In our 2019 article on Jared Huggins, we noted that Huggins – who recently received property from UUFF – listed his work as “Acquisitions at Hartford Trust”. We connected the Hartford Trust to an address in Key West, Florida used by Sam Dickson.
2015 Fulton County (Georgia) property transfer from Hartford Trust to United Universal Fellowship of Faith lists “J.F. [Jane Fenwick] Goodwin” as trustee of Hartford Trust.
Since Huggins’ name has come up yet again, we should clarify what we now know about the Hartford Trust. Fulton County property filings identified Jane Fenwick Goodwin as well as Sam Dickson as trustees of the Hartford Trust, which is an irrevocable trust formed in 2009. Jane Fenwick Goodwin is the daughter of Francis Goodwin II, who founded the Goodwin, Loomis & Britton investment company in Connecticut and was also a founder of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. The trust’s name likely refers to Goodwin’s family home.
Jane Fenwick Goodwin was wealthy enough that when she lived in Palm Beach, Florida, the local paper wrote about her cats.
In Dickson’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, Jane Fenwick Goodwin was named as a co-owner of Key West, Florida properties with Sam Dickson. Jane Goodwin began transferringpartialinterest in her Key West properties to Dickson in the early 1990s. Both Dickson and Goodwin spend time and have property in Key West, FL as well as Atlanta, GA. Although both Dickson and Goodwin provide a building on Margaret Street as their address in Key West, they may maintain different apartments. Their listed addresses in Atlanta are different. Other legal documents list Dickson as “a single man” and Goodwin as “a single woman”. Goodwin (born 1933) is almost a decade and a half older than Dickson (born 1947).
In March 2020, Goodwin transferred her interest in at least two of the four remaining Hartford Trust tracts in Atlanta to Dickson.
Goodwin 1964 testimony to US House of Representatives subcommittee
Interestingly, Jane Fenwick Goodwin may share some of Dickson’s political stances. In 1964 “Miss Jane-Fenwick Goodwin” then of Waterford, Virginia testified to a House subcommittee against HR 7700, which aimed to reform US immigration policy and remove quotas based on national origins. In 1965, a new House Resolution similarly aimed to remove discriminatory quotas on immigration and was signed into law as the Hart-Celler Act. Rolling back Hart-Celler is a major long-term goal for US white nationalists.
We already knew that Fenwick-Goodwin and Sam Dickson’s finances interwove. Goodwin appeared in Dickson’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to her co-ownership of Key West, Florida properties with Dickson. Some of the Florida properties are part of the “Villas Key West” vacation rentals, typically a money-maker for Dickson. (The rentals potentially bring in less money during a pandemic.) In Atlanta, vacant lots owned by The Hartford Trust adjoin property owned by Dickson’s Hickory Hill 1185 LLC. Although white nationalist Jared Huggins stated online that he worked for the Hartford Trust, we believe Huggins does additional work on the Atlanta property market for Dickson and his broader network.
Doghead Division (formerly known as “Cult of the Doghead”) is a group based primarily in Texas. It bills itself as a network of veterans, first responders, and reformed criminals working towards self-improvement. This itself is an amiable goal, but something more sinister lies beneath the surface. The group is closely tied to Operation Werewolf (OPWW), a pagan neo-fascist group operating across America. All of the members of Doghead Division we identify in this article are also members of OPWW.
Starting Wednesday 11/18/2020, the #StopTheSteal coalition of Trumpist, far-Right, and white nationalist groups began to rally at the Georgia Capitol in a last-ditch effort to stave off certification of the election results in which Trump narrowly lost Georgia. Because of heavy promotion and the presence of InfoWars, the preeminent far-Right conspiratorial outlet led by Alex Jones, the events attracted right-wingers throughout Georgia and beyond. The #StopTheSteal movement in Georgia culminated in a large event on Saturday in which there were so many right-wingers that several city blocks were shut down and cordoned off by police.
There were a few cracks in the week’s Trumpist coalition, as Women for America First pulled out of Saturday’s event at the last minute, but overall there was an unprecedented amount of unity because of the special circumstances. Nick Fuentes, the leader of the white nationalist “Groypers”, came on Wednesday and stayed throughout Saturday. Most of the other participants either embraced him (like Alex Jones and Ali Alexander) or kept him at arm’s length without explicitly denouncing him. Fuentes’ Groypers did not attempt to hide their crypto-Nazi leanings, making Holocaust denial jokes in front of the Governor’s mansion on Saturday night. Unknown parties also littered the Capitol with antisemitic propaganda. Fuentes broadcasted live from his hotel during the week, boasting that the mobilization’s security was protecting him, calling Atlanta a “shithole” full of “feral homeless,” and racially insulting the Black staff at the hotel.
Racist rant by Nicholas Fuentes while in Atlanta, from November 19, 2020 livestream.
