Antifa Seven Hills https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org Fascists to Ashes, Dust to Dust Wed, 19 Jan 2022 23:46:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.1 Victor Staab – Patriot Front Regional Network Director – Washington D.C. https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2020/01/23/victor-staab-patriot-front-regional-network-director-washington-d-c/ Thu, 23 Jan 2020 03:03:48 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=160 Continue reading "Victor Staab – Patriot Front Regional Network Director – Washington D.C."

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Victor Staab is the “ND” (network director) of Patriot Front’s Washington D.C. Regional Network. He’s been operating with impunity for a while, anonymously growing the local network (NW9) into one of the largest in Patriot Front. So it’s high time he be taken down!

Victor Lee Staab 541 Chestnut Hill Rd, Forest Hill, MD 21050 Born August 1992 5’11”, appx. 210 lbs 443-866-2874 

Victor drives a silver Honda CR-V CX with Maryland plates 5CS0238 – currently sporting an “Abortion is Murder” sticker on the rear bumper
Victor Claims to have been redpilled during “the Obama years” through podcasts and YouTube, beginning his active descent into fascism during Trump’s candidacy while a student at Towson University in Maryland, the same Univserity at which Matthew Heimbach’s meteoric infamy started with the White Student’s Union back in 2012-2013. 
In March 2016, then age 23, Victor was charged for Racial Harrasmant along with First and Second Dedgree Assault when he brandished a firearm and threatened to shoot while shouting epithets at a neighbor. The case ended ‘nol pros’ and was closed. 
That November, Victor was seen on Towson’s campus sporting digi-camo jacket with a large red armband with a “T” for Donald Trump, 14 days after the presidential election. 
 
Patriot Front activity has had a noted increase in Richmond, VA corresponding to the rise of the PF cell in the DC metro to the north. The PF twitter (now on its at least 10th account) has been propagating much of the evidence, with many of the recent photos showing groups sparring and setting banners around Maryland and Northern Virginia, visiting condferate memorials, and culminating December 2019 in an underwhelming nighttime rally in a desolate downtown Richmond, supposedly with members from across the east coast.  Victor has admitted to being present at the 2017 Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, likely with Vanguard America, the precursor to Patriot Front. As he mentions in the post above, Victor had “been waiting YEARS for an organization like [Patriot Front]”, and given his high status within the group, it is likely he’s been a key player in its formation under Thomas Roussaeu, the young Texan leader.  Other key demos Victor may have been present at were anti-sharia in Harrisburg, PA; white sharia in DC; Pikeville, KY; and UTR in Charlottesville
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I’m a Left Wing Anarchist – Guns Aren’t Just for Right-Wingers https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2020/01/20/im-a-left-wing-anarchist-guns-arent-just-for-right-wingers/ Mon, 20 Jan 2020 14:53:11 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=156 Continue reading "I’m a Left Wing Anarchist – Guns Aren’t Just for Right-Wingers"

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The long, forgotten history of pro-gun left-wing groups.

By Kim Kelly (July 2019)

Originally published on Vox

Printable Zine – Guns Arent Just for Right-Wingers

 

Right-wingers have held an unearned monopoly on gun culture for too long. Whether it’s in the halls of legislative power or in the comments under “gun bunny” photos on Instagram, there is a prevailing narrative that pegs guns and armed self-defense exclusively to Republicans, racist libertarians, and other generally Constitution-obsessed weirdos. It maintains that those on the left want to take away everyone’s guns and swathe the entire country in bubble wrap. But I’m an anarchist, and I call bullshit.

I’m of the firm opinion that it’s time to not only arm the left but challenge the narrative that all leftists are anti-gun. Many are, and that’s a position I can understand and respect. But there is also a long history of armed community self-defense among the radical left that is often glossed over or forgotten entirely in favor of the Fox News-friendly narrative that all liberals hate guns. That’s simply not the case — though as history has proven, the only thing that scares the reactionary right more than the idea of losing their guns is the thought of us having them.

I grew up with guns, and my familiarity with them is a big part of why l view things the way I do. My family hunts for sustenance, and gun safety was taught to me before I was tall enough to see over my dad’s workbench. I can understand why people who weren’t raised around them would view firearms with fear and loathing, but for me, a gun in the hands of someone I trust is a comforting sight, because I know the power it holds.

When I was in Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting the Unite the Right rally in 2017, the only time I truly felt safe was when members of Redneck Revolt — a working-class, anti-fascist, anti-racist armed community defense group — showed up open-carrying and secured the park where a number of us were gathered. The police may have stood by and done nothing as a neo-Nazi murdered one of us, but Redneck Revolt was there to offer protection — and the fascists steered clear of that park because of it.

In Stone Mountain, Georgia, when a group of us marched through the streets to celebrate the cancellation of a Klan rally on February 2, we were accompanied by local activists with rifles and ARs slung over their shoulders; the police kept their distance, which was an extraordinary sight for someone used to New York City’s ultra-aggressive, hyper-militarized NYPD. As the black militant liberation group the Black Panthers showed back in the 1960s, as the Zapatistas showed in the ’90s, and as anarchists in New Orleans showed during the aftermath of Katrina, when cops and other fascists see that they’re not the only ones packing, the balance of power shifts, and they tend to reconsider their tactics.

To be honest, the thought of a world in which the state and their running dogs are the only entities with access to firearms sends a shudder down my spine.

Leftist gun ownership is about protecting marginalized communities

Not everyone should have access to guns — domestic abusers, for example, have proven by their actions that they cannot be trusted with that kind of responsibility — and not everyone needs it. No one without a significant amount of training should be handling a firearm at all, which is why I think designated community patrols made up of well-trained, highly trusted individuals who are chosen by and held accountable to said community (and who do not hold any or less power than anyone else due to their position) is a far better and more equitable defense model than messy “everyone gets a gun!” rhetoric.

I’m also not interested in creating a parallel cultural universe wherein balaclava-clad “gun bunnies” pose for the ’gram (I’d much rather shore up support for Rojava’s all-women YPG Women’s Defense Unit). I’m interested in reclaiming the notion of armed self-defense from those who have long used it as a cudgel to repress dissent and terrorize marginalized communities, and emphasizing its potential as a transformative tool toward collective liberation.

There is a long history of leftist gun ownership, and a concurrent theme of state repression against it. As author and anarchist scott crow notes, “our current gun control laws disproportionately hobble poor communities and communities of color.” As far as the state is concerned, black people were never meant to own guns at all; the Second Amendment was intended in part as a means of controlling the enslaved black population and suppressing possible uprisings.

That sentiment has proven to have quite a bit of staying power. In 1967, the Black Panthers staged an armed demonstration on the steps of the California state courthouse and launched an occupation in protest of the Mulford Act, which banned open carry in the state. Said law was written by a Republican Assembly member in response to the Panthers’ cop-watching “police patrols”; shortly after the protest, state legislators rushed to enact tougher gun control laws, with the full support of Republican President Ronald Reagan and the National Rifle Association.

In a stark contrast to its current bloodthirsty propagandizing, the NRA was once a firm proponent of gun control, and was a key component of the passage of 1934’s National Firearms Act, which imposed restrictions on machine guns. That began to change in the 1960s; the NRA continued to support gun control, but its members — who had begun buying guns more for protection than for hunting — started to protest. The shift crystallized in 1977 with the ascent of Harlon Carter, a former immigration agent who’d killed a Mexican teenagerin his youth and went on to shape what still fraudulently insists on referring to itself as “the oldest civil rights organization in the country” in his racist image.

Now the NRA’s insistence that it fights for the civil rights of legal gun owners rings hollow. Lest we forget, Philando Castile — a legal gun owner — was still killed by cops, inches from his partner and child. He’d informed them that he was carrying, and it proved to be a death sentence.

With that, as well as the endless extrajudicial killings of black people by cops in this country in mind, some may wonder how anyone can responsibly suggest that more guns are the answer. I defer to the work of groups like the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, the now-defunct Black Women’s Defense League (who approached the issue through a black feminist lens), and Denver’s Brothas Against Racist Cops (BARC), who frame gun ownership as a civil rights issue and emphasize the need to protect their communities from those who wish them harm. As BWDL organizer Niecee X told Vice in 2017, “At the end of the day, we have a common goal, and that common goal is ultimately liberation, but at the very least the well-being and safety of our sisters.”

We can’t depend on the police to protect us

Marginalized communities know best how to keep themselves safe; depending on law enforcement to protect them from racist and fascist attacks is a losing strategy (especially considering how often that particular call is coming from inside the house). “The problem is guns, bullets come from guns,” BARC founder Eric Randall told the Guardian in 2016. “But the main problem is who is holding the damn gun. No one had a problem with people killing us until we started arming ourselves.”

I don’t have all the answers, but the bare fact of the matter here is that violent right-wing extremism is a continuing threat that has been allowed to spread unabated in this country — a country that is itself rooted in the oppression of people of color. The police will not protect us; neither will the military, or well-meaning liberals, or your favorite oh-so-progressive politicians. It is not in their interest to do so, and recognizing that is imperative to the survival of those who reject this vile status quo.

