Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA) monitors local far-right organizing with the intention of disrupting and sabotaging the activities of authoritarian and white supremacist groups/individuals. We are anti-fascists, anarchists, and anti-capitalists.
Thomas Rousseau (left) and James Alex Fields Jr. (far right) with Vanguard America in Charlottesville, VA August 12, 2017
Patriot Front (PF) is an American fascist organization founded in 2017 by Thomas Rousseau after he took control of an earlier group, Vanguard America, and rebranded it. Rousseau’s strategy was intended to evade responsibility for involvement in the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA. James Alex Fields Jr., the neo-Nazi who used his car to murder Heather Heyer and injure many more, was believed to be affiliated with Vanguard America. Photos and videos taken that day prior to the car attack place Fields marching with other members holding matching Vanguard America branded shields and wearing matching outfits. Rousseau, who would soon turn Vanguard America into PF, was just a few feet away from Fields at the rally.
Patriot Front does not shy away from identifying as fascist, though they decorate their politics with traditional American imagery and mythology in a move to appear mainstream and recruit from a wider demographic of white people on the conservative right. Leading figure in the international white supremacist movement Rob Rundo, who NoCARA first wrote about here, has since relocated to Serbia where he applauds the work of PF from abroad as a model for the rest of the movement.
Patriot Front member Grady Mayfield (left) visiting white supremacist Rob Rundo (center) in Serbia
The public activism of PF is mostly devoted to stickers, posters, and banner drops. Group founder and leader Rousseau himself has been arrested for vandalism related to this activity. The PF propaganda usually gets placed in public areas with heavy traffic. In the past PF has also chosen to place these materials near particular targets, for example around a synagogue or a leftist space. In the Bay Area, PF stickers and graffiti have popped up in San Francisco, Berkeley (at the UC and 924 Gilman), and Oakland (around Lake Merritt). Another PF tactic is the use of flash rallies in which members show up to a location in larger numbers to march together and create media content for the internet that further promotes the group. There have been a number of occasions where PF members have physically attacked anarchist and other leftist spaces. The activism of PF is designed to intimidate and terrorize communities that don’t fit into their racist utopia. The endurance of PF as an organization has distinguished it from other groups that occupy a similar space in the far-right movement. Whereas groups like Identity Evropa have dissolved, PF continues to recruit and build relationships in the larger scene.
In the interest of community self-defense we share details below on Ryan Sundberg, a software engineer and member of Patriot Front from Campbell, CA. The following information was gathered with the help of a brave anti-fascist who infiltrated PF in order to provide critical details that could lead to revealing PF members’ identities.
Ryan Richard Sundberg
Ryan Sundberg is a member of Patriot Front that currently lives in Campbell, CA in a home owned by his wife Jennifer’s parents: Frank and Margaret Dixon. Photos provided to NoCARA document Ryan Sundberg attending a hike with other PF members at White Mountain Wilderness in Inyo National Forest earlier in 2021. Sundberg traveled to this PF gathering in a truck registered to his company Arctype Corporation.
Photo from Patriot Front White Mountain Wilderness hike (Ryan Sundberg not pictured in this particular photo)
Ryan Sundberg sitting out at Patriot Front hike
Ryan Sundberg (left) sitting with other Patriot Front members
Patriot Front White Mountain Wilderness hike. Ryan Sundberg (top right) holding the blue corner of the Betsy Ross flag.
Ryan Sundberg holding Betsy Ross flag for Patriot Front group photo
Social media accounts tied to Ryan Sundberg and Arcytpe Corp. provide more context. For example, the public Twitter account for Arctype Corp. has a history of engaging with white nationalist politics on the platform. The Arctype Corp. account was used to “like” tweets published by VDARE, an alt-right website operated by Peter Brimelow that pushes racist and nationalist takes on immigration issues. Though Sundberg’s personal Twitter account is currently suspended, searches show Sundberg was using it at some point to discuss racist theories about genetics.
Photo of Ryan Sundberg from Arctype Corporation
Ryan Sundberg
In November 2021, Sundberg joined other PF members to place a banner promoting PF on a highway overpass in Stockton, CA. Promotional images shared by PF show a masked Sundberg participating in hanging up the banner. Sundberg’s face, body shape, and watch on his left wrist all match the masked PF member in the images.
Patriot Front promotional banner drop image [website redacted]
Patriot Front promotional image showing members hanging Stockton, CA banner
Ryan Sundberg in white mask hanging a Patriot Front banner in Stockton, CA
Patriot Front has proven to be a dangerously violent group committed to neo-Nazi ideals. Unmasking the group’s members and knowing where they live and work is useful with regard to self-defense and intervention in neo-Nazi organizing efforts.
Name: Ryan Richard Sundberg Pseudonym: Paul CA (Patriot Front handle) Born: 10/4/1989 (32 years old) Address: 1206 McBain Ave Campbell, CA 95008 (Santa Clara County) Vehicle: 1998 Chevy Pickup, CA license plate 8D22250 Occupation: works at Google; software engineer Affiliations: Patriot Front member
1206 McBain Ave Campbell, CA 95008
Jennifer Sundberg (left) and Ryan Sundberg (right) facing 1206 McBain Ave
If you have any information on Ryan Sundberg, Patriot Front, or other neo-Nazis in Northern California, you can reach us at nocara @ riseup.net
Joe Biden has won the 2020 US presidential election against Donald Trump. For anti-fascists, this is far from a victory. Not only do we know that the incoming Biden regime will only continue the destructive project of the United States, but during this transition period we’ve observed the movement around unsubstantiated claims of a rigged election giving space to reinvigorated white nationalist and fascist voices. In Northern California, this has manifested in weekly far-right rallies at the Capitol in Sacramento fueling an angry mob of Proud Boys and militia members sweeping the streets to attack those they identify as “enemies.”
Christopher Young at far-right rally in Sacramento November 7, 2020
Christopher Young has been front and center at many of the far-right rallies and events in Northern California since early this summer. Operating under the online pseudonym “Odin,” (his dog’s name) or “Odin Young,” he has affiliated himself with several far-right populist and supremacist groups including the California State Militia and the Central Valley Militia. Young is the Vice President of the Central Valley Proud Boys and has a Proud Boys tattoo on his right forearm. Young told J. On November 28 that he is a former Muslim and now Christian. However, several of Young’s tattoos signal a relationship to Pagan religion and culture as does the name he gave to his pet (Odin). Every single video on Young’s TikTok account is also centered around this theme. (For more details on the overlap between certain Pagan groups and fascism, see Antifa Sac’s previous work)
2014 photo of Christopher Young (t-shirt reads: Muslim and American)
Some of Christopher Young’s tattoos
Young’s social media posts divulge much of his point of view and political positions. Young is skeptically optimistic about Donald Trump. He’s shown support for the now-outgoing president over the last four years, yet he also countered that support in a November 2020 post on Telegram. In an offshoot Proud Boys discussion channel, Young speculated that Donald Trump is “a puppet for ZOG and doesn’t even know it.” The acronym ZOG stands for “Zionist Occupational Government” and is a staple in modern white supremacist discourse that dates back to the 1970s. The term refers to the anti-Semetic conspiracy theory that the United States government is actually controlled and operated exclusively in the interests of Jews. A more popular (and only slightly less anti-Semitic) version of this conspiracy is the “New World Order.” These theories allow the far-right to explain why the United States isn’t run the way they think it should be, and also validates their feelings of victimhood by providing them a scapegoat for their anger. In an October 2020 interview that Young did with podcaster Allen Hall, Young opined that from here on out he doesn’t see any way for there to be peace between liberals and conservatives.
