January 2017 – Atlanta Antifascists

Updates on January 28th White Nationalist “Atlanta Forum”

For months, white nationalists have been organizing the “Atlanta Forum,” a gathering scheduled for Saturday, January 28 which has been advertised as “a Southern nationalist conference of the Alt-Right.” Atlanta Antifascists are still searching for the Atlanta Forum venue, but since our initial post on this event additional information has come to light.

On January 11th, just two days after our initial alert, a flyer for The Atlanta Forum was posted to the Facebook page for The Rebel Yell — a white power podcast on The Right Stuff website, whose hosts are involved in the Atlanta Forum’s organizing and promotion. The flyer provides the names of four speakers (discussed below), an updated time for the event (8AM-4PM instead of 9AM-4PM as previously announced), and finally a “meet up” point in Stone Mountain Park for those wishing to attend.

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Atlanta Forum flyer posted to The Rebel Yell page on Jan. 11

Stone Mountain has a long history of white supremacy, and last year Stone Mountain Park saw confrontation between anti-racists and an explicitly “white power” rally that was issued a permit there. While it is possible that the event “meet up” point on the flyer is correct, we are currently evaluating this information. Atlanta Forum organization has generally been kept under wraps — misdirection attempts against potential protesters are possible.

In another development, the “TRS Confederates”/“Rebel Yell” website was revamped on January 15, and the Atlanta Forum “Conference” page mentioned in our initial article disappeared. We do not think that people should leap to any conclusions from this website change, however.

Atlanta Antifascists request that anti-racists in our region keep their schedules open on January 28^th — from early morning onward – and be ready to oppose white supremacist organizing that day. To receive the latest updates on our efforts against the Atlanta Forum, either join the event “Stop the Atlanta Forum,” linked from our Facebook page, or check our Twitter regularly. We urge venues and event spaces to remain on the lookout for suspicious bookings for the 28th.

While we are still verifying some of the information on the Atlanta Forum event flyer, we are confident that the list of conference speakers is accurate. Below is information on these individuals.

Speakers Listed on the “Atlanta Forum” Flyer:

Michael Cushman

Michael Cushman is a Southern nationalist based in South Carolina. He is a former member of the National Alliance — at one time the largest neo-Nazi organization in the US — as well as of the secessionist/white nationalist League of the South, which he left in 2015. Cushman currently operates the “Southern Future” website and prior to this ran the “Southern Nationalist Network” site. He also designed the Southern nationalist “Cushman flag” which is incorporated in the initial logo for the Atlanta Forum (as is the Confederate battle flag and the “Black Sun” far-Right symbol.) Cushman is the author of Our Southern Nation, which has been well-received within the neo-fascist and white power blogosphere.

Sam Dickson

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Sam Dickson at National Policy Institute gathering November 2016. (Image from Idavox.)

Georgia attorney Sam Dickson has been a major figure in the white nationalist movement for decades. Dickson has for example talked at every conference for the suit-and-tie racists of American Renaissance, and is also a regular speaker at National Policy Institute gatherings. In the past, Dickson has worked for Klansmen as a lawyer, but he really made his money on the Atlanta property market, where he purchased unpaid tax debts and used these as leverage to obtain properties in areas that are gentrifying at bargain prices. (For more on Dickson and the Atlanta property market, see this 2016 article. Dickson also owns property in Key West, Florida.)

Mike Peinovich/“Mike Enoch”

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Mike Peinovich AKA “Mike Enoch”

Mike Peinovich, who goes by the name “Mike Enoch” online, runs The Right Stuff website which began in December 2012 and is one of largest online promoters of the white nationalist “Alt-Right.” The Right Stuff circulates far-Right podcasts such as the recently-ended “Fash the Nation” as well as Enoch/Peinovich’s “The Daily Shoah” (the podcast’s name references the Holocaust.) The Right Stuff forums have been an online organizing hub for white nationalists, while The Right Stuff has also encouraged offline activity such as “pool party” racist meetups and poster campaigns.

On January 13, “Mike Enoch” had his identity as Manhattan-based tech worker Peinovich leaked online. While some white supremacists have blamed this “doxing” on antifascists, it appears that this information was initially released by white supremacists as part of a feud about individuals on the Alt-Right who are accused of being soft on Jews. As part of this “doxing,” it was revealed that Peinovich’s wife was Jewish (and had appeared on “The Daily Shoah” show). This has led to scandal and infighting within the Alt-Right. At the time of writing, The Right Stuff forums are down but Peinovich apparently has separated from his wife and intends to continue with his racist, anti-Semitic organizing.

Since the Atlanta Forum flyer was released before Peinovich’s identity was revealed, it is now uncertain whether Peinovich will attend. Whatever the case, the recent disclosures regarding Peinovich and The Right Stuff are sure to cast a shadow over any event linked to that website, such as the Atlanta Forum.

“Musonius Rufus”

“Musonius Rufus” is the alias for a host of “The Rebel Yell,” a podcast by “TRS Confederates” circulated on The Right Stuff. “Musonius” gives his location as Tennessee. He appears — like many of The Right Stuff participants — to have a history on the libertarian Right prior to going full-on “fashy” and white nationalist.

