Chicago ARA Releases Zine #2 – May Day Edition

Read Zine Online (Scribd), or download Printable PDF or Readable PDF

In solidarity with worker and immigrant communities who rise up every year on this date and take action against the bosses and politicians that oppress us all, we are proud to release the second issue of the South Side ARA zine on May Day. This issue contains action reportbacks from the past year, information on active fascists in the area, news & analysis, and more. Please read, copy, and redistribute as you see fit.

May 1st - International Workers Day is celebrated worldwide. On this date in Chicago, during the 1886 General Strike, workers and immigrants fought and died fighting for better working conditions and an eight hour work day. To this day, the State, the rich ruling class, and street-level fascists are still attacking marginalized communities and the working class. Several states are passing legislation to privatize public services and attack union collective bargaining rights, while other bills are being passed which encode racial profiling and attack immigrant communities. At the same time, Nazis, the Klan and other street-level white supremacists are spreading racial terror through vigilante border patrols, rallies and marches, and even attempted assassinations and bombings.

As the crisis of capitalism intensifies, it is becoming more and more necessary to organize and take direct action against the forces that seek to dominate our lives and the planet. We hope the release of this issue will spark debate and inspire action to destroy all forms of oppression.

Smoke Bomb Ends Hitler Birthday Party

From the Chicago Tribune:

Lyons police are investigating a smoke bomb explosion that abruptly ended a birthday party celebration for Adolf Hitler at a Lyons banquet hall, a party complete with decorated cakes and Nazi banners.

The suspect, a man with a backpack, had ordered a grilled cheese sandwich before he went into a restroom and set off the smoke bomb, authorities said Monday."The description we have to work off of is very vague," police Chief Harley Schinker said of the person responsible for the damage Saturday night to P.J. Klem's Restaurant & Banquet Hall.

Art Jones, chairman of the America First Committee, said he organized the party and that about 60 people attended. In addition to celebrating the 122nd anniversary of Hitler's birth, which is Wednesday, Jones said the group marked the April 12, 1861, start of the Civil War.

The party included two cakes, Jones said. One was decorated with the words, "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler." The other bore the phrase, "The South Was Right. White Men Fight," Jones said.

Officers arrived at the restaurant and banquet hall about 6:15 p.m. Saturday after receiving a call about smoke, according to a release from Lyons police.

The smoke bomb caused no serious damage or injuries, but police evacuated and closed the restaurant to allow the Cook County sheriff's police bomb squad to search the building, Lyons police said.

Pete Klemetzos, general manager of Klem's, said he was unaware of the party's specific purpose when it was scheduled several weeks ago.

The same group has rented the banquet hall in previous years and was holding a peaceful gathering, he added.

"There was no 'Heil Hitler' or anything like that," Klemetzos said, although banners bearing swastikas were displayed.

"They didn't wear uniforms. There were no outside demonstrations. A group came in and said they wanted me to cook for them — chicken, beef, sausage — and I didn't ask them who they were."

New Jersey Reportback: The Battle of Pemberton: ARA vs NSM

PLEASE DONATE TO LEGAL DEFENSE FUND FOR ANTIFA ARRESTED IN NJ!

Friends, We are writing to request your aid for the legal defense fund of two Antifa activists who were arrested in Burlington County, New Jersey after a confrontation that ended an annual neo-Nazi conference. The activists are members of New Jersey and New York chapters of Anti-Racist Actionamong whose activities are tracking down white supremacist groups, publicizing them and confronting them in order to shut down their ability to recruit and plan. Any donations can be sent via Paypal to donate@antiracistaction.org.

From the Anti-Racist Action Network:

The Battle of Pemberton: ARA vs NSM

The National Socialist Movement (NSM), a group that tries to dance around the fact that they are Nazis while sporting swastikas on their uniforms and sieg heiling, had been planning to host their annual conference along with a rally, redneck horse shoe and band spectacle for several months.

The dates were set for April 15th and 16th in Trenton, New Jersey. Of course we can assume they expected some unhappy spectators at the rally but what they didn't predict was an all out battle that left 4 of their "SS security" force in the hospital with multiple staples. The NSM went through quite a bit of trouble keeping their event and sleeping locations private. This was nothing but a waste of time for the NSM considering the turncoats within their organization leaked the information to anti-fascists weeks in advance.

