Panic! in the Discord is teaming up with old friends, John Belushi Antifa and Chicago Anti-Fascist Action plus new comrades Anne Frank Army (their Twitter) and Shield Wall Chicago (their Twitter) for this lightning round of dossier publication. Currently, we’re identifying all the IL militia networks, thanks to a ton of help from a Threeper who “grew a conscious about organizing to murder fellow human beings in the name of Donald Trump.” We salute you tipster! We welcome any new information on the growing armed paramilitary movement. We have dozens of names and will be churning out dossiers in the coming weeks so if you’re on this list or think you’re on this list and would like help leaving the white nationalist/Boog paramilitary/far- or Alt-right/QAnon movement, please don’t hesitate to reach out to panicinthediscord@riseup.net We won’t out you and we won’t charge you any money.

Militia growth has been exponential leading up to and in the aftermath of the US Presidential election. leading to an increase in membership, but the interconnectedness of militia, the military and the far-right cannot be overlooked. As explained in The Nation, “In a country where gun ownership and firearms training are seen by the far right as inalienable, all-American freedoms, the military is a ripe breeding ground for disaffected men looking for individual empowerment, a sense of belonging, and just such training. In fact, a recent New York Times investigation claims that veterans and active-duty military members make up more than a fifth of the membership of America’s 300 anti-government, pro-Trump “militia” groups. According to a 2019 survey by the Military Times, about a quarter of active-duty service members reported witnessing signs of white nationalist ideology among their fellow soldiers, including racist and anti-Semitic slurs and homemade explosives shaped like swastikas…”Let’s remember that this right was grounded in the idea of organizing the revolutionary army against a colonial power that taxed people without representing them and forcibly billeted its military in their homes. The colonists, while rife with their own history of human-rights violations, were not a bunch of disaffected, irrationally angry individual crusaders with an urge to use weapons to threaten civilians.”

It’s also an example of the dangerous feedback loop that occurs when fringe grievances like COVID-19 lockdowns or false stories about voter fraud are amplified by legitimate voices, like elected GOP officials or Fox News, and then fed back into fringe networks like MyMilitia, per Tess Owens in Vice.

The end result of that feedback loop is what we see playing out in The Oath Keepers, (sister militia to the III%ers), “an armed right-wing organisation that boasts tens of thousands of members with law enforcement and military backgrounds, was one of several groups to demonstrate in Washington over the weekend at the “Million MAGA March” in support of Donald Trump, whom news networks project has lost the 2020 election. “I think about half this country won’t recognise Biden as legitimate. They won’t recognise this election,” Stewart Rhodes, who founded the Oath Keepers, told The Independent on Saturday in the nation’s capital,” as reported in The Independent.

‘“What that means is that everything that comes out of his mouth will be considered not of any force or effect, anything he signs into law we won’t recognise as legitimate. We’ll be very much like the founding fathers. We’ll end up nullifying and resisting,” Mr Rhodes said. Thousands of Trump supporters — including members of far-right groups such as the Proud Boys, the Boogaloo Boys, and the Oath Keepers, as well as ordinary American citizens — participated in the march, which was pervaded by a sense that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr Trump,’ also from The Independent.

As explored in Vice, ‘“MyMilitia is like Amazon for people on the fringe,” said Brian Levin, who heads the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “The difference is that people here are armed, and they’re reading Canadian manuals about how to blow up tanks.”’ Later in the article, when discussing people who are opposed to fascism (like white nationalism, white supremacy and other incarnations of the authoritarian movement best known for its genocides in Germany and Chile), people known as antifa, short for antifascists, Levin continues:

This article will shine some sunlight on members from three militias, We The People III% Militia, Illinois Sons of Liberty and the entry pool for My Militia, called “Roll Call.” Names, pictures and residential information will be made available on the following people:

Paul Jepsen, George Mendyk, Michele Gropp, Caleb Janssen, David Melvin, Jim Zywick, Richard C Fischer, Charles “Shorty” Thompson, Nick Snyder Sr, Cynthia Maue, Craig Ray Harris Laurant, Michael Pacha, James S Persman, Rebecca Barnes, Tim Glasscock, Terrence Carlino, & Tim Gottmann. 

There will be more articles forthcoming.

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Special thanks to the tipsters who sent this our way!

Have you ever stumbled across some armpit of social media then wonder, wtf who would even make this? That was our experience as we dove into the 8chan troll who’s migrated platforms to pollute Facebook.