The way that leftists engage with the subject of firearms, conflict, and power within our own communities needs to shift toward a place where guns are considered just another tool in our struggle for collective liberation, not the sole focus. Until we live in a world with no police, no military, and no state, we’re at the mercy of all three — and I, at least, don’t think it’s fair to expect us to confront them empty-handed.

Kim Kelly is a freelance writer and labor organizer whose writing on labor, politics, and culture has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the New Republic, Teen Vogue, the Pacific Standard, and many other publications.

 

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Known Fascists & Sympathizers – Richmond Jan 20 https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2020/01/18/known-fascists-sympathizers-richmond-jan-20/ https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2020/01/18/known-fascists-sympathizers-richmond-jan-20/#comments Sat, 18 Jan 2020 05:32:03 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=135 Continue reading "Known Fascists & Sympathizers – Richmond Jan 20"

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Below is a rogues gallery of assorted fascists, racists, and their sympathizers that are expected or have a high potential to be in Richmond, VA during the gun lobby day on January 20th.

This is for informational purposes only. Individuals listed range from sensationalist media, militia/”boogaloo” talking heads, III%ers, to Proud Boys, and straight up fascists.

This list is in no way all-inclusive or comprehensive.

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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In Response to VICE News: “Why This Antifa Group Is Siding With Thousands of Pro-Gun Conservatives In Virginia” https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2020/01/18/in-response-to-vice-news-why-this-antifa-group-is-siding-with-thousands-of-pro-gun-conservatives-in-virginia/ https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2020/01/18/in-response-to-vice-news-why-this-antifa-group-is-siding-with-thousands-of-pro-gun-conservatives-in-virginia/#comments Sat, 18 Jan 2020 03:12:01 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=137 Continue reading "In Response to VICE News: “Why This Antifa Group Is Siding With Thousands of Pro-Gun Conservatives In Virginia”"

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There has been some understandable confusion and concern raised by an article published by Vice News yesterday. We are releasing this statement now to clarify our intentions for the interview.
 
We have spent the past day attempting to get the author and editors to amend the article to more accurately reflect what was discussed. They took great liberties in the piece that do not accurately portray our intentions. Their response has been poor and shows a lack of understanding or care for the seriousness of what is at hand.
 
Many folks have read this article, or possibly just the headline, and come to the conclusion that we are choosing to march with Neo-Nazis and Klansmen on Monday. This was and never will be the case. We are forever in opposition to these groups.
 
It is our group’s stated mission to keep these groups from having footholds in Richmond and beyond. There are many racists and fascists planning on attending “2A lobby day rally” on January 20th, at a steadily increasing rate since this bill emerged in November. We anticipated their efforts to recruit from the 2A movement, as has already been happening, and saw this as an important point to intervene since we oppose this legislation. We recognize how many in the movement, especially due to the projections of law enforcement, bear extreme prejudice towards Richmond and its residents, in the equation of “Democratic strongholds.” We understand the many racist, homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic remarks that abound in the river of online comments on these issues.  Reading through and digesting these conversations is a reality of the work we engage in. We see it as our place to endure this, to be able to peer further into the void. In no way does this mean we seek to make alliances with those who wish violence and terror upon those most vulnerable.
 
In considering how to deter their recruitment and nullify their ability to harm folks lobbying or otherwise going about their business, we recognized that the VCDL was drawing lines in the sand on optics, and trying to distance themselves from other issues and symbols like the Confederate battle flag. As the event gained traction, it was clear from sources like 4chan, Reddit, Facebook and others that there were a range of dispositions, but that open fascists were largely not wanted.
 
We believed it was a sound strategy to give those who expressed this the information, tools, and opportunity to ostracize these elements from the demonstration to increase our capacity. In this way they would be easily identified and tracked. We think it is vital to de-platform and stem fascist and Nazi recruitment wherever possible and saw this as an important point to intervene. In addition, the impact that Nazi violence would undoubtedly have on surrounding vulnerable communities who are often the primary target of fascists, intervening between racists and more vulnerable groups remained a primary goal. This was the reason for any considered attendance. Up until this point, it is a strategy that has been well-engaged with on and offline over the past few weeks
 
We made a decision in the very beginning that we did not want to be fulfilling the trope expected by either side. That we did not want to be the militant element that defends a Democratic institution that will and always betrays us. We felt an inherent expectation that “antifa” would blindly rush in to protest, and become a convenient excuse for the state’s inevitable poor response. Too many times have we fought and seen our efforts, and the efforts of so many grassroots activists, recuperated into a Blue strategy. We refuse to be used as media pawns by Democrats and Republicans alike. 
Yet are committed to keeping our community safe, to the best of our abilities. Rather than decide to continue to be excluded from any political dialogue, we began to clarify our opposition to these measures. We felt it important to point out that the left is just more complex than the new governing majority and the figurehead of Ralph Northam. That there are many not represented who want to retain the tools for self-defense without a greater risk, or pretense for state repression as much of this legislation seeks to do
 
As a recognizable face of antifascist action and militant leftism in Richmond, we received messages and inquiries about our stance from other left-leaning or unaffiliated folks who also felt lost in this conversation. We felt it important to signal to others who do not fit cleanly into the polarization that is happening. We have multiple statements on our Facebook page speaking to this dated well before the Vice interview. 
 
We never indicated we were attending as a group, nor did we make any call to action for folks to engage in the way that is being purported. We have monitored this situation closely for weeks and found it to be increasingly dangerous. We spoke to the fact that several leftist gun groups are coming as they’ve stated so publicly. We only spoke to opportunities of counter-recruitment for libertarian and rural folks who don’t normally have access to leftist armed positions and of which the far right intends to recruit from. Many of these same folks have been disgusted to hear of white nationalist planned attendance and vowed to help us get rid of that element. We never announced what capacity we planned on attending and wouldn’t readily make statements like that for an extremely tense situation where the terrain changes daily. We certainly never said we would march with the far right, nor did we ever say we would march at all. These points are conjecture and misinterpretation that follow the same narrative polarization we have been working against. The writer took liberties to indicate in both the title and picture (which is not from Virginia) that we would arrive in black bloc to march alongside conservatives without regard to the fascist element, which is simply not the case.
 
We understand that mass violence and shootings are an issue among our society. Most of these incidents are in direct relation to the work we engage in trying to stamp out white supremacist violence, recruitment, and organizing. We spoke to this in our hour-long interview, but our focus on white supremacy, misogyny, and capitalist individualism as root causes of this that we aim to challenge were not mentioned. From our perspective, these legislative measures do not address the causes of violence.
Arguably, they address the mechanism.
 
We also see from years of research, observation, and anecdotal experience, that these pieces of legislation open up more doors to repression. This is a point of concern for us directly, as all levels of government have shown their ire towards anarchists and antifascists for years, and this has only increased as of late. We know this is not just due to a profession of our politics, but based on real demonstrations of solidarity, and a clear effort at augmenting marginalized people’s power, and not the government. These moments are when we come into conflict with the state.
 
This rings true for many other political dissidents and change-makers. But it would be a selfish concern if it did not recognize the greater damage it can do to folks outside of the arena of political struggle. In a state without parole, where our rate of incarceration exceeds that of most the nation, and Project Exile statutes dictate an automatic 5-year sentence for possession of drugs and a firearm- we can see this as yet another way in which mass incarceration of black and brown folks will be reinforced. These are not issues that we speak to as a means of political detail, but ones that we have engaged head-on in material organizing, and supported others in their efforts. We try to use our platform to share resources and ideas, and make connections towards a more unified opposition of these atrocities.
  
The idea that we are “finding more in common with working class whites was language chosen by the author. In our perspective, the working class is a global one, that is predominantly black and brown. We have only ever used the language of the broader working class, and how gun control serves to weaken our defense positions. We understand how this could lead to feelings of betrayal, that we are somehow stepping away from aligning ourselves with marginalized communities. We are not. Our efforts have been with more vulnerable folks in mind. We have always embraced an intersectional politics and approach to organizing. We have learned this directly from our POC elders and mentors. We work with folks across the state, in rural areas and in cities, supporting struggles from anti-gentrification, prison abolition, pipeline resistance and environmental defense, abortion access, worker’s rights, police violence, food access, transportation, housing, and beyond.
 
What this article could not have spoken to was our efforts behind the scenes to work with black and brown folks who intended to lobby on Monday to ensure their safety. This was a topic we intentionally avoided. We also made clear to fellow organizers our other efforts in regards to the 2A rally, and seemed to have mutual understanding of the approach. Though some of the programming may have been public, we believe it would have jeopardized their safety to discuss that we were involved, or point to their events in any way. All of this programming has unfortunately now been canceled to due increasing threats to their safety
 
It has been and continues to be an issue for us that the many important wins that can be had in the legislature, in this moment of political shift, have taken the backseat to the gun debate. While we strongly believe that opponents across either side of the gun issue are to blame for points of escalation, we also recognize Northam’s role in this as a vehicle for him to regain trust in his base. While some celebrate the state’s response in preventing “another Charlottesville”, an analogy that we still find it difficult to reconcile, we believe that pushing the event off Capitol grounds has only increased the dangers presented to Richmonders.
 