The 15th came around and a phone jam was put on both the hotel, where 50 or 60 of them stayed for the weekend(the Comfort Inn off 209 in Bordentown, NJ) and their conference location (the 449 club at 6 Pemberton Ave in Pemberton). Just as the conference was about to begin 30 of us took the streets about 2 blocks away and marched in black bloc to the conference location. Within that time several people living and passing through the neighborhood began to stare from the cars and porches as we let them know Nazis were meeting in their town. One person, upon notification, parked his car and joined the bloc immediately, eager to confront the boneheads. By the time we arrived to demonstrate a few nazis from the NSM gathered outside of the conference space but within a few seconds about 30 or 40 of their fully SS uniformed security were out with chairs, thinking they were about to kick some antifa tail. After some exchanged words the NSM walked off the property to engage us. They wanted a brawl...and we defended ourselves successfully.

After a brutal rumble of evenly matched numbers the NSM quickly scurried back to the property with bashed skulls, bruised faces and damaged property, sending 4 boneheads to the hospital (2 of which may still remain there). At this point the cops had shown up and we managed to retreat with one comrade minorly injured and two arrested. It can be assumed that if the conference was not shut down completely, the talking they were doing had nothing to do with rank promotions and five year plans, as it was supposed to. This was the part of the purpose of our demonstration; we are not trying to change their minds or tell them they have been bad little nazi sub-humans. We want to disempower them, leave them in fear and most importantly crush what they are trying to build. Not only did we win the physical battle by a mile, but given the goal at hand, they were completely defeated. The conference was now minimized to a retreating space where the NSM would pout and discuss their defeat. According to some sources not only did some members of the NSM check into a different hotel, spending more money and fearing more attacks, but even the cops were laughing at how bad the nazis were beat and were quoted saying "ARA isn't playing this weekend", but then again, are we ever?

The next day, April 16th, it was time for the downtown rally in Trenton followed by the backyard concert on Jason Heickes' property. Before the NSM showed for their hour long spectacle in which they gained no supporters whatsoever, not only were ARA, the new Black Panthers and other radical groups ready to confront the Nazis but the community itself filled the streets with rage looking to clean house. The NSM was protected by several hundreds of cops, as you can expect, and because of this there really was no physical stand off aside from a few rocks hurled at their busses as they exited the city. This was a second victory for us since they gained absolutely nothing and no one out of the formality while we showed our numbers and that we were more then prepared for another round. After the Nazis left, one of our other enemies in the three way struggle, the cops, moved aggressively to force us out of the city, but not before a few folks smashed some Bank of America windows. These actions show that the rage against the fascists is not based out of a will to preserve the status quo or protect capitalism but rather a will to reclaim what is ours and to smash racism, fascism and all oppression and apparati of control. Since one of the band members from Zyklon b had his head split wide open in the melee and because it was raining we assume the outdoor concert on Heickes' property was at the very least not what they expected bringing. Yet another victory for our side.

View a low-quality video of the street brawl posted by the NSM:

Another Anti-Racist Action Network member writes:

The rejection of the identity of victimization through cracking a Nazi's skull.
-by a bitch ass faggot

On Friday, April 15^th, 2011 some anti-fascist in Anti-Racist Action learned of the location of the National Socialist Movement's national conference for rank promotion and five-year planning. A group of 30 of us decided to march to where the Nazi's were strongest, to bodily and boldly confront them, and we were decidedly victorious. After the the dust settled six Nazis were hospitalized, more were injured, their vehicles and property were damaged, and their conference was ended. On the other side, one anti-fascist required moderate first aid.

Many of us at the melee were people of color, working class, immigrants, women, queer, transgendered, and/or people on parole or probation. The logic of the victim is constantly thrust upon us. We are said to be 'at risk' and must be protected and pandered to. It is said that we need others, usually the State, to protect and stand up for us. But, through the action of splitting Nazis' heads open, we rejected the logic of victimization. We will continue to do so, we will be victims no longer. We do not need others to stand up for us, we have each other. When we are attacked, we will find each other and counterattack, so hard and so fierce that we will surprise even ourselves.

