Update 8/21/2019: Bikers for Trump have withdrawn support for the Dalhonega event.
Chester Doles, a longtime neo-Nazi and “fourth-generation” Klansman, is organizing a pro-Trump rally in downtown Dahlonega, Georgia, scheduled to take place on the afternoon of Saturday, September 14. The Dahlonega rally is an attempt by Doles to draw pro-Trump rightists closer to his own neo-Nazi politics, seemingly with some success. The planned rally is also promoted on Stormfront, a white supremacist website which has been linked to almost a hundred murders.
Flyer for Chester Doles’ September 14 rally in Dahlonega, Georgia. Note the caricature Jewish head on the giant spider – classic antisemitic imagery.
Dahlonega is a small city in north Georgia, approximately an hour and a half northeast from Atlanta and home to the University of North Georgia. In 2017, Dahlonega made headlines when a Ku Klux Klan sign was prominently displayed on a building in the downtown area – an attempt by an angry property owner to embarrass the city. Chester Doles – who lives in Dahlonega and has a past as a real Klan leader – was seeminglyin on the 2017 stunt.
Chester J. Doles
Doles has a long history in the white supremacist movement. While in Maryland, Doles led a Klan group. After serving prison time for assaulting a Black man (followed by a burglary conviction for which he got probation), Doles moved to Georgia, where he led the Georgia unit of the National Alliance, which was once the foremost neo-Nazi organization in the United States. In 2003, Doles was arrested for being a felon in possession of firearms. Doles eventually pled guilty and was released in 2008. More recently, Doles organized with Crew 38, which is the supporter group of the violent Hammerskin Nation racist gang. Doles gave a speech at the Hammerskin Nations’ 2016 national gathering at a Klan bar outside Atlanta.
Doles (fourth from left, grey shirt) at a Hammerskin meetup circa 2016/17. On left is Travis Condor, currently facing potential hate crime charges for his role in a racist attack last year.
Doles promotes the September rally as a show of support for the President, decks it in patriotic imagery, and has even secured the support of Bikers for Trump. However, the rally is also a clear reflection of Doles’ neo-Nazi commitments. The event flyer opportunistically highlights the shooting death of a Sheriff’s Deputy in nearby Hall County by “Hispanic gangbangers” — language reminiscent of Doles’ fearmongering when he organized anti-immigrant demonstrations for the National Alliance.
Chester Doles fantasizes about liberal activism in Dahlonega being crypto-“Antifa”
The September 14 “Trump” rally flyer also claims that the event will be a chance to “Say […] ‘NO’ to Antifa in Lumpkin County” (where Dahlonega is located). On Facebook, Doles claims that “Antifa” are gaining ground in Dahlonega and he states that his rally will be a “square off” with them. Doles is therefore putting together a team of “men who are used to sparring” to do “security” for his September rally. This is clearly a perfect role for Doles’ violent white supremacist associates. As evidence of an “Antifa” threat in Dahlonega, Doles alludes to some small liberal events in the city. Through an imagined “Antifa” threat — which has little to do with actual antifascist organizing in the area — Doles is creating a pretext for a show of force and intimidation on September 14.
Neo-Nazi Billy Roper promotes Doles’ rally, which is in turn shared by Chester Doles on Facebook.
Doles’ rally in Dahlonega is currently being promoted online by Billy Roper, a white supremacist who has been active since the 1990s and who now heads the racist “Shieldwall Network”. Roper, who earlier this year led a group with Nazi flags to crash a Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Arkansas, praised the Dahlonega event organizers as “extremely trustworthy and veteran leaders of our movement who have years of experience in the field” on the Stormfront site. Chester Doles has circulated an announcement by Roper about the upcoming Dahlonega rally on his own Facebook page.
Doles now claims not to be involved “in any legal capacity” despite initial permit application.