Christopher Young (posting as “Odin”) sarcastically asks “What’s a ZOG?” along with anti-Semitic edited Trump graphics
Christopher Young (posting as Odin) thinks Trump is a “puppet for ZOG”
Additional Telegram posts further detail Young’s views on race. In one message, Young’s anti-black racism came through when he described himself as “98% white boyyyyyyyyy” and expressed a preference for being “1% jew” over being “1% african.” Young adheres to a National Socialist-style (Nazi) understanding of the world, believing that races should be separated from each other and he believes this is the natural order of things. What Young shares in private discussions like these is much different from what he said to Allen Hall about inclusiveness and diversity in their public podcast discussion. It’s clear that Christopher Young is motivated to action by a far-right line of thinking that concludes that white men are somehow the victims of a grand conspiracy to oppress them, and furthermore that there is now or will soon be a civil war in the United States against the “ZOG”/“NWO.”
A sampling of Christopher Young’s posts as “Odin” in Proud Goys Telegram channel
A sampling of Christopher Young’s posts as “Odin” in Proud Goys Telegram channel
Christopher Young has been a presence at right wing events in the Sacramento and Central Valley area as far back as 2019, often wearing Proud Boys and pro-Trump clothing. Posting as “Odin Young” in a local Facebook group earlier this summer, Christopher Young announced that he was going to form a “Galt militia” and invited others to become members. This post was archived and shared with the Galt city council by several concerned residents. Later in August, Young participated in a “Straight Pride” rally in Modesto, CA organized by Don Grundmann. Far-right content producer Josh Fulfer attended the rally wearing a shirt that had a picture of Kyle Rittenhouse on it with the words “American Hero” underneath. Kyle Rittenhouse is the 17 year old who shot and killed two Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters in Kenosha, WI and maimed a third. Pictures of Christopher Young and Josh Fulfer together at the event show Young clearly pointing attention towards and agreeing with the message Fulfer was promoting on his shirt.
Christopher Young (left) with Josh Fulfer (right) in Modesto
Young appeared again at a far-right gathering in Atwater on September 26 that included militia groups, Proud Boys, and a wider conservative contingent that came together to show support for police in opposition to the BLM movement. Pictures from this event capture Young fraternizing with militia members, one of whom was holding a riot shield with the words “Free Kyle Rittenhouse” on it next to a Proud Boys logo. This marks multiple times Christopher Young has been comfortable supporting the teenage murderer.
Christopher Young (left) in Atwater
Christopher Young at far-right rally in Sacramento November 14, 2020
Most recently, Christopher Young has been a key figure in the weekly right wing rallies taking place in Sacramento. Activated by a completely unfounded conspiracy theory of widespread voter fraud that is supposedly responsible for Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 election, the far-right has been gathering every Saturday at the Capitol building including Proud Boys, militia members, and white supremacists along with radicalized MAGA die-hards, anti-vaxxers, and Q anon followers. All of these rallies have thus far erupted in violence and far-right bullies attacking the unhoused, minors, and random pedestrians. On November 14, Young was photographed holding the same “Free Kyle Rittenhouse” riot shield seen in Atwater in September. Young has taken a lead organizer role providing coordination at these events and was even given space to speak to the crowd at the November 21 rally from the bed of his truck. After vaguely alluding to a “very serious” event coming in the future during his speech, Young declared that, “We will certainly stand tall until we have victory or paradise.” Standing with him in the back of Young’s truck was Proud Boy Jeffrey Perrine, known for shouting that “illegal immigrants should have their heads smashed into the concrete” at a far-right rally in Portland in 2018. Joining Christopher Young and Jeffrey Perrine was Alicia Peterson, a MAGA organizer who is known to have worked with the Golden State Skinheads in her activism.
Christopher Young speaks with Jeffrey Perrine (left) and Alicia Peterson (right) behind him
On November 28, Christopher Young joined the rest of the Central Valley Proud Boys on stage as they all sang a song together called “By God We’ll Have Our Home Again,” a song written by a fascist white supremacist project called Mannerbund. The song was originally featured in the handful of podcasts on the Mannerbund website, which also includes articles and imagery explicitly venerating National Socialism (Nazism). One comment from a Mannerbund participant on their website mentions that “several brothers” have connections to the fascist group Patriot Front. Following the National Socialist sing-along and an afternoon of drinking, Young and dozens of his fellow Proud Boys roamed the streets around the Capitol and Cesar Chavez Park looking for people to fight. Throughout Fresno Proud Boy Eddie Block’s livestream of the event he hastily identified random people as “antifa infiltrators” with intentions of making them targets of violence. Block’s frenzied paranoid thinking proved faulty when one of his targets turned out to be the wife of another Proud Boy. The potential for Proud Boys to indiscriminately bring harm and terror to random people shouldn’t be underestimated.
Christopher Young is an active threat. Due to his affinity for National Socialist (Nazi) ideas regarding race and culture and his affiliations with violent Proud Boys and militia members, anti-racists and anti-fascists should continue to monitor Young and his associates. There is still a lot of room for further research into the militia movement in Northern California. It should be noted that Young does indeed own firearms.
An example of the way Christopher Young obscures his membership in the Proud Boys on Instagram. Note: “4th degree” refers to the Proud Boys who have engaged in violence with “enemies”
You can usually spot Young at an event with his hair tied back, wearing a cowboy hat and some combination of gear and clothing with Proud Boys insignia. The black truck that he drives has stickers supporting the Proud Boys and the III% militia movement on the back windows. Young alters photographs of himself and others that he posts on his personal Instagram account so that the Proud Boys logos in the photos are unrecognizable. This and Young’s use of the pseudonym “Odin” hint that he wants to limit his public association with his far-right activism.
Legal Name: Christopher Carl Young
Pseudonym: “Odin Young”
Born: 1983 (37 years old)
Address: 36 Almo Ct Galt, CA 95632 (Sacramento County)
Vehicle: Black Ford F150, CA license plate 27101A1
Occupation: truck driver
Affiliations: Central Valley Proud Boys, Sacramento Proud Boys, California State Militia (2nd Infantry Regiment, Echo Company), Central Valley Militia, III% militia
This article was a collaboration between Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA) and Antifa Sacramento. If you have any information on Proud Boys, militias, and other far-right organizing in Northern California, you can anonymously send tips to NoCARA at nocara@riseup.net and to Antifa Sacramento at antifasac@riseup.net
In an April 18th, 2020 livestream, Minadeo wears a mask popular with violent white supremacist groups and tells his viewers that COVID-19 is hoax, declaring “If I choose to do anything out of line or do something troublesome I’ll put this mask on. Not for germs.”
Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA) monitors local far-right activism and movements with the intention of protecting our communities and disrupting far-right organizing efforts. The following report shares details on Jon Minadeo, an anti-Semitic white supremacist based in Northern California who has genocidal fantasies, and has been working to organize other white supremacists to harass Jewish people both in the streets and on the internet. Minadeo has routinely participated in small-scale anti-Semitic activism as well as used the internet to spread white supremacist content while networking with fellow travelers. Minadeo’s efforts to establish and grow a following around the United States combined with his calls for friends and supporters to follow him in harassing Jewish people make Minadeo a threat that NoCARA believes should be taken seriously.
