“There were some racial slurs and a swastika that was spray painted on (the garage),” said Sherriff Travis Hutchinson. “We’re not going to tolerate that type of activity and behavior here.”
This bombing follows the recent Dayton, Ohio mass shooting in which a young man killed 9 people. Ohioan residents are on edge as the normally quaint heartland state is rocked by the growing politically charged violence.
“There was a little boy lying on the ground, he was bleeding out of his ears, seizing on the ground, just not coherent,” said Taylor Hennick, who saw the attack. “He said [the boy] was disrespecting the national anthem so he had every right to do that.”
39-year-old Curt Brockway stands accused of picking up a 13-year-old and slamming him to the ground by the throat, fracturing his skull so severely that the boy had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. What did this young teen do to warrant such an assault? He failed to remove his hat during the National Anthem.
At this point you may be wondering why this story is on WriteLeft. Here it is: Brockway’s attorney claims that the man has brain damage from an injury he sustained while in the Army in 2000. That brain damage has, according to the attorney, impaired his client’s ability to not take Donald Trump seriously. Thus, Mr. Brockway believes that violence is necessary when children don’t respect the Anthem.
ABC News
“Jasper said he believes his client’s mental condition allowed him to be “exploited” by “animosity” expressed by Trump. The president is one of the leading critics of NFL players who refuse to stand for the national anthem in protest of police brutality against Americans of color.
“Trump never necessarily says ‘go hurt somebody,’ but the message is absolutely clear,” Jasper told theĀ Missoulian. “I am certain of the fact that [Brockway] was doing what he believed he was told to do, essentially, by the president.”
Newsweek
The Fake News Media has NEVER been more Dishonest or Corrupt than it is right now. There has never been a time like this in American History. Very exciting but also, very sad! Fake News is the absolute Enemy of the People and our Country itself!
“Today we take a look at the racist attacks by Trump and his supporters against “The Squad” and how those attacks are in line with a long tradition of working to delegitimize and silence the perspectives of non-whites in America”
Matthew Q. Gebert, a foreign affairs officer attached to the Bureau of Energy Resources has not only been outed as a white supremacist, but further investigation has revealed that he lead the D.C. chapter of The Right Stuff, named after the popular alt-right blog of the same name, even hosting fellow white supremacists for meetings at his home. In summary: the leader of an organized white supremacist group works in the heart of the U.S. government. He is likely one of many.
One reason this connection was made immediately apparent is that Gebert conducted his alt-right online business under a pseudonym, “Coach Finstock,” or sometimes just “Finstock.” He also tweeted support for Neo-Nazism and fascism under the now defunct Twitter handle @NeverCuck.
In 2018, Coach Finstock spoke on an alt-right podcast entitled “The Fatherland,” where he said ā[Whites] need a country of our own with nukes, and we will retake this thing lickety split … Thatās all that we need. We need a country founded for white people with a nuclear deterrent. And you watch how the world trembles.ā
Gebert’s wife, Anna Vuckovic, also participated in white supremacist activities and maintained a heavy online presence. She was identified by several anonymous sources as the user behind the Twitter handle @WolffieJames, also now suspended.
An episode of The Right Stuff, a White Supremacist podcast
The Southern Poverty Law Center, who’s ‘Hate Map’ is linked on our main menu under the tab ‘Tracking Hate’, has a well sourced write-up on how exactly it came to identify Gebert’s and Vuckovic’s heinous and potentially illegal online activities.
SPLC, A Tweet shared by another chapter of Gebert’s ‘organization’.
Twitter preserves old handles in conversations on that platformĀ even after users change them. An open-source intelligence technique involves combing through conversations until older handles appear.
AĀ review of conversations by @TotalWarCoachĀ indicates that the same account previously employed handles like @MQGeb, which uses Gebertās initials and part of his last name, and also @MQGebert, which includes his first two initials and his full last name.
