By Gerald Smith
We’ve got a problem.
In spite of the fact that the American workers have trounced the fragments of fascism all over this land from Boston to Charlottesville to the San Francisco Bay Area, too many Anti-Fascist fighters are under indictment. There is a crying need for a public organization to support these Anti-Fascists.
In Central California, three Anti-Fascists have been indicted in Sacramento in relation to the smashing and scattering of the attempted “Unite the Right” Rally on June 26th: Yvette Felarca of By Any Means Necessary ($20,000 bail), Mike Williams of the Brown Berets ($250,000 bail), and Porfirio Paz. Mention of bail amounts is not done to melt the gentle snowflake but to harden the resolve of the conscious Anti-Fascist.
In Berkeley the number of arrestees has ballooned since the “Anti-Hate” rallies in August and September of this year. In one of the more serious cases Eric Clanton was arrested ($200,000 bail). The “Berkeley 5” Dustin Sawtelle, Jeffrey Armstrong, Scott Hendrick, Taylor Fuller, Nathan Perry have also been arrested. There are more.
These outrageous bails beg the question as to the actual role the state is playing. Are the police protecting citizens or is this a form of political repression? To look at the facts and ask the question is to answer it. Here are a few examples:
* Department of Homeland Security agents allowed an Oath Keeper (right–winger) to assist in the arrest of an anti-fascist protester providing handcuffs in the arrest.
* “Liberty Revival Alliance” Rich Black’s right-wing coalition was meeting with Berkeley police ahead of March 4 and April 15 actions (both of which were unpermitted, but police facilitated them anyway).
* Numerous instances of the police collaborating with alt-right trolls in a doxing, internet harassment campaign.
The events in Charlotesville greatly increased the chances of getting all the charges dropped both in the Berkeley and Sacramento cases and simultaneously going on the offensive against the fascists about what they truly are, what they truly stand for and that they do indeed stand for, advocate and practice mass mayhem and murder.
With the Democrats having piled on to condemn Trump’s deliberately equivocal casting of blame — and some prominent Republicans condemning Trump as well (and reportedly the Navy chief also taking a nominally decent stand) — a skillfully run defense movement and political education campaign in California will make it very hard for the Democratic establishment to press forward with court charges.
The fascists’ attempts to paint themselves as defenders of free speech can now be politically shredded (despite the past mistakes of some antifa including the Black Block in over-emphasizing physical confrontation at the expense of mass political education).
In spite of Trump’s self-exposure on this matter, Antifa has continued to be condemned and denounced by the corporate media.
Loss of life is a reasonable measure as to whom is actually causing harm to our society. Consider the following:
Richard Collins, a black man, was killed at the University of Maryland by Sean Ubanski (Ubanski is affiliated with the Facebook page Alt-Reich Nation).
On May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian fatally stabbed two people and injured a third on a train in Portland, Ore., after he was confronted for yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim slurs at two young women.
Heather Heyer was killed and 19 others injured by James Alex Feilds who drove his car into a crowd of Anti-Fascist protestors on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville.
And there are more, many more. According to Political Research Associates: “The U.S. Far Right has killed nearly 450 people since 1990. Heather Heyer of Charlottesville, Virginia is the latest casualty of White nationalism. We can honor the sacrifice of the dead and wounded by matching their courage in standing down similar rallies planned for the weeks ahead. Equally important, we can defend members of our communities who are under attack. People of good conscience, regardless of party affiliation, faith tradition, or identity should look upon Charlottesville as a call to moral action in defense of humanity and rejection of White supremacy.”
The fascists have murdered scores of Americans. How many Americans have been killed by Antifa?
Zero.
Cornel West, among others, has publicly stated that when the fascists surrounded a black church in Charlottesville, the Antifa saved his life. If there is any doubt of the racist danger we’re facing, consider the beating of a young black man, Deandre Harris.
Since 40,000 people showed up in Boston to meet 50 fascists, the Hitler-lovers have canceled every rally they have called. But they have not disappeared. The fascists have joined the Republican Party on the campus of UC Berkeley which gives them access to money, lots of money. The fascists have also created numerous fronts and allied with various right-wing organizations (Red Elephant, Proud Boys, Patriotic Prayer, Identity Evropa, etc.). While not every member of these allied organization is a fascist, they are clearly fascist collaborators. Our strategy and tactics should be adjusted to allow our activities to become more effective.
Here is something we can do to aid the growing list of Anti-Fascists presently under indictment: Let’s create an online petition campaign aimed at the cities of Berkeley, San Francisco, and Sacramento that demands that the charges against all Anti-Fascists be dropped.
Our lever is the fact that after the events in Charlottesville, Trump was denounced by the Democrats for equating the Alt right/fascists with Anti-Fascist protesters. OK. These cities are run by the Democrats. Did they really mean what they said? Let’s put them to the test.
WORKERS OF THE WORLD WILL RISE AGAIN! FASCISM NEVER!