Jon Minadeo, a 37 year old Petaluma resident who operates the organization Goyim Defense League (GDL) under the pseudonym “The Handsome Truth,” has been engaging in anti-Semitic activities around Northern California for years. Originally attracted to conspiracy theories as a result of his relationship to his uncle, Minadeo eventually gravitated towards white supremacist conspiracies about Jews after finding Infowars and continuing to slide even further right from the thinly veiled anti-Semitism of Alex Jones to full-on explicit holocaust denial. Before finding a way to collect cash selling clothing on the GDL’s webstore, Minadeo tried his hand and failed at both being an actor and being a rapper (as “Shoobie Da Wop”). Now further along his downward spiral, Minadeo attributes his personal failures to a conspiracy of Jews who he asserts are pursuing an anti-European agenda and have complete control of the American media.
Jon Minadeo posts a video to social media depicting him harassing people he believes to be Jewish while driving, using the German “Juden” in the video title
Minadeo’s local activities are pathetic and sad, centering predominately around flyering and driving cars decorated with provocative slogans and messages denying the Holocaust. He engages in ridiculous public stunts, such as performing anti-Semitic caricatures dressed as a rabbi, which serve to remind us all why he really never made it as an actor. Minadeo’s flyers have appeared at several locations around his local area, including San Marin High School in Novato, where they caught the attention of local police at the time.
Jon Minadeo posting up flyers that falsely blame Jews for 9/11
The internet has provided Jon Minadeo with a number of platforms to reach others and distribute propaganda, mostly in the form of tired conspiracies on ugly posters and flyers. Despite being banned from popular sites such as YouTube, Minadeo still enjoys attention and garners video views on more obscure hosts. Minadeo refers to himself online as “The Handsome Truth” and leads the group Goyim Defense League. Using a Jewish term for non-Jews and playing off of the name of the far-right Jewish Defense League, Minadeo created the GDL to attract equally anti-Semitic followers and share his incoherent ramblings. Trademarks have been filed for Handsome Truth and Goyim Defense League under Minadeo’s name, and he profits from merchandise sold under that brand. In 2018 the GDL was responsible for a “prank” in which the website Cameo was used to purchase personalized messages from celebrities which featured them reciting anti-Semitic dog whistles. His GDL website prominently features adulation of Adolf Hitler, the Third Reich, assorted Nazi officers and various prominent fascists throughout history, and is littered with the same delusional obsessions with “Jewish global domination” and “Zionist occupied government” that commonly appear on white nationalist propaganda sites. Numerous times he flirts with genocidal images and quotes, eventually advocating for genocide himself.
In his “Honest Rabbi” video, Jon Minadeo shows off his shirt design featuring an anti-Semitic message that refers to calling out supposed “Jewish supremacy”
While much of his activity is carried out in relative seclusion, Minadeo has also taken advantage of the internet to connect and network with supporters who share his views. The radical and violent white supremacists that Jon Minadeo has chosen to associate with eliminate all doubt concerning his motives and ambitions. The effort he puts into his activism and the lengths to which he has gone to act in concert with others elevates Minadeo from a random bigot to a dangerous individual who is actively organizing to do harm.
May 13, 2018 video by Jon Minadeo employs anti-Semitic language and support for white nationalist senate candidate Patrick Little
In 2018 Minadeo threw his support behind Patrick Little, an avowed anti-Semite and alt-right/white nationalist politician campaigning at the time to represent California in the US Senate and to “make America free of Jews.” He lost the election but this didn’t prevent him from having an influence on his following. Shortly after Robert Bowers attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA on October 27, 2018 killing 11 people and injuring 6 more, it came to light that Patrick Little was one of the last people to communicate with Bowers on the alt-right Twitter knock-off platform known as Gab. Aside from assisting Little’s political campaign, Minadeo made at least one trip from Petaluma to Albany to meet with Little and ex-Identity Evropa member “Chad Turner” (real name Lucas Huston).
Patrick Little and Jon Minadeo together in Albany, CA late 2018 looking for what they called “a pack of Jews” to harass from inside the car
Patrick Little (left) and ex-Indentity Evropa member “Chad Turner” (real name Lucas Huston)
Taking inspiration from Patrick Little, Jon Minadeo was joined by Joey Bounds of Colorado in the fall of 2019 for a “Name the Nose” tour in San Diego and Los Angeles. Minadeo followed this up with a trip to Colorado to visit Bounds and a group of white supremacists. Live streams from the trip show them writing anti-Semitic graffiti on their rental van, yelling at innocent people through a megaphone, and handing out Holocaust denial flyers in Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. This shows the danger that an online group of far-right conspiracy theorists represents, as even this ostensibly small group can take their politics from the internet to the streets and be emboldened to harass and attack anyone who they decide are targets.
Goyim Defense League member Joey Bounds (left) and Jon Minadeo at a restaurant harassing a waiter (photo credit Colorado Springs Antifa)
Jon Minadeo with Joey Bounds and others in Colorado (photo credit Colorado Springs Antifa)
Jon Minadeo and two supporters attended a right wing protest in Sacramento together on May 1 against the state’s measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. This was the second in what has now become a series of right wing gatherings and protests at the capital. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Minadeo has downplayed the significance of the impact the virus has had, even referring to it as a “hoax” or “the Jew flu.” During the protest, the group recorded themselves handing out flyers containing anti-Semitic content and taunting event speakers to get them to talk about Jews. At one point, Minadeo harassed a Jewish woman who attended the event and expressed objection to his flyers. The confrontation ended with Minadeo yelling at her and calling her a “Jewish witch.” Minadeo’s videographer at multiple times told others at the protest that the Holocaust was a lie, while Minadeo himself stated “if people knew the truth about Hitler he would go down as one of the greatest men ever,” and yelled at the police protecting the capital telling them they all “work for Z.O.G.” The “Zionist Occupied Government” term has been a staple in white supremacist discourse for decades. The most alarming statement came from the team’s assesment of their action of the day, with the videographer observing that “this is the most receptive crowd I’ve ever seen in my life.” Indeed, many of those that Minadeo engaged with in the streets of Sacramento were receptive to his ideas, and some even expressed prior knowledge of and acceptance of the poison Minadeo was spreading.
Jon Minadeo driving himself and supporters to Sacramento on May 1, 2020
Jon Minadeo talking to a group of Proud Boys while passing out flyers on May 1, 2020
Jon Minadeo is a threat to Jewish people in Northern California and elsewhere. His bigoted, hateful worldview and rhetoric, his dangerous escalation in street activism and his efforts to build networks and encourage others to follow in his footsteps represent a threat that can and will become dangerous without intervention. For these reasons, the information provided here can be used as a tool for community defense and should be shared widely.
Triplex that includes Jon Minadeo’s unit (104 High St. Petaluma, CA 94952)
Jon Minadeo in open garage of his unit, 104 High St. Petaluma, CA 94952
Name: Jon Eugene Minadeo II
Born: December 15, 1982
Current address: 104 High St. Petaluma, CA 94952
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gary.loaninberg.9
VK: https://vk.com/id568815430
VK: https://vk.com/id565670717
If you have any information on Jon Minadeo, the Goyim Defense League, or other white nationalists in Northern California, you can reach us at nocara @ riseup.net
Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA) has been monitoring the white supremacist fraternity Identity Evropa (IE) since 2016. IE has attempted to position itself as the vanguard of the alt-right, and their creator, Nathan Damigo, took his inspiration in part from David Duke of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and an updated European fascist politics called “Identitarianism,” which they package together in a millennial hipster aesthetic. After being involved in street fights from Berkeley, CA to Charlottesville, VA in 2017, IE has gone through a number of leadership shake-ups and faces lawsuits for their participation in the Unite the Right rally that resulted in the murder of anti-fascist Heather Heyer. These difficulties ultimately influenced an attempted reboot of the group and rebranding under a different name: American Identity Movement (AmIM). It seems even the neo-Nazis of today are having an identity crisis! Despite the name change, through leaked data published by Unicorn Riot that includes private communications and information on organizational structure and processes, AmIM has been proven to be nothing but a new name and logo from the same group which iconically sceamed, “Jews will not replace us!,” tiki torches in hand.
