Thread by @IGD_News

In light of the arrests of several members of the Rise Above Movement (RAM) in relation to the events at Unite the Right in Charlottesville, few points need to be made, as we watch the State go after a small Alt-Right group over a year after the events in Cville.

First and foremost, the strategy and tactics used by police on A12 was informed by 'intelligence' gathered through DHS and Fusion Centers, that was clear: antifascists are the biggest threat to public safety and civil order. shadowproof.com/2018/03/07/doc…

Documents released from West Coast Fusion Centers, which in theory would have monitored the actions of RAM members, especially at Berkeley events, had the same conclusion, even directly stating that "ANTIFA" was "greatest threat to public safety." itsgoingdown.org/manufacturing-…

Ironically, it was Berkeley clashes, at which RAM members were key participants, that convinced many in intelligence community that antifascists were the most violent agents + unable to be controlled by police; thus informing their decision to engage the way they did in Cville.

Moreover, people should be keen to remember that repression against antifascists in Charlottesville did take place - although it has squarely been aimed at the local black community which stood up to defend itself.

For a good overview of this targeted repression of the local working-class African-American community in #Charlottesville in the wake of Unite the Right, check out our interview with @socialistdogmom as well as our discussion with @uvastudentpower. itsgoingdown.org/this-is-americ…

This repression came after months of targeted door knocks and harassment of local antiracist organizers who were mobilizing to counter-protest the KKK in July, a mass demonstration that ended in brutal police violence that sought to clear the streets of several thousand.

The arrests of RAM members must also be seen in the wider political context, as state governments are aggressively attempting to pass laws targeting protest tactics used antifascists, #BlackLivesMatter, and Water Protectors.

Also, today in a press conference, federal authorities stated that RAM members face upwards of 5 years in jail. That's a lot, but compare that to the 80+ years originally faced by the J20 defendants. In short, racial and fascist violence isn't a threat to the State.

One thing that was clear in the livestream press conference today, was the influence of @ProPublica coverage about RAM, which essentially argued, "Why haven't these guys been arrested?" The FBI, who it seems has spent the last year reviewing Cville footage, took this to heart.

Thus, at the end of the day, the intelligence communities are acting as they always have. They view broad, social movements organizing for grassroots change as the central threat to the State, directly target individuals within oppressed communities when the stand up, but...

...will also at times, (especially in situations like this where journalists, activists, and researchers [the report on RAM event quotes from an antifascist blog] have already done the investigative leg work for them), swoop in, make arrests, and claim victory.

These arrests will be another blow to what's left of the Alt-Right, + will continue to separate the shit-posters from those who are actually serious, but it'll also give what's left of the movement something to rally around - something that at this point, they desperately need.

Last point: as we have pointed out time and time again, the repression from State against broad social movements is not caused by their threat to the public at large, but because they represent popular struggle against class and neo-colonial society.

By pointing out that the State time + time again views black liberation organizers, anarchists, Native Water Protectors, and antifascists as a key threat, we hope to encourage social movements to engage in educational work within communities about the nature of State repression.