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
Twitter: A member of Antifa tweeted calling for members of the violent political group to “help stop Trump’s dragging us unto fascism” [sic] by disrupting and shutting down President Trump’s military parade en-route if and when it occurs. (Source: https://twitter.com/ArrestTrumpNow3/status/968510963497558019)
Anonymous: The Twitter account @anonyInfo announced that they had taken over a the subdomain for the website of the group Act For America. Act For America is a nonprofit origination that battles the threat of Islam in America. According to the website Unicorn Riot, the website has “been defaced, and reads: ‘This page has been hacked by @AnonyInfo.’ The hacked page tells visitors to enter the password ‘FuckNazis’ to then proceed to another page which contains various imagery associated with the Anonymous hacktivist movement, as well as messages such as ‘Good Night White Pride’ and ‘Do Not Tolerate White Supremacist Domestic Terrorism.'” (Source: https://www.unicornriot.ninja/2018/anti-muslim-group-act-america-hacked-anonymous/)
Black Lives Matter: According to the Chicago Tribune, America has proved once again that black lives do not matter. This is due to the positive mainstream media coverage and praise of the students around the country who are protesting for more gun-control; meanwhile, African-Americans who protest against police brutality in the Black Lives Matter movement are either ignored or falsely labelled as a violent and hateful organization. An article in the Chicago Tribune titled “As Country Listens to Florida Teens, Black Lives Matter Youths Feel Ignored,” says that, “When they were protesting in the streets of cities across America, much of the country didn’t bother to listen to their message. They were not embraced by the mainstream for their bravery, their determination or resolve to bring attention to reckless police killings that disproportionately impact young African-Americans…. We should all applaud these teens for having the guts to stand up to lawmakers in the way that adults have failed to for far too long. We stand with them in the struggle to make our schools and our nation safer from mass killers who strike indiscriminately with semi-automatic weapons. But shouldn’t we also pay attention when young people express their pain and frustration over the violent killings of unarmed African-American children and adults at the hands of unscrupulous police officers?” (Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/glanton/ct-met-florida-teens-black-lives-matter-dahleen-glanton-20180223-story.html)
Black Lives Matter: Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, has reportedly kickstarted the, “next fight for Black power.” Garza launched a new organization called “Black Futures Lab,” which according to her website is “a vehicle for Black people to build independent political power for Black communities.” The news website Color Lines, which provides investigative analysis of events from the perspective of people of color, is reporting that the organizations first program is the “Black Census Project, an effort to connect with 200,000 Black people living in 20 states and the nation’s capital about the issues that impact their daily lives.”(Source: https://www.colorlines.com/articles/alicia-garza-launches-new-organization-harness-black-political-power) (Source: https://aliciagarza.com/work/projects/bfl/) (Analyst Comment: This could be an example of a ‘shadow government’ whereby de facto local governments attempt to supersede legitimate local, state, and federal governments, and it’s another indicator of potential domestic conflict. – MS)
Antifa: Antifascists have prevented Taake, a Norwegian heavy metal band, from going on tour in the U.S.. According to the Daily Caller, “Antifa members reportedly threatened venues where Taake was performing. Antifa members also appear to have threatened concertgoers and individuals involved in the production of Taake’s shows.” According to Antifa, Taake is a Nazi band because Hoest, the band’s frontman, “once donned a painted swastika on his chest at one performance in Germany in 2007.” (Source: http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/28/antifa-is-violently-threatening-norwegian-heavy-metal-bands-now/)
Facebook: The Anarchists United Facebook page made a post reminding its followers to be careful on social media so that they do not get doxxed. The post warned against users using their real name and having public photos of themselves, and to be weary of what they share on their page. The group also asked its followers to be cautious about what they comment on fascist pages. (Source: https://www.facebook.com/anarchistsunited/posts/994725637342242)
East Coast