We urge folks not to work with this writer or Vice, and we were naive to think we would be given responsible or fair reporting. Despite our reasonable request, she refused to give us questions ahead of the interview; something we often ask for to avoid “gotcha journalism.”  We will henceforth only be working with trusted outlets that seek to print narratives as they are written or spoken to. We shared this piece written by comrades that was published by It’s Going Down with her as well, but were informed that depsite being well-written, Vice doesn’t publish op-ed’s. We should have known we were dealing with the devil after the poor coverage of “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville August 12th 2017. They continued to platform fascist organizers even after massive outcry from their viewership. The outlet was, is, and will remain sensational- its language, focus, and presentation dictated by the ruling class.
 
We will work to get active threats out to the community as we get and verify them. We will never know all the threats but we will do our best to keep a watchful eye. We are not a vanguard force, and rely on the contributions of our community and comrades to be effective. 
We will use everything at our disposal to defend our neighborhoods in the event that fascists decide to move offensively. Our hope is that instead this moment will transpire in whatever peace is left.
 
We are deeply sorry to our allies that this article scared or angered. Especially if it seems as though we were going to march alongside Neonazis or fascists. We would never do that and our intention is to only ever expose and expel them to the best of our ability. We hope that our prior words and actions speak to this, and that good faith can be assumed in us, especially in moments where we cannot afford transparency.
We are always available to talk, and we encourage you to reach out. Only some of you may know our faces, but all of you have our ears.
 
Love and Rage
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The FBI is a Racket and a Menace https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/09/28/the-fbi-is-a-racket-and-a-menace/ Sat, 28 Sep 2019 18:23:54 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=115 Continue reading "The FBI is a Racket and a Menace"

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History and commentary on RICO, the Federal Government’s Most Weaponized Litigation Tool
by GSO Legal Defense
Republished via Broken Window Press

 

Conspiracy charges are convenient for police and feds Because They Do not require Authorities to prove did any actual illegal activity Took place, only shared intent. In regard did, and they ‘re ideal weapon to wield against ideologically based communities; They are, in other words, entrusted with the organization and activists. “

-Jeff Change, author of Can not Stop, Will not Stop

 

note: Broken Window has kept the original text intact, with minor edits for future updates, and has added several items to the RICO timeline. The intent and spirit of the original text which is integral to this publisher’s understanding of political solidarity in the legal system at the time, and in the current context of late 2019 it Seemed Appropriate to release a 2 nd edition.

Readable PDF Version –  FBI is a Racket and a Menace

Printable PDF Version – FBI is a Racket and a Menace

 

FOREWORD

The writers of this zine never wanted to become RICO experts. Before December 2011, our knowledge extended to Ricans of the Coco and Suave variety, and not much beyond. We got kidnapped by federal law enforcers and locked up without bail.

We’ve been doing hand in hand on the indictment that the paramilitary goon squad (known to the citizens of our fair city as the Safe Streets Task Force) had shoved in their back pocket as they abducted Latin Kings in Greensboro. They were being charged with RICO. We learned what they did not do our dudes: drawings, hats, beads, clothes, letters. It struck us as funny at the time – what a bunch of bozos these feds are, they are not drugs or money to take, just a crayon drawing of a lion and a black & yellow Steeler’s jersey! Surely this is just another frivolous harassment, writ large – but now, seven years later, the same men are still in jail.

Why? Because RICO prosecutions do not necessarily need body bags or packs of coffee to delete a free life. RICO is a unique, potent, and highly evolved litigation tool. It criminalizes thought, intention, and circumstance. So a drawing or a wardrobe with a certain chromatic character suddenly becomes damning under RICO.

When RICO hit in court, we got a sense of just how slimy and conniving RICO is. Dismissed charges are exhumed for their relevance in a federal jurisdiction. Surveillance technology places you where organized criminals are understood to be. Informant shed light where the eye can not see. Plea bargainers confirm the structure of the enterprise and nobly seek truth; Perhaps, incidentally, they will be exonerated or given reduced time. Testifying cops help corroborate shaky narratives. “Experts” shit all over everything. And prosecutors wants brandish shiny weapons no one ever used.

What RICO amounts to the crime of (already) being (determined) criminal. It’s dangerous because its pre-emptive – Minority Report has styled a futurist version of that fear, American military leaders have bogged down by linear time by retaliating preemptively. It is because of its autonomous self-organized, affinity-based relationships in private organizations.

It’s slimy because it generates signifiers of crime – the old Sicilian gangster, the young black hood, the face-tattooed brown teen – and the reproduces them by wielding them relentlessly as science in front of doughy juries who’ve watched enough gangland to know how to do some civic good: Get a conviction, let em ’em red.

Theres a binary and empirical hysteria surrounding criminals in our society. If you’re not good, you’re evil; if you’re not innocent, you’re guilty; if you can not earn a living, your income is illegitimate. Hollywood has left us with a psychic allergy to nuance in the representation of criminality. Washington makes it clear that they will not return once they pass a felonious threshold. And Jerusalem, Mecca, Utah, (Equating with repression and urges us to confess our sins to the court) and accepting our consequences with deference.

Has more on the matter. A RICO conviction must contain evidence that a criminal enterprise affected interstate commerce. That’s the government turf. Maybe its a facile to understand things like this. RICO: The Latin Kings and Queens were critically and relentlessly located in Greensboro, United States complaint against the Greensboro Police Department to the Department of Justice. Maybe unrelatedly, the GPD’s Gang Unit disbanded after the specter of Greensboro’s “violent gang problem” which was revealed as smoke and mirrors, and so there was a risk that some cops would put out of work. Rumor has it that the GSO pigs had to petition the Feds at least three times to get them to agree to bring the case down. December 6thth , 2011, the day of the raid, the Safe Streets Task Force was awarded more than $ 50,000 by Greensboro’s city council. The way the FBI behaves certainly feels like a racket. They make the rules out of their way, stacking papers the whole way.

Conspiracies rule everything around us. They can entrap us or embolden – depending on who’s theorizing and who’s targeted. Paranoia can generalize and grow like a cancer in our communities, pointing to “outsiders” and fighting over legitimacy. Or we can refuse to allow the state-sanctioned conspiracy theories to which we have come to cover, we can continue to freely associate and do what we need and demand to transform our current conditions.

INTRODUCTION

RICO stands for the Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 USC . § 1962), and what enacted in 1970th

LBJ during the early formative stages of post-scare America that begat COINTELPRO & The War on Drugs under Nixon. RICO What a form of legislation that could contribute to the interference and disruption of both criminal and non-criminal groups.

RICO must be “construed liberally to effectuate its remedial purpose”. In other words, when there is a question about what counts as RICO, the courts usually wants to defer to a more inclusive definition. This in turn, allowed for RICO to become a powerful & aggressive tool for prosecutors.

Congress explicitly designed Congress’ Commerce Clause powers. In other words, there is always an economic component to RICO violations. It is understood that it is rational and necessary.

RICO & conspiracy to commit racketeering. The act exists in criminal and civil forms. RICO batch, you can still be confused with RICO conspiracy.

Image result for court

RICO CONSPIRACY

In a single objective conspiracy. Unlike the General Conspiracy Statute, RICO Conspiracy requires no overt or specific act to be taken in a forward-looking manner.

To be prosecuted for RICO conspiracy, the government has all the details of unlawful enterprise or number of identities of all the co-conspirators, as long as there is evidence from which a jury could reasonably infer in a manner in a total objective of conspiracy. Still, conspirators are liable for the acts of their co-conspirators as long as they share a common purpose.

Moreover, RICO conspiracy need not be proved through direct evidence; the government can establish itself by circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence is evidence that follows from “probable conclusion from the circumstances.”

A predicate act is something you do for the purpose of carrying out a crime later. This can include minor crimes like theft or intimidation, or non-crimes like talking about committing a crime. As long as someone has committed two acts that share the same results, results, participants, victims, other methods of commission, or are otherwise interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events, then they can count as predicate acts and thus RICO charge, and conspiracy can count as one of the acts If it sounds redundant, it’s by design: RICO has been called “The Crime of Being Criminal”).

SUBSTANTIVE RICO

There are five elements of a substantive RICO violation. The government must show:

  1. an enterprise existed;
  1. the enterprise involved in its activities affected interstate commerce;
  2. the defendant was employed by or was associated with the enterprise;
  3. the defendant conducted or acted in the conduct of the enterprise;
  4. through a pattern of racketeering activity.
  1. La Cosa Nostra (the Italian Mafia) and other crime syndicates of that type. The enterprise need not be a “legitimate business” or a form of organization sanctioned by state law. In US v. Turkette , (1981) the definition was broadened. It effectively called for a “common sense” to be used in a criminal course of conduct.
  2. The second criteria, ‘Interstate Commerce’ is a controversial once, one which has attempted to make it extremely difficult. In US v. Nascimento (2007), The Court of Justice (2007); There are many cases in which the interstate commerce component becomes the crucial aspect of the case. See the case timeline below for more details.
  3. The third criteria is being employed by or associated with that racketeering enterprise. As mentioned above, groups without strict organization can still “employ” the services of associates. The matter of ‘association-in-fact’ deals with categorizing any incidental or impromptu grouping of people endeavoring to commit.
  4. The Fourth Criteria for the conduct of the racketeering enterprise, which in some cases means discussing crimes or bragging about doing them, whether or not they ever actually occurred.
  5. The fifth term requires proof of a ‘pattern’, which is the result of a term of office. This is particularly easy to prove, since, as mentioned in US. Nascimento, one act can be a crime (in this case shooting someone), and the second act can be conspiring to commit that crime (and the court is allowed to draw on that in a criminal enterprise to do so more than once but stopped by them). This may seem like the double jeopardy clause that forbids the government from punishing a person twice for the same offense, but the government says you are allowed to punish the same conduct under a single statue if required “requires proof of fact that the other does not “. For more on Double Jeopardy, see Boyle v. US (2008) below.