Last month, Nolan Brewer of Eminence, Indiana was sentenced to three years in prison for committing a hate crime when he vandalized an Indiana synagogue in 2018, painting white supremacist symbols (including a swastika) on the walls of a trash enclosure. Meanwhile Brewer’s wife Kyomi, who also participated in the attack, pled guilty to arson. Brewer revealed to FBI agents that he was a member of Identity Evropa. However, the Brewers are not unique. IE has been associated with other acts of terror as well, such as group member Taylor Wilson who broke into a secure compartment of an Amtrak train to stop it and “save the train from the black people.” In 2016, IE member Gabriel Wilson threatened the president of a college in Kansas who had bi-racial children. Group founder Nathan Damgio, who did time for armed robbery after attacking a cab driver he thought was “Iraqi,” and multiple IE members have also been involved in violent brawls from Berkeley to Minneapolis during 2017.
Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement represents a white nationalist network that contains the potential for serious and lethal racist violence. For this reason, we feel it is necessary to alert Northern California to IE/AmIM members in their communities. Below we will provide research and information on Brodin Lee Sutherland, a prominent and active member of the Northern California IE/AmIM branch.
Brodin Sutherland at UC Berkeley Identity Evropa rally May 2016
Brodin Sutherland first came to the attention of anti-fascists when he appeared with Nathan Damigo at UC Berkeley in May 2016. We wrote about Nathan Damigo, the Northern California-based founder and first leader of Identity Evropa, back in December 2016. Richard Spencer, the fascist who coined the term “alt-right,” was additionally heavily involved with IE during the group’s early period. Spencer not only announced the event on his Twitter account, but he also accompanied Damigo for the coming out rally of his new white power organization. Later that year, Damigo got permission to lead a rally by himself, an anti-immigrant IE gathering in San Francisco at Pier 14. Sutherland made an appearance at this rally as well, wearing the same distinct hat.
Brodin Sutherland at Identity Evropa Pier 14 rally October 17, 2016
Nathan Damigo and Brodin Sutherland at UC Davis Milo Yiannopolous event
The longer Brodin Sutherland was a member of Identity Evropa, the more active and involved he appeared to become. As the rate of alt-right “free speech” rallies increased throughout 2017, Sutherland attended events across the country, following very closely behind then-IE leader Nathan Damigo. In early 2017, Damigo and Sutherland were joined by a few other local fascists outside of the Milo Yiannopolous event at UC Davis. The event was ultimately shut down by anti-fascists, while Damigo and Martin Shkreli got a tampon and dog feces thrown at their faces, respectively. Sutherland attended the March 4th alt-right rally in Berkeley, which saw some of the first larger scale street fights between anti-fascists and the right wing big tent coalition that was just beginning to gain steam. The alt-right played a prominent part in this growing coalition. Sutherland is seen in several pictures and videos from the March 4 event sticking closely to Kyle Chapman, who would soon become the burnt-out meme “Based Stickman.”
Brodin Sutherland at alt-right rally in Berkeley March 4, 2017
Brodin Sutherland marching with Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman at Berkeley alt-right rally March 4, 2017
By April 2017 violence was expected at these events, and Identity Evropa was arriving prepared for this outcome. On April 15, 2017 Brodin Sutherland was at another alt-right gathering in Berkeley, this time with Nathan Damigo and other IE members as well as several members of the white nationalist fight group Rise Above Movement (RAM), then called DIY Division. Again, Sutherland is seen in media from the event closely following Damigo, and the two of them appear in photos with RAM taken both during and after the event. IE and RAM stood out as some of the most violent participants. Damigo was captured on video sucker-punching an anti-fascist demonstrator, and members of RAM were leading aggressive attacks throughout the day, including RAM leader Robert Rundo who was arrested for assaulting a Berkeley police officer. Sutherland positioned himself in the thick of the rally, which was marked by mass fights rolling through the streets of downtown Berkeley. Also in April 2017, Sutherland was one of a small group of IE members that held a flash rally in New York similar to the San Francisco rally in late 2016.
Brodin Sutherland (center, red shirt and jeans) assisting the neo-Nazi members of Rise Above Movement as they attack protesters in Berkeley, CA April 15, 2017
Brodin Sutherland’s arm can be seen coming from the left (red shirt, rolled sleeve), assisting Nathan Damigo and the Rise Above Movement attack counter protesters in Berkeley, CA April 15, 2017
From left to right: Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman, RAM member Robert Rundo, Nathan Damigo, and Brodin Sutherland April 15, 2017
On August 12, 2017 Brodin Sutherland attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA with Identity Evropa and hundreds of other racists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis. While the police created conditions that stopped the alt-right’s rally from actually happening, violence erupted in the streets and eventually resulted in the murder of Heather Heyer by white power terrorist James Alex Fields Jr. Sutherland was also present at the August 11th torch rally the night before on the University of Virginia campus, where white nationalist marchers chanted “Jews will not replace us!”
Brodin Sutherland and other alt-right activists pushing back against the police in Charlottesville August 12, 2017
Brodin Sutherland with Identity Evropa founder and then-president Nathan Damigo in Charlottesville, VA August 12, 2017
Despite the post-UtR fallout after August 12, the Bay Area saw one last large far-right rally that brought together a coalition of right wingers, from mainstream conservatives to authoritarians and fascists, in San Francisco. Brodin Sutherland attended the rally, organized to “honor” Kate Steinle (against the wishes of her family) and amplify anti-immigrant sentiments on December 16, 2017. Sutherland arrived with a crew of Identity Evropa members that spent a considerable amount of time at the event with Patrick Little, a Hitler fanboy and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 based in Albany, CA. The rally was organized by Lindsay Grathwohl, a far-right organizer who we previously exposed as having connections to the Golden State Skinheads gang.
Brodin Sutherland’s activity is not just limited to public rallies and street fights. In addition Sutherland is responsible for more low-key actions and behind the scenes organizing. Photos place Sutherland at Identity Evropa’s 2018 conference in Kentucky. Moreover, Unicorn Riot’s database of leaked IE communications reveal Sutherland’s participation in banner drops, placing IE flyers and stickers in public (including UC Berkeley), and private IE gatherings.
Identity Evropa’s 2018 conference photo with Brodin Sutherland standing all the way to the right
Brodin Sutherland is not just associated with Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement. Aside from connections to figures such as Patrick Little and Rise Above Movement outlined above, Sutherland has also revealed affinity with Asatru Folk Assembly. Asatru is a white nationalist distortion of pagan religion that accepts only white people exclusively. The Asatru network has also been associated with terroristic violence such as the Christchurch mosque shootings. The SF Bay View originally reported in 2017 that Sutherland donated $500 to former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke’s 2016 U.S. Senate campaign. He also gave money to Donald Trump’s campaign for President.
Brodin Sutherland tweets about Asatru
There have been several social media accounts connected to Brodin Sutherland, especially on Twitter. His accounts tend to get suspended quite quickly because of the hateful content on them. The handle “unclebro1488” was one of the accounts that belonged to Sutherland. The numbers 14 and 88 are commonly used among neo-Nazis as a shorthand to signify their political affiliation. The combination 1488 refers to the “14 words,” a white supremacist slogan coined by a member of the white supremacist terrorist group from the 1980s, ‘The Order,’ and pays lip service to the non-existent threat of “white genocide,” and “88” meaning “Heil Hitler” (H being the eighth letter of the alphabet). The outward “1488” affiliation is significant also in that Identity Evropa and its members have consistently denied any association to neo-Nazis, but it doesn’t take much digging to find the truth.
