Chris Brooks: From Proud Boys to Patriot Front

In May 2019, the white supremacist and fascist organization Patriot Front placed propaganda around Lawrenceville, a suburb of Atlanta. Patriot Front splintered and rebranded from another racist organization, Vanguard America, in the aftermath of the disastrous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, August 2017. We have now seen a few cycles of Patriot Front activity in Georgia. In late 2017 and early 2018, Patriot Front militants targeted several neighborhoods with propaganda, before our organization exposed their main organizer, coincidentally also in Lawrenceville. Patriot Front activity near Atlanta dropped off sharply after our 2018 exposé, so it was a surprise to see Patriot Front stickers appearing in Lawrenceville again the following year. [1]

Old Twitter account for Patriot Front shows propaganda in Lawrenceville, May 2019

While another Patriot Front member may have been involved, we have determined that Christopher Skylar Brooks helped place the white supremacist organization’s materials around Lawrenceville last May. Interestingly, while he assisted the white supremacist Patriot Front, Brooks was also involved with the Proud Boys, a “Western Chauvinist” far-Right group which claims to reject white supremacy and involves some reactionary people of color. 

Chris Brooks
Continue reading “Chris Brooks: From Proud Boys to Patriot Front”

Robert Timothy Dickenson: Klan Supporter in North Georgia’s “American Patriots USA”

Robert Timothy “Tim” Dickenson, currently linked to property in Hiawassee, Georgia and previously of South Carolina, is a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan and a core member of north Georgia’s “American Patriots USA” (APUSA). We first noticed Dickenson at white supremacist Chester Doles’ far-Right rally in Dahlonega, north Georgia on September 14, 2019. Tim Dickenson marched in alongside Klansmen and other close supporters of Doles. Since then, Dickenson has been a constant presence supporting Doles and APUSA. For months we did not know who he was, but with some effort we have now identified him.

Dickenson further gained our attention after he appeared in Dahlonega on October 19, 2019 for the community’s Gold Rush Festival parade. There, Dickenson showed up alongside Chester Doles and members of Doles’ family, who had a float in the parade promoting Doles’ new APUSA organization. Dickenson wore a hoodless sweatshirt advertising the International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKKKKK) as he accompanied the APUSA float.

Continue reading “Robert Timothy Dickenson: Klan Supporter in North Georgia’s “American Patriots USA””

Coronavirus Emergency

At the time of writing, the novel coronavirus pandemic is threatening untold lives. Even under a different set of rulers, a dysfunctional health system and slashed safety nets would place many in harm’s way. To add to this, the Trump regime lied and delayed when it had time, further compounding damage. Everything that we can do to protect each other – from physical distancing measures, to mutual aid networks and advocacy for those most at risk – makes a difference. 

“5 Demands” circulating online, author unknown

The organized far-Right is not standing by idly in this crisis. However, their positions vary from denialism and minimization, to conspiracy-mongering and even chatter about actively accelerating and worsening the situation. As an organization, Atlanta Antifascists will continue to monitor and document these far-Right responses. With the situation changing rapidly, documentation will mostly take place on our social media, which we encourage you to follow.

We must stand by our neighbors and challenge scapegoating at every opportunity. In particular, the anti-Asian racism deliberately fostered by Trump – and also boosted by fascists and white nationalist groups away from the center of power – must be consistently opposed.

Supporting mutual aid projects and networks is also crucial. Food4Life is one noteworthy survival program in Atlanta. You can read about it and support it – or reach out for assistance – here. If you have funds, please also consider supporting this fundraiser for refugees impacted in Atlanta. See ItsGoingDown for a list of COVID-19 community mutual aid projects across North America.

We admire the courage shown daily by workers at the front of this pandemic, not only hospital staff and medical workers, but also under-valued and exploited grocery clerks, delivery people, trash collectors, and others providing vital services. Our communities are behind you and will fight for you.

IronMarch Recruiter and Extreme-Right Propagandist “James Futurist” Exposed as Jamie Lee Mallard

Introduction

We are exposing Jamie Lee Mallard of Georgia as longtime racist and extreme-Right propagandist “James Futurist”. Mallard, whose other aliases include “James Egoist”, James Rockwell, Jameson Blackwell and NeoNationalist, has been active in the white power movement since 2012, including that movement’s most extreme neo-Nazi fringes. For years Mallard promoted IronMarch (IM), a website that birthed other white supremacist organizations such as Vanguard America and the murderous Atomwaffen Division (AWD). Jamie Mallard collaborated with IronMarch’s webmaster, “Slavros”, and had contact with early AWD members including its founder Brandon Russell – now imprisoned on federal explosives charges – and Devon Arthurs, who killed two other members of the group. As “James Futurist”, Mallard appeared on several episodes of IM’s “Mysterium Fasces” podcast.