West Virginia: Far-left protestors took to the trees in West Virginia to prevent the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) from continuing their preparation for a horizontal drill pad on Peters Mountain. In a blog post the protestors stated that, “We know that resource extraction and the exploitation inherent to it is not new to Appalachia—it’s scarred into the land. We stand in solidarity with all those who have fought for their communities and against corporate greed. We recognize that the struggle we continue today began in 1492. Our struggle against these pipelines remains a struggle against settler-colonialism.” (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/tree-sit-launched-path-mountain-valley-pipeline-wv/)
Washington DC: In a video in regards to the protest of the “A Night For Freedom” event that Mike Cernovich and other right-wing celebrities attended on Saturday, the executive director of One People’s Project, Daryle L. Jenkins, stated that, “We’ve achieved the goal for tonight. We just wanted to be here. We did achieve the goal. The only thing we wanted to do was have a presence. I mean, like I said, we wasn’t out here trying to get in fisticuffs or anything like that. We wanted to confront. We wanted to engage, and to simply say ‘this won’t be tolerated.’ That’s all we wanted to do. And we did that.” (Source: https://twitter.com/RealAlexRubi/status/967581288084529152/video/1)
Washington DC: A video posted on Twitter by Mike Cernovich, taken by News 2 Share Reports, depicts antifascist protestors outside of the “A Night For Freedom” event chanting things like “The revolution has come, it’s time to pick up a gun” and “You want a red pill, how about a lead pill. (Source: https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/968707111583612928)
Washington DC: A group of civil rights activists were arrested outside of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office on Tuesday in Washington DC. The activists held a protest demanding that Congress provide a path to citizenship for black immigrants brought into the U.S. illegally at a young age. The protest was organized by UndocuBlack Network, which according to their website is a “multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people.” According to Newsweek, the civil rights activists planned to hold a sit-in, however Speaker Ryan would not open up his office to the group. This led to the capitol police arriving, which led to the protestors being escorted out of the building and detained. (Source: http://www.newsweek.com/black-undocumented-immigrants-daca-tps-paul-ryan-congress-822222) (Source: http://undocublack.org/)
Midwest
Michigan: Alt-Right leader Richard Spencer is set to arrive at Michigan State on Monday, and antifascists are promising resistance. Antifascist News reports that, “On March 5th, 2018, Spencer will be speaking at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education, on the southern edge of the campus. The choice to hold it at this facility on the outskirts of campus seems to be a method by the administration to hold back the inevitable conflict between antifascists and white nationalists in attendance.” According to a Facebook organizing group, antifascists expect a large turnout: “Spencer’s March 5th event will likely draw a large crowd of white nationalists and neo-Nazis, especially considering there is an Alt Right conference nearby in Detroit on March 4th.” (https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/01/29/white-supremacist-richard-spencer-will-speak-in-metro-detroit-in-march) It’s Going Down has a good run down of protest times and locations. (https://itsgoingdown.org/updates-mass-mobilization-richard-spencer-march-5th/)
Southeast
Appalachia: Alt-Left groups like Redneck Revolt and the Holler Network are organizing communities to take back Appalachia, and turn “Trump Country” into a Leftist stronghold. The Holler Network, an Appalachian Leftist resistance organization, recently asked for help from more urban organizations, saying: “Appalachia as ‘Trump country’ is a convenient narrative so reporters in their comfortable liberal enclaves can place blame elsewhere rather than acknowledge the white supremacy that runs through this entire country. We are fighting. Stop wagging fingers and start fighting with us”. (https://twitter.com/HollerNetwork/status/969389533321203712) In response, @AnarchoJudaism, who has a hammer and sickle in his Twitter handle, responded: “I’ve seen far more antifascists in Appalachia than in places like DC and California. Appalachian Antifascists also are more militant, Ive found, which makes me more attracted to them”. (https://twitter.com/AnarchoJudaism/status/969417857946783744)
West Coast
Seattle: Activists protesting a new youth jail facility blocked traffic in front of King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office. A video shows the protestors locking arms in the middle of the road chanting “Go tell Dow, end the jail now.” (Source: https://twitter.com/ArsalaiH/status/969667363581804544) (Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/protesters-of-youth-jail-block-4th-avenue-and-james-street-in-seattle/)