Brodin Sutherland tweeting Holocaust denial on Donald Trump’s account.
Brodin Sutherland’s father Leland “Lee” works for Contra Costa County Sanitary District as a Mechanical Supervisor. Lee Sutherland donated $127 to Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign in 2016. Brodin has owned multiple businesses with his brother Talon including Fire House Hauling and A Greener World Hauling. Talon James Sutherland has worked as a firefighter and as a police officer with Oakland PD before moving to the Rio Vista PD in 2015. On social media, Brodin has claimed to be a veteran, though further research is needed there. Campaign contribution files say he worked as a solar installer at the time.
6604 Las Animas, Martinez, CA 94553
Name: Brodin Lee Sutherland
Born: February 26, 1991 (Contra Costa County)
Current address: 6604 Las Animas, Martinez, CA 94553
Vehicles: Dark Chevrolet truck, CA license plate 5M58545 with “America First, Patrick Little” sticker on bumper
Light Chevrolet truck, CA license plate 5W46880 with “America First, Patrick Little” sticker on bumper
Chevrolet truck CA license plate 5W46880 with Patrick Little bumper sticker
Chevrolet truck CA license plate 5M58545 with Patrick Little bumper sticker
If you have any information on Brodin Sutherland, Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement, or other white nationalists in Northern California, you can reach us at nocara @ riseup.net
It’s been almost two and a half years since the Nazi rally by the Golden State Skinheads under the banner of the Traditionalist Worker Party on June 26th, 2016 at the Sacramento state capital was defeated by anti-racists and anti-fascists. Despite the Nazis receiving full support and police protection from the State, anti-fascists successfully prevented the rally from taking place through a large mobilization that took over the capital grounds. This victory however came at a heavy price as GSS members attacked and seriously injured the crowd with knives, shields, and other weapons during clashes with a relatively smaller number of anti-fascists that had run up to confront them. While the fighting lasted only a short time, GSS Nazis managed to stab 6 anti-fascists, and had their retreat protected by the police as they ran away holding the bloody knives used in the potentially lethal attacks in their hands. The retreating Nazis still suffered heavy beatings and damage to their cars culminating in a Nazi brandishing a pistol as they fled with another handgun being found on the ground next to the epicenter of the fighting.
In the time since, anti-fascists from all over Northern California have worked to identify and expose the Nazi individuals responsible for these attacks. Earlier reports by Antifa Sacramento, It’s Going Down, NoCARA, and others have detailed and mapped out large parts of the GSS network, and their affiliations to other neo-Nazi formations such as Rise Above Movement, the Hammerskin Nation, and the now defunct Traditionalist Worker Party. While GSS and their connections in the neo-Nazi white nationalist political world was elaborated on to a degree, less is known about the direct connections and affiliations of GSS to the broader northern California far-right activists that includes a confluence of Trump supporters, Proud Boys, militia members, conspiracy media consumers, and other authoritarians and racists. Continue reading →
Ryoga Vee (front, center in Spider-Man outfit) poses for a photo with Bay Area Proud Boys and allies on April 27, 2017
NoCARA recently received an anonymous submission of documents disclosing communications as well as a meeting that took place between Berkeley City Councilman Ben Bartlett, conservative activist Ryoga Vee, and Bay Area Proud Boy Jarod Flores. This news comes at a time when Councilman Bartlett is under fire for abusing his authority on multiple occasions in order to avoid traffic tickets, and the Berkeley City Council and Berkeley police are facing backlash from the community after Berkeley PD doxxed counter protesters opposing a far-right rally in MLK Park on August 5. Continue reading →
Amber Cummings has been involved in right wing political movements for the last 10 years, though she first caught the attention of anti-fascists on March 4, 2017 at the March 4 Trump rally in Berkeley. Since her participation at that rally, Amber has been a central figure in the far-right movement in Northern California. For the last year and a half, Amber Cummings has organized and engaged in violent protests in the Bay Area as well as in Portland, OR. Often, these events were test runs for what was then a growing coalition of far-right factions: libertarians, alt-lite, alt-right, militias, and mainstream Trump supporters. Amber fought side by side with white supremacists in Berkeley and Portland, building a right-wing coalition in the streets intent on attacking and suppressing the left. Amber Cummings has proven to be a threat to the Bay Area communities she harasses, and due to her past actions and persistent organizing we feel it is necessary to expose her. Continue reading →
This article is the first in a two part series examining California organizations that are connected and affiliated with the Republican Party, and have increasingly demonstrated a pattern of promoting and pursuing fascist and neo-Nazi politics under the cover of promoting the GOP.
Introduction
Earlier this year, NoCARA shared some of its research on the Berkeley College Republicans (BCR) weeks before an event in which the student club would host Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley. The event, planned for February 1st, 2017, was successfully cancelled and disrupted by university students along with the local community. Our previous research exposed the Alt-Right leanings of a handful of the club’s members and associates in an attempt to illustrate the fascist creep that was infecting the campus.
This process of the fascist creep, or the increasing integration and legitimization of fascist political positions within mainstream discourse, has continued with the aid of institutions including media outlets, GOP-linked organizations, and even the University of California itself. Resistance to the far-Right’s attempts to advance their vision of inequality persists, and we hope this expanded look at BCR will aid those engaged in antifascist work.
Leader of Berkeley College Republicans is also a big fan of Sellner, and wrote about his brand of white nationalism in Alt-Right paper. pic.twitter.com/bUeoFLbH3v
While BCR members have been profiled in local media such as Berkeleyside and bigger outlets like the New York Times, these articles have largely served as no more than superficial puff pieces that simply frame BCR as innocent victims of overaggressive Leftists or ‘antifa.’ Lacking in these journalists’ work is any serious attempt to understand why BCR has caught the attention of antifascists, as well as what role the club plays in mainstreaming white supremacy in the era of a Trump presidency. This piece will attempt to outline how BCR maintains one foot in the world of traditional mainstream conservatism while keeping the other in the world of far-Right organizing and fascist violence.
“Some of the most red-pilled people you’ll ever meet in your life.” – Kyle Chapman referring to BCR in an interview with InfoWars at Sproul Plaza, 9/27/17
“…[S]ome of the club members who supported Worden told him they were “national socialists,” a term often used by neo-Nazis…” – The Mercury News, 10/28/17
BCR members Anthony Limon, Troy Worden, Claire Chiara, and Jose Diaz. Limon is wearing a Radical Agenda shirt. Radical Agenda is operated by Christopher Cantwell, aka the “Crying Nazi.” Cantwell is the violent white supremacist and anti-Semite known for his participation in the Charlottesville, VA rally on August 11-12 as documented in this VICE News video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P54sP0Nlngg
Throughout 2017, BCR has made various connections to far-Right individuals and groups, including members of the Alt-Right movement responsible for organizing the deadly rally in Charlottesville, VA last August. Most of the club’s associations with these far-Right activists are made through Troy Worden, who has filled the role of President of BCR for most of 2017. Even after his removal from the group by way of an internal coup, Worden still has kept close with other BCR members, and attended a talk by anarchist and antifascist author Mark Bray in Berkeley in November, along with various other BCR members, including Vice President Naweed Tahmas. Clearly, despite Worden being voted out as the President, he still has a leadership role within it as a member, as evidence by the fact that other members of BCR who support him literally self-identified themselves to news media as actual National Socialists, or, neo-Nazis.