In the process of becoming violent, it is becoming more and more difficult to get involved in violent gangs, and to “enhance” the severity of their punishments. The courts also respond to the current social environment in their decisions, “The War on Drugs”, “The War on Terrorism”, and other government-generated social “wars” that rely on other archetypes to perpetuate gang hysteria. The US Federal Government has a history of criminalizing the association of people of color.

Many gangs are violent, threatening, destabilizing forces. A robust appreciation for transitional understanding and nuance – understanding how to engage in a process of in-fighting is a product of a long-term government operation to derail self-defense groups in neighborhoods of color. Misunderstanding ‘crime’ to be synonymous with ‘illegitimate’ More or less unbiased and un-absorbed by the machinery of capital. While racism, homophobia, misogyny, etc. do exist in gangs, they do not perpetuate them on superstructural levels.

RICO to unfairly prosecute people who seem like they could be criminals. Just as every RICO prosecution must have an economic component on its face, so too do we believe that there is an economic problem at play here: Generating new jails, new police officers, installing new security technology, spending money on research to continue. The Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (see below) is a recent and obvious example of this,

A SELECTED RICO TIMELINE

14 th Century – Thuggee Gang

Since before 1356, organized gang of professional assassins who traveled across India originate. This is where the term “thugs” originates. The special band or fraternity of thugs would join travelers, gain their confidence, then take them by surprise and strangle them ritualistically before robbing the bodies of valuables and burying them. The thuggees based their actions on a foundation myth in which they consider themselves children of Kali, a Hindu goddess associated with empowerment. According to some historians, the Thuggee Kali and keep her from destroying all humankind believed she had a positive role, saving people ‘s lives by committing a sacred service to placate. Others claim they were wrong and were prejudiced in that respect.

17 th Century – Yakuza

Origin of the Yakuza, the traditional Japanese organized crime syndicate as peddlers of illicit, stolen, or shoddy goods, as well as gamblers, loan sharkers, and other extortionists began structuring their criminal operations and arming themselves. Oicho-kabu, a form of blackjack, in which 8-9-3 or ya-ku-za, is a losing hand. Bakuto, the gamblers of Japan during that era, were viewed with disdain by society at large, and much of the undesirable image of yakuza originates from bakuto.

19 th Century – Early New York City Gangs

The first major gangs to develop in New York City was among ethnic whites, such as the Jewish Eastman Gang and the Irish Whyos. There were thus “nativist” anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys.

Related image
The movie Gangs of New York dramatized the violent nativist Bowery Boys

 

 

Mid-19 th Century – La Cosa Nostra

the Sicilian Mafia, or La Cosa Nostra (Italian for “Our Thing”), a criminal syndicate, emerges in Italy as a response to Sicily’s transition out of feudalism in 1812 and annexation by mainland Italy. Feudal barons steadily sold their rented lands to private citizens, and the law enforcement once left to private armies dissolved in an informal criminal hierarchy, a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct.

1920s-1930s – Early American Rackets

Depression and prohibition bring about first organized crime laws. Some bootleggers, speakeasy runners, extortionists, bank robbers, and other criminals do their part in organized crime, otherwise know as racquets. People running or being involved in these activities become gangsters. The best-known racket is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from work in exchange for the service of “protection” against crimes that the racketeers themselves instigate if unpaid. Other types of rackets like illegal bribery, gambling, and sexual exploitation, for example, so exist.

1927 – Racketeering

The term “racketeering” was co-authored by the Employer’s Association of Chicago in June 1927 in a statement about the influence of organized crime in the Teamsters union.

1946 – 18 USC § 1951

Also known as the Hobbs Act, the federal statute prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. So proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without reference to the conspiracy statute. Early anti-racketeering law for labor-management disputes, frequently employed cases involving public corruption, commercial disputes, and labor unions.

1946- Pinkerton v. Chr. US

Pinkerton’s rule is a guilty of all the crimes of a group of conspirators.

1947- US v. Walsh

The vitamin in interstate commerce; Supreme Court stated that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 seeks to keep people free of charge; SC said that any transaction that concerns a business engaged in interstate commerce, commerce may act on.

1960s – Young Lords 

The radical Puerto Rican nationalist group, the Young Lords, originates in Chicago. Other neighborhood-specific gangs of youth and people of color develop, some as petty crime syndicates and some as a means of informal protection against racist police and the people they serve and protect.

1966 – Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was founded by Huey P. Newton, the non-violent rhetoric espoused by other civil rights leaders The BPP becomes the primary target of the COINTELPRO and is systematically dismantled over the decades made by the FBI on its most prominent and influential members and leaders.

1970s – Medellin Family Cartel

The group, based out of Medellin, Colombia and famously led by Pablo Escobar, spreads throughout South and Central America, is the most successful drug racket is history.

1970 – Organized Crime Control Act

Direct Predecessor of RICO. Sets up the way ‘organized crime’ is officially understood in the US Based on La Cosa Nostra. Among other things, it says:

“The congress finds that (1) organized crime in the US is a highly sophisticated, diversified, and widespread activity of the yearly drains billions of dollars from America’s economy by unlawful conduct and the illegal use of force, fraud, and corruption; (2) organized crime derives a large portion of its benefits through illegal gambling, loan sharking, theft and fencing of property, the importation and distribution of narcotics and other dangerous drugs, and other forms of social exploitation ; (3) corrupt and legitimate business and laboratory corruption; (4) organized crime activities in the United States weaken the stability of the nation’s economic system;

1970 – 18 USC § 1968

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is signed into law.

1979 – Sonny Barger

Sonny Barger with the Hell’s Angels

Barger, leader of the California motorcycle club The Hell’s Angels, beat RICO by claiming the charges level against him would not be national, and that the government failed to prove that it was part of a club’s policy, and could not come up with any incriminating minutes from meetings.

1980 – Frank Tieri

Genovese crime family boss Frank “Funzi” Tieri was the first Mafia boss to be convicted under RICO.

1981 – US v. Turkette (Supreme Court)

Ruling expands RICO from infiltrators of legitimate businesses to perpetrators of wholly illegitimate businesses; proof of a pattern of racketeering activity a jury to infer the existence of an association-in-fact enterprise (which is, simply, a continuing unit that functions with a common purpose, which does not necessarily have to have a hierarchical structure or a chain of command: “no needs to be fixed”, “no group name”, “regular set”, “established rules”, “disciplinary proceedings” or “induction ceremony ceremonies” : (1) a purpose (2) relationships among those associated with the enterprise & (3) longevity sufficient to enable those associates to pursue the enterprise purpose).

1984 – 18 USC § 1959

The Violent Crimes in Aid of Organized Crime Act (VICAR) which was designed to supplement RICO, substantially similar to RICO in scope and content, and may be used in addition to RICO. Among other things, it criminalizes:

“Whoever, as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for, engaged in racketeering activity, murders, kidnaps, maims, assaults with a dangerous weapon, commits assault resulting in serious Bodily injury upon, or threatens to commit a crime of any kind in violation of the laws of any State or the United States, or attempts to punish or conspire. “

Federal Senate Report states that in the Federal Government’s case the federal government is heavily involved in the activities of organized criminal enterprises, and the fact that the FBI’s experience and network of informants and intelligence with respect to such enterprises will often facilitate might be stymied. Murder, kidnapping, and assault violate State law, and the States want to have an important role to play in many cases.

Joe Pistone aka Donnie Brasco - a federal mafia infiltrator in 70's-80's, led to 100 convictions
Joe Pistone aka Donnie Brasco – a federal mafia infiltrator in 70’s-80’s, led to 100 convictions

1984 – Key West Police

The Key West Police Department in Florida was declared a criminal enterprise under the federal RICO statues after a lengthy US Department of Justice investigation. Several high-ranking officers of the department, including Deputy Police Chief Raymon Cassamayor, were arrested on federal charges of illegal cocaine smugglers. At trial, a witness testified he routinely delivered bags of cocaine to the Deputy Chief’s office at City Hall.

1988 – US v. Perholtz (DC Circuit Court of Appeals)

RICO for sophisticated racketeers but even more for ‘the artless’ non-corporate goons; essence of criminal enterprise what the means by which companies were formed and take public; The existence of enterprise could be inferred from the proof of a pattern of racketeering acts.

1991 – US v. Farmer (7 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

Interstate commerce nexus of RICO was satisfied where cocaine was flown directly from South America to Illinois and where drug scales in Illinois were manufactured in New Jersey. De minimis test established.