Chester Doles filed the initial permit application for the September rally, and writes that he paid for a pavilion rental at a nearby park. However, Doles recently withdrew his first permit application, with Dahlonega resident Dustin Penner allegedly putting his name to a new, re-filed application. With this move, Chester Doles now states that he is not involved in the September 14 event “in any legal capacity”. However, Doles remains the main person pushing the rally on social media and networking for it. The email address for Doles’ personal training business is the only contact information provided on the September 14 flyer.
Bikers for Trump national coordinator Dale Herndon supports Chester Doles’ rally.
In what may be a bad sign for the 2020 election season, some Right-wing Trump supporters seem enthusiastic about the white supremacist-organized Dahlonega rally. The National Director of Bikers for Trump, Dale Herndon of Rome, Georgia, has told Chester Doles that his group will mobilize for September 14. On the Facebook page for the Lumpkin County Republican Party, the page administrator recently “liked” a post announcing the September 14 rally. While this may not represent an official endorsement of Doles’ rally by local Republicans, it appears to be a nod and a wink to organizers. If this was done out of ignorance, the local GOP should clarify their stance.
Lumpkin County Republican Party “likes” Facebook comment announcing September 14 rally.
Despite the above, it remains to be seen just how much support Doles’ September 14 rally will receive. Much depends on how locals in North Georgia choose to oppose this event, and whether any of those now pledging support for Dole’s rally will have second thoughts about working with Nazis. We are confident that just as Lumpkin County residents rallied against a Klan sign in 2017, they will voice their opposition to a white power rally now.
Our organization is committed to monitoring this situation and sharing information in the weeks ahead, so please check our Twitter account for updates. If you have further information on Doles, his associates, or the September 14 rally, please get in touch.
On July 18, 2019, two U.S. Senatorsintroduced a resolutionattempting to designate “antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization. In a week that saw a Trump rally featuring a racist chant for the deportation of a progressive, black Muslim congresswoman, there can be no clearer sign as to where we are at, than this effort to declare anti-fascism itself illegal. The Republican party is explicitly targeting political opposition. There is no definition of “antifa” outlined in the resolution. “Antifa” is used as a warning. It is shorthand for the dissenters who won’t be brought to heel. If passed, this resolution would be a powerful new weapon for silencing leftists and dissent in the U.S.
In this resolution, the Senators specifically mentioned anti-fascists in Portland, targeting our community for defending itself from the fascists, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists who have assaulted our city for the past three years. Portland has been a target for the most violent elements of the right because of its progressive character. The strategy of the far-right has been to attack the left wherever we have the audacity to exist: in higher education, in Berkeley, at Pride events, at union meetings, at Planned Parenthood, and in a symbolic city of progressive values such as Portland. It is not enough for them to have their own conservative communities, the presidency, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the massive right-wing media apparatus and funding base; they also must harass, violently attack, and terrorize anyone anywhere who dares to disagree with their oppressive views.
The rationale for this resolution is a manufactured threat which only exists in the absence of critical thought and inquiry. The greatest domestic political threat in the U.S. today is the far-right. The far-right committed 98% of ideologically-driven murders in 2018. We have seen that death toll here in Portland. Larnell Bruce, a black teenager, was brutally murdered by a white supremacist outside a 7-11 in 2016. In 2017, Jeremy Christian, a Patriot Prayer rally attendee and white supremacist, fatally stabbed two passengers and seriously injured a third passenger on a Portland MAX train after they attempted to stop him from harassing two women of color. Proud Boys have driven around our city streets looking for people to assault. LGBT+ community members have been repeatedly attacked, and they have been called liars when they organize to defend themselves. The Portland Police Bureau has assisted the right at every turn. Stories like this are echoed all over the country. This is the true threat of our times.