J20: Supporters for those facing charges from protesting on J20 in 2017 are embarking on a west coast solidarity tour this month to “raise support for political awareness.” Major cities where events are being held include Seattle and Olympia, Washington, Portland and Eugene, Oregon, Sacramento, San Fransisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego, California, and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. (Source: https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/969694578310832129) (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/west-coast-j20-solidarity-tour-march-3rd-18th/)
Southwest
Austin: The Twitter account for Revolutionary Student Front (RSF) has been permanently suspended. The violent communist group posted on Facebook announcing the suspension, “Twitter has indefinitely suspended our account @RSF_ATX and gave us no reason for this ban, which is being appealed. Meanwhile, dozens of fascist individuals and organizations still have their social media yet Twitter does nothing about them.” In a later post, RSF announced that their account would not be reinstated and that they had created a new account, “We expect our Twitter account will not be restored on the grounds that we are breaking their Terms of Service by “promoting violence against a group of people [capitalists]”. If you are on Twitter, please follow our new account at @RSF_Austin and share our content around so we can get back to normal functioning.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/RSFAustin/posts/1372780556160588) (Source: https://www.facebook.com/RSFAustin/posts/1372883319483645)
Austin: The radical communist group Revolutionary Student Front is holding community self-defense training every Saturday in the month of March. According to their Facebook page, “These classes include training in physical fitness as well as techniques for individual self-defense in an effort to build up people’s capacity for creating better fighting anti-fascist and proletarian feminist movements. The event will include several instructors, including non-men, so as much individualized instruction can take place as possible.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/1853970547967412/)
Austin: The twitter account of the Austin chapter of Autonomous Student Network tweeted out an idea thread which included a possible student strike against the University of Texas at Austin. The reasoning for this strike, according to the student group, is that “UT only cares about keeping students of color in line so they can take their money and use their presence on campus to prove how “diverse” UT is w/o doing anything to actually protect them.” The student group also complained about the lack of power and resources that they have, “Let’s face it, we’ll never have the resources or institutional power that frats, white students, and zionists have to influence UT decisions. Our power is in refusing our assigned roles, disrupting “business as usual” on campus, and shutting shit down when it keeps us down.” (Source: https://twitter.com/ASN_Austin/status/969593222493364225)
PIR2: What indicators describe the Alt-Right movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, initiatives, and infighting?
Oregon: Joey Gibson, the leader of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, has announced that he is running for U.S. Senate. The 34 year old, former high school football coach, turned political leader, claims that he wants to rail against the “rigged and broken” political system and start a conservative revolution in the Pacific Northwest. According to Oregon Live, Gibson’s political demonstrations attract “white nationalists and others who promote racist or bigoted views, though Gibson has publicly denounced such individuals and their beliefs.” (Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2018/02/patriot_prayer_leader_joey_gib.html)
Michigan: Identity Evropa recently dropped a banner in Dearborn, Michigan. According to the group, the banner was in protest of the cities ongoing “Islamization,” depicted Muslims in niqab’s, and read, “DANGER, SHARIA CITY AHEAD.” (Source: https://twitter.com/IdentityEvropa/status/968684667036684289)
PIR3: What are the new indicators of future politically-related violence?
03 MAR: Black Lives Matter Houston: March For Black Women celebrating black sisterhood
04 MAR: March 4 Trump, Vancouver, Washington
04 MAR: Defend The Northwest Against Communist Hate
05 MAR: Alt-Right leader Richard Spencer scheduled to speak at Michigan State
10 MAR: Revolutionary Student Front Community Self-Defense Class
14 MAR: National School Walkout hosted by Women’s March
16-18 MAR: MAGACON 2018
17 MAR: CopWatch Orientation hosted by Black Lives Matter Sacramento
17 MAR: Revolutionary Student Front Community Self-Defense Class
24 MAR: Revolutionary Student Front Community Self-Defense Class
24 MAR: March For Our Lives: Boston
24 MAR: Defend The 2nd Amendment Rally: Boston
20 APR: National High School Walk-Out For Anti-Gun Violence
PIR4: What is the current threat index score for the Alt-Left movement?