Gebert left other breadcrumbs as āCoach Finstockā on Twitter. For example, the āCoach Finstockā-linked handleĀ @WeWonFamĀ posted what appears to be a personal photograph of the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial facing the Washington Monument on Nov. 17, 2016, a week after President Trumpās election into office. That post suggests the authorās location is in Washington, D.C. @WeWonFam listed Washington, D.C., as its location in the accountās Twitter bio.
Consideration is being given to declaring ANTIFA, the gutless Radical Left Wack Jobs who go around hitting (only non-fighters) people over the heads with baseball bats, a major Organization of Terror (along with MS-13 & others). Would make it easier for police to do their job!
Anti-fascists show up to popular alt-right and white supremacist rallies to counter-protest. The anti-fascist movement gained significant traction following the murder of Heather Heyer by a white supremacist during the infamous Charlottesville Unite the Right rally. In 2019 multiple anti-fascist groups traveled to Stone Mountain, Georgia to protest a KKK rally in front of what some call “Confederate Mount Rushmore.” The anti-fascists protested peacefully, albeit armed to the teeth with semi-automatic rifles. The KKK ultimately canceled the rally.
News2Share
SPLC’s Hatewatch, the investigators and breakers of this story, reached out to the State Department for comment:
Hatewatch presented a brief summary of the information contained in this investigation to the State Department by email.
A State Department spokesperson replied to Hatewatch saying the department is ācommitted to providing a workplace that is free from discriminatory harassment and investigates alleged violations of laws, regulations, or Department policies, taking disciplinary action when appropriate.ā
The people of Hong Kong are now embroiled in a profound, unprecedented civil uprising against the controversial extradition bill that threatens to ship citizens accused of crimes in China off to the mainland to be tried and sentenced.
Liberty would be replaced by the all-seeing, all-knowing Chinese Communist Party, infamous for disappearing political dissidents and forcibly placing Uyghur Muslims into re-education camps in an attempt to stamp out radicalism. The bill is the first of many changes expected in Hong Kong’s future. Ever since the British conceded Hong Kong to China, beginning the “One country, two systems” policy, the city and its people were placed on a slow-moving, but inevitable journey that ends with Hong Kong’s absorption by China.
In accordance with the “One country, two systems” principle agreed between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China, the socialist system of the People’s Republic of China would not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system and its way of life would remain unchanged for a period of 50 years. This would have left Hong Kong unchanged until 2047.
— Michael Zhang å¼µéØč» (@YuxuanMichael) August 5, 2019
Citizens in Hong Kong have begun a general strike, now 14,000 strong, targeting the city’s industrial infrastructure. They reason that if crowds of millions can’t get this bill withdrawn, then they will shut the city down. This has only furthered tensions with the government. Politician Junius Ho called for the deaths of pro-independence activists: “If those who are pro-independence lead to the subversion of the fate of the country; with Hong Kong and the 1.3 billion people in the motherland having to pay a huge price, why shouldnāt these people be killed?”
— Michael Zhang å¼µéØč» (@YuxuanMichael) August 5, 2019
Protesters are wising up to police tactics. The Guardian reports that demonstrators in the streets are now working together using ‘flash mob tactics’ to evade authorities.
“Ahead of a city-wide strike and simultaneous protests in seven districts, on Sunday night protesters evaded and frustrated the police by holding flashmob demonstrations. Groups of protesters scattered, switching locations at the last minute and disappearing before riot police were able to arrive en masse.”
An anonymous spokesperson for the strike’s leadership, providing only the name ‘Chan,’ says this strike is the only way forward, as the Hong Kong government ādid not pay heed to peopleās demands.”
āVarious sectors have expressed their views in most peaceful ways. But, the government did not listen to them,ā Chan says. Not only has the government failed to listen to the protesters, they have sent police after them with violent, non-lethal weapons, and condoned the mass gathering of thugs in white shirts who ambushed, attacked, and hospitalized the peaceful Hong Kongers, while the police closed their doors and ignored emergency phone calls.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ā That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, ā That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
“We are a loving nation,” Trump speaks in a softer tone than he is known for, “and our children deserve to grow up in a just, peaceful, loving society.” The 45th President of the United States delivered a somber address today following two mass shootings over the weekend; one perpetrated by a racist white-supremacist, who expressed support for the Christchurch shooter, the other for unknown reasons. Trump commonly receives criticism from citizens and allied countries for his failure to condemn racists and white supremacists, and at times for being racist himself.
