Alt-Observer Weekly Summary for 14 September 2018 – Forward Observer

Alt-Observer Weekly Summary for 14 September 2018

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 Intelligence 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?

PIR1: What indicators describe the Alt-Left movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, initiatives, and infighting?

National

Antifa: A 2016 poster published by Itsgoingdown.org is re-circulating again that superimposes President Trump’s picture over the words “Make the Guillotine Red Again.” (Source: https://itsgoingdown.org/make-guillotine-red-anti-trump-poster/)

 Linda Sarsour: Linda Sarsour was arrested along with 20 other protestors who were at Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate Confirmation hearings on Tuesday.  Linda sat quietly amongst a group of protestors until the hearing was called to order and almost immediately, she began her disruption by screaming about how confirming Brett Kavanaugh would mean overturning Roe V. Wade.  She was quickly removed and later seen roaming the senate building later in the day. (Source: https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/09/04/womens-march-leader-linda-sarsour-arrested-at-kavanaugh-hearing/)

Antifa International: Antifa International is conducting a recruiting drive in an attempt to generate new campus chapters, worldwide.  In their announcement, they provide consulting, guidance and resources to help those interested in getting established at whatever school they’re attending.  What stands out about this recruiting drive is that Antifa selected a seemingly innocuous picture of a small girl holding an Antifa flyer and don’t specifically mention any age restriction leaving people to believe they want to recruit those as young as possible.  (Source: https://antifainternational.tumblr.com/post/177734724634/start-an-antifa-student-club)

RAM: The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement (RAM), known as a violent far left militant group, recently posted a celebratory tweet in commemorating the anniversary of the assassination of President William McKinley.  September 6, 2018 was the 117th Anniversary of McKinley’s assassination by Anarchist/Terrorist Leon Czolgosz and the tweet ended with the hashtag “it’s going down” (#IGD) known to be a far-left call to action since the group is known for openly advocating for the assassination of President Trump.  As of September 10, the tweet is still up, and the account has not been suspended.  (Source: https://twitter.com/thebasebk/status/1037791358222827522)

East Coast

West Virginia: West Virginia IWW Tweeted a reminder this week that the IWW does not organize the working class as a voting block, but to “take control of their workplace.” The account also stated that “Politicians won’t save us. An organized working class, taking control of the workplace, can.” (Source: https://twitter.com/WestVirginiaIWW/status/1040220970093559808)

New York: Black Lives Matter Ithaca (BLMI) held a rally in front of the Office of Human Rights in Ithaca, New York on Tuesday, September 11, to “increase community awareness about OHR and attempt to preserve the office following threats that it will be defunded.” According The Ithacan, around 30 protestors rallies at the OHR and listened to speakers from the BLMI movement. In an interview, BLMI speaker Russel Rickford discussed the establishment of a county-level OHR in order to protect human rights and stated that “The Office of Human Rights is in many ways connected to the struggle for civil rights and the black freedom struggle…. We have human rights not just because we are citizens in a society or that we are present in a particular society, but we have human rights by virtue of the fact that we are born and that we are human beings.” (Source: https://theithacan.org/news/black-lives-matter-holds-rally-for-the-office-of-human-rights/)

Southeast

North Carolina: University Professor Dwayne Dixon, of Durham N.C. was arrested and charged with simple assault stemming from an August 20th Antifa led protest where the group toppled a confederate statue known as “Silent Sam.” Dixon, an Asian Studies Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and leader in the group “Redneck Revolt,” is believed to have assaulted a journalist covering the protest.

Additionally, University Police at UNC-Chapel Hill arrested and charged another 18 individuals for their actions in the protest that later turned violent when Police moved in and demanded Antifa members remove their masks and disperse. Ironically, Antifa had later that night been celebrating this protest as a “victory” over Police and the “4 Neo Nazis” in attendance. (Source: https://www.wral.com/unc-professor-facing-assault-charge-from-night-silent-sam-was-toppled/17821291/)

Louisiana: The Twitter account for the Louisiana-based pipeline protest group Leau Est La Vie Camp, tweeted a list of “secondary targets” for protestors to take action against for the upcoming #StrikeDownETP day of action on 18 September, 2018. In the tweet the radical environmental Alt-Left group stated that protestors can “target ANY of these institutions that support Energy Transfer Partners,” with a link to a list of financiers and major shareholders for ETP. Notable ETP financiers listed for targeting include Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. Notable major shareholders listed for targeting include Alps Advisors, the Bank of Montreal, Harvest Fund Advisors, and Neuberger Berman Group. (Source: https://twitter.com/NoBayouBridge/status/1040336180779393025) (Source: https://www.nobayoubridge.global/secondary)

Mid-West

Indiana: The Twitter account @AntiRacistInIndiana tweeted that “comrades” are on the ground in Asheville, North Carolina to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Florence. In the tweet the anti-racist account stated that “folks are prepping to start rolling to the coast with relief supplies, relief workers and medics as soon as the worst danger passes…. We’ll be sending crews frequently, starting this weekend and continuing for as long as necessary. We need financial help to make this happen!! Thank you!!!” The account also tweeted that Firestorm Books in Asheville will be accepting all donations until postal services resume with a link to the fundraiser on GoFundMe. As of 14 September, 2018, the fundraiser has received $80 of it’s $2000 goal. According to the bookstore’s Wikipedia, Firestorm Books is a “worker-owned and self-managed “anti-capitalist business” located in the “West Asheville” section of Asheville, North Carolina, USA. Named after the Firestorm, this infoshop operates with an eye on creating a sustainable, radical community event space.” (Source: https://twitter.com/574Antifa/status/1040579445143298048) (Source: https://www.gofundme.com/mutual-aid-relief-supplies-nc) (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestorm_Cafe_%26_Books)