1994 – NOW v. Scheidler (Supreme Court)

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is a coalition of anti-abortion groups called the Pro-Life Action Network (PLAN) under RICO. NOW Alleged that Scheidler and other anti-abortion protesters were members in a nationwide conspiracy to obstruct women’s access to abortion clinics through a pattern of racketeering activity including the actual or implied threat of violence. The District Court dismissed the suit, holding that the voluntary contributions were not able to do so. The Court of Appeals affirmed and the Supreme Court granted certiorari. The unanimous court detrimentally “affect interstate or foreign commerce”, satisfying the RICO definition of a racketeering enterprise. An RICO act (in other words, RICO could apply to enterprises without economic motives) to “enterprise” does not have to be an economic organization. Consequently, the Court reversed the appeals.

1994 – Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act (VCLEA)

Congress passes the largest crime bill in the history of the US at 356 pages. It provides for 100,000 new police officers, $ 9.7 billion in funding for prisons, and $ 6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs, which were designed with significant input from senior police officers. Originally written by then-Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (now former Vice President and 2020 Democratic nominee hopeful). This act came in the wake of the 101 California Street Shoot (in which Gian Luigi Ferri shot and killed 8 people and himself), the 1993 Waco Siege (a 51-day ATF & FBI slaughter in which 82 men, women, and children were The victims were members of the Davidian Church, by David Koresh, legally possessed a cache of firearms for self-defense. reports of automatic gunfire, and the possible manufacture of a machine gun, which is the reason cited for the surprise raid. There were later allegations of amphetamine production, sexual abuse and misconduct tacked retroactively to discredit the Davidians), and other high-profile instances of violent crime.

The Assault Weapons Ban Criminalizing possession of semi-automatic firearms and other weapons classified as “Assault Weapons”, large-quantity ammunition magazines, a Federal Death Penalty Act Terrorism, the murder of a federal law enforcement officer, drug trafficking, drive-by shootings resulting in death, death in death, and carjackings resulting in death) (Notably, Timothy McVeigh, responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing , What was completed under this title in 2001), Elimination of Inmate Education, a controversial provision that overturned a section of the Higher Education Action of 1965 (which permitted prison inmates to receive a Pell Grant for postsecondary education while incarcerated,A Violence Against Women Act allocating $ 1.6 trillion to “help prevent and investigate violence against women, renewed in 2000 and 2005.

The act also initiates “boot camps” for delinquent minors, helping to institutionalize the mindset of minors and to perpetuate the criminalization of youth in general. In addition, 50 new federal offenses were drafted, including commissions making membership in gangs a crime. Some argued that these provisions violated the guarantee of freedom of association in the Bill of Rights. Serving on federal supervised release.

1995 – US v. Lopez (Supreme Court)

Supreme Court has eschewed expanding the scope of Congress’s legislative authority under the Commerce clause after Lopez ; gun statute on school grounds had nothing to do with commerce or any sort of econ enterprise; nor was the statute an essential part of a larger regulation of economic activity. This case does not seem to be an intrastate activity is commercial or noncommercial. See glossary for court’s ID of 3 categories re US v. Farmer .

1995 – US v. Wilkerson (4 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

Wilkerson exculpatory explanation about how he obtained bail money in a bank robbery case. Court allows for the denial of cross examination – rules do not provide exception for self-serving, exculpatory statement made by a party. But admissions by a party-opponent are not considered hearsay and therefore can be against this party, including inculpatory statements.

1995 – National Youth Gang Center

NYGC funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. In 2009, the NYGC merged with the NGC, a partnership designed to consolidate resources and leverage them.

1997 – US v. Davidson (8 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

Rather than being a series of ad-hoc, a consistent pattern of robberies, numbers and varieties of crimes is being promulgated, and is currently under construction relationships “. Broadening the criteria constituting criminal enterprise association under RICO.

1997 – Salinas v. US (Supreme Court)

Mario Salinas, a sheriff’s deputy, was involved in a scheme in which he assisted the sheriff in allowing a prisoner “contact visits” (aka conjugal visits) to exchange for money and goods. Salinas did not accept or agree with these two cases, and that they did not agree with each other Salinas’ RICO conspiracy conviction. Established a precedent it suffices that a conspirator adopt the goal of furthering or facilitating the criminal endeavor; defendants do not have to be aware or willing to commit predicate acts; just maintained criminal organization that did crimes;

1997 – Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS)

RISSNET is a network to interconnect many local, state, regional, and tribal law enforcement databases. In 2002, RISSNET was connected to the FBI’s Law Enforcement Online System, and in 2003, the official backbone for all unclassified but sensitive criminal intelligence data traffic. As part of the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (NCISP), RISSNET is connected to the Automated Trusted Information Exchange (ATIX) database, which contains information on homeland security and terrorist threats. RISSNET came out under an information-sharing initiative championed by the International Associations of Police Chiefs (IACP), the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization of police executives, with more than 20,

1999 – US v. Frega (9 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

The defendants, including attorney and state court judges, were convicted of misappropriating and sentencing to death in RICO. In 1991, Jim Williams and Patrick Frega, an attorney, disbursed over $ 100,000 in bribes to former California Superior Court Judges Michael Greer, James Malkus, and Dennis Adams, or members of their families. When the California Commission on Judicial Performance was opened, the Frega and the Judges created a coverup by adding or altering the connection between Frega and judges. They were later charged with RICO conspiracy based on the allegation that Frega and accomplices conspired to participate in the affairs of the Superior Court through a pattern of bribery and extortion.

2000 – Jones v. US (Supreme Court)

The defendant tossed a molotov cocktail inside a home and occupies it as a dwelling place for its own and which is not used for commercial purposes. The court ruled that the defendant could not be convicted of federal arson crime because it did not have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. The case was about substantial effect on commerce and rejected a broad arson statute. It also referenced Lopez & the constitutional avoidance doctrine.

2000 – US v. Morrison (Supreme Court)

A freshman student at Virginia Tech was assassinated and raped by Antonio Morrison and James Crawford, members of the school’s football team. School conducted hearings on the survivor’s complaint found that Morrison admitted having sexual contact with her despite the fact that she had twice told him “no”. College proceedings failed to punish the two men, and later a state grand jury did not find sufficient evidence to charge one man with a crime. The survivor then filed suit under the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) of 1994 that gendered motivated violence is the right to sue their attackers in federal court because of gender-motivated crimes are not economic activity. Demonstrated Lopezcould be extended to remove cash flow from commerce clause power, we need not adopt a categorical rule against aggregating the effects of any noneconomic activity in order to decide these cases. An acutely unfortunate outcome for the rape and sexual assault survivor, but a meaningful precedent set in limiting the power of the federal courts to regulate noneconomic activity.

2003 – Scheidler v. NOW (Supreme Court)

The court overturns the 1994 case (see above) and says the application of RICO there was over-broad and could not apply to the noneconomic activity of PLAN, the anti-abortion activists; finds that non-economic violence does not violate RICO. Finalized in appeal in 2006.

2003 – National Gang Center

NGC funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and operated by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research on behalf of the US Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. According to their web site, the NGC uses strategies of “prevention, intervention, suppression, and follow-through”, and “provides technical assistance and training to communities that are multi-strategy approaches to their transition problem”. The center also trains state, federal, and tribal criminal justice.

2004 – US v. Waucaush (6 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

Indictment alleged that the Cash Flow Posse in Detroit was a violent street gang that had an unknown frequency at an unknown point in time, and had violated RICO by murdering and conspiring to murder two rival gang members. The government argued that CFP intrastate acts of violence because the murder of rival gang members prevented them from selling drugs, but the court held that fact to be the requisite effect on interstate commerce. The court held that where the enterprise did not engage in economic activity, a minimal effect on commerce will not do. The government has substantial effects on interstate commerce. This case cites Jones v. US (2000) .

2004 – US v. Crenshaw (8 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

After a shooting incident in St. Paul’s Minnesota involving the 60’s Crushing and the Bogus Boys Davis Brantley-Gillum, defendants Keith Crenshaw, Timothy McGruder, and Kamil Johnson were convicted in the death of 4-year-old aid for life without release. The holding referred to Turkettecriteria, finding that the Rolling 60s Crips constituted an association-in-fact enterprise, without discussing the evidence of the enterprise and the pattern of activity may coalesce. CITES § 1959, concerning violent crimes in. (Substantiv,. The crimes involved in the RICO enterprises represent one method for Congress aid of racketeering activity, only requires that the ENTERPRISE be engaged in or affect interstate commerce, not that the murder must do so).

2005 – Gonzalez v. Chr. Raich (US Supreme Court)

The court held that Congress could regulate intrastate economic activity if it were seen as part of a larger regulatory scheme; a broad interpretation of the Clause of the Constitution. California State Law (the Compassionate Use Act, which was authorized by the DEA under the Controlled Substances Act). RICO cases Because the court presupposes / essentializes “street gangs” as the interstate in reach and economic in motivation, RICO indictments for anybody. (Cf. The North Carolina Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation (NC ALKQN),The New Jim Crow .

2005 – National Gang Intelligence Center

The NGIC is established as a multi-agency effort that integrates the transitional intelligence assets of federal, state and local law enforcement entities to serve as a centralized intelligence resource for transitional information and analytical support.

2006 – US v. Olson (7 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

Evidence of a single enterprise was not [legally spoiled] by a change in the leadership of the enterprise, a subset of the Milwaukee chapter of the Latin Kings; provides for a local autonomy and allows a regional leader to have a clear understanding of what’s going on in local specific chapters.