Indicators of Revolutionary Activity
Strong Indications: 7
Weak Indications: 5
No/Negligible Indications: 8
We remain at 12/20 total indicators, and there’s been no change in the last week.
Culture War Roll-Up
NRA: Gun-control advocates are boycotting companies with ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA) in order to pressure the businesses into cutting ties with the organization. Major companies such as Amazon, Apple, FedEx, Hotel Planner, Roku, and YouTube are just a few examples of the companies being boycotted. FedEx and Hotel Planner both offer discounts to NRA members, while Amazon and Apple offer streaming services where you can watch the NRA channel and NRATV. In response to the boycotting, the NRA has stated that “Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.” (Source: http://time.com/money/5176783/nra-boycott-fedex-amazon-apple-gun-control-youtube/)(Source: https://twitter.com/NRA/status/967556725283966977)
NBA: The Golden State Warriors, who won the 2017 NBA championship, are visiting children from one of the team’s star players’ old neighborhood instead of visiting the White House. In response to this, President Trump tweeted saying that “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” and withdrew the customary invitation. (Source: https://www.theroot.com/golden-state-warriors-wont-visit-white-house-instead-t-1823357113)
Florida: Florida lawmakers recently passed a amendment that will allow educators to carry firearms. In response to this, Florida State Senator Oscar Braynon stated that “the talk” he gave his two young children would need to be updated. The senator also said that “It bothers me to think, as a father of two young boys, to tell them to not be aggressive to your teacher… Please don’t make it dangerous for children who look like my children to go to school.” He and other African-Americans around the country have expressed their discomfort with educators carrying firearms in school. In an article by The Root, the author claims that “It isn’t difficult to imagine what could happen in a high school classroom when an armed teacher, however “well-intentioned,” anticipates challenging or dangerous behavior from a black student. For that matter, how do we expect our students to behave knowing that their teachers are armed?” Writer and corresponder Ashley Nicole Black stated on Twitter that “All I can picture is every racist teacher who lashed out at me verbally or physically over the years and what would have happened if that person had a gun?” (Source: https://www.theroot.com/the-gun-laws-moving-forward-in-the-florida-legislature-1823357500)
National: In response to the recent school shooting in Florida, Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods have both raised the age required to buy a gun from 18 to 21. Walmart also announced that it would no longer be selling any guns that resemble assault-rifle style weapons, which includes airlift guns and other toys. Dick’s also announced that they would no longer be selling assault-style rifles of any kind or high capacity drum magazines. According to the New York Times, in an interview Edward Stack, the chief executive and son of the founder of Dick’s Sporting Goods, stated that “When we saw what happened in Parkland, we were so disturbed and upset….We love these kids and their rallying cry, ‘Enough is enough.’ It got to us…. We’re going to take a stand and step up and tell people our view and, hopefully, bring people along into the conversation.” (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/walmart-and-dicks-major-gun-retailers-will-tighten-rules-on-guns-they-sell.html)
National: The militia group the Oath Keepers announced an official call to action for it’s members to serve as voluntary armed guards at schools across the country to prevent mass shootings. Meanwhile, President Trump has called for teachers to be provided with firearms and training so that they can defend themselves and their students from shooters. Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the National Education Association, responded to this saying, “Bringing more guns into our schools does nothing to protect our students and educators from gun violence. Our students need more books, art and music programs, nurses and school counselors; they do not need more guns in their classrooms.” (Source: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/oath-keepers-webinar-parkland-student-activists-enemy) (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/02/27/a-citizen-militia-hopes-it-can-stop-shootings-by-posting-armed-volunteers-outside-each-school/?utm_term=.4ebad7869aff)