….and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why donāt they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how….
“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul.”
Donald Trump
Trump’s comments today aimed to comfort Americans in a time of distress, but those who know the President’s antics have cause for alarm. Trump cites the internet as a source of radicalization for Right-Wing extremists. Given his history of cozying up to the leaders of nations fond of heavily censoring the internet, and Republican support for internet deregulation, proponents of a free and open internet should expect attempts from the Right to politicize these attacks to further their goals. Lawful gun owners are also on edge; previously Trump inflamed his gun owning constituency after the Parkland massacre, where he stated “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”
The 57-year-old Right-Wing terrorist popularly known as the “MAGA bomber,” because of the van he drove around Aventura, Florida plastered with pro-trump, anti-left stickers is to be sentenced today following his arrest for mailing explosive devices to Democratic lawmakers and others.
The bomber was reportedly obsessed with Fox News and Donald Trump. He would wake up to “Fox and Friends” and settle down with Sean Hannity. He listened to books-on-tape by Trump, and adorned his van with stickers of Trump and other Republican officials. He also abused steroids, something that authorities believe pushed the unhinged man further toward violence.
“Sayoc quickly became consumed by the toxic political environment that the 2016 election had ushered in. āHe believed outlandish reports in the news and on social media, which increasingly made him unhinged,ā lawyers said. āHe became obsessed with āattacksā from those he perceived as Trumpās enemies.ā It got worse. Lawyers said that his steroid consumption fueled obsessive, paranoid and angry thoughts. āHe conflated his personal situation with the perceived struggled of Trump supporters across the country, and even the President himself,ā lawyers wrote.”
Preface: this article will not name the shooter. We believe this only glorifies the killings in the shooter’s own mind, and the minds of others like him. Instead, we wish to celebrate the lives of the victims, and leave the murderer to be forgotten by history.
“We’re going to do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is to deliver swift and certain justice,”
U.S. Attorney John Bash
At least 20 are dead and dozens more are injured following the latest in America’s long trend of mass shootings. Saturday, 3 August, a 21-year-old man walked into a Walmart in the Cielo Vista area of El Paso, Texas with an AK-pattern rifle and murdered 20 people in cold blood before being captured alive by authorities. The shooter released a manifesto on a public forum shortly before the shooting, which cited racist and xenophobic motivations for the attack. He claims that his actions are a direct response “to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.ā He continues, āThey are the instigators, not me,ā it says. āI am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.ā
My heart is so fucking torn right now. Jordan gave her life protecting her child. I hope you are resting easy in knowing you saved your baby boy. I am praying you are in recovery, Andre. My heart goes out to you. All of El Paso is here for you and those beautiful babies. pic.twitter.com/efTALC7I9v
In a press conference Saturday, law enforcement officials said they were exploring whether a four-page manifesto titled ā[REDACTED]ā posted to the extremist online forum [REDACTED] shortly before the shooting, was written by suspect [REDACTED], a 21-year-old white man from a town near Dallas.
Help us tell more of the stories that matter from voices that too often remain unheard.
[REDACTED] allegedly walked into a Walmart in El Paso late Saturday morning and opened fire on shoppers and employees. Security footage of the scene shows a man entering the building and holding a long firearm.
The manifesto describes a mass attack as a response āto the Hispanic invasion of Texas.ā
āThey are the instigators, not me,ā it says. āI am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.ā
The manifesto includes overwhelmingly racist, xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric. HuffPost has reviewed the manifesto but will not provide a link to it.
John Bash, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas says the suspect will likely be charged with “domestic terrorism,” and “coercing and intimidating a civilian population.” Additional charges like hate crimes are also on the table, given the release of the manifesto the shooter posted on a public forum before the attack. Bash says these charges may carry the death penalty. “We’re going to do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is to deliver swift and certain justice,” comments Bash.