Anti-fascists have protected numerous community events, spaces, and demonstrations from fascist violence. Anti-fascist have suppressed and stopped fascist activity and recruiting; disseminated valuable information to communities about threats to their safety; produced research and writing which would not otherwise occur; provided care and support to members of our community impacted by fascist threats and violence; hosted educational events on a variety of issues; conducted benefits for vital services like reproductive rights; and much more. Anti-fascist action works. The Proud Boys, after invading our city multiple times and causing grievous injuries to community members, failed to show up to their June 29, 2019 rally (named the “Battle of Portland Part 2”) after a diverse coalition of activists gathered to oppose them. Anti-fascist organizing in Portland is part of a larger anti-racist and anti-oppression movement that has been working for decades to disrupt white supremacist rallies from Berkeley to Charlottesville.
The vast majority of what anti-fascists do does not involve black outfits at protests. Anti-fascists are easy to dehumanize with superficial commentary on the clothing and masks that some use to protect themselves. But anti-fascists are your neighbors. Some anti-fascists are people fighting for our lives and dignity, because we are people of color, queer, trans, of a targeted ethnicity or religion. Some anti-fascists are people who are cashing in on our privileges to protect those who are more vulnerable. Anti-fascists are regular people: moms, teachers, carpenters, servers, healthcare workers, and veterans. Fighting against the oppression, bigotry, and violence that we call fascism requires ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Stopping fascist activity is a goal common to all people of conscience. These Senators would call us all domestic terrorists.
Not every person of conscience agrees on tactics, but they would all be considered terrorists according to this proposed resolution, because they declare themselves opposed to white supremacists and concentration camps. This resolution would open the door violations of their civil rights. If “antifa” are terrorists, so are the thousands of Portlanders who stood against Patriot Prayer on June 4, 2017 and August 4, 2018, and the hundreds who peacefully blockaded the ICE offices in SW Portland. It would call the activists and spiritual leaders who stood against white supremacists in Charlottesville on August 11 and 12, 2017 domestic terrorists. It is no surprise that these Senators are proposing this measure now, as rallies against ICE are drawing attention to the deaths occurring in U.S. refugee concentration camps. People across this continent see the atrocity that these camps represent, and are demanding that the government stop causing suffering and death through its racist immigration policies. These Senators would make that dissent illegal. And so we, as anti-fascists, condemn their resolution absolutely.
Statement of Anti-Fascists and Allies
We, the undersigned, wholly condemn any attempt to criminalize community efforts to stop white supremacist assaults and close concentration camps.
We condemn any attempt to persecute community groups who research racist threats in their community, and educate the people so that they might stop it.
We condemn any attempt by the far-right to strike a blow against their political opponents by demonizing the actions of human beings of conscience.
We condemn any attempt to protect the far-right gangs who make violent incursions into liberal communities.
We condemn any attempt to shield fascism, by attacking those who are in opposition to it.
In history, we have seen what happens when the state criminalizes dissent, when right-wing gangs are allowed to terrorize and kill with impunity, and when the police arrest those whose morality will not allow them to stand by, while immigrants and refugees are imprisoned in camps to die. As a community, we refuse to allow it to happen here. We have stood up to the forces of the far-right before, and now we must do so again.
Update 5/21/2019: Approximately two weeks ago, Trent East was allowed to quit his job as a jailer in Haralson County, to avoid being fired.
Last month, we exposed Haralson County Deputy Sheriff Brandon Trent East as an active white nationalist and as part of the racist “Ravensblood Kindred”, alongside active duty Georgia National Guard member Dalton Russell Woodward. The Ravensblood Kindred is a regional branch of the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), a whites-only heathen organization with close ties to organized racism. AFA has been designated as a hate group by the anti-extremist Southern Poverty Law Center.
A few days after we published our documentation on the “Ravensblood Kindred”, independent journalist Nate Thayer exposed Corwyn Storm Carver, an active duty Army member, as a member and influential propagandist for Atomwaffen Division (AWD). AWD is a neo-Nazi terrorist organization whose members have committed at least five murders since its formation in 2015. Following Thayer’s expose, we released documentation showing that both Trent East – working as a jailer in Haralson County – as well as Dalton Woodward were connected on social media to AWD white supremacist Carver.
