Chicago connection to that Columbus, OH Anti-Semitic protest sign: supporter Mike Kearns, Chicago police officer

This post is dedicated to the everyday antifascists, the ones who make racists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, sexists, misogynists, transphobes, and other such Nazis unwelcome across every platform. We see you. We appreciate you.

Last weekend, people across the country answered the astroturfed call and demanded local government reopen their states, despite the tide of the growing coronavirus pandemic, so they and more vulnerable people can get back to work (lol). Urged on by facebook groups created by right-wing organizations and donors, people are demanding an end to the self-isolation guidelines. However, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust imagery are also present at anti-lockdown protests. For an overview and photos about the worrisome and staggeringly stupid protests, read this Daily Mail article.

In Columbus Ohio, under the bored and absentminded-eyes of police, known hate group Proud Boys and armed militia members were present, alongside a group with this explicitly anti-Semitic message:

Source reporter Laura Hancock twitter, archive

And the white nationalists were spotted later that day by another person:

And these fascist chuds made a Chicago connection.

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

The “Real Plague” images made their way to Facebook, posted by a citizen concerned about the potential spread of the coronavirus and also the hateful posters.

Then things got even more interesting as fascists began to notice and tag one another in the post decrying the anti-Semitism.

So who’s this Mike Kearns guy? He was tagged in “The Real Plague” post and then used the term “goyim,” a term that has been co-opted by anti-Semites. As explained by Rebecca Einstein Schorr in Forward, “white supremacists to refer to themselves [as goyim] in a shocking example of linguistic appropriation. By incorporating it, and other Yiddish terms, into their nationalist lingo, they perpetuate the anti-Semitic myth that we are a cabal with our own secret language and agenda. ‘The Goyim Know’ is a catch-phrase used to mock Jews by using pseudo-Yiddish phrases to impersonate them by ‘exposing’ the Jewish ‘conspiracy.’ ‘Oy vey, it’s anudda Shoah’ and ‘oy vey, the goyim know, shut it down’ are just two examples often found on social media in comments and on memes,” by Rebecca Einstein Schorr in Forward.

Talented internet sleuths quickly determined that Mike Kearns is a Chicago police officer:

Mike Kearns Facebook page, archive

 

And you know what they say about cops and klan going hand-in-hand. Officer Kearns proves no exception:

It’s important to note that the fb profile pic frame “sometimes antisocial/always anticommunist” Mike Kearns uses is a part of the Anticommunist or “Anticom” branding. As reported by independent media outlet Unicorn Riot, “while Anticom claims to represent ‘varying points of view,’ much of the chat messages appear consistent in ideology across the tens of thousands of messages sent in the server. Anticom Discord users show a particular fixation with antisemitic memes and conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world. Many postings in the server contain variations on ‘the happy merchant,’ a distorted drawing of a Jewish man’s face long used as a trope in anti-semitic propaganda.” Additionally, “Many of the messages sent by Anticom supporters cross the line into clearly inciting violence and present serious public safety concerns. Dropbox link posted in Anticom’s Discord user iSpringfield in April contained a folder of manuals detailing how to create various forms of explosives, such as grenades and blasting caps.”

That’s the group with whom Chicago police officer Mike Kearns identifies.

And since this past Sunday, it looks like Mike Kearns cleaned up his facebook, removing the Anticom messaging and the pic of himself in CPD uniform, It goes to show that you can clean up your facebook page but if you miss your URL, your identity is a dead giveaway. We managed to grab your URL, Mike20103 and noticed that it’s the same before and after you got busted as a white nationalist.

Scratch a cop, find a fascist. Some folks have been reporting Mike Kearns to CPD management for his posting of support on an anti-Semitic picture. If that’s your jam, here’s the portal with which to do so.

Further, anti-Semitic and racist signs at these Tea Party 2.0 protests are not standalone incidents. As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates, racists seize the opportunity to unduly cast blame, per Washington Post:

Speaking of the ADL, they believe they are confirming the identity of one of the “Real Plague” sign men and his incredibly violent friends:

As always, if you have any tips about any fascists in Chicago or elsewhere, please reach out to antifascistchicago@riseup.net 

This entry was posted in General. Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.