“The Rebel Yell” broadcast which “Rufus” is involved with has its origin in pro-Confederate flag organizing by The Right Stuff soon after the 2015 Charleston massacre — “The Rebel Yell” Facebook page was initially a page for “Battle Flag the 4th” organizing, with the “Rebel Yell” podcast being launched later. “The Atlanta Forum” builds upon a central theme of “The Rebel Yell” podcast: that is, the racism of the “Alt-Right” combined with neo-Confederacy and Southern nationalism.

Alert: “Atlanta Forum” Alt-Right Conference Scheduled for January 28

Overview

On January 28th, 2017, white power activists intend to host an “Atlanta Forum” conference to bring together regional members of the Alt-Right and other white nationalists. In an attempt to head them off and disrupt their ability to organize in our city, anti-racists request that venues and event spaces in and around Atlanta be vigilant about bookings for this date.

atlanta-forum-image Original “Atlanta Forum” logo with Confederate and Southern nationalist flags as well as “black sun” far-Right symbol.

The “Atlanta Forum” event was first mentioned on a Southern white nationalist podcast called The Rebel Yell, which is affiliated with The Right Stuff website. “Atlanta Forum” planning seems to have begun in early September of 2016. The organizers claim they have secured a number of speakers. However, they have not listed the event speakers or the venue where the conference will take place. The event website does provide the following:

Date of conference (January 28, 2017)
Time of event (9:00AM – 4:00PM)
Cost of admission ($20 or $14.88 for students)
An email address for “TRS Confederates” (who host “The Rebel Yell” podcast)

We ask that anyone who can obtain additional information about the Atlanta Forum, or who has knowledge of suspicious bookings in or near Atlanta on Jan. 28th, contact Atlanta Antifascists:

email: afainatl [at] riseup [dot] net

phone: (470) 344 – 4868 (voicemail only)

Further Details / Context

The name “The Atlanta Forum” references The London Forum in the U.K., an event series where neo-fascists and members of the “New Right” gather for speeches and networking. This model of pseudo-intellectual speeches coupled with networking has been copied by “The New York Forum” in New York City, a series that is promoted by the racist Counter-Currents Publishing website. A white nationalist “Northwest Forum” had is inaugural meeting in Washington State last year.
The student admission price ($14.88) for the Atlanta Forum uses white supremacist code. The number 14 stands for the “14 words” – “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” – a racist slogan coined by terrorist David Lane. The number 88 is alphanumeric code for “H.H.” or “Heil Hitler.”
Atlanta-area “Alt-Right” white nationalists support The Right Stuff website and its projects. One photo of an October “Pool Party” gathering in the metro Atlanta area showed almost two dozen participants; “pool party” is the term The Right Stuff uses for its Alt-Right meetups. Another Alt-Right gathering at Stone Mountain Park showed two organizers wearing “The Right Stuff” shirts. A national post-election propaganda campaign coordinated by The Right Stuff resulted in propaganda posted at Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University and Augusta University in our state.

Georgia Neo-Nazi Broadcast Cancelled

“NSM Hoff” – a white supremacist internet radio show that was part of the National Socialist Movement’s “Radio Network” – has been cancelled by its host Floyd Eric Meadows of Rome, Georgia. The weekly show began in August 2016 and discussed “Anglo-Saxon and National Socialist Spirituality” from a racist heathen/neo-pagan perspective. A brief “eulogy” for the show was posted on the National Socialist Movement Media Radio Network page on December 27, 2016, confirming that the show had been cancelled by its host “due to a variety of personal situations.”

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Floyd Eric Meadows is a longstanding white supremacist in Georgia. A couple of months after the April 23, 2016 National Socialist Movement (NSM) rally held in Rome, GA, Meadows hosted a smaller “meet and greet” home gathering attended by NSM and International Keystone Knights of the KKK members. In July, “Eric” was announced as the NSM leader for Georgia; Meadows’ internet radio broadcast began the month after that.

As well as pontificating about a racist variant of neo-paganism, the NSM Hoff show discussed less airy matters, such as Eric Meadows’ preparations for an Aryan Nationalist Alliance (now renamed Nationalist Front) gathering in Draketown, GA in mid-September. (The Draketown event featured not just a swastika-burning in the field behind the Georgia Peach Oyster Bar, but also a pagan wedding ceremony for Meadows attended by his neo-Nazi pals.) The NSM Hoff show also discussed Meadows’ longer-term ambition to build a racist heathen enclave in Eastern Tennessee.

eric-meadows-angie-johnson-nazi-rally5119 Eric Meadows and Angela Kay Johnson, both of Rome, GA, at Nationalist Front rally in Harrisburg, PA, November 5, 2016. Photo courtesy of Restoring the Honor.

Meadows’ “personal situations” seem to have started around the time he and his partner travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a November 5 pre-election rally organized by the NSM and its Nationalist Front alliance. While Meadows was away, over 150 of his closest neighbors received an anti-fascist mailing setting out Meadows’ history and affiliations. The next Monday, in place of the scheduled “NSM Hoff” broadcast from Meadows, an earlier archived episode was reposted. Reruns continued until the show was officially cancelled at the end of December.

While Eric Meadows seems to have temporarily gone quiet, there is no evidence that he has cut ties with the white supremacist movement or that he will remain inactive forever. We also do not believe that the end of Meadows’ broadcast spells the end of National Socialist Movement activity in our state – this organization has resurfaced time and again in Georgia, often with a new leader at its helm. If you have information about NSM or other white supremacist activity in our state, please get in contact.