The Facebook page of Kahl O’Dournian is overlaid with racist, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery is intermingled with a very wrongheaded interpretation of author George Orwell’s ideas. Let’s set the record straight: lifelong socialist Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War against Franco’s fascism and would have no part of this Kahl chud’s hatred of Jews and people of color. Like read Orwell’s book Homage to Catalonia before besmirching his name on a crappy Facebook page. It’s entirely possible that Kahl will delete or disable his Facebook page in order to avoid being held accountable. We have taken screenshots of his account and the account he admins.

CW: racist, transphobic, misogynistic, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic content

Clearly, Kahl propagates the longest held white supremacist trope: the conspiracy theory of “white genocide” or “Great Replacement/Great Replacement Theory.”

As explained by the ADL: “‘White Genocide’ is a term coined by white supremacists for propaganda purposes as shorthand for one of the most deeply held modern white supremacist convictions: that the white race is ‘dying’ due to growing non-white populations and ‘forced assimilation,’ all of which are deliberately engineered and controlled by a Jewish conspiracy to destroy the white race. This same conviction can be seen in the so-called ‘14 Words‘ the most popular white supremacist slogan around the globe: ‘We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.’ [Editors note: We link to the ADL with some hesitation and include this critique of them and their work to be considered equally]” For further reading on the white nationalist conspiracy theory on “white genocide,” see articles from Jacobin and Irish Times.

In addition to perpetuating the White Genocide lie,  Kahl supports and shares the Estoteric Hitlerism myth that just won’t die about Hitler & Co relocating to Antartica. Especially troubling is that Kahl seems supportive of the Nazis supposed actions, up to and including how they kidnapped 1 million Ukrainian women to be raped and forced to bear children. The German Base on Antartica myth has long been debunked by researchers and war historians.

First there’s the appearance of Pepe the Frog, a pin of whom white nationalist Richard Spencer was wearing when he was punched at Trump’s inauguration. Pepe has become the face of the rising new white supremacy aka the Alt-Right, although that term isn’t used as pervasively as it once was. The Telegraph offers a deep dive into Pepe and its creator’s journey to wrestle the cartoon away from the fascists.

Further, we get a glimpse of Kahl’s face with his worship of Kek the frog, a symbol of the white nationalist movement. Kek, as the SPLC explains, is “Kek, in the alt-right’s telling, is the ‘deity’ of the semi-ironic ‘religion’ the white nationalist movement has created for itself online – partly for amusement, as a way to troll liberals and self-righteous conservatives both, and to make a kind of political point. He is a god of chaos and darkness, with the head of a frog, the source of their memetic ‘magic,’ to whom the alt-right and Donald Trump owe their success, according to their own explanations.”

And do note the mention of “mala” which a string of prayer beads commonly used in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Shintō and other traditions for the spiritual practice known in Sanskrit as japa.

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Once upon the “before times” of the COVID19 pandemic, the Illinois GOP finally and shockingly stood up for what’s right when Holocaust-denier & Nazi Art Jones hopped on the ballot for Congressman Dan Lipinski’s seat for the second time in recent years:

“GOP leaders are endorsing Mike Fricilone and are launching a campaign against his challenger, Neo-Nazi Art Jones.

“Illinois’ 3rd District covers parts of Cook County. Both Republicans are trying to unseat Democrat Dan Lipinski, who has represented that district since 2005.

“Thursday’s message from Illinois Republicans: don’t vote for the neo-Nazi on your primary ballot.

‘”Arthur Jones is a neo-Nazi, an anti-Semite, and Holocaust denier. He is not a Republican. He has no place in a civil society,’ said Illinois GOP Chairman Tim Schneider,” from ABC7 press coverage.

The ILGOP Facebook page paid for and ran ads, and even created a web page encouraging voters to vote against Art, who was on the Republican ticket. Thanks to the exposure, Art did not win the Congressional seat.

We applaud the GOP’s actions and ask them to expand their gaze up inward and up north to the 43rd Ward and its committeepeople. For those who don’t know, a ward committeeperson is an unpaid, political-party leadership position who voters elect. Committeeperson is the exact pathway that Speaker of the IL Statehouse Mike Madigan walked upon to begin his journey in politics a thousand years ago. And look at him now!

As we originally reported in March, on Panic! in the Discord!, Jason David Finney was on the ballot for an uncontested seat for the 43rd Ward Committeeperson and was been revealed to be a dues-paying member of white nationalist group Identity Evropa, now rebranded as American Identity Movement.