Trump rallies are known to be divisive events, each one full of Trump supporters and protesters alike. Police heavily patrol the events in an attempt to deter violence, but it’s not always effective.
Dallas Frazier, 29, is being held on a $10,000 bond after assaulting a 61 year old anti-Trump protester. Video of the incident shows Frazier exiting a vehicle and punching the older man several times before being summarily arrested by a nearby police officer.
The Pentagon is testing large, unmanned blimps in order to “provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threats ” on US soil, according to a recent “experimental temporary authorization” published by the FCC. The solar-powered balloons are similar to a prototype craft that crashed in Pennsylvania in 2015, after escaping the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military installation in Maryland, and would provide the government with perpetually powered, high-definition coverage of large geographic areas. Even more invasive, perhaps, than spy satellites.
“Up to 25 unmanned solar-powered balloons are being launched from rural South Dakota and drifting 250 miles through an area spanning portions of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri, before concluding in central Illinois.” writes The Guardian. “The balloons are carrying hi-tech radars designed to simultaneously track many individual vehicles day or night, through any kind of weather. The tests, which have not previously been reported, received an FCC license to operate from mid-July until September, following similar flights licensed last year.”
The US has a touchy relationship with mass surveillance, despite it largely having become the norm in the rest of the world. This isn’t surprising to Americans, who have largely opposed domestic surveillance and spying, even in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, which saw the bipartisan passing of the 2001 Patriot Act, a bill that greatly expanded the powers of law enforcement agencies in investigating domestic terrorism under US President George W. Bush. The bill received public criticism for also compromising the security and privacy of innocent Americans. Components of the bill were granted a four year extension in 2011 by US President Barack Obama.
In 2004, then-FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III defended the controversial act, stating āthe Patriot Act has proved extraordinarily beneficial in the war on terrorism and has changed the way the FBI does business. Many of our counterterrorism (sic) successes, in fact, are the direct results of provisions included in the Actā¦ā
17 years later, American citizens’ fears about the Patriot Act, and further mass surveillance, have largely been realized. In 2013, ex-CIA systems administrator Edward Snowden, leaked a substantial amount of data on secret, government spy programs that he felt the American public deserved to know. This includes previously unknown capabilities like the “bulk collection of phone and internet metadata from U.S. users, spying on the personal communications of foreign leaders including U.S. allies, and the NSAās ability to tap undersea fiber optic cables and siphon off data.” As well as “releasing computer viruses, spying on journalists and diplomats, jamming phones and computers, and using sex to lure targets into ‘honey traps.'”
So I just completed an international conspiracy across twenty countries, and somehow the secret never leaked. On Constitution Day, the result will be on shelves worldwide. https://t.co/qH7W1V89px
These balloons are the latest in the continuing trend of growing mass surveillance in the US. Ex-Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter describes use of similar devices in the Middle East nearly ten years ago: “You can spot someone burying an IED or setting up a checkpoint on a road near you; you can catch someone about to mortar your base; you (can) check whether the market is open in a nearby village.”
In the present day, more advanced models will be tested and utilized on US soil to, officially, better track and prevent drug trafficking shipments from entering the US. Naturally, citizens worry about what else they’ll be used for. In the past, new and invasive surveillance technologies have been abused, and some worry this latest development will be no different.
āWe do not think that American cities should be subject to wide-area surveillance in which every vehicle could be tracked wherever they go,ā said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union.
āEven in tests, theyāre still collecting a lot of data on Americans: whoās driving to the union house, the church, the mosque, the Alzheimerās clinic,ā he said. āWe should not go down the road of allowing this to be used in the United States and itās disturbing to hear that these tests are being carried out, by the military no less. …if they decide that itās usable domestically, thereās going to be enormous pressure to deploy it.ā
Mass surveillance doesn't make us safer Mass surveillance doesn't make us safer Mass surveillance doesn't make us safer Mass surveillance doesn't make us safer Mass surveillance doesn't make us safer Mass surveillance doesn't make us saferhttps://t.co/jpHTWfwItd
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