The following list details the growing connections between BCR and other formations, organizations, and individuals within the far-Right, the Alt-Right, and Alt-Lite.
Keith Campbell aka kpikklefield
Keith Campbell of El Cerrito, CA is a member of the Oath Keepers, a patriot militia organization who has livestreamed from many right wing events in Northern California throughout 2017. When BCR and others attacked a BAMN meeting at UC Berkeley for instance, Campbell tagged along to document it.
Campbell has encouraged right wing violence and promoted it using his social media pages. Other times, Campbell has used social media to doxx and harass and antifascist and Leftist activists. His desire for violence caught up to him at the August 27th rally in Berkeley where he was confronted by demonstrators.
Campbell is well networked into the local and regional far-Right and Alt-Right scene, following a variety of neo-Nazi, Alt-Right, and white nationalist accounts, despite his attempt to distance himself from white nationalism when he was interviewed by Reveal. Only several months later however, he was back on the streets, supporting Patriot Prayer in Portland, Oregon, on November 4th.
Keith Campbell (center, black baseball hat) with Troy Worden behind him as they and a group of others attack a BAMN meeting at UC Berkeley
Some examples of Keith Campbell’s tweets threatening violence. On the left, he is discussing a young African-American who was attacked at Unite the Right.
Daniel Quillinan
Daniel Quillinan is a fascist living in Berkeley associated with BCR. Quillinan has engaged in violence at rallies in Berkeley and is close to Kyle Chapman. On social media, Quillinan constantly posts racist and violent content, including discussions of weapons. Politically, Quillinan comes from a ‘reactionary Libertarian’ perspective that seeks to make common cause with neo-Nazis and members of the Alt-Right, by way of in his words, attacking ‘anti-racism.’ Quillinan is also a mainstay at BCR meetings and events, as well as street demonstrations. In September, Quillinan was a part of a group that also included BCR members that attacked and disrupted a BAMN meeting on the UC Berkeley campus.
BCR’s David Craig (center) and Daniel Quillinan (right) on Sproul Plaza
Naweed Tahmas (left) and Daniel Quillinan (right) among a group that attacked a BAMN meeting at UC Berkeley
Daniel Quillinan wearing a shirt bearing the image of fascist dictator, Augusto Pinochet.
Charles Murray
Charles Murray is the author of 1994 book, The Bell Curve, widely known as a pseudoscientific attempt to legitimize racism by arguing that intelligence potential is biologically linked to race. Though Murray’s claims have been debunked, his book remains a staple among the Alt-Right, white supremacists, and growing amounts of ‘average conservatives.’ Troy Worden describes Murray as “one of the most stimulating conservative intellectuals out there.” Murray visited BCR at UC Berkeley in April.
Troy Worden’s caption describes debunked white supremacist Charles Murray as “one of the most stimulating conservative intellectuals out there.” A comment on Worden’s Instagram post says “racial differences in IQ are real”
“Tiny [Joey’s second in command] reached out to me and called me up over Facebook and said, ‘You know, I support [IE] and what you do,” Von Ott said.
Von Ott added that Toese told him IE members were “the only people that actually were up front the entire time along with the Street Preachers. The Oath Keepers just sat back—in his words—with their fancy gear and stayed in the back the whole time.”
Gibson traveled to Berkeley with others for the rally on April 15th, where members of BCR were also in attendance. Patriot Prayer has continued organizing events in Berkeley in August, September, and November. BCR members participated in every one of these rallies, and Gibson’s events in September coincided with the so-called “Free Speech Week,” organized by members of BCR.
During that week of actions, BCR members spent considerable time with Joey Gibson. On September 27th, Troy Worden was at Pappy’s in Berkeley having drinks with Joey Gibson and members of Patriot Prayer as well as Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman and members of the Proud Boys. The night before, Troy Worden traveled with the same group to have drinks at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda. For more information on Joey Gibson and his own ties to the fascist movement, see Rose City Antifa’s article here.
Kyle Broussard (Seattle, WA) of Patriot Prayer getting aggressive with black students at UC Berkeley during “Free Speech Week”
Joey Gibson and Ashton Whitty (BCR) stand together on Sproul Plaza 11/11/17
Troy Worden’s night out in Alameda with Kyle Chapman, Patriot Prayer, and Proud Boys during “Free Speech Week”
Proud Boys
The Proud Boys, a Alt-Lite group with links to the Alt-Right and white nationalists, have attended all of BCR’s major 2017 events in Berkeley, starting on February 1st for the Milo Yiannopoulos failed speaking event. BCR members have also in turn been seen with members of the Proud Boys at these events.
The Proud Boys, founded by Gavin McInnes, describe themselves as “Western Chauvinists,” and the group does include token people of color and queer folks, who they frequently point to in order to claim they are not racist while advancing implicit white nationalist politics. At the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, various members of the Proud Boys were present, along with their ‘military’ division, FOAK, or the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, and even the event’s organizer Jason Kessler was a member of the Proud Boys himself.
Back in the bay area, members of the Proud Boys were seen at the Ben Shapiro talk put on by BCR, as well as all of the Alt-Right, far-Right, and Alt-Lite demonstrations which were also attended by BCR members over the past several months. In October, Troy Worden even made an appearance on Gavin McInnes’s show.
Proud Boys at UC Berkeley for BCR and Ben Shapiro
BCR VP Naweed Tahmas with Proud Boys during “Free Speech Week”
“Free Speech Week” group photo includes BCR members, Martin Sellner of Generation Identity (a white nationalist group), Brittany Pettibone of AltRight.com (run by Richard Spencer), Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman, and Proud Boys
Ashton Whitty with Proud Boy Chad Lanyon while livestreaming in San Francisco on November 4 at a Refuse Fascism rally
Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman
Gabriel Brown, Unite the Right attendee + member of neo-Nazi 'Anticom,' poses here with buddy Kyle "Based Stickman" Chapman in #Boston. pic.twitter.com/LGMS0ts2um
Since Chapman’s rise to prominence in far-Right circles, he has attempted to mainstream white nationalist talking points such as ‘white genocide,’ worked openly with Alt-Right figures like Augustus Invictus (a Unite the Right speaker), and helped to promote neo-Nazi groups like Rise Above Movement (RAM). Chapman’s group FOAK was also very prominent in Charlottesville, VA during Unite the Right on August 12th, and his own Facebook page featured a livestream from the event, though Chapman has since deleted the video. Chapman has even gone so far as to call for a return to lynching, called a black Trump support the ‘n-word,’ and told him that he would “have fun slapping those blue gums out your cock holster.”
Kyle Chapman has also worked with BCR and been seen with them on several occasions. Aside from their time together with Joey Gibson already mentioned above, Chapman spoke at a Make Cali Great event with BCR’s Troy Worden, (here Chapman claimed whites were being wiped out and railed against Muslims), and they were seen together at the California GOP convention as well as other events in the Bay Area. As with other Alt-Right and far-RIght figures, the connection between BCR and Chapman show how the campus club has their feet both in fascist street movements and in institutional politics.
Chapman chums it up with Jason Kessler, the man who would go on to organize the neo-Nazi ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville.
Ashton Whitty and Kyle Chapman
Troy Worden and Kyle Chapman
Image from neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA. In the center is Augustus Invictus, who was at the time Chapman’s co-leader of the Fraternal Order of Alt Knights or FOAK. Chapman still remains at the head of the group, and you can see Chapman’s “V” shield logo worn by the Alt-Right protester in the foreground.
