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.