Jamie Mallard states that he currently lives in Smyrna, Georgia, part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Before his 2019 move, Mallard lived in several southern Georgia communities such as Tifton and later Moultrie. Mallard is a veteran of the US Air Force but now works in information technology. While living in Moultrie, Mallard claims to have had access to the “entire town’s sensitive data” as part of his job. Mallard currently fantasizes about an approaching civil war, or “Boogaloo”. While Mallard maintains a nihilistic and despairing persona, he remains in contact with key players on the racist scene, such as Alt-Right podcaster Mike Peinovich (AKA “Mike Enoch”) and members of the fascist Patriot Front.   

Mallard’s “Jameson Blackwell” VKontakte account also references the skull mask, a symbol popularized by IronMarch.
Continue reading “IronMarch Recruiter and Extreme-Right Propagandist “James Futurist” Exposed as Jamie Lee Mallard”

Chester Doles, the Hammerskin Nation, and “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017

Chester Doles, the lead organizer of “American Patriots USA” in North Georgia, has a history spanning decades in the white supremacist movement.

In December 2016, Doles, alongside other members of the violent Hammerskin Nation (HSN) racist gang, was involved in a brawl with family and friends of an interracial couple celebrating at Johnny B’s bar in Dahlonega, Georgia. Doles is affiliated with Crew 38, a booster group for the Hammerskins. Doles accepted a plea deal for two counts of battery from the Johnny B’s brawl in November 2017. Prior to accepting the plea, Doles traveled with members of the HSN to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he participated in the bloody August 12, 2017 “Unite the Right” (UTR) rally.

Photo posted by John Todd Kopko to Instagram in early 2018, showing the Hammerskin group from Unite the Right
Continue reading “Chester Doles, the Hammerskin Nation, and “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017”

North Georgia: “American Patriots USA” Update

Update 3/27/2020: We have now identified the International Keystone Knights of the KKK supporter discussed in this article as Robert Timothy Dickenson.

Introduction

Since late last year, longtime white supremacist Chester Doles has attempted to build an organization – American Patriots USA (APUSA) – in north Georgia. Doles held a far-Right “Patriots” rally in Dahlonega, Georgia in September 2019 that was greatly outnumbered by counter-protesters, and started APUSA shortly afterwards. Although Doles’ September rally was not the success he’d hoped for, Doles has held regular meetings for his new organization since December. 

Recently, APUSA seized on “2nd Amendment Sanctuary” proposals as their main organizing issue. As this article discusses, APUSA is dominated by active Klansmen as well as neo-Nazis, and is an attempt by ideological white supremacists to broaden their base of support in North Georgia and gain conservative electoral credibility. Our update will also discuss a newly identified business manager supporting APUSA; local militiamen doing security for the organization; a planned APUSA candidate for Sheriff in White County who became a community laughing stock; and finally, a new business linked to the APUSA front group. We hope this information is useful for North Georgia locals challenging Doles’ organizing.

Late November 2019: Doles shares propaganda for the National Alliance, the neo-Nazi organization whose Georgia chapter he led prior to his 2003 arrest on federal firearm charges.
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Notorious White Power Website Led Georgia Neo-Nazis to their Targets

In mid-January, three men in Georgia – Luke Austin Lane, Jacob Kaderli, and Michael Helterbrand – were arrested as part of a broader national sweep against “The Base”, a neo-Nazi group attempting to spark a race war. The Georgia trio were arrested on charges of participating in a criminal gang as well as conspiracy to commit murder. According to an affidavit supporting the Georgia arrests, the three were preparing to murder a couple who they believed to be members of Atlanta Antifascists, and murder any children they may have had. The couple were also selected for assassination out of convenience, since they did not live far from one of The Base members. 

The Base members training at Silver Creek, Georgia property, 2019.

The couple targeted for murder by The Base are not members of our organization. However, one family member targeted by the murder conspiracy had been listed in a series purporting to expose “Georgia Antifa[scists]”, published late 2018 on the white power Occidental Dissent website (OD). The header for the five-part series on OD was an image of Atlanta Antifascists’ Twitter account, suggesting that those being profiled were part of our organization. Instead, the site mostly listed unaffiliated third parties, attendees of leftist meetings or anti-racist rallies, and people who had interacted with our social media or who were involved in anti-racist cultural efforts. Unlike anti-fascists, who expose white supremacists in order to stop their violence against marginalized groups, white supremacists have no concern for accuracy when they publish enemy lists or kill lists – precisely because their goal is to terrorize entire communities.  

Occidental Dissent website

The webmaster of OD, Bradley Dean Griffin of Eufaula, Alabama (AKA “Hunter Wallace”), has an extensive history of harassment campaigns against perceived enemies. In late October 2018 – while the “Georgia” series was being published on OD – white supremacist Robert Bowers killed eleven people and wounded six in an attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Bowers had earlier offered Griffin an address for an anti-racist blogger targeted by Griffin. Brad Griffin also worked with white nationalist Daniel McMahon (AKA “Jack Corbin” and “Pale Horse”) against opponents. McMahon spent years harassing anti-racists – especially women – but was finally arrested last year for cyberstalking, threats, and interference against a Black candidate for office. In addition to his associates Bowers and McMahon, Griffin is active in the white supremacist/Southern secessionist League of the South and was a major promoter of 2017’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (which he attended). Court documents and journalist sources both indicate that The Base member Brian Mark Lemley had earlier been a member of Griffin’s organization, The League of the South.