The Kail Kings may have splintered for a time that is irrelevant to the continuing overall structure of the Milwaukee Chapter  . Olson , 450 F.3d 655, 668 (7th Cir., 2006)

2006 – Operation Down Crown

Tampa, Florida Latin Kings arrested in connection with RICO conspiracy charges, named after a “Operation Down Crown”, coordinated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Tampa Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office, the FBI, ICE, and the ATF. In 2008, Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Daniel Sleet throws out RICO charges against 23 defendants in the investigation of the suspected Tampa faction of the Latin Kings. Tampa Kings are not going to meet that they were arrested for attending. Essentially Agosto, the informant, invented the crimes and manufactured the conspiracy. (Cf December 2011 Raid of NC ALKQN).

2007 – US v. Nascimento (1 st Circuit Court of Appeals)

The alleged RICO enterprise consisted of a violent street gang, Stonehurst, that was active in the mid-90s in Boston, and alleged the defendants had committed nearly two dozen murders and assaults with intent to murder members of a rival street gang. The enterprise, as in Waucaush, which is not involved in economic activity. The court said Stonehurst constituted an enterprise where its members had shared goals, a cache of firearms, self-identified as belonging to an organization, pooled and shared resources, Stonehurst was not motivated, but its activities did not result in violence. The court held that the constitutional avoidance doctrine was misapplied inUS v. Waucaush (2004) , and RICO requires only a de minimis effect on interstate commerce in all cases. This case cites Gonzales v. Raich (2005) & US v. Lopez (1995) .

2007 – Magnum v. Archdiocese of Philadelphia (3 rd Circuit Court of Appeals)

Rejected civil RICO claim alleging that the Catholic Church had covered incidents of sexual abuse by priests; no injury to business pursuits; physical or emotional harm to a person is not property under civil RICO, and losses are not property under RICO.

2008 – Boyle v. US (Supreme Court)

Edmund Boyle of New York, convicted of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, bank burglary, bank burglary conspiracy, and attempted bank burglary and sentenced to 151 months imprisonment. He appealed, arguing that the government’s case against him was factually contradictory: in his trial, the robbery was in the act of the Boyle Crew enterprise, but in a previous case had been charged with the robbery was the act of the New Springfield Boys enterprise. The district court said Boyle’s Fifth Amendment due process had not been violated because “nothing dictates that a single crime can not be committed by two enterprises working together, each in the furtherance of its own interest”.

Boyle was an associate of the Gambino Crime Family

The Supreme Court, on appeal, does not need to show connections between the enterprises beyond what is apparent in the criminal activity itself. Boyle solicited a review of the case, which happened in December 2011. The reason for the successive prosecutions violate the Double Jeopardy Clause where the offenses are the subject of both prosecutions and “are the same in fact and in law”; so, when a defendant is prosecuted twice for RICO violations, there is no double jeopardy problem unless the racketeering enterprise and the pattern of racketeering elements are the same in both prosecutions.

The court, disagreeing with Boyle’s claims to the contrary, found that (1) theenterprise and the pattern of activity proved in the case of the Eastern District Trial (negating his claim of double jeopardy), and that (2) “the scope of the charges charged in the case of the case in the Eastern District.” (negating their claim that the two patterns of racketeering activity were the same). So the court affirmed the previous prosecution, and RICO’s scope remained exceptionally broad.

2009 – Anti-I-69 protests

In Bloomington, IN, there were RICO charges brought against Gina “Tiga” Wertz and Hugh Farrell , and other activists who protested the development of I-69, at Interstate Highway that would decode indigenous ecological systems. The racketeering charges stemmed from alleged participation in office evictions, confrontations, conversion (unauthorized use of someone else’s property), corrupt business influence (racketeering) and threats to law enforcement officials who removed to EarthFirst! roadblock tree-sit platform in the proposed I-69 path.

The “conspiracy” allegedly culminated with “an internet blog on public internet sites to search officers and officials ‘you will suffer the consequences’ and ‘maybe we will go into your homes'”. The prosecutor thus mentioned Farrell “has been observed advocating literature and materials which advocate anarchy, property destruction, and violence”. In early March 2010 the judge dismissed the felony racketeering charge, which left four misdemeanors that carried a maximum sentence of four years. The defendants worked out a plea bargain and got 2 years unsupervised probation. This, in concert with other search “eco-terrorism” enhancement prosecution sets a dangers folks who are white and who label their associations as ‘social-justice’

2010 – US v. Ayala (4 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

In a case arising out of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), there is no evidence that the double-dealing problem arises with the prosecution of a violation of the VICAR statute (a) (5), and larger racketeering conspiracy charged under RICO, because Congress intended to conspiracy and racketeering conspiracy to be distinct offenses.

2011 – Greensboro, NC ALKQN Raid – US Cornell

A home was raided by a team called the “Safe Streets Task Force,” the Greensboro Police Department (GPD), an FBI agent, and a fully armed and armored FBI elite tactical unit, complete with assault rifles and helmets. The US Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice, The US Marshall, the DEA, and the ATF were all involved in the raid.

Jorge Cornell (aka King J), the Inca (leader) of the North Carolina Almighty Latin King and Queen (ALKQN) and several other members of the ALKQN were arrested at the home and elsewhere. King J has established himself as a Community Leader in Greensboro, running twice for City Council, brokering a peace treaty among local gangs and street organizations, calling for a Title IV Investigation in the GPD, being an active member of the School Safety Board for the district where his / her daughter attended school, partnering with local clergy and civil rights leaders to foster and environment among empathy and pride among black & brown youth to discourage criminality, 

King J of NC ALKQN during 2008 call for inter-transition peace talks

As in all RICO cases, a strong economic correlation is suggested by the facts of the indictment. Cornell from 2008 to 2011 focused on police accountability and reconciliation justice, culminating in a request for the Federal Department of Justice to investigate misconduct within the force. Greensboro City Council meeting that was held soon after. As the gang unit was disbanded, some police personnel lost their jobs, they were created under the commission of the Safe Streets Task Force, and more than $ 60,000 the raid.

Testimony before a Federal Grand Jury, including information provided by informants, led to the raid. The FBI & GPD had been surveying the NC ALKQN and collecting information for a year under the RICO, and have put together a 25-page indictment on the murder, arson, assault, and a laundry list other felonies. About the few years prior to the raid. The GPD Gang Squad has now come to an end in a poorly coordinated attempt to discredit and disband the ALKQN. The other claims are vague and / or unsubstantiated.

In 2013, Cornell was sentenced to 28 years while Russell Kilfoil (King Peaceful), whom the government allegedly acted second-in-command, was sentenced to 15 years. Several others arrested during the raid, Randolph Kilfoil (King Paul) and Irvin Vasquez (King Dice) were both found guilty of racketeering but are both serving out a prior sentence; Wesley Williams (King Bam) took a non-cooperating plea and serving 7 years; Steaphan Acencio-Vasquez (King Leo) so took a non-cooperating pleas and serve time.

Even though some people did not cooperate, the complexity of their policies, and their participation in a racketeer ), still did not lay the crimes at any one’s feet but their own. This is an unfortunate reality within the class society and the industrial justice system.

2012 – US v. Israel Ernesto Palacios (4 th Circuit Court of Appeals)

Palacio (aka Homie) found guilty of RICO in association with La Mara Salvatrucha; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, and other violent crimes. In brief, MS-13 is described as being a transnational gang formed by Salvadoran immigrants in LA in the 1980s that operates via a network of local cliques. These two MS-13 cases represent the deep legitimacy with which federally-funded research is based on street organizations and gangs.

2013 – Cohen v. Trump (US Southern District of California)

Donald Trump of a nationwide scheme to “make tens of millions of dollars by marketing Trump University” without delivering “neither Donald Trump nor a University”. Despite the marketing statements, Trump had virtually no personal involvement in determining the instructors or coursework. In fact, the initial filing states that “instructors were high-pressure salespeople hired as independent contractors and paid on a commission basis”. Trump University was “unaccredited and unlicensed to operate as an institution of higher learning … provided no degrees, no credits, no licenses, nor anything else of marketable value to student-victims”. In fact, almost immediately after its founding, The New York State Education Department (NYSED) wrote to Trump in 2005 warning him to stop using the name “University” without a license. Shortly after Trump’s presidential election, and about a week before scheduled arguments, a $ 25 million settlement was reached in November 2016 with trump avoiding admission of wrongdoing.

2017 – Energy Transfer Partners v. Greenpeace, EarthFirst !, and John and Jane Doe s

Energy Transfer Partners (DTP) the pipeline company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) filed a series of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

Land and Water Defenders of North Dakota protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline

(SLAPP) and RICO charges against Greenpeace, EF !, and multiple protestors claiming that the defendants were engaged in a conspiracy to defend the public and defend the company, and that defendants were engaged in “illegal enterprise” targeting ETP and its DAPL project , The suit thus alleged that “the Enterprise, through Earth First! And Red Warrior Camp, knowingly funded controlled, directed, and incised acts of terrorism in violation of the US Patriot Act “among other acts, including cyber-attacks.