Proud Boy leadership – Enrique Tarrio and Jeremy Bertino – gathered alongside InfoWars.Vincent James Foxx of the white nationalist channel Red Elephants attended for part of the week. Local white nationalist Chester Doles attended the Saturday event and was interviewed on right-wing media. The Trumpist coalition was shot through with COVID denialism and anti-mask sentiment, and their maskless gatherings throughout the week – one of them indoors inside the Capitol building – likely constituted a super-spreader event.
Nick Fuentes and “groyper” followes joke about Holocaust outside Governor’s Mansion, November 21, 2020.
Antifascists in Atlanta extensively monitored the events and began to organize a physical response immediately. The planning was made incredibly difficult by its last-minute nature and the COVID-19 spike environment, but a diverse coalition was rapidly assembled. F.L.O.W.E.R. (Front Line Organizations Working to End Racism), the Metro Atlanta DSA, PSL Atlanta, FAYER Atlanta, FC St. Pauli Atlanta, Atlanta Antifascists, Wall of Vets GA, Community Movement Builders, Guerrilla Company, Refuse Fascism and The Atlanta Rescue Coalition all sponsored the event. Wall of Vets, CAW (Collective of Armed Workers) and others provided perimeter security. Considering that InfoWars and Alexander had brought heavy security – and Georgia militias such as the III% Security Force would be in attendance – the need for armed security was crucial.
Flyer for anti-racist protest
The antifascist/antiracist coalition began assembling at 11AM on Saturday. Knowing that we would be outnumbered, a position capable of being guarded was chosen, at City Hall just around the corner from the Capitol. Some of the coalition had come in black bloc and were ready to form a shield wall. Security, open-carrying long guns, set up a perimeter at the street corners while medics set up a station to the side.
The coalition did turn out be extremely outnumbered as thousands of Trumpists swelled the crowd in front of the Capitol. City police set up a line between the two crowds. There were numerous attempts by right-wing live streamers and aggressive right-wingers to initiate fights throughout the day, but they were quickly isolated and pushed back. Enrique Tarrio accompanied an aggressive live-streamer and tried to use her as an attention gambit, but the counter-protesters blocked her stream and a Trump flag was burned in front of Tarrio.
The situation developed into a tense stalemate, as Tarrio had fifty riot police behind him and about a thousand desperate Trumpists screaming “FUCK ANTIFA” behind those riot police. The shield wall stood their ground and a chant of “ATL HOE” directed at the invading racists animated the outnumbered counter-protesters. Eventually the stalemate ended when police gently escorted Tarrio back behind the barricades.
An order to disperse was given. The more center-right Trumpists, generally families who had come in from the surrounding exurbs, began leaving. The counter-protest ended safely, with security making sure to escort those leaving in order to protect against roving bands of Proud Boys and militia.
Takeaways from this event:
The Trumpists of course lost their election certification battle, but the far-Right and white nationalist elements scored an indirect victory by using the event as an opportunity for networking and promotion.
Cool-headed, community-accountable armed security is crucial in states like Georgia where the right is always heavily armed. Although the counter-protesters were outnumbered, we were definitely not outgunned, which removed a crucial intimidation factor that the right usually relies on.
Events where the center right and the far-right merge, such as 11/21/20 Atlanta, are extremely dangerous because of greater numbers that the center right bring.
It is difficult to assemble large crowds against anti-maskers in a COVID spike environment. While the anti-racist coalition event stressed COVID safety and all participants were masked and outdoors, it is still understandable that wide participation was not forthcoming.
Opposing right-wingers over election-related issues is politically tricky. The event was cast by mainstream media as “pro-Biden” after the fact, even though it was explicitly called “Racists Out of ATL”. While there is no way to control reception by the mainstream media, it will become increasingly important to stress that opposing the far right is and should remain an electoral-neutral activity. Community safety and racial justice must be reinforced over and over again as the paramount values.
Update 7/19/2020: The III% Security Force, an Islamophobic far-Right militia headed by Chris Hill, yesterday reversed its earlier position and stated it will rally at Stone Mountain on August 15th.
On August 15, 2020, far-Right demonstrators will rally at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. The August 15 rally, held at the birthplace of the modern Ku Klux Klan, is being promoted and partially organized by figures tied to neo-Nazism and the white supremacist movement. Although some organizers claim to represent “Heritage Not Hate”, a closer look at who is mobilizing shows that August 15 will bring an influx of racists to the surrounding community.
Chester Doles heads Ku Klux Klan demonstration in Maryland, 1992
Background: Protest at Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain is a racist landmark. The second and most influential iteration of the Ku Klux Klan was born at a gathering on the mountain in 1915. A figure with close links to the Klan, Gutzon Borglum, started the giant carvings of Confederate generals on the mountain face in 1923. Borglum abandoned the project in 1925, after having only carved Robert E. Lee’s head, and went on to carve Mount Rushmore. In a show of defiance toward the Civil Rights movement, the State of Georgia purchased the site in 1958. Work on the carvings recommenced in 1964.