If the Nazis call us bitch ass faggots, they might not be that far off the mark. But if they conflate those slurs with weakness, the six hospital visits they faced would prove otherwise.

From the mainstream Burlington County Times:

Neo-Nazis, opponents brawlPEMBERTON BOROUGH - A clash between neo-Nazis and members of an antiracist organization Friday evening left four Nazis in the hospital and prompted two arrests, according to the New Jersey State Police.

The fight involved about 50 people and took place on the eve of a neo-Nazi rally Saturday in Trenton.

State troopers responded to the fight at about 7 p.m. on the unit block of Pemberton Street, where members of the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement were gathering to prepare for their rally.

The group has been described as one of the largest neo-Nazi hate groups in the country and promotes a racist and anti-Semitic agenda, according to both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

While the NSM members were meeting, about 25 people from a Minnesota-based group called the Anti-Racist Action Network drove into the borough and an armed melee ensued between the two groups. They fought with weapons such as knives, pipes and wooden boards, state police said.

All but two of the combatants, who were not seriously hurt, scattered when troopers arrived.

State police arrested Joseph W. Alcoff, 29, of Syracuse, N.Y., and Thomas T. Keenan, 25, of Franklin Township, and charged them both with third-degree inciting a riot.

Both are members of the Anti-Racist Action Network and both were transferred to the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly in lieu of $50,000 bail each, according to state police.

Authorities said the incident remains under investigation and do not rule out further arrests and charges.

Four of the Nazis suffered undisclosed injuries as a result of the fight and were transported to local hospitals.

Two were treated and released from Lourdes Emergency Department at Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Pemberton Township. The other two were being treated at Virtua Memorial in Mount Holly on Saturday, state police said.

Their identities or conditions were not available.

The Anti-Racist Action Network posted a blog to its website about the incident describing the confrontation.

"A group of 30 of us decided to march to where the Nazis were strongest, to bodily and boldly confront them, and we were decidedly victorious," the blog reads. "After the dust settled, six Nazis were hospitalized, more were injured, their vehicles and property were damaged, and their conference was ended."

The neo-Nazi rally in Trenton did go on as planned for about 90 minutes Saturday, but state police said the 50 members of the National Socialist Movement who marched at the Statehouse were outnumbered fourfold by members of antiracist groups and other counter-protesters.

The event was generally peaceful, although there were at least three arrests - one for breaking a window at a bank, one for a weapons offense, and one for shooting off fireworks, according to state police.

Authorities did not immediately release further details.

David Irving's Indianapolis Speaking Event Attacked...Twice

It's only been a few days since David Irving began the second portion of his 2011 tour and already the Midwest has been delivering militant antifa resistance.

His first Midwest speaking event was to take place in Indianapolis speaking to members of the racist hate groups Hoosier Nation and American Third Position. However, the night before, the MCL Cafeteria hosting the event had several windows bashed out with bricks that read "Shut David Irving Down" and "No Nazis", forcing the MCL Cafeteria to shut down the event and tell Hoosier Nation that they can no longer host their monthly racist gatherings there. Matt Parrott and Jaenelle Antas had to scramble to find another emergency location at the last minute, although they have tried to claim, as the boneheads usually do, that this was not the space for their event. We know this is bullshit because dependable intelligence sources have confirmed this before and after bricks were thrown.

antifa communique from an anonymous email:

On April 8th, the night before holocaust denier and nazi sympathizer David Irving's Indianapolis speaking event, we paid the hosting restaurant an early visit. Three Bricks written with "Shut David Irving Down" and "No Nazis" were launched through the windows to harass the MCL Cafeteria and to prevent Irving from speaking there. The MCL Cafeteria regularly hosts racist gatherings of Hoosier Nation, Council of Conservative Citizens(CCC) and American Third Position meetings led by Indianapolis-based racists Matt Parrott and Jaenelle Antas (who are organizing to support Indiana's anti-immigrant bill SB590). Attacking Irving on the first function of the Midwest portion of his 2011 speaking tour sets the tone for things to intensify: not only for Irving and his assistant Jaenelle, not only for those who attend and host his events, but for every holocaust denier and every white nationalist. We wish them to be a target of war every minute and every second of there lives and in those moments in which they seem unchallenged, let them wither in fear of retribution and drown in the paranoia caused by the panopticon-like gaze that is antifa.

