“Not only is the terror threat diverse, it’s unrelenting." --FBI director Chris Wray.
The FBI has elevated the risk from neo-Nazis in America to the same level with which it regards ISIS. Read the rest
Neo-Nazi Media Darling and accused domestic abuser Richard Spencer had a meltdown on Twitter after Iranian authorities launched a missile attack against a US base in Iraq.
Siri, show me the definition of "Schadenfreude" pic.twitter.com/B6sTKbeWX4
— This Is Not A Thom Dunn T-Shirt (@thomdunn) January 8, 2020
Spencer went on to post and retweet some other criticisms of the "American Empire" and pinned a tweet saying, "To the people of Iran, There are millions of Americans who do not want war, who do not hate you, and who respect your nation and its history. After our traitorous elite is brought to justice, we hope to achieve peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness."
Spencer also led a protest against airstrikes in Syria in 2017. Granted, his anti-interventionist stance is largely based in anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic beliefs. (See also: Ecofascism.) So this is less of a "My enemy's enemy is my friend," and more of a "My enemy's enemy is still my enemy even though we kind-of agree on a single action despite coming to those views for completely opposing reasons, which is why we are enemies." But still. Broken clocks, et cetera et cetera.
Image via Wikimedia Commons Read the rest
On Friday, November 1, 2019, the FBI arrested a self-proclaimed white supremacist named Richard Holzer, who was allegedly planning to bomb Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colorado—the second-oldest synagogue in the state.
Southern Colorado Man Charged With Federal Hate Crime For Plotting To Blow Up Synagogue
Press release: https://t.co/8bFPqO1bct
Pictured: U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, FBI SAC Dean Phillips & Pueblo Police Chief Troy Davenport addressing members of the media pic.twitter.com/nyJOy1he9z
— Colorado U.S. Attorney (@DCOnews) November 4, 2019
This is, largely, a good thing. After sleeping on the white supremacist infiltration of police departments all across the country, it's nice to see the FBI is actually taking action against this hugely dangerous epidemic. And there's absolutely no question that Richard Holzer was a white supremacist with violent intentions. As the Justice Department explained in a press release:
Holzer, who self-identifies as a skinhead and a white supremacist, told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to do something that would tell Jewish people in the community that they are not welcome in Pueblo, and they should leave or they will die. The affidavit states that during a meeting with the undercover agents, Holzer repeatedly expressed his hatred of Jewish people and his support for RAHOWA, shorthand for a racial holy war.
Holzer also told the undercover FBI agents that he had already hired a "witch doctor" to "hex and poison" the water at the Temple, paying a Mexican cook to add arsenic into the pipes. It's unclear if this actually happened, or if it actually accomplished anything—but clearly, this guy was trouble. Read the rest
Kaleb J. Cole (aka "Khimaere") is the 24-year-old leader of the Washington State cell of the Atomwaffen Division, an international network of violent Neo-Nazis. Aside from generally spewing hateful rhetoric, Cole had also been seen participating in Atomwaffen's "Hate Camps," sharpening his rifle skills for more extremist violence.
Fortunately, he no longer has access to any guns. From The Daily Beast:
[Cole] had his guns seized on Oct. 1st, according to King County Court records. The move came after the Seattle Police Department filed a 62-page “Extreme Risk Protection Order” petition against Cole on Sept. 26, according to electronic court records. Among the weapons that had been in Cole's possession were a pistol and an AK-47 variant with a high-capacity drum magazine.
To be clear, Cole has not been charged on any specific crimes. As far as anyone's aware, he hasn't killed anyone—at least not yet, although there is arguably reason to believe that he plans to. In addition to the target-practice videos where he can be seen chanting "Race war now" with the rest of his buddies, Cole has openly admitted to his fascist beliefs, and support for armed insurrection.
Again: not technically crimes. But valids cause for concern. That's where the "Red Flag" or "Extreme Risk" laws come in. They're basically restraining orders, but for guns.
One of the biggest struggles with reducing gun violence in America is that a lot of the proposed legislation also infringes on civil liberties. For example: the various "No-Fly Lists" that the government maintains have no clear criteria or due process, which ends up punishing people innocent Muslims, government employees, and literal fucking babies. Read the rest
In Montana today, a federal judge said the First Amendment doesn't protect a pro-Nazi internet publisher from being sued for instructing his readers to unleash a "troll storm" that materialized in a barrage of anti-Semitic threats against a Jewish woman and her family in Whitefish. Read the rest
The racist bigots planning to rally in San Francisco's Crissy Field have cancelled their event, citing fear of violence and the fact that they'd be far out-numbered.
Read the restJoey Gibson, the rally’s organizer and the founder of the conservative group Patriot Prayer, said that he believed that “tons of extremists” would be coming to his event and that it could become dangerous.
“We’re not going to have a rally at Crissy Field,” Gibson said in a Facebook Live broadcast. “It doesn’t seem safe. A lot of people’s lives are going to be in danger tomorrow.”
Another rally in Berkeley on Sunday will go on, Gibson said, citing a conversation he had with Amber Cummings, the organizer of that event. “We’re excited to go into Berkeley. We’re going to put our effort and our resources into Berkeley,” Gibson said.
He blamed politicians like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee for characterizing the San Francisco rally as a white nationalist event, which he said would attract people with extreme views.
“After several conversations with the police and understanding the situation of what’s going on, we’ve decided that tomorrow really seems like a setup,” Gibson said. “We decided to go ahead and take the opportunity to not fall into that trap.”
And some protesters could still show up at Crissy Field on Saturday even with the official event called off.
The “free speech” rally had attracted a broad backlash from residents and local leaders since deadly violence broke out at a white nationalist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month.
In a Boing Boing post last December, I wrote that some asshole anti-Semites were planning a march to chase the Jews out of Whitefish, Montana. Well, some asshole anti-Semites didn't like the attention.
Look at how angry some Hitler enthusiasts got over my honest comments! I was sharing a quote from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) website! Read the rest
A thread on 4chan's trollish /pol/ board has organized trumpist white-supremacist/alt-right types to find unlicensed venues and spaces and narc them out to city authorities in a bid to shut them down, because they serve as "open hotbeds of liberal radicalism and degeneracy...These places hold Black Lives Matter meetings. These places plan protests that disrupt our cities. These places illegally house our enemies." Read the rest
What a stunning portrait of one brave person. Read the rest
.jpg){kind=link}