In 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine Black people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In the aftermath of the massacre, outcry grew against Confederate monuments and symbols. Pro-Confederate rallies at Stone Mountain and elsewhere were held in reaction. As 2015 drew to a close, numbers at the pro-Confederate rallies dwindled and “Heritage Not Hate” claims grew less convincing, with obvious white supremacists becoming evident in the thinning crowds.
November 14 2015 Stone Mountain rally: a protester displays his Klan “blood drop” ring
A November 2015 rally at Stone Mountain Park was partially organized by a Klan couple and featured participants giving KKK salutes. This November 2015 rally was the immediate precursor to “Rock Stone Mountain”, an explicitly white power demonstration in April 2016 which was undermined by anti-racist protest. White nationalists scheduled a sequel “Rock Stone Mountain II” for early 2019 but were denied a permit by the Park. Their organizing collapsed under anti-racist pressure.
Opposing “Rock Stone Mountain”, April 2016
With this year’s rebellion against racism and police brutality, both the Dekalb County NAACP and newer organizers held protests at Stone Mountain Park. In addition, on the 4th of July a Black armed demonstration by the “Not Fucking Around Coalition” (NFAC) took place at Stone Mountain, symbolically challenging white supremacists, “rednecks” and “three percenters”. (Our group does not support NFAC insofar as their leader, Grandmaster Jay, disseminates antisemitic propaganda.) Some far-Right organizers now cite this rally as a reason for their own mobilization, although others had been considering an event before July 4.
At least three different groups currently vow to rally at Stone Mountain on August 15: “Protect the South”, a III% militia mobilization headed by the “Confederate States III%”, and finally American Patriots USA (APUSA) which is led by longtime white supremacist Chester Doles. Another neo-Nazi who was until recently a key APUSA organizer is also riling up his audience about Stone Mountain.
(1) Protect the
South
“Protect the South” Facebook page
On July 9, the “Protect the South” Facebook page called for an August 15 “Defend Stone Mountain” rally. Although another group, the Confederate States III%, made a Facebook event for August 15 two days earlier, “Protect the South” had been thinking about a rally for some time before. On June 30th, “Protect the South” shared a news story about Dekalb NAACP protesting at the Park and asked its audience: “Ready for another rally?”
Adam Wesley Sitton
The administrator of the “Protect the South” Facebook page is Adam Wesley Sitton, whose history in organized neo-Nazism we discussed in a 2016 article. Sitton’s name and address appeared on a leaked mid-2000s membership list for the National Socialist Movement (NSM), a neo-Nazi group. Sitton was later involved in the American National Socialist Workers Party (ANSWP), a split from the NSM. One of Sitton’s websites listed Sitton as briefly holding the position of “Georgia Leader” for the ANSWP.
Since his time as an explicit neo-Nazi in the mid-2000s, Sitton now portrays himself as a conservative. In 2015, Sitton even argued that explicit calls for “white power” were counterproductive. However, this showed a preference for coded language rather than any rejection of racism – Sitton was arguing with neo-Nazis and Klansmen about what would best advance “our” cause.
Wesley Sitton celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr’s murderer, 2015
Previous rallies organized by Sitton’s “Protect the South” Facebook page have attracted white supremacists. A September 2015 “Protect the South” rally in Washington, DC promoted through the Facebook page included supporters of the white supremacist League of the South. Sitton’s “Protect the South” was a major promoter of the November 2015 pro-Confederate rally at Stone Mountain Park that was co-organized by a Klan couple and featured a clear KKK presence.
Sitton declares the upcoming rally to be against “the Left Wing traitors and the racist Black Lives Matter movement who wish to erase our Ancestors Heritage and destroy our Monuments!”
Protect the South’s upcoming event has received mention on Stormfront, a white power forum linked to almost a hundred murders.
(2) Confederate
States III% “Heritage Not Hate”
The “Confederate States III% militia” (CS III%) made a Facebook event for their “Defending Stone Mountain” rally on July 7, two days before Sitton created the “Defend Stone Mountain” Facebook event. CSIII% is headed by a couple in Paragould, Arkansas, Rodney Huffman and Debbie J Guin (“Dab Demere”).
The Confederate States III% is a multiracial (though majority-white) militia that presents itself as a “Heritage Not Hate” group and has a small presence in several states. They are part of the wider, decentralized III% militia movement. The militia hosted a tiny “National Patriots Summit” at a campground in Bristol, Tennessee last year and has held survivalist trainings. The couple who head CS III% travel to events around the South, but much of the militia’s recruiting happens on Facebook.