 The list of cities Irving plans to visit on the rest of his tour. Click 'read more' for more info on the Indianapolis speaking event.

The restaurant hosting Irving's speaking event:
MCL Cafeteria
1390 Keystone Way
Carmel, IN 46032
Carmel location phone: 317-844-9217 Corporate phone: 317-257-5425

 Two Indianapolis-based racists who invited Irving here who are part of http://www.hoosiernation.us which also holds regular meetings at the MCL Cafeteria.

Matt Parrott
1145 Golfview Dr Apt F
Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 324-8282

Jaenelle Antas
7823 Ella Dobbs Ln
Indianapolis, IN 46227
(317) 379-8871 and (305) 923-9400

Apparently, after the location was moved, the dumb asses managed to give up their new location spot again and, according to Jaenelle's(tristania) post on stormfront, were forced by management to leave. They claim that they found a new location last second but whether this is true or not can't be confirmed. They try to call the event a success but lets analyze the situation; even if they did have this talk at parrotts apartment, or as the Hoosier nation response says, "in a van down by the river", it wouldn't have been until two of the former locations fell through, not to mention that one of them was Hoosier nations monthly meeting spot in which they are no longer welcome. And how many people do you think were unable to attend this speech due to this fiasco? Meeting taking place or not they went through some hell while antifa had a good time and with no legal repercussions.

Today, according to David Irving's facebook, as well as some other sources, st. Louis antifascists have broke windows harassed and spray painted the hotel that were said to be hosting Irving.

Even before his tour began, Irving was already facing disagreements with Jaenelle about how he is poorly managing the funds raised from his book and ticket sales in addition to harsh criticism from his own neo-nazi affiliates that he is washed up, old and an irrelevant mockery of his former self. After an awesome campaign against Irving's 2010 U.S. tour, we are making sure 2011 will deliver a whole new round of failures for Irving's holocaust denial tour. Two days of war and twenty-two more to go. Good work to our comrades in Indiana and st. Louis and for all of our other antifas out there, lets keep it up. No platform for the fascists!

Updated "Wanted: Illinois-area Nazis" Poster

View poster online (scribd) or download (PDF)

It's been relatively quiet for Chicago-area nazis since their failure at the attempted 2010 "White Pride World Wide" march just over a year ago. Considering how badly they were defeated, it's not surprising they didn't bother organizing another public action in 2011. We have still been keeping tabs on the major white supremacist groups and individuals in the area, particularly James Logsdon's Creativity Movement out of Bloomington IL, John Alexander's new "Blood & Honour / C18" chapter, Suzie Mike and Matt from the Chicago NSM and the stragglers from the now-disbanded Illinois National Socialist Front. After a series of failures, they've crawled back under whatever rock they came from, having been reduced to a handful of sparsely-attended private barbecue events, where the main event is a drunken sob-session about the mean folks of Chicago ARA.Every once in a while, some new boneheads appear on the scene mistakenly thinking that this might be a city receptive to some white supremacist hatred. We at Southside ARA are quick on the draw to identify and confront racist imbeciles who don't know anything about how Chicago handles nazi scum. In that spirit, here's an updated "Wanted: Illinois-Area Nazis" poster.

• Brian Lloyd Christian, from Rogers park. A professional pianist, teacher, and white supremacist who is actively recruiting on Nazi forum Stormfront.org. Since 2005, he's been posting as "WhiteMuser" looking to form a "European Americans United" chapter. More on Brian here.
• William Nelson, from Villa Park. A white supremacist with Nazi tattoos who was recently paroled from Stateville, having done several years for hate crime charges after savagely beating a black man while shouting racial slurs.
• Eric Scott, from Chicago. Affiliated with the Chicago Mafia Skins(CMS) and the Bully Boys, Eric runs the zine "Brew & Honor," and maintains a NewSaxon profile.
• Mark "MadMark88" Davis, from Springfield, IL . He has attended Illinois United gatherings and numerous Nordicfest and Hammerskins gatherings over the years.
• Arthur Butz, a Northwestern University engineering department professor. Butz has authored numerous racist books preaching holocaust denial.
• James Manow, from Matteson Illinois, and Tim Nelson, from Chicago, who are affiliated with the Blood & Honour chapter.
• Jon Isaac, who attends punk shows in Chicago and posts racist trash on this facebook account.
• Brandon Huddleston, a white nationalist from Lake in the Hills, IL.