Red Elephants
The Red Elephants is a pan-far-Right media group based in Southern California. The organization has known ties to the neo-Nazi group, Rise Above Movement (RAM), which includes members of the Hammerskins neo-Nazi skinhead gang, and has promoted and encouraged violence carried out by this group on several occasions.
To watch live streams of the Red Elephants is to be hit with a barrage of references to neo-Nazi memes and code words, from the “14 words,” to how awesome David Duke is. Unsurprisingly, earlier in 2017, Ashton Whitty of BCR started working for Red Elephants, livestreaming events in Northern California. Disqus wrote:
This past Friday the neo-Nazi propaganda group The Red Elephants announced the expansion of its coverage in the San Francisco Bay area with the addition of Ashton Whitty. She is a student activist at Berkeley who works with the Berkeley College Republicans and the Berkeley Patriot. She has also collaborated with the Leadership Institute’s propaganda group, Campus Reform. She has been given the epithet Patriot Barbie by her neo-Nazi fans.
The Red Elephants typically creates videos catering to fascists and white supremacists, livestreaming from events such as the neo-Nazi rally, Unite the Right in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, as well as the neo-Nazi White Lives Matter rally in Tennessee, and many events in Berkeley. Members have also been seen on streams disseminating white supremacist propaganda such as Holocaust denial. For more information on the connection between white supremacist groups and The Red Elephants, see NoCARA’s previous research here.
Ashton Whitty livestreaming at UC Berkeley for The Red Elephants on September 7, 2017. In this video, Ashton announces she is officially taking over for Rick Write and will be livstreaming from Northern California for RE
Ashton Whitty in BCR shirt with Rick Write of Red Elephants and Colin Duke making a livestream video for the white supremacist channel. Spoiler alert: They never managed to infiltrate any antifa group
Rick Write livestreaming for Red Elephants from inside a BCR meeting on UC Berkeley campus
Lauren Southern
Lauren Southern is a far-Right and Alt-Lite activist from Canada. She recently became known for joining the fascist group Generation Identity for their “Defend Europe” media stunt along with Brittany Pettibone from California, who writes for AltRight.com, a website run in part by Richard Spencer.
While onboard the ship, Southern shot flares at a boat containing refugees. Lauren Southern has traveled to Berkeley on multiple occasions to join BCR at various events and also livestream. The students were seen with her during the April 15th rally, and she also came to the university campus for BCR’s Ben Shapiro event and their “Free Speech Week,” and has been seen taking various group photos with members of BCR both during street actions and while on campus tabling.
Lauren Southern with BCR on Sproul Plaza 4/14/17
Lauren Southern with BCR outside Ben Shapiro event
Martin Sellner and Generation Identity
Martin Sellner is a leader of Generation Identity, a fascist and white identitarian group based in Europe, who gained notoriety for being the primary organizer behind the failed “Defend Europe” publicity stunt.
Sellner is from Austria and visited Berkeley during BCR’s “Free Speech Week” where he was seen with Troy Worden, Kyle Chapman, and Lauren Southern, while spending time with girlfriend, Brittany Pettibone. Generation Identity recently started branches in the UK and Ireland, and may be looking to bring their movement to the US, where it has also inspired groups such as Identity Evropa. Worden himself has also written glowingly of Generation Identity, claiming that white Identitarianism is able to succeed whereas neo-Nazi groups in the US generally fail.
Troy Worden with Martin Sellner during BCR’s “Free Speech Week”
Kyle Chapman takes a selfie with Martin Sellner and Brittany Pettibone during BCR’s “Free Speech Week”
Francois Marion and the American Freedom Keepers
Francois Marion and his organization American Freedom Keepers have been at several far-Right events, including in Berkeley and Washington DC. The American Freedom Keepers are described as a militia group, and even attended the neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. Because of this, both Marion and his organization are listed among the defendants in a lawsuit from the City of Charlottesville and other plaintiffs due to Marion’s “illegal paramilitary activity” at the Charlottesville, VA rally on August 12th. The group is connected with the Berkeley College Republicans.
For instance, on August 27th, Marion picked up BCR member Ashton Whitty from MLK park in Berkeley during the cancelled “Rally against Marxism.”
Ashton Whitty in the back of Francois Marion’s car after he picked her up from MLK park on August 27, 2017
Nathan Damigo and Identity Evropa
Nathan Damigo is the founder of the fascist and white supremacist organization Identity Evropa. Damigo and his organization were among the primary organizers of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA in August where Heather Heyer was murdered and many more were injured. Before that rally, Damigo and supporters participated in the April 15th rally in Berkeley where Damigo was caught in a viral video punching an antifascist woman in the face. Nathan Damigo has also been linked to BCR repeatedly.
At the April 15th rally, BCR member Jack Palkovic was seen meeting with and shaking Damigo’s hand. Damigo had already been spending time with BCR and developing a relationship with the group as early as January 2017. On January 20th, BCR allowed Damigo to join them at their table on Sproul Plaza to celebrate the inauguration of Donald Trump, where they did an interview with him on a conspiracy theory and white supremacist internet show, Red Ice TV.
Nathan Damigo standing to the right of Troy Worden at BCR table Sproul Plaza 1/20/17
Nathan Damigo and Naweed Tahmas on the neo-Nazi channel Red Ice TV
Nathan Damigo and Matt Ronnau on the neo-Nazi channel Red Ice TV
Damigo also attended the Milo Yiannopoulos event at UC Davis on January 13th to recruit for Identity Evropa and showed up to UC Berkeley on February 1st to do the same thing until he saw the anarchist black bloc, which made him physically remove himself.
Nathan Damigo and Jack Palkovic of BCR shaking hands at April 15 rally in Berkeley
BCR has attempted to bring Milo Yiannopoulos to UC Berkeley twice in 2017, first on February 1st and again in September for “Free Speech Week.” Both of these events were disastrous failures due to the group’s own organizational contradictions and disorganization compounded by resistance from antifascists.
BCR continues to support Yiannopoulos despite the fact that he is known to have made comments supporting pedophilia and leaked emails show that he worked directly with white supremacists to popularize the Alt-Right while working at Breitbart.
Milo also attacked BCR and their front group, the Berkeley Patriot, claiming it was their fault that Free Speech Week fell apart. During Free Speech Week, a wide variety of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, Alt-Lite, and Alt-Right trolls hit the streets, and BCR and Troy Worden blanketed the Berkeley campus with homophobic and racist messages, posters, and slogans. The atmosphere of fear was compounded by Alt-Right attacks and harassment against left-wing bookstores, homeless encampments, and the beating of a man of color on Telegraph Ave.
Troy Worden and Naweed Tahmas attempted to infiltrate an anti-Milo organizing meeting before BCR’s failed February 1 event
Ashton Whitty, Troy Worden, and Naweed Tahmas attend author Mark Bray’s talk at UC Berkeley on November 13th and attempt to troll the event.
“The grassroots arm of the Republican Party” – College Republican National Committee
As we have just shown, BCR maintains several connections to the Alt-Right and white supremacists, both locally and elsewhere. Some of these connections are directly responsible for violence done in the name of those white supremacist ideologies to which they adhere. This indicates the obvious fact that BCR holds a place in the Alt-Right ecosystem, especially as they connect a neo-fascist street movement to the club’s credibility and connections through the mainstream conservative apparatus, which in turn means the ability to organize events and access to vast amounts of taxpayer money. Guess big government doesn’t suck!