Discussion of weapons on “Defending Stone Mountain” event page
The CS III% organizers claim to have “alot [sic] of Patriots organizations working together” for their event. Unlike Wesley Sitton’s “Protect the South”, the CS III% organizers frame their August 15 rally as a “response to the NFAC […] calling the Three Percenters out”.
It is important to note that the
various far-Right calls to action for August 15 do not represent different
rallies on the day, since in practice the events will mesh together.
Although CS III% has networked widely with other III% militias, one group that is currently not scheduled to attend is the III% Security Force (III% SF), a larger III% organization that had an armed presence at other Stone Mountain rallies. The III% SF leader, Georgia’s Chris Hill, has accused CS III% of cowardice for not directly messaging NFAC for a showdown. A CS III% organizer has referred to the III% Security Force leader as “Idiot Hill”. (Permissions on the Facebook event page were changed before publication, hiding the comment.)
(3) American Patriots USA
Chester Doles at “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, Virginia, 2017
The leader of American Patriots USA, Chester Doles, has spent a lifetime in the white supremacist movement. A self-described “fourth-generation Klansman”, in 1993 Doles and another Klan organizer viciously beat a Black man in Maryland simply because a white woman was a passenger in his vehicle. After serving a prison sentence, Doles relocated to Georgia, where he headed the state unit of the National Alliance, at the time the largest neo-Nazi organization in North America. A federal weapons charge led to another prison sentence. In recent years, Doles has been active with “Crew 38”, the feeder club for the violent Hammerskins racist gang. Doles was part of the Hammerskins crew at the bloody “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, 2017.
Chester Doles (center) with John Michael Estes (right), an organizer of 2016’s “Rock Stone Mountain” white power rally.
Last September, Doles hosted a rally in Dahlonega, Georgia, which featured both Black pro-Trump commentator Lucretia Hughes and Hitler-loving Jovanni Valle as speakers, and was supported by a contingent of north Georgia Klansmen. Following this rally, Doles formed a new, ostensibly pro-Trump organization called “American Patriots USA” (APUSA) which held its first official meeting in December. Doles simultaneously networks and organizes with white supremacists all while claiming that APUSA is not a racist organization and that he has walked away from the white supremacist movement. This pose has allowed Doles to build broader alliances, including with Republican political candidates and far-Right people of color. Doles signals to his white supremacist associates that he is still on their side via his VKontakte (VK) social media, where he still sharesmaterials from the white nationalist movement.
Excerpts from October 2019 American Patriots USA promotional video
On July 10, Doles announced on his VK social media that American Patriots USA and its allies were hosting an upcoming rally at Stone Mountain. An official announcement appeared on the APUSA website a few days later, giving August 15 as the date.
Chester Doles shares propaganda from neo-Nazi account, July 15, 2020“Ally Gator” account linked to Doles on VKontake
As a former KKK leader, Doles understands the importance and symbolism of Stone Mountain to white supremacists. Doles keeps in contact with many present-day Klan organizers through his social media. The “Chaplain” of American Patriots USA, Robert Timothy Dickenson, is also a Klan supporter. Dickenson was a member of the Original Knight Riders, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. More recently, Dickenson wore International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan apparel when he accompanied the American Patriots USA float in Dahlonega’s Gold Rush Days parade in October.
(4) Michael Carothers
and the “White Information Network”
Michael Carothers at “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017
Finally, Georgia racist organizer Michael Carothers (AKA Michael Weaver) has encouraged protest at Stone Mountain, writing July 11 on Facebook:
“Never ask permission from a public servant to exercise a constitutional right. The US Constitution is our permit!”
This is a reference to Stone Mountain Park denying a permit to the 2019 “Rock Stone Mountain II” white power rally, an event Carothers unsuccessfully tried to salvage.
Carothers has also alluded to protest at Stone Mountain on his “White Information Network” blog, writing on July 5th that “perhaps we should organize another demonstration” there.
July 5th post on “White Information Network” blog
Carothers has a long history in the white supremacist scene. Like Doles, Carothers was a member of the National Alliance. Carothers has also served a sentence for attacking a Black man. Both Doles and Carothers attended “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville. Until recently, Carothers was involved with American Patriots USA, where he played a behind-the-scenes role and approached at least one Republican candidate on behalf of the organization. Chester Doles now states that Carothers is no longer in the organization.
Carothers (L) and Doles (3nd from L) after American Patriots USA’ s first meeting, December 2019
Carothers’ public statements about Stone Mountain are worth noting because of Carothers’ role as a networker in the racist underground. “Michael Weaver” featured in leaked planning discussions for “Unite the Right II” in Washington, DC, the 2018 follow-up to the deadly rally in Charlottesville. Now that Carothers is drawing his white nationalist audience’s attention to protests at Stone Mountain, some will likely attend or otherwise take advantage of the situation.
