It's Going Down Profile picture
Oct 2, 2018 15 tweets 6 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
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.

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More from @IGD_News

Aug 12, 2018
So much has happened over the last two weeks, it can be hard to process the collection of emotions: pain, sorrow, rage, + joy. But as we look back one year after #Charlottesville, there is still a large hole in our discussions of these events, primarily: the role of the police.
Over the coming days, many of us will be asked a similar question by loved one, friends, + co-workers: "Why do the police protect the Nazis?" "Why did they attack one side in Portland, + not the other?" While it is easy to resort to bumper sticker answers, the truth is complex.
The recent piece from @ACInvestigates + @ProPublica begins to scratch the surface. In their recent doc, they talk with an ex-FBI agent who rightfully concludes that coddling by law enforcement acts as a green light for the far-Right to engage in violence in a variety of settings.
Read 22 tweets
Aug 5, 2018
The only thing that stopped #Portland from being next #Charlottesville was several centimetres of helmet. Police sent two people to the hospital for head injuries in attacks justified by claims of non-existent "thrown projectiles" in order to protect the heavily armed far-Right.
This was carried by police who for months have used the same tactic - shoot one side to allow the other to escape. In this case, Proud Boys, who for months have attacked citizens walking on the street, were allowed to march and attack more people.
The Portland police are also on record saying that Patriot Prayer is "more mainstream" (guess Kek flags, people who attended Unite the Right, and shirts celebrating mass murderers are mainstream now) despite the ongoing links between far-Right violence and out right killers.
Read 7 tweets
Aug 2, 2018
The far-Right wants Joey Gibson of #PatriotPrayer to reforge a 'big-tent' fighting force to return their movement to where it was before #Charlottesville. There's only one problem - Gibson surrounds himself with groups that took part in #UniteTheRight. itsgoingdown.org/unite-the-righ…
After the death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, the far-Right was in a state of disarray. Predictably, many attempted to use conspiracy theories and fabricated lies to explain what had happened as a "setup" to "silence conservatives," or instead, as a "Soros" false-flag.
Leading the pack was Alex Jones + like with Sandy Hook claimed that Charlottesville was false flag. He stated: "I thought Trump’s response was great…we know that Soros has been planning this..and like trying to create provocative events...the whole thing looks staged to me…”
Read 28 tweets
Jul 5, 2018
At #Portland rally, Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer called for immigrants heads to be "smash[ed]...into the concrete," seen giving Nazi salutes and screaming racial slurs. They don't just want to fight 'the Left,' but attack broad segments of the population. itsgoingdown.org/in-portland-pa…
The June 30th rally was called for by Joey Gibson, who is running for Senate in Washington. His call for violence had an almost "Biblical" feel to it, + his hatred of #Portland was clear. "[T]he stench-covered and liberal-occupied streets of Portland will be CLEANSED. CLEANSED."
Gibson has long denied any association with the Alt-Right, neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Yet from the start, his rallies have been a 'broad church' of violent far-Right groups. Must notorious was Jeremy Christian, who went on to slaughter two people + nearly a third in 2017.
Read 21 tweets

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