planned-parenthood-from-patriot-prayer-june-9th/)
09 JUNE: Black Women’s March — Sacramento, California (Source: https://www.facebook.com/BlackLivesMatterSac/posts/2073326962944146)
11 JUNE: International Day of Solidarity (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/one-month-til-june-11th-some-ideas-for-solidarity/)
11 JUNE: Benefit: The Gentleman Bankrobber — Austin, Texas (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/142334156622237/)
18 JUNE: Letter Writing to Incarcerated Sex Workers — Austin, Texas (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/611601782549568/)
19 JUNE: Juneteenth Mobilization Against Prison Slavery (https://itsgoingdown.org/call-for-a-juneteenth2018-mobilization-against-prison-slavery/)
19 JUNE: (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/juneteenth-capture-the-flag/)
20 JUNE: Anarchist Black Cross Volunteer Night — Austin, Texas (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/231439370954899/)
04 JULY: Day of Action in Memory of Dan and Spit, Las Vegas, Nevada (Source: https://twitter.com/afainatl/status/989568441597202437)
PIR4: What is the current threat index score for the Alt-Left movement?
Indicators of Revolutionary Activity
Strong Indications: 7
Weak Indications: 6
No/Negligible Indications: 7
We remain at 13 total indicators, and there’s been no change in the last week.
Culture War Roll-Up
WOMAN: A group called the Worldwide Organization of Metalheads Against Racist Nazis (WOMAN), which is made up of over two dozen metal bands, has released a compilation album featuring 32 “antifascist and antiracist songs from metal bands worldwide.” (Source: https://blackeneddeath.bandcamp.com/album/worldwide-organization-of-metalheads-against-nazis)
Proud Boys: The Proud Boys have started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to support UK activist Tommy Robinson, who was arrested on Friday, 25 May 2018. According to the fundraisers description by the fraternal organization, “Tommy Robinson, a free speech activist in the United Kingdom, was arrested in late May by a government who has abandoned the right of free speech and freedom of the press. In response, we are raising funds to equip the Trump Unity Bridge (trumpunitybridge.com) with the words ‘FREE TOMMY’.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/ProudBoysInternational/posts/225950641334231)