Conclusion
We are circulating this documentation to alert the community. Although the August 15 rallies are supposedly not about “hate”, organizers with long histories in the racist movement are promoting the event and rallying their numbers. The aim is a show of intimidation. If they succeed, they are likely to return again.
Community groups and anti-racists are building a coalition to oppose the August 15 rally at Stone Mountain. We will share updates on our social media as information becomes available. In the meantime, please share this documentation to your friends and in your community, and encourage others to keep the day of August 15 free.
Last night, State House Representative and candidate in the Republican primary for the 9th Congressional District, Matt Gurtler, issued a statement decrying “sleazy attacks” and the “fake news media”. These comments arrived two months after Gurtler talked to a meeting of American Patriots USA (APUSA) – a white nationalist front group founded by Klansmen and neo-Nazis – and two days after the story broke in the media.
In his comments to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Matt Gurtler doubled down by calling APUSA a “pro-gun, conservative group that supports President Trump”. At the March meeting, Gurtler portrayed the organization as a positive response to “socialism on the rise”.
Matt Gurler at American Patriots USA meeting, March 14, 2020
The core members of APUSA are committed white supremacists. Founder Chester Doles is an unreformed neo-Nazi who continues to network within the racist scene and circulate its propaganda. Another key APUSA member, Michael Carothers AKA Michael Weaver, maintains the “White Information Network” site, where he asks readers to support terrorists such as “Olympic Park Bomber” Eric Rudolph.
Militant white nationalists have led
a wave of terror in recent years, with outrages such as the Tree of Life
synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018; the Christchurch, New Zealand
mosque attacks last year; and August’s racist massacre in El Paso. While
Gurtler mouths empty catchphrases such as, “Racism doesn’t have any place in
our community”, his actions embolden the racist movement.
It is reprehensible for Matt Gurtler to hide behind his “Mexican-American” wife after supporting white supremacists. His wife’s ancestry is irrelevant to Gurtler’s political decision. Gurtler’s response is particularly obscene since APUSA founder Chester Doles has targeted and scapegoated Latino communities in north Georgia for twenty years.
Instead of admitting poor judgment,
Gurtler howls for his critics to “Bring it.”
If you oppose antisemitism and white supremacy, speak out when they are normalized.
Over the last four years, the people of Portland have witnessed a surge in far-right activity, motivated by the Trump presidency. Beginning with pro-Trump rallies in 2016 attended by members of far-right militias and white supremacist groups, this activity expanded into 2017, 2018, and 2019 as Joey Gibson attempted to make a media and political career through ringleading large gatherings of these violent agitators, buoying up groups like Identity Europa, the Proud Boys, and the Portland-area Daily Stormer group.
Gibson and company’s forays into Portland would not have been able to occur without the help of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), the city of Portland, and the local court system. PPB’s collaboration with Joey Gibson and Patriot Prayer is well-documented. The City government has refused to respond to the revelation that Quincy Franklin and Gregory Isaacson, two bigoted followers of Patriot Prayer, are employed by the city. And the courts with jurisdiction over Portland have now fallen prey to influence by Patriot Prayer. In this article we will lay out the malign influence exerted by Joey Gibson’s associates at every stage of a court case. From the filing of charges, to the disruption of the trial, to an eventual mistrial due to the actions of a Patriot Prayer associate who was a member of the ostensibly “impartial” jury, this case now joins the spiraling list of occasions in which the far-right has hijacked the mechanisms of city government in order to harass its denizens, and the activists working to protect their community from fascist violence.
Gardens in Redding, CA dedicated to celebrating the lives of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder who were murdered by white supremacists on July 1, 1999
At the end of the summer of 1999, Sacramento had experienced arson attacks at three synagogues in a single night in the month of June and then an arson attack at a women’s health center where abortions were provided in July. Not long after the women’s health center attack, the news came out that those responsible for the the four arson attacks were also responsible for the murder of a gay couple up in the Redding area. At each synagogue that was attacked, literature was left behind for the World Church of the Creator, a white supremacist group that is now known as Creativity.
Antifascist researchers across the country, including members of the Torch Network, have been diligently analyzing this new data to identify and expose the leadership and members of the group. While much of the exposure is occurring on Twitter, the bulk of these investigations are being compiled and published on a new website: IdentifyEvropa.org.
In the ensuing fallout, many of key figures in Identity Evropa (IE) have been doxxed, including: Patrick Casey, Executive Director; Justin Peek, Director of Activism; and Daniel Morley, national Pledge Coordinator, who until recently, was a school resource officer in Virginia. Occupations of IE members range wide, from their typical upper class college student, to lawyers, health professionals, electricians, police, and members of the military.