Both Trent East and Dalton Woodward linked to Atomwaffen Division white supremacist Corwyn Carver
Despite this, Haralson County Sheriff Eddie Mixon initially defended his employee Trent East when interviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, stating in the AJC’s April 17 article that everything “should stand the way it is” with East not facing discipline, because East is not on a Federal Bureau of Investigation watch list. The next day, Mixon backtracked on his support for East, after his initial public stance generated outcry. A new investigation has now been launched. Trent East is receiving paid leave while the investigation proceeds.
In its follow-up article about Trent East and Sheriff Mixon’s reversal, the AJC confirmed that Trent East is a member of the Alabama National Guard as well as a jailer in Haralson County, Georgia. The Alabama National Guard is also investigating East’s ties to the white nationalist movement. The Georgia National Guard has also stated that it is investigating Trent East’s close associate Dalton Woodward. Neither the Georgia nor the Alabama National Guard have yet publicly commented on any outcomes from their investigations.
Trent East on VKontakte social networking site: supports White Nationalist Alliance and follows “Miss Hitler 2019 Contest”
Another person connected to the “Baines” account is white nationalist Arieana Love of Savannah, Georgia, who is also friends with Trent East in real life. Arieana Love’s boyfriend, self-described “Esoteric Hitlerite” Matthew Ryan Burchfield, is shown in one picture on the “Baines” profile. In the photo, Ryan Burchfield wears a bandana to partially obscure his face, holds a semi-automatic rifle and stands beside East, who wears a ski mask and is also armed. The photo appears to be from a weapons training session. The “Lincoln Baines” picture of East opening fire is seemingly from the same day.
Trent East (left, in ski mask) posing with “Esoteric Hitlerite”/neo-Nazi Matthew Ryan Burchfield (right), December 2018
We discuss Trent East’s associates Arieana Love and Ryan Burchfield in greater depth in another article, also published today.
Complaining about his “main account” getting a temporary ban on Facebook, “Lincoln Baines” exposes that he is Trent East.
Our initial article on Trent East and Dalton Woodward already provided ample documentation of East and Woodward’s involvement in white nationalism. Since we published that article, more evidence has surfaced linking both individuals but especially Trent East to the most militant, neo-Nazi sectors of the white power movement. It is unclear whether this makes any difference to the National Guard or Haralson County Sheriff’s Office investigations, but we will update this post as we receive news.
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.
On the night of Sunday, March 3, antifascists placed posters in Sandy Springs and downtown Roswell, warning residents about racist organizer Justin Wayne Peek. Peek is the national “Director of Activism” for the Identity Evropa (IE) white power organization. In this role, Peek has organized racist rallies for IE throughout the United States. Peek is also IE’s current Georgia coordinator, managing the group’s activity in our state.
In addition to placing posters, on Saturday we mailed over 300 flyers to Peek’s neighbors in the Edgewater at Sandy Springs apartment complex. The flyers warned residents that their neighbor is a white power leader, highlighting Peek’s racist statements and his track record in the white nationalist movement.
With our outreach posters and flyers, we aim to provide neighbors with information so they can keep each other safe. By repeatedly identifying and exposing the racists of Identity Evropa, we also hope to curtail their ability to organize.
If you have further information on Identity Evropa members or other white nationalists in our region, please get in contact.
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.
Rob Stamm, formerly known as Robert Allen Goward, is a police officer with the Virginia Capitol Police. Capitol Police is the police force responsible for the Virginia capitol grounds in downtown Richmond, Virginia — in the area of the Governor’s Mansion and General Assembly. Rob Stamm has been among the cops policing the numerous, near-daily protests demanding that Governor Ralph Northam resign. He was present at the capitol at least during protests on February 4th and 5th.