 

Ultimately, the court dismissed the case in 2019 after a series of procedures

concluding: (1) that enterprise did not exist because of it “would not exist “(Which then impacted the remaining complaints); (2) Greenpeace was not involved in an ongoing organization with other defendants; it did not direct protestors to “perform specific illegal acts or have any control over the protestors”; “Coordinating closely” does not establish a continuing unit; “Donating to people whose cause is support does not create a RICO enterprise”; “RICO enterprise”.

2019 – Sen. Cruz accuses “Antifa” of racketeering

In July 2019, Senator Ted “Zodiac Killer” Cruz of Texas penned to open letter to Attorney General William Barr, Deputy Attorney General Jeffery Rosen, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, calling for the Justice Department and FBI to “open an organized crime investigation into Antifa, a left-wing anarchist terrorist organization that routinely relies on violence to intimidate and punish its political opponents “. Cruz specifically targets Rose City Antifa, alleging violence and property destruction over the previous three years, as well as Willem Van Spronsen (despite not being affiliated with any specific group beyond identifying as an antifascist, a political position) he attacked an ICE center in Tacoma, Washington.

Cruz alleges that that “Antifa” is both an international organization and an enterprise of association-in-fact – but it is questionable . Greenpeace. Cruz alleges racketeering “acts involving robbery or arson” though lacks specific citation, and again argues that “Antifa, especially Rose City Antifa, undertakes these acts in a predictable, continuing pattern … it continues to raise money and recruit members for future violent activities “.

While the FBI or the Department of Justice at this point seeks to have it taken a high level, and downplay of the ultra-violence being disaffected white men (noticeably absent from the letter), an unfortunate symptom of colonial capitalism and white supremacy.

 

 

Afterword

The aim of this article is to present the RICO’s notes on the history of RICO , youth, and other folks alike. It represents a body of research that came in the wake of the Federal and Local Law enforcement raid of Jorge Cornell, Inca of the North Carolina’s Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN). ALKQN members and others, about the true nature of the gang, have read the raid, and were able to read the he and other in the community “Situation in our city. This zine has been co-operated with members of the Jorge Cornell Legal Defense Team. For more about the ALKQN in NC check out Guilty County, a zine distributed by NegateCity and available online. So seeALKQNSupport.wordpress.com for more information on the case studies and plans for support. Most importantly, cross-reference the facts here with your own knowledge and personal experience, research matters for your self, and reach that are your own. So they can make more balanced and well-informed decisions.

After Afterword

Broken Window Press took the republishing of this important text in the light of the political context of the trump administration, the growing state of surveillance driven by the ubiquity of technological devices seemingly everywhere and in everything, and our view of the need for anarchists, autonomists, and other radicals to continue to understand our history. We encourage anyone currently or contemplating engaging in activities did may or may not have legal implications to review A Tilted Guide to Being a Defendant by the Tilted Scales Collective as well as the myriad of security culture / practices / practice (it) (praxi?) resources available, which can be found at ItsGoingDown.org

 

Anti-Copyright 2012, 2019
lol rights reserved. Any part of this article may be reproduced, in part or whole, without prior permission from the publisher.
Ripped and Republished from negatecit (y) Autumn autonomy series # 53
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2 Virginia Police Officers Are Fired Amid Allegations of Links to White Nationalists https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/04/19/2-virginia-police-officers-are-fired-amid-allegations-of-links-to-white-nationalists/ Fri, 19 Apr 2019 17:11:04 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=102 Continue reading "2 Virginia Police Officers Are Fired Amid Allegations of Links to White Nationalists"

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Reposted from the New York Times

By  Karen Zraick

Sgt. Robert A. Stamm of the Virginia Division of Capitol Police was fired this week after an investigation into a report. Credit Credit Virginia Capital Police

 

Two Virginia police officers who worked for different agencies were fired at anti-fascist group this summer.

The first case involved Sgt. Robert A. Tribe of the Virginia Division of Capitol Police, who had been assigned to protests calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to resign  over a yearbook photo  that surfaced in February.

This article was written in February 2008. That sergeant tribe came to his attention because he had a large band-aid covering his neck while patrolling. The sergeant tribe with tattoos, flags and banners that has been used for supremacist symbols and images, said in a blog post.

It also said he was linked to the  Asatru Folk Assembly , which is the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2015, the FBI  foiled a plot  described as followers of extremist variant of  the Asatru faith  to attack black churches and synagogues in the Chesterfield area.

Sergeant Stamm  was released  on Wednesday, Col. Anthony S. Pike, the capitol police chief, announced  in a statement  that the sergeant tribe had been “separated from his employment.” He did not explain what had led to the firing.

In Facebook messages on Thursday night, Mr. Tribe said that he was discriminated against his Asatru religion.

“My religion is not politics, it is faith,” he wrote. “My constitutional rights were violated. Period. “

In the second case, Daniel Morley, a school resource officer, with the Chesterfield County Police Department, which is fired Thursday following an investigation into what is affiliated with the group Identity Evropa, also known as the American Identity Movement. Members of that group helped plan the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally at Charlottesville, Va.,  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center .

Antifa Seven Hills had identified Mr. Morley as a “pledge coordinator” for the group, which recruits on college campuses and elsewhere. Antifa said that Mr. Morley had been responsible for the vetting process and had been a member since 2017.

Mr. Morley was suspended in March. Col. Jeffrey S. Katz, the chief police officer,  wrote on social media  on Thursday that investigators had authenticated the online postings and activities.

Mr. Morley violate county and departmental policy and our organizational values; his continued employment is antithetical to the expectations of our personnel and those we serve, “he wrote.

The anti-fascist group so alleged that Mr. Tribe and Mr. Morley each and every one of them said, “What is it?

Efforts to Mr. Morley on Thursday night were unsuccessful.

 

Jack Begg contributed research.

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Daniel L. Morley – Pledge Coordinator, Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/03/18/daniel-morley-pledge-coordinator-evropa/ https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/03/18/daniel-morley-pledge-coordinator-evropa/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:00:16 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=1 Continue reading "Daniel L. Morley – Pledge Coordinator, Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement"

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Researched with the help of The Queer Crimer


Printable Flyer

Daniel Leas Morley is the Pledge Coordinator for the racist white nationalist group Identity Evropa (now American Identity Movement). Morley is responsible for guiding new applicants through the vetting process and “becoming full members of this great organization”. He has been a member since 2017.

A resident of Chesterfield County, Virginia, Dan fulfilled the family legacy and became a police officer, his current posting as the School Resource Officer at L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield. Dan has moved a lot recently, most recently appears to have been about 4 months ago with his fiance Abbie. His current address unknown.  When not trolling in his CPD squad car, Morley can be seen out on the town in his black/gray 2007 Ford Mustang, license plate BRBRSA.

Primary Handle: @Danimal876

Instagram: @reisende87


 
Seen at IE’s Richmond field trip to the American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar
Executive Director Casey approves Morley’s request to bring his fiance to IE Virginia’s field trip
Comments on Red Pill Forum and Discord linking “Danimal876” to (1) being a police officer that (2) would casually be speaking with a high school principalDan at a 2018 IE action 

Although relatively tight lipped on Discord (only 105 messages posted in over a year), some of Dan’s older comments on websites like TheRedPill  and StormFront  have fermented a bit and lent us some insight into his views. Dan admits to being a White Nationalist and generally keeping in line with typical anti-semitic white supremacist ideology. While in college he demarcates himself as part of the new generation of racists however, promoting a softer approach in propaganda rhetoric and graphics. No wonder that a decade later he would assume a leadership position within an organization of the alt-right cadre.

Dan and his fiance, Abigail Franck are members of the Ealdrice Fellowship. Perhaps too close for coincidence, this is one of the same paganist congregations frequented by Seargent Rob Stamm of the Virginia Capitol Police. As seen in this article and the below network graphic, Dan Morley is positioned in a nexus between multiple Virginia police departments and proto-fascist organizations. This makes him a sensitive, valuable, and potentially dangerous asset embedded within the state for Patrick Casey and the American Identity Movement.

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Samuel James Fredeen, IE’s Virginia Coordinator https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/03/10/samuel-james-fredeen-ies-virginia-coordinator/ Sun, 10 Mar 2019 11:37:39 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=20 Continue reading "Samuel James Fredeen, IE’s Virginia Coordinator"

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Samuel James Fredeen, IE’s Virginia Coordinator

Alias ​​- Sam Anderson, Lawrence Anderson

Address: “shitty college house” in Norfolk silent unknown; pays $ 550 in rent

Family Home: 11700 S Oxbow Court, Fredericksburg, VA (Father, Major Steven Richard Fredeen, USMC)

Age: 23 years old

 

 

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-fredeen-49013017a/ (Deleted Since #IdentifyEvropa Started)

Twitter: @ clausewitz19 (suspended, archive link); @PNehlenwitzberg (suspended)

 

School: Old Dominion University, College of Business, Department o f Information and Decision Sciences

Joined ODU College Republicans in October 2018

Employment: Customer Service at Wawa (February 2017 – Present)

Sam Fredeen, retired USMC major, at just 23 is the lead Virginia Coordinator for Identity Evropa and relishes the role. Based in the Norfolk IE cell, Sam organizes social meet ups and activism for his racist friends across southern Virginia, which includes the Richmond area.