In the face of our valiant efforts, Patrick Casey and his followers are attempting to leave behind the stigmatized carcass of IE, and step into definitely “not a rebrand”, the American Identity Movement. Taking a cue from IdaVox, the Torch Network and other antifascists are abbreviating this travesty of an organization as “AmIM” to differentiate between the American Indian Movement, “a 51 year old organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of American Indians and dedicated to fighting hate groups”.
Despite their emphasis on “good optics”, IE/AmIM know that their beliefs and worldviews are still anathema to a majority of Americans, and thus need to resort to intensive public relations trainings and language policing on each other.
The Torch Antifascist Network and our accomplices in the #IdentifyEvropa campaign remain steadfast and committed to exposing each member’s racist affiliations and behavior to the public. We have only just begun.
For months, white supremacists promised to rally on February 2nd – the Saturday before the Super Bowl – at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. Despite having hyped their rally since September, their rally completely unraveled in the days leading up to the event. Different “Rock Stone Mountain II” organizers gave different accounts of the collapse. On the 2nd, approximately 150 anti-racists held a celebration march in the community of Stone Mountain, which culminated in burning a Klansman in effigy. Stone Mountain Park – the would-be site of the white supremacist mobilization – was closed for the day, which the Park had abruptly announced the evening before. On Saturday, lines of police in full riot gear waited in formation just behind the closed-off pedestrian gate to the Park.
Anti-racists march in Stone Mountain, February 2nd, 2019
If the “Rock Stone Mountain II” organizers were hoping to do better than their 2016 event, it soon became apparent that they faced steep challenges. In early November, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association – which operates Stone Mountain Park – announced that it would not grant a permit for “Rock Stone Mountain II”. (The Park permitted and protected the initial “Rock Stone Mountain” white power rally of April 2016.) In addition, a coalition of anti-racists – operating under the name FrontLine Organization Working to End Racism, or F.L.O.W.E.R. – was organizing mass opposition to the Klan-/neo-Nazi event, vowing to show up and confront the white supremacists on the day.
In our January update article on “Rock Stone Mountain II,” we noted that Michael Carothers AKA Michael Weaver – a long-running white supremacist currently living in North Georgia – jumped on board “Rock Stone Mountain” organizing after Stone Mountain Park denied the rally permit. Carothers became a primary spokesperson for the racist mobilization. While “Rock Stone Mountain” defiantly vowed to hold their white power rally with or without a permit, it was clear that the white supremacist coalition was under strain. For example, RSM main organizer John Michael Estes begged on Facebook for funds to support his rally, stating that loans could be repaid with “door money” from an “after event party.” (The post-rally party does not seem to have happened, since the rally itself fell apart.) In another sign of strain, the Rock Stone Mountain Facebook page complained about some white nationalist organizations “pulling out [of the white power mobilization] right at the end”. However, Rock Stone Mountain leaders continued to promote their event, with Michael Carothers even claiming that they were “expecting hundreds or perhaps thousands to attend this event.”
Michael Carothers AKA Michael Weaver talks up “Rock Stone Mountain” on the Stormfront racist forum, January 2019.
Endgame for Rock Stone Mountain
Rock Stone Mountain organizers could not find a lawyer to sue Stone Mountain Park for a rally permit, a fact that they grumbled about online. Lacking a permit, some white supremacists may have feared an unfriendly welcome on February 2nd by the growing anti-racist coalition. However, Rock Stone Mountain II also promoted itself as a militant and potentially violent event – for example, circulating an image of Confederate riflemen with the slogan “Aiming for Antifa on February 2nd” and billing the rally as “The Battle of Stone Mountain” on Michael Carothers’ blog. Presumably what the white supremacists wanted was both to hold a rally with the support of a large police mobilization, but also to act violently against anti-racists or Park visitors if they felt they had a numerical advantage (for example by picking off stray groups at the end of their rally). The problem organizers faced was that this dream would only be possible if they had a permit, and as the February 2nd deadline approached, the chance of this happening reduced from slim to none. On the other hand, the white supremacists realized that backing down and failing to deliver on their long-promised rally would be demoralizing.
Posters warning Hapeville residents about John Michael Estes and Jennette Bayly Estes.
To add to the pressure felt by Rock Stone Mountain organizers, our group warned residents about Rock Stone Mountain main organizer John Michael Estes and his wife Jennette Estes by sending a mailing to their neighbors and placing posters around Hapeville, Georgia. The next week, we exposed white nationalist Jennette Estes’ workplace as well – we believe this eventually cost Jennette Estes her job with Delta Airlines at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
With just a couple of weeks to go before their rally, Rock Stone Mountain was beleaguered. Organizers faced the hard choice of whether to cancel and accept defeat – which would have been difficult for a movement trying to feel powerful – or to risk an even more catastrophic result on February 2nd. Making things even worse was that “Rock Stone Mountain II” was intended as a rebound of sorts, after the first “Rock Stone Mountain” of 2016 had gone so poorly for the white nationalists.