This puts BCR in the position to normalize Alt-Right politics on campus and within the broader conservative constituency, facilitating the process of the fascist creep. Below we point out the institutions backing BCR even as they cater to the Alt-Right and violent fascists behind the scenes.
Naweed Tahmas leading the pledge of allegiance at the California Republican Party Convention
Matt Ronnau (BCR) with Roger Stone, long time Trump operative.
American Freedom Alliance and Geert Wilders
On May 21, BCR members were guests at the American Freedom Alliance’s “2017 Heroes of Conscience Dinner” event. The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported on the American Freedom Alliance’s 2016 and 2017 conferences and their promotion of extreme anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views. Indeed, the keynote speaker at the 2017 dinner was Geert Wilders, pictured with BCR executives Troy Worden and Matt Ronnau. Founder and leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom, Wilders gave a speech in which he advocated for an end to immigration from Islamic countries and a ban on mosques. Wilders then ended his speech by saying that if Muslims in the Netherlands “start acting like Sharia law,” they will be “sent packing.” BCR members can be seen clapping throughout in a video of the speech on YouTube.
BCR were guests at hate group American Freedom Alliance’s event
Troy Worden with Geert Wilders at American Freedom Alliance event
Matt Ronnau getting an autograph from Geert Wilders at American Freedom Alliance event
Young America’s Foundation (YAF)
The Young America’s Foundation (YAF) is behind BCR’s Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, and Ben Shapiro events in 2017, though only one of those actually happened as planned. YAF is funded in part by the affiliated organization the Leadership Institute (LI), and both organizations together receive millions from entities such as the DeVos Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, and the F.M. Kirby Foundation. Seems these ‘enemies of globalism,’ are funded by billionaires and have deep ties to the Trump administration and GOP.
Troy Worden with UKIP’s Nigel Farage at YAF’s National Conservative Student Conference
In 2015, YAF spent over $8 million to sponsor conservative speaking events on college campuses. However, YAF and LI don’t limit their political engagement solely to paying for college speaking appearances. These organizations have trained conservative activists for decades. Young Republicans that have come from this training have gone on to become prominent GOP politicians, including Vice President Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, and Karl Rove. In short, despite advancing theories that the left is backed by people like Soros, the reality is that groups like BCR are much more in bed with billionaires and segments of the status quo than anyone.
LI also funds Campus Reform, a conservative meets Alt-Lite publication which members of BCR have worked for. Aside from working with the Alt-Right friendly BCR, YAF itself has had its own internal connections to the white nationalist movement. Current YAF board member James B. Taylor also served as the Vice President of the National Policy Institute (NPI) as late as 2007. NPI is a white nationalist think tank currently headed by infamous neo-nazi Richard Spencer. When Taylor was VP, NPI published “The State of White America 2007,” which called Brown v. Board of Education “arguably the worst decision in the Court’s 216-year history,” as noted by Political Research Associates.
Troy Worden works for the Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform
College Republican National Committee and the Republican Party
As part of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC), BCR functions as part of “the grassroots arm of the Republican Party.” The CRNC trains young Republican students to prepare them to become the future leaders of the conservative movement and sees the activism it offers to members as being a gateway into the Republican party. The CRNC’s website features a resume bank section where members can apply for jobs including working for politicians and think tanks.
Former BCR member Claire Chiara was one of the youngest members of the California delegation at the 2016 Republican National Convention where she supported Trump and she also ran for California State Assembly that same year. At the 2017 California GOP Convention, a far-Right group of College Republicans called Rebuild CCR, led by “Milo Yiannopoulos ally” Ariana Rowlands, won control of the California College Republicans. Troy Worden from UC Berkeley is a part of this group, and now serves as Administrative Vice Chair. In other words, the alt-right hasn’t infiltrated the party, the alt-right is becoming the party.
Rebuild CCR using Trump’s campaign language
UC Berkeley and the City of Berkeley
Both UC Berkeley and the city of Berkeley have spent millions of dollars to protect BCR and their Alt-Right friends as they engage in their political activism and organizing. UC Berkeley has responded to antifascist resistance on their campus by bending over backwards to accommodate BCR in the name of a crisis of free speech.
UC Berkeley chancellor Carol Christ has declared this “the year of free speech” on campus and has waived thousands of dollars in venue fees so BCR could host Ben Shapiro in Zellerbach Hall in September. While the far-Right has cried “free speech” in order to force their hateful views into the national conversation, UC Berkeley has obliged them, citing the campus as the home of the free speech movement. Despite their so-called defense of free speech, the university cancelled a student-led class about Palestine in late 2016 and cancelled a talk by Dr. Anna Tsing on September 25th, organized by the university’s anthropology department, so they could lock down the campus to accommodate BCR’s “Free Speech Week,” despite the fact that the anthropology event was scheduled far in advance of the BCR event.
At the same time, Carol Christ and Berkeley mayor Jesse Arreguin continue to urge people to stay home and not protest against the far right when they come to antagonize and attack the local community.
But despite a new club president, Troy Worden is still a member of BCR and no other leadership changes have been made. Nor has BCR or its members created distance from the Alt-Right or denounced any of the far-Right and white supremacists discussed above. However, it is clear that internal contradictions and outside pressure are having an effect. This should continue.
BFFs 4ever? Troy Worden and Bradley Devlin
Jack Palkovic is not happy with Bradley Devlin
Additionally, this problem is not unique to UC Berkeley. President of the Washington State University College Republicans, James Allsup, resigned after being identified as a tiki-torch carrying participant in the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Despite this, Allsup continues to be a major player within Alt-Right, white nationalist, and neo-Nazi circles, where he has been arguing against some factions of the Alt-Right, that the movement needs abandone street demonstrations and enter into the world of electoral politics and begin to run candidates. On November 30, Allsup was re-elected as president of WSU’s College Republicans, however others within the group claim that this was dismissed on the grounds that Allsup isn’t a student. Regardless, Allsup, like the members of BCR, shows the incredible space and room that the Republican Party will give to openly neo-Nazi, Alt-Right, and white nationalist ideas.
Moreover, white supremacist groups like Identity Evropa will continue to try and recruit on college campuses, while also making inroads into college Republican groups. As the fallout from Unite the Right continues and as the 2018 election race draws closer, a larger segment of the movement will go back towards attempting to engage in entryism, either by following Bannon or trying to pass undetected in the Republican party. Antifascists should continue to research local fascists and their connections, and take strategic action to stop the fascist creep on their college campuses and in their community.
Every day brings us another story of growing far-Right insurgency and violence in defense of the crumbling illegitimacy of the Trump administration and the systems of patriarchy and white supremacy. Ongoing acts of arson and vandalism against mosques, Jewish cemeteries and places of worship, threats of violence and attempts at intimidation against journalists, and even out right murder are now all commonplace.
In the face of this reality, Alt-Right trolls and ‘journalists,’ their friends at mainstream outlets like Fox, and the Trump administration itself, have all been quick to jump on anything that reeks of “left-wing” violence as a means of distracting and mobilizing their base. From Kyle Chapman trying to connect James Hodgkinson to the antifascist movement, to the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security labeling antifa a “terrorist threat to the wider public,” both the State and the Right are attempting to overshadow their own growing violence by playing up fears of resistance from below. Continue reading →
White nationalists, far-Right militias, pro-Trump bikers, members of the Alt-Right, and neo-Nazis are not only coming to the Berkeley Trump rally on Saturday, April 15th – they are speaking and organizing it. As we will show, full blown white nationalists connected to Richard Spencer and other leading neo-Nazis will address Trump supporters on Saturday, despite the claims of rally organizers that they have no connection to white supremacists or the Alt-Right. Continue reading →