Brad Griffin (outside Auburn University Richard Spencer event, 2017)

Occidental Dissent is hosted by Bluehost with its domain name registered through GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY). Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) also provides “reverse CDN” services for the site. Bluehost is now owned by the Endurance International Group (NASDAQ:EIGI). After the Tree of Life massacre by Griffin’s associate Bowers, both Bluehost and GoDaddy were warned about OD. The companies completely ignored concerns about their assistance for a major white power propaganda site. In their efforts to keep OD and its lists online, these companies almost contributed to the brutal murder of a couple.

Continue reading “Notorious White Power Website Led Georgia Neo-Nazis to their Targets”

Georgia “The Base” Members Arrested in Murder Conspiracy

Three members of the white supremacist group The Base have been arrested in Georgia, as part of a broader sweep against the organization. The Georgia arrests were revealed Thursday, January 16.

Georgia “The Base” arrestees L-R: Luke Austin Lane of Silver Creek, Michael John Helterbrand of Dalton, and Jacob Kaderli of Dacula.

The Georgia arrestees were allegedly plotting to murder a couple who they believed to be “Antifa”. They also allegedly planned to kill another member of The Base who helped hatch the murder plot but who they considered incompetent. Read The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Georgia arrests here.

One of those arrested, Luke Austin Lane of Silver Creek, Georgia, went by the online alias “TMB” and was the main recruiter for The Base in our state. On the Fascist Forge website, Lane/TMB’s profile was connected to that of Matthew Ryan Burchfield, a neo-Nazi we exposed last year and who is currently in Ukraine.

Atlanta Antifascists are following this situation closely. See our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates.

Madison, Georgia’s Worst Kept Secret: John Richard Thompson is with the Ku Klux Klan

Update: Kenny Schneck, a Georgia neo-Nazi mentioned in this article, died in late April 2020.

On October 4-5, 2019, the International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKKKKK) held a two-day event on private property in Morgan County, Georgia (approximately half an hour south of Athens, GA). According to the Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy quoted by local media, a Friday KKK meeting was attended by approximately ten people. A related social event the next day attracted approximately thirty. The event also included a cross lighting, although electric lights rather than fire were used due to a law against burning after dark. An International Keystone Knights banner was displayed outside the property. Approximately sixty federal, state and local cops patrolled the area while the racist gathering took place, essentially giving the KKK free security at public expense.

Local news story shows Klan banner outside property

The local Morgan County Citizen discussed the Klan gathering as happening at a residence “on Aqua Lane” with the nighttime cross lighting being visible “off of Aqua Road”. Although the paper did not print the name of the individual who hosted the Klan event, we can confirm that the event was hosted at John Richard Thompson’s property in Madison. While Madison County property records list his land as being on Aqua Road, Thompson’s property also borders Aqua Lane on the opposite side.

John Richard Thompson and wife Bonita Thompson
Continue reading “Madison, Georgia’s Worst Kept Secret: John Richard Thompson is with the Ku Klux Klan”

Start the Next Decade Off Right: Kick White Nationalism to the Curb

This blog entry is directed towards any fascists, white nationalists, or those on the edges of these movements: 

A new decade is here and we at Atlanta Antifascists want to give you a piece of advice: if you want the 2020s to be a positive decade for you, then you need to leave the fascist movement. Look, one of your leaders has already started the New Year off with an arrest for alleged kidnapping and domestic violence. This is not a movement you want to be associated with, and the consequences are often life-ruining. For example, in the past year multiple fascists our group has exposed have been fired from their jobs and had their personal lives upended on top of a job firing. You can try to move, but your continued involvement in white nationalist circles will follow you.

 Luckily for you, there are options to leave the white power movement. Contrary to the established mythology around “red-pilling”, people leave all the time, either publicly or privately. There are groups that can help you exit the movement like the Free Radicals Project. Our group is not associated with the Free Radicals Project, but we do see their important work. Be aware that grifters are also out there. We strongly advise you to not associate yourself with them – firstly for safety reasons, and secondly because from the perspective of our group, they don’t count.

We don’t go after people for their pasts. If it’s clear that you’ve left white nationalism behind, we’ll leave you alone. Just send us an email with an account of your time in the movement as a token of good faith/sincerity (what you’ve done, with what organizations, etc.), be ready to answer some follow-up questions, and make clear in your actions going forward that you’ve left white nationalism behind. That’s all. We can’t speak for anyone else you may have harmed, but we don’t get in the way of people trying to do better by themselves and others. 

Let the 2020s be a decade of growth and sincere change for the better. Reach out for help leaving the fascist movement, and if you’re in our region, send us a message to let us know about your choice.