Rock Stone Mountain cancels-but-doesn’t-cancel, January 19, 2019
On January 19 – exactly two weeks from the promised “Rock Stone Mountain II” – RSM organizers reached their decision. They would continue to organize for February 2nd, but without a coherent call. Stating that protests of under 25 people did not require a permit to assemble, the organizers announced that Rock Stone Mountain was “canceled ‘per se’” as a mass rally with a publicly-announced start time. However, Rock Stone Mountain organizers still encouraged “every Nationalist group” to set up their own rally at the Park that day, to “make the entire park our playground” and “push back against the Commie scum”. From an anti-racist perspective, a marauding and decentralized white supremacist presence at Stone Mountain Park was still worth organizing against. For many racists, however, the prospect of venturing into a potentially chaotic situation, with better-organized opponents and without a solid plan, may not have appealed. Far from attracting “hundreds or […] thousands,” the new Rock Stone Mountain would be like the last one: if it was to attract anyone at all, it would attract just the hardcore.
Michael Carothers – the neo-Nazi who became the media contact for Rock Stone Mountain since getting involved in late-November – attempted to put on a brave face for The Atlanta Journal Constitution in an interview the next week: “To hell with their permit. The Constitution is our permit […] We move forward.” Carothers’ messaging – at least as quoted in the media – did not mention any Rock Stone Mountain cancellation, “per se” or otherwise.
Final Collapse
Just eight days before “Rock Stone Mountain II” – on Friday, January 25 – the rally’s “event” page was pulled by Facebook. However, since Facebook still allowed Rock Stone Mountain to maintain an overall page for their organizing, a new “event” was easy to establish. When setting up their new Facebook event, the white supremacists renamed it “Rock Against Communism” and emphasized confronting “Red scum” as their new purpose.
“Rock Stone Mountain II” re-baptized as “Rock Against Communism” week before the rally.
John Michael Estes mean-mugs during video conference with Charles Edward Lincoln III, 1/30/2019
The next afternoon, Michael David Carothers (Michael Weaver) provided his own account of Rock Stone Mountain’s collapse in a lengthy statement to the news media, which was also circulated on his “White Information Network” blog. In brief, Carothers blamed Rock Stone Mountain’s failure on the lack of a permit and police protection. Carothers also named “Anti Fa” as a reason for calling off the rally. Clearly, Carothers’ statement directly contradicted his interview published just a week earlier, in which he proclaimed: “To hell with their permit […] We move forward.” Carothers also directly contradicted the narrative of John Michael Estes, who blamed “worms and rats” not external circumstances for Rock Stone Mountain II disintegrating. Carothers stated that the February 2nd cancellation was made “after consulting our Swiss Army knife of legal consultants” and that they will “reschedule the event at a later date”. However, Carothers’ “legal consultants” appear to be mostly white nationalist paralegals and armchair lawyers – it remains to be seen whether they will be able to secure any future permit for a rally at Stone Mountain Park. Carothers’ discussion of rescheduling the rally appears to primarily be an exercise in saving face. Although John Michael Estes did not directly state this, the sequence of events suggests that Estes now considers Carothers to be among the “worms and rats.” Either way, it is unlikely that the original “Rock Stone Mountain” organizers will work with Carothers on another rally.
The white supremacist rally had collapsed. However, since organizers had made a call for a decentralized white power presence at the Park earlier on, it was still possible that small groups of racists could try to make their presence felt on Saturday. Indeed, on Friday a friend of “Rock Stone Mountain” – John Duncan of LaGrange, Georgia, who claims Georgia leadership of the “Confederate Freedom Fighters of America” – was continuing to promote a racist presence at the Park the next day. (Duncan later deleted his post. He didn’t show.)
Last-Minute Move by Stone Mountain Park
The F.L.O.W.E.R. anti-racist coalition had announced on Wednesday that it would be assembling in the community of Stone Mountain to counter “Rock Stone Mountain II”. With the news that Rock Stone Mountain II had collapsed, the coalition decided to maintain an anti-racist presence on Saturday, in case small bands of white supremacists still showed up. The coalition also hoped to publicly celebrate its victory against “Rock Stone Mountain II” and to demonstrate opposition to the giant racist carvings of Stone Mountain Park.
On Friday night, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association announced that the Park would close the next day – a significant move given that the Park was expecting an increase in visitors from the Superbowl in Atlanta. Park workers were not compensated for losing a day of work. Further, the abrupt decision by the Park followed many weeks in which they ignored white supremacists’ plans to rally at the Park, failing to notify not only potential Park visitors, but also residents of the nearby community. Since the F.L.O.W.E.R. coalition had announced that it would assemble outside the Park itself, its plans to gather for a victory celebration were not impaired by the Park’s sudden announcement.