Since then, Jason has won the 43rd Ward Committeeperson seat and the GOP has yet another public nazi in their ranks.

Who is Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement?

Established in 2016, Identity Evropa, an American Neo-Nazi organization, is most infamous for its involvement in the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, where antifascist Heather Heyer was killed by James Alex Fields Jr. Identity Evropa’s founder and former leader, Nathan Damigo, is well-known for assaulting both a femme antifascist protester as well as an Arab cab driver in an armed robbery, where he pulled a loaded gun in the face of an innocent man for “looking Iraqi.” Former IE members include the attempted Amtrak hijacker Taylor Wilson, and the fascist Nolan Brewer that set a synagogue outbuilding on fire in Carmel, Indiana. After March 2019, when independent journalist group Unicorn Riot leaked their internal communications revealing their white nationalist agenda and goals, Identity Evropa scrambled to re-brand as the American Identity Movement. The new group stayed the same, aside from the name change. They maintained the same members, the creepy CEO, the dues structure, and of course, the national communication structure. To explore Unicorn Riot’s extensive reporting and publishing of Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement’s “Nice Respectable People” internal communications server, see the collected works on their website. It is from those articles and internal communiques that we will be posting information about Jason and others. Further, Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement is classified as a white supremacist organization by the Anti-Defamation League and is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. American Identity Movement is abbreviated as “AmIM” to avoid any confusion with and unintentional disrespect to the original AIM, the American Indian Movement.

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But how are we sure that Ken is user B14USA? We explain the trail in his article.

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February 2021 update:  Ken Zrallack aka Kevin Harris and Travis Golie, both white nationalists with ties to organized hate groups Patriot Front, White Lives Matter and New Jersey European Heritage Association, have relocated to a new home in Chrisman IL. The two men live with their children. They are currently renting 202 E Madison Ave Chrisman, IL 61924, which belongs to Theresa and Robert Johnson, potentially managed by their son Brandon, all of whom can be politely notified of their tenants’ ideologies here: winky126@yahoo.com; dogharleydog@yahoo.com

Article from July 2020, updated to include new residence information

Kenneth Gary Zrallack aka Ken Zrall aka Ken Harris is a known white supremacist from Stratford, CT, believed to be in the Chambana area with fellow white nationalist Travis Beau Golie of Iowa. Ken was co-founder of Battalion 14 (B14CT), a Nazi group, formerly known as Connecticut White Wolves, and former member of North East White Power. Ken is currently a member of Patriot Front, New Jersey European Heritage Association and the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. He co-founded the White Lives Matter Movement, and was arrested waving a “white lives matter” flag on a highway with Lisa Holly as a political statement in 2018.

Ken was born February 1981, making him 39 years old. Ken has moved to the Southern IL area from Connecticut earlier this year.

CW: extreme racism, hate speech, white power literature, Nazi imagery, white nationalist group images and their propaganda

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Ken is living with three young children, two boys and a little girl who was sporting green hair at one point. Ken is father to the youngest boy and the other two children have Travis as a father. They live together. Their confirmed town of residence is Chrisman, IL which is an hour from Champaign and 40 minutes to Tuscola. We started on Ken’s trail after an anonymous and helpful tip was sent to us about him in Southern IL, the Patriot Front flyers, and the lawn dropping of racist literature, so we got to work putting together the puzzle pieces.

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The Proud Boys are an SPLC-designated hate group for their identity as a far-right neo-fascist organization that admits only men as members and promotes political violence. They’re easily identified with their yellow-ringed knock-off Fred Perry polos and their propensity to get loud, drunk, and in fights. Across the country, they have been condemned for attacking defenseless people in the streets, especially if the PB gang did not agree with their political beliefs, their sexuality or gender orientation, or their religion.

The Proud Boys Chicago chapter operated a clandestine Telegram group called “Fuck Antifa” that was later renamed to “D-Fence Squad” for a significant portion of the summer of 2019. The members of the chat group have been identified as Sean Dolan, “Trigger” Tom Christensen, Nick Stiso, Jon “Heathen” Argumedo and Chicago Police Officer Rob Bakker.

Proud Boy & CPD Officer Rob Bakker

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Source reporter Laura Hancock twitter, archive

Source, archive

(For deeper analysis on the Columbus protest, along with historical context the messaging, see JTA‘s article)

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