As detailed in this document, Officer Rob Stamm has explicit, overt ties to a white nationalist pagan organization, and an affinity for imagery, tattoos and Facebook pages associated with nazis and white supremacists.
NEW YORK, NY – In the early hours of the morning on Monday, January 28, a group of Jewish antifascists from across the region took direct action to deface and defame the last known monument to Phillipe Pétain, the Nazi collaborator who was personally responsible for the deportation of French Jews to their deaths at Auschwitz, Maidanek, Sobibor, and internment camps under the direct authority of the Vichy regime. Of 75,721 deportees, fewer than 2,000 survived.
On Monday morning, red paint was found splattered across Pétain’s commemorative plaque along the “Canyon of Heroes” in Lower Manhattan, at the intersection of Broadway and Morris, while the surrounding area was found covered with antifascist graffiti. This graffiti is still visible as this goes to press.
These actions were undertaken autonomously, in solidarity with the Outlive Them Network’s call to action International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and in memory of the millions of dead and disappeared at the hands of fascists like Pétain. Outlive Them is an international network that seeks to “strike fascism at the root: the governments that sanction it, the institutions that bless it, and the businesses that profit from it.”
Jews who know their history hold the US government responsible for the refugee and immigration policies which condemned their ancestors to die in the ghettos and camps of Europe and North Africa, just as the Trump regime, today, continues to condemn refugees and genocide survivors to their deaths: whether by way of mass deportations, militarized borders, travel bans, or the denial of the right to asylum.
Seventy years after Pétain’s deportation force tore children as young as two from their parents — many were never heard from again, including 2,000 under the age of 6 and 6,000 under the age of 13 — our own government continues this policy of family separation at the southern border. And seventy years after Pétain oversaw the mass murder of Jews and other refugees, our own government continues to incite anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic violence from Charlottesville, VA to Pittsburgh, PA.
Despite pledging otherwise, neither Mayor DeBlasio nor Governor Cuomo have addressed monuments to Nazi collaborators like Pétain, which are given pride of place on some of the busiest blocks in the City of New York. With Monday’s actions, Jewish antifascists and allied forces have served notice that fascist apologism will not be tolerated in our city in 2019; that anti-Semitic ideology and violencewill be confronted with Jewish solidarity and strength; and that the Holocaust will be remembered not only with sadness and grief but also with righteous anger and action: “We will never forget. We will never forgive.”
On the evening of January 8th, anti-fascists placed posters in Hapeville, Georgia to warn residents of John Michael Estes and Jennette Estes, white supremacists living in their neighborhood. John Michael Estes is a fervent neo-Nazi and the main organizer of the upcoming “Rock Stone Mountain II” rally at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta, which is scheduled to take place February 2nd.
Posters in Hapeville, Georgia
In addition to placing posters, anti-fascists mailed two hundred flyers to residents, business owners and places of worship in the area, further exposing John Michael Estes and his wife as white supremacist organizers.
The Hapeville communitydeserves to know that those organizing for race war live hidden among them. By exposing the Estes household, we hope the community will be better prepared to keep themselves safe. This small action also complements the much broader mobilization against Rock Stone Mountain II.
For all our articles on John Michael Estes’ organizing, see here.
For more information about mobilizations against “Rock Stone Mountain II” on February 2nd, see the FLOWER (FrontLine Organization Working to End Racism) website: flowerunited.org
JORDAN MATTHEW FEDER – PRESENTE!
February 11th, 1980 – November 26, 2003
The Torch Antifascist Networks joins The Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists and Anti-Racist Action in remembering Jordan
Matthew Feder, anti-authoritarian, anti-fascist, medic, and friend.
Jordan died from meningitis after protesting the Free Trade
Area of the Americas in Miami, Florida and helping de-contaminate the many victims of police chemical weapons at the protests.
In remembrance, we’re re-publishing a tribute from New Jersey Anti-Racist Action as we add Jordan’s name to our list of comrades gone, but not forgotten.