The Day
Approximately 150 anti-racists gathered in the community of Stone Mountain at 9AM Saturday morning to celebrate the victory against “Rock Stone Mountain II.” Event security kept watch in case of aggression – and a small number of participants legally carried firearms – but overall the mood was festive, not worried or confrontational. Organizers felt that numbers were strong, especially since some coalition participants canceled travel plans once it became apparent “Rock Stone Mountain” was falling apart.
Banner in Stone Mountain, February 2nd
Taking off from the center of downtown, the marchers did a victory lap of Stone Mountain, before stopping to burn a Klan effigy outside the Visitors’ Center and delivering a short speech through a megaphone. Local police – unable to call in more forces due to the Superbowl – were restrained and did not attempt any assault on the crowd as in Newnan. The mobilization called it a day once it was clear no white supremacists would attempt even a flash mob. After months of organizing by very different groups, the day was a strong success!
Behind the sealed-off pedestrian entrance to Stone Mountain Park, lines of riot police waited in formation, awaiting any attempted incursion.
Conclusion
Since February 2nd, white supremacists have been despondent, or have been trying to stir outrage about the armed “communists” marching that day – failing to acknowledge how their own white power organizing led to the successful anti-racist response.
Michael Carothers talking big as usual
Following the February 2nd victory, it is difficult to know how blatant white supremacists could organize public rallies at Stone Mountain Park. However the Park’s giant racist carvings and the site’s Klan history mean that sooner or later, organized racists will try again.
Of the two individuals most vocal about attempting to rally at some later date, neo-Nazi Michael Carothers recently announced that he is considering running for Mayor in the north Georgia community of Blue Ridge. If this occurs, Carothers’ bid would either be an extremely long-shot, or it would simply be a publicity stunt. In either case, Carothers may be placing Stone Mountain plans on the back-burner for a while.
Michael Carothers (L) and Sidney Horton (R) at the bloody “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017
The other person publicly insisting that a Stone Mountain rally is merely “rescheduled” – Sidney Amber Horton of Moultrie, Georgia (“Avialae Horton”/“Based Southern Belle”) – is connected to “Rock Stone Mountain” organizing through Charles Lincolns’ video conferences. Both Horton and “Rock Stone Mountain” organizers appeared on these broadcasts. In addition, Horton and Weaver/Carothers worked together on the ill-fated “Unite the Right II” in Washington, DC last year, although neither appears to have showed up on the day.
Sidney Horton was not an initial organizer for “Rock Stone Mountain II” but now takes its defeat personally. Rock Stone Mountain’s collapse coincides with Horton’s shift into explicit white nationalism, from the half-coded racism she proclaimed earlier (for example when co-leading an early version of the “American Guard” in Georgia). It is unclear whether Horton can transform her considerable social media following – over 20,000 followers on Facebook – into on-the-ground organizing. After ranting against John Michael Estes’ Stone Mountain surrender, Horton is unlikely to find friends among the original “Rock Stone Mountain” organizers moving forward.
If Horton, Carothers, or other white supremacists attempt another rally, one thing must be clear to them after February 2nd: the broader community is organized, and they will be opposed every step of the way.
On November 17, 2018, Patriot Prayer member Haley Adams is holding a misogynist and rape-apologist rally in downtown Portland, co-hosted by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, and Quincy Anatello, a member of the Christian extremist group the “Hell Shaking Street Preachers”. Uniting the event’s messaging under the hashtag #HimToo, Adams and Patriot Prayer are producing propaganda that pretends there is an epidemic of false rape allegations against men equivalent to or exceeding in volume and severity to the horrifying realities of sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, and murder of women and non-men in our society. The violence and the reliable presence of neo-Nazis and other fascists at Patriot Prayer events has already been well-established by Rose City Antifa and other media outlets. In this article, Rose City Antifa will document a number of violent men with documented histories of domestic and sexual violence or violence against women, whom Adams specifically invited to her rally. Not only is the premise of a “him too” rally ridiculous on its face, the behavior of Patriot Prayer, Proud Boys, Street Preachers and other associated far-right and white nationalist groups, both on the streets of Portland and in their private lives, shows that they are the exact the sort of threat described by the concept of “rape culture.”
Men are certainly also victimized by the sexual and domestic violence and rape culture. However, Haley and Patriot Prayer’s usage of the #HimToo hashtag has overwhelmingly ignored the possibility that men might be victims of violence in favor of simply “triggering the libs,” and publicly mocking and discrediting any claims of sexual violence. The event on the November 17 is sure to be one more iteration of right-wing public harassment from Adams, Patriot Prayer, and the Street Preachers, as they threaten, abuse, violate, dehumanize, and incite violence against marginalized people.