Mountain West

Wyoming: The Laramie, WY Republican Headquarters was vandalized in the early morning hours of September 6th.  It appears that the people responsible for the vandalism smashed a first floor window and then threw an incendiary device through the window. Damage was minimal and the fire was quickly contained and police have not identified any suspects although the investigation has just begun. Local residents expressed shock since Wyoming is largely a GOP stronghold. The City of Laramie is the County Seat and has a population of about 30,000 residents. (Source: http://laramielive.com/?p=328325)

West Coast

California: On Sunday, September 9, 2018, Republican congressional candidate Rudy Peters was attacked at an election booth in Castro Valley, California by a man who witnesses say had been making “disparaging remarks about the GOP and elected officials.” Authorities say 35 year old Farzad Vincent Fazeli threatened Peters and attempted to stab him with a switchblade. Fazeli has since been charged with a felony count of making criminal threats, as well as misdemeanor counts of possessing a switchblade and exhibiting a deadly weapon. According to SFGate, no one was seriously injured in the attack. In an interview, Peters stated that previous to the attack, Fazeli raised his middle finger and was screaming “F— Trump, f— Trump!”. Peters then said that Fazeli grabbed a cup of coffee from a nearby table and threw it at him, which caused Peters to “come around the table and grab him.” Peters claims that once he threw Fazeli to the ground, he got back up, pulled out a switchblade and began screaming “I’m gonna kill you, motherf—er!”, but Fazeli could not get the switchblade to open. Peters stated that Fazeli then fled the scene and officials announced shortly thereafter that he had been detained at a nearby bank. When asked how he felt about the attack, Peters said “People are just polarized right now, and this country’s divided and it’s just a mess. It shouldn’t be that way.” (Source: https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Castro-Valley-festival-stab-attempted-rudy-peters-13221444.php)

Oregon: The PNW Youth Liberation Front Twitter account tweeted a video this week of Portland, Oregon police confronting and violently arresting alleged “peaceful protestors” who were protesting prison slavery. Video of the confrontation shows the protestors repeatedly screaming “f— you!” at the police as they arrested a few of their “comrades.” Toward the end of the video an officer can be heard telling the protestors that they cannot possess weapons. (Source: https://twitter.com/PNWYLF/status/1040474659878133761)

Southwest

Texas: A white, off-duty Dallas Police Officer has been charged with Manslaughter after she shot an unarmed black man who she mistakenly believed to be in her apartment last Thursday. Officer Amber Guyger, a 4 year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, returned home after her shift and believed she had caught 26 year old Botham Shem Jean in the midst of burglarizing her apartment.  However, after a brief verbal exchange and before Officer Guyger realized she was in the wrong apartment, she opened fire on Jean who died of his wounds. This situation will be of interest in how it develops because Officer Guyger had been cleared in another on-duty shooting last year and the group Black Lives Matter is beginning to mobilize for protests. (Source: https://twitter.com/shaunking/status/1038128986440835073)


PIR2: What indicators describe the Alt-Right movement’s strength, capabilities, sentiment, and capabilities?

Alt-Right Map: A Twitter account user named Megan Squire (@MeganSquire0), tweeted out an updated version of her interactive “campus racist flyer map,” which pinpoints every campus in the U.S. where racist or fascist groups have put up flyers or held demonstrations. As of September 14, 2018, the Mao includes 124 college campuses across 35 states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska. New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In addition to mapping out the locations of the campuses where Alt-Right groups have been active, the Mao also details which groups were responsible. Alt-Right groups included  in the map include Identity Evropa, Patriot Front, Vanguard America, Traditionalist Workers Party, Operation Homeland and Patriots of Appalachia. (Source: https://twitter.com/MeganSquire0/status/1040316919008698374) (Source: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1DMB67TLsA-sVjxRmLVrJnPqKWZ7dJd8D&hl=en&ll=46.48008583702346%2C-110.35512089999997&z=3)

Identity Evropa: Identity Evropa activists put up stickers and distributed propaganda flyers in eight different cities across seven states this week including Phoenix, Arizona, Little Rock and Monticello, Arkansas, San Diego, California, Colorado Springs, Colorado, New Port Richey, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, Billings, Montana, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Powell, Wyoming. (Source: https://twitter.com/IdentityEvropa)


PIR3: What are the new indicators of future politically related violence?

18 SEPT: Strike Down ETP day of action (Source: https://twitter.com/NoBayouBridge/status/1040336180779393025)

22-23 SEPT: 13th Annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair (Source: https://anarchistnews.org/content/13th-annual-victoria-anarchist-bookfair-call-participaiton)

29 SEPT: Leftist Community Night of Progress hosted by North Texas Anarchism and The Trinity River Lookout (Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/245653642762590/)


PIR4: What is the current threat index score for the Alt-Left movement?

Indicators of Revolutionary Activity

Strong Indications: 6

Weak Indications: 7

No/Negligible Indications: 6

We remain at 13 total indicators, and there’s been no change in the last week.

 



Mike Shelby is a former Intelligence NCO and contractor. He's now the CEO of Forward Observer.

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