Brian Lloyd Christian: Pianist, Teacher, and White Supremacist

Update 10/28/2012 : Brian Lloyd Christian has moved to 1362 Cove DR. Prospect Heights, IL (773 770-8916

Update 4/26/2011: We have received confirmation that after being physically confronted and having his racist activities exposed before a Heartland Cafe performance, Brian’s employers Opera On Tap has decided to let him go. Opera On Tap released a statement saying they were not aware of Brian’s racist activities and do not discriminate. He is still teaching music to children at Faith Community Church. 

Brian Lloyd Christian is a classically trained pianist and teacher. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Music. Amongst many other musical achievements, he has co-produced performances of his operetta "The Little Prince" with the aid of student opera singers. Brian Lloyd moved to Chicago from Baltimore, MD in September of 2009 about a week after marrying his wife, Clara. He currently teaches piano at Faith Community Church(910 Main Street West Chicago, IL 60185), works for Opera On Tap, a non-profit 501(c)3 company, and has several upcoming performances at the Heartland Cafe (7000 N Glenwood Ave).

Brian's public life is well-known, but his private life has an ugly side: Brian Lloyd Christian is a white supremacist. He actively posts under the alias "WhiteMuser" on neo-nazi website Stormfront.org, the world's largest online white nationalist community. Brian was active in Baltimore and has tried to continue white supremacist activity since he moved to Chicago. Quoting from some of his Stormfront.org posts, "Hi, I'm also in the northern Chicago metro area and I'm looking to join a WN(white nationalist) group, especially Klan(as in the Klu Klux Klan or KKK). I'm interested in community building and activism". It's bad enough he wants to be a Klansmen, but he wants to be an armed one at that:"I've only fired a .22 rifle, not a handgun. I've been doing some research - I know I want a glock because I like the safety mechanism" (from a stormfront post November 08). Brian also has a post in thread titled, "ideal careers for a white nationalist," in which he said it would be nice to work with David Duke, a former grand Wizard of the KKK and world famous white supremacist. Brian has 121 other posts on Stormfront and has been recently trying to start a "European Americans United" (EAU) chapter in Rogers Park, a group that "educates people on anti white double standards" in the fight for "white rights". Something tells us Brian hasn't been doing too well as of late. We urge anti-racists and anti-fascists to do their best to give him hell and drive him out of town. Whether it be through his job, at his performances, in his neighborhood or on the street, he should be exposed and confronted.

Brian Lloyd Christian
1362 Cove DR.
Prospects Heights, IL
60070 ext 1907
(773) 770-8916
composer@brianlloydchristian.com
Cell: Cell: (773) 733-3741

Andrew Jackson of the INSF behind bars for attempted home invasion

Last we heard from Andrew Jackson, he was arrested in Chicago after getting his ass kicked to the ground by antifa while his once respected leader Phil Anderson (804 E Marietta Ave / Peoria Heights) watched in awe. Since then it doesn’t seem things have gotten much better for him. Two weeks after that arrest and beat down he was arrested again for an attempted home invasion/cause injury. We don’t know what the story behind this is but we do know that he has been sitting behind bars since March 4^th of  2011 in Stanton, IL at the Illinois River correctional and isn’t set for parole until January of 2012. So lets get this straight; one year after having his ass beat along with Phil, not only is he sitting behind bars but his crew, the Illinois National Socialist Front(INSF), have broken up after the backbone of their organization, Steven Turpel, turned out to be a kidnapping, child porn loving, pedophile. Maybe white nationalism hasn’t been the best route for this bonehead from Peoria. If he decides to stick with it after being released from Prison, his life is only going to continue to suck.

We urge people to send hate mail to Andrew Jackson #m12302 P.O. box 999 Canton, IL 61520 or email him at andrewjackson55@gmail.com