 

Sam joined IE in December 2017, after dipping his toes in the cesspool of the Turning Point USA’s 2017 Student Action Summit in Florida. His white upper class privileges allowed him to travel regularly

 

  • Washington, DC pro-boer rally for nobody


  • The 2018 “Leading Our People Forward” conference in Kentucky and related photo op at the Nashville Parthenon

  • The “Defend the Rockies” event in Denver

  • A trash clean up day in Richmond, VA with other area members; an attempt to sanitize their true racist nature through civic activity.

RVA Mag article

Sam’s “good optics activism” he procured at a Cracker Barrell

Sam is a BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) white belt with 4 stripes. He often rolls with other IE members, including TIDE, another Norfolk resident.

In the Discord server logs recently released by Unicorn Riot, Sam expressed his excitement to be around other racists at the 2019 IE conference. Sam is a chatty user, almost 6,000 messages across several servers. He often ranted on various topics, including deriding his classmates and professors at Old Dominion University for their race or ethnicity, complaining about group projects and readings he was assigned. He also made several comments regarding the “JQ” or “jewish question” and praising alcohol-fueled colonialism and creating genocidal ethnostates.

Childhood photo Sam Anderson posted in Discord. You can see his last name because it is poorly redacted. Reads Fredeen.

 

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Patrick Casey, Executive Director of Identity Evropa https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/02/27/patrick-casey-executive-director-of-identity-evropa/ Wed, 27 Feb 2019 16:41:39 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=25 Continue reading "Patrick Casey, Executive Director of Identity Evropa"

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Patrick Casey, Executive Director

Alias: Steven Bennett, Reinhard Wolff, McLoving

Twitter Profiles: @PatrickCaseyIE, @Contentmancy

UPDATE: Patrick is now living in the Washington DC area with Matt Warner

Lived at 540 Broad St. Harrisonburg, VA

Red Ford Fusion WV DWH529

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harrisonburg Residence (above), Casey’s car outside (below)

 

 

 

 

Seen in Richmond, Virginia

BACKGROUND

Patrick Casey is the third and current Executive Director of Identity Europa. He rose through the ranks of the organization, perhaps out of sheer attrition, being active with the organization since its early days in 2016 when he was a student majoring in Anthropology at San Diego State University in California. Identity Evropa was founded by violent ex-Marine Nathan D’Amigo who became radicalized in prison and was present at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

According to research by Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA):

“[Casey] started thinking about race in 7th grade when he moved from all-white private schooling to a public school (oh the horror) where he experienced a shock as he started having to go to school with black students and kids that didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in their mouth. At 18-19, he developed an interest in conspiracy theories, and after moving through an “Alex Jones phase,” is now making videos about conspiracies for Red Ice, which itself moved from using videos and podcasts to talk about conspiracies to full on Neo-Nazism.

“[Casey] credits former KKK and Neo-Nazi leader David Duke and [Casey]’s 4chan activity during George Zimmerman’s trial for killing Trayvon Martin as additional influences on his political views.”

Until his recent announcement, Casey continued to create and produce racist “identitarian” content for Red Ice Radio in addition to playing corporate daddy to his underlings, many of whom are undergrads themselves. On Discord, this often takes form as the weekly “Fireside Chats”, where Papa Casey updates members on recent happenings, the “white pill” of the week, and upcoming plans for the organization. Way to quit your day job.

img_2639Casey in his salad days

 

wolffalabamasweet hat bro

 

Patrick is yet another example of young white men trying to find solace in the conspiratorial crevices of the internet, only to have their worldviews continually warped by exploitative ogres like Alex Jones and Henrik Palmgren. Casey indeed though has internalized much of this and has embraced a suit-and-tie aesthetic while actively working to distance the organization from other openly alt-right and white supremacist branding. It is well enough for those other Nazis, who often deride IE (optics cucks) for their formal sense of fashion, their demo outfit of choice being the white polo and khaki trouser.

STRUCTURE OF IDENTITY EVROPA

After Nathan Damigo’s departure post-Unite The Right, and then Elliot “Eli Mosely” Kline’s meteoric fizzle in November 2017, little Patrick Casey, then IE “Chief of Staff”, decided it was his turn for big boy pants and has been crafting his veneer of delicate dictatorship ever since. In fact, instead of the 14 words, the IE Discord Server has 14 rules, posted by William Clark of Philadelphia, (@sigruna14) the National Server Administrator.

Here we can see a clear picture of IE’s organizational structure as of February 2018

 

IE’s mail address is listed on their website as a PO Box in New Market, Virginia. New Market is a small town in the Shenandoah Valley on Interstate 81, about 20 minutes north of Harrisonburg (pop. 54,000) and James Madison University (student pop. 22,000).

Rubicon Holdings LLC

In May 2018, @Smooth – OH announced the new business PayPal and Gmail account for payments – Rubicon Holdings LLC.

A cursory search of the Virginia State Corporation Commission reveals that Patrick Casey is the registered agent, forming the shell company on February 28, 2018, shortly after assuming the top leadership position of Identity Europa. As of February 4th, 2019, the company’s status was listed as “Canceled”.

 

Casey and other IE leadership have been concerned about the group’s ongoing legal battle stemming from the Unite the Right rally in 2017 and its immense financial consequences. In several posts on their Discord sever, Casey pleads with members to not only pay dues but also get donations flowing to up to $2,800 per month to their legal defense. These researchers wonder if Casey and Rubicon Holdings are really operating their business in a legal manner, “legality” being a pillar of Casey’s vision for IE, especially as they continue to fleece their members going into their 2019 conference.

Casey Brags About Not Being Doxxed in a Fireside Chat

CULT OF PERSONALITY

Patrick has worked to build up a cult of personality around himself and his delicate dictatorship. Patrick tenderly enforces his 14 rules on the server, while also encouraging gentle ribbing of fellow members and twisted idolizations of himself. While one could chalk much up to typical internet trolling and joking, given Casey’s position as the head of a white supremacist/nationalist organization, it is no laughing matter.

(image attachment not found)

Occasionally things can take a bit weirder tone

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s all for the evropa love…

but not too much because homosexuality is not allowed in IE

 

IDENTITARIANISM IS DANGEROUS

As Patrick and his other upper echelon cronies try to keep their brood in check online, he advocates attempts to take over of the Republican party. Identity Evropa’s relatively clean-cut optics and ethnic nationalism poise them to potentially be a radical faction of the GOP, pushing policies and ideologies akin to that of Stephen Miller, Trump’s current senior policy advisor.

IE pushes white nationalist propaganda activism (largely stickers and banner drops) to the forefront while trying to keep their true racist separatist values under wraps until they have a hold on some sort of social or political power. Patrick himself was blocked from attending the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) in 2019, however, he still managed to host other “fringe conservatives” in his suite at the Gaylord, the same hotel CPAC was being held at.

 

 

 

Text from Colin Kapernick’s Nike campaign pasted over an image of the torch rally in Charlottesville, VA from August 11, 2017

 

The Torch Antifascist Network and our allies across the continent are dedicated to exposing, deplatforming, and defeating Identity Evropa and all other white nationalists, white supremacists, and fascist hopefuls.

Honestly the best advice to any of these people

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Yesterday’s Blackface, Today’s Pipelines, Racist Cops All Along https://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/2019/02/07/yesterdays-blackface-todays-pipelines-racist-cops-all-along/ Thu, 07 Feb 2019 11:03:30 +0000 http://antifa7hills.blackblogs.org/?p=16 Continue reading "Yesterday’s Blackface, Today’s Pipelines, Racist Cops All Along"

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On Monday January 4, 2019, officer Rob Stamm was observed policing at a rally on the Virginia capitol grounds in support of the residents of Union Hill — a historically Black community currently being targeted by Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

The residents of Union Hill want the racist Virginia governor Ralph Northam to resign not only because of his use of black face 30 years ago, but because of his racist policies that are impacting them today.

Virginia Capitol Police were on site during these protests, as they have been all weekend, their presence threatening the use of force against anyone who stepped out of line.

As anti-fascists and anarchists, we oppose the police in the same way we oppose Ralph Northam and all governors, all pipelines and all corporations. We stand against every instance of domination, oppression and exploitation. And we know our history… The Virginia Capitol Police force is the U.S.’s oldest police force, founded in 1618 to enforce violent colonial genocide on behalf of white and European settlers against Indigenous people. In various iterations over the next several centuries, it would serve as the slave patrol, the “protectors of property,” enforcers of indentured servitude contracts against poor European settlers and freedmen. The institutions of power which they serve have not changed. VCP remain a force for colonialism, brutal racism and capitalism.

While we believe policing is, inherently, a white supremacist institution, when the cops are so bold as to make their allegiances open, we seize the opportunity. When they tout their allegiance to overtly fascist groups, we name them and expose their ties. Maybe, from reading this story, others will become more attuned to the racist dog-whistles and white supremacist symbolism that proliferate among white men obsessed with power and European identity. Maybe from this exposure, other overt white supremacists will be discouraged from joining law enforcement, where their violence is even more legitimized as state force. Maybe they will make their symbolism more obscure and keep their allegiances off social media. Regardless of the outcome, our position on the police will not change.

We do not want to provide nazi cops with paid vacation. But one less pig on the streets is one less murderer patrolling around flashing their badge and gun.

 

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