The Guardian, “Berkeley police under fire for publishing anti-fascist activists’ names and photos”
Berkeley police have arrested more than a dozen anti-fascist activists and posted their names and photos on Twitter, raising concerns that the department was encouraging harassment and abuse. Law enforcement’s unusual decision to immediately publicize the personal information and faces of arrested leftwing demonstrators on social media has sparked intense backlash. Critics have accused police […]
The Guardian, “Police worked with violent pro-Trump activist to prosecute leftwing group”
A pro-Trump demonstrator who admitted hitting protesters at a far-right rally received help and support from California police, who worked with him to prosecute leftwing activists, records show. Documents and testimony in a trial surrounding a rightwing demonstration in Berkeley reveal that police and prosecutors pursued charges on behalf of Daniel Quillinan, a conservative activist […]
Battle of the Streets: How Anarchists and Anti-Fascists are Winning the Struggle with the Alt-Right
THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED AND ABRIDGED FROM A LONGER ACCOUNT BY CRIMETHINC. The alt-right—for the time being—is on the run. The convergence of fascist and white supremacist tendencies under a rebranded far-right umbrella that commanded so much attention during the 2016 presidential campaign and much of the first year of the Trump presidency has been […]
The Nation, “Why Berkeley’s Battle Against White Supremacy Is Not About Free Speech”
On August 27, several thousand Bay Area students, teachers, and community members attended the “Rally Against Hate,” which was organized by an unprecedented coalition of over 100 campus, labor, interfaith, community justice, and socialist/anarchist groups. Despite the mostly peaceful character of the demonstration, the media focused overwhelmingly on a few instances of violent skirmishes, painting […]
San Francisco Chronicle, “We are all antifa”
Last month, thousands gathered in San Francisco and Berkeley to defeat the hatred of fascism and white supremacy. A united front of labor, clergy, students, socialists, anarchists and others successfully prevented the fascists from holding their rallies. Continue Reading
SFist, “Alt-Right Activist Behind Cancelled Berkeley Rally Gives Insane Press Conference, In Antioch”
In the days since some violence broke out on Sunday between a group of black-clad leftist activists and a small number of right-wing and/or libertarian activists who showed up in downtown Berkeley — despite Cummings having tried to call off the rally she’d initially organized — multiple politicians have given statements condemning the actions of […]
Berkeleyside, “On heels of rally, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín condemns ‘violent extremism’”
The antifa demonstrators belong to a far-left, largely anarchist, contingent that believes fascism is burgeoning and that preventing it often requires force. When a few protesters on the right showed up at Civic Center Park, antifa activists and some others chased them out and sometimes beat them. Their actions have been derided by many along […]
SF Gate, “Pelosi calls for the prosecution of ‘violent’ antifa members”
The San Francisco Democrat was quick to separate antifa from the Democratic Party, telling the Denver’ Post’s editorial board on Wednesday: “You’re not talking about the far left of the Democratic Party — they’re not even Democrats. A lot of them are socialist or anarchist or whatever.” Continue Reading
The Washington Post, “Black-clad antifa members attack peaceful right-wing demonstrators in Berkeley”
Their faces hidden behind black bandannas and hoodies, about 100 anarchists and antifa— “anti-fascist” — members barreled into a protest Sunday afternoon in Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. Continue Reading
Fox 2 Bay Area, “Anarchists create menacing mood in Berkeley; 13 arrested, six injured”
He was pepper-sprayed and chased; police protected Gibson with their bodies after a purple smoke bomb was thrown, presumably by the anarchists. Video shot by a Mother Jones reporter showed a beat-down by people in black of a Donald Trump supporter. A KTVU reporter had her camera shoved out of her hand by people dressed […]