Atlanta Antifascists – Page 8 – Tracking and Countering the Far Right since 2016

Exposed: Far-Right Planning Armed “Stone Mountain Redux” Sneak Rally for September 26

Update 9/25/2020, afternoon: The main organizer for the rally is telling supporters on MeWe that he’s backing out.

Update 9/25/2020: The “Stone Mountain Redux” Facebook group has been removed.

Organizing on a secret Facebook group, far-Right adherents are planning an armed convoy in Georgia on Saturday, September 26.

The “Stone Mountain Redux” Facebook group is operated by Eric Braden in south Texas who also uses a Facebook account named “Cannon Hinton”. The “Hinton” alias is a reference to a young murder victim whose name has been hijacked by white nationalists, against the wishes of their grieving family. Braden / “Hinton” claims to be an Army veteran. He promoted and allegedly attended the armed far-Right / anti-Black Lives Matter rally at Stone Mountain on August 15. As “Cannon Hinton” he also wrote that he attended a recent militia protest in Louisville, Kentucky.

*Eric Braden chats online with white nationalist Jan Dupree before August 15 rally in now-deleted Facebook group.*

A second organizer for the “Stone Mountain” redux Facebook group is Corbin Waltering of Idaho, who runs a second Facebook profile under the name “Thomas Stonewall Jackson”. Waltering livestreamed from a militia anti-BLM counter-protest in Louisville, Kentucky on September 5.

Photo from *Louisville, Kentucky, September 5, 2020*, featuring *Dylan Stevens* AKA “The Angry Viking”

The main motivation for the September 26 armed convoy and sneak rally is to compensate for August 15 at Stone Mountain. On that day, assorted militiamen, neo-Confederates, anti-Black Lives Matter protesters, and white nationalists rallied in the community of Stone Mountain outside Atlanta. Their rally was intended to take place in nearby Stone Mountain Park, but the Park announced the evening before that it would close that day to thwart the unpermitted rally. Gathering instead in the nearby community of Stone Mountain, the far-Right were outnumbered by anti-racist counter-protesters.

“Stone Mountain Redux” now aims to hold an armed convoy and to covertly rally in or near Stone Mountain. As messages in the secret Facebook group reveal, organizers will assemble at a private park or land, and then move to one or more points of interest. One “Redux” organizer has stated that they will not pay to enter the Park itself, although this may be a lie or an attempt at diversion. One possible scenario is the armed far-Right group attempting their display in the community of Stone Mountain or walking into the Park via a pedestrian entrance. It is also possible they will rally further afield, despite the Facebook group’s name.

*Kyle Rittenhouse, currently facing murder charges, celebrated in “Stone Mountain Redux”*

Although the private Facebook group has almost 300 members, only a portion of these numbers will likely attend the secret event on the day. Waltering’s claim that there will be 400 attendees seems highly inflated. It is likely, however, that some militias are being invited through other channels, not via posts in the Facebook group. The Facebook group’s members list includes several participants from August 15, such as Dusty Rutledge and Glen “Mitch” Simon, as well as the “Confederate States III%” organizers of that day’s fiasco (with one saying they will be preoccupied on the 26th).

While the armed convoy is intended as a show of strength, it is actually a display of weakness. Organizers need to sneak around and try to keep their plans secret, because they know that announcing their plans publicly and in advance will mean they get outnumbered and humiliated. We urge community members in or near Stone Mountain to stay alert on the 26th, since any convoy could target residents for harassment.

Sadly, for as long as carvings glorifying white supremacy remain on Stone Mountain, the monument will attract organized racists and far-Right militants. This in turn may place local community members in harm’s way. Our group aims to reduce this risk by monitoring the planned event and releasing information as we can. To begin, we are leaking discussion and a member’s list from the private “Stone Mountain Redux” group. Please check our social media for updates.

If you have further information on the September 26th sneak rally or its attendees, get in contact.

Patriot Front in Georgia

The Torch Network of militant antifascists has leaked over a year of internal communications from Patriot Front, a major white supremacist organization operating nationally. The data leak, which exposes the organization’s inner workings and potential identifying information about individual members, will be a blow to the racist group. Atlanta Antifascists are a member group within Torch and are proud to promote the data leak, which can be found here.

*Patriot Front propaganda distributed in Candler Park area of Atlanta, 2018*

Patriot Front formed in the direct aftermath of 2017’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a splinter from and rebranding of the fascist Vanguard America. From December 2017 through May 2018, a Patriot Front state chapter led at the time by Aaron Christopher Krueger repeatedly targeted metro Atlanta with Patriot Front propaganda. When we exposed Krueger based on an earlier info leak, the Patriot Front campaign came to a sudden halt. Also in 2018, we published about Christopher Gibson, a Ku Klux Klan supporter in Dublin, Georgia who had bragged about placing PF stickers around his community.

*We still seek information on “John GA” who targeted Columbus, GA synagogues*

The following year, Patriot Front surfaced in Columbus, Georgia, eventually targeting synagogues in that community. Some stickers were also posted in the Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville. We determined that Christopher Skylar Brooks – also a member of the Proud Boys far-Right group – helped place the propaganda in Lawrenceville and traveled to Columbus to help target synagogues with member “John GA” (alias). The new Patriot Front leaks cover this time period. Brooks has now moved to Shanghai, China. We still seek information on “John GA”.

In 2020, Patriot Front has been recruiting in Georgia, with metro Atlanta and other locations hit with the organization’s propaganda. The current pandemic, which leads to more time spent online, may have assisted recruitment. In general, however, Patriot Front’s presence in Georgia is weaker than in other regions and their new recruits do not stick around for long: they are either scared away from racist activism or move on to other projects. We welcome any more information about members we have not yet identified. When we identify white supremacists, the information may follow them even to China, as Christopher Skylar Brooks found out.

Documentation: Far-Right at Stone Mountain, Georgia, August 15, 2020 (Gallery 1 of 3)

“Free Patriots Forever” arrive in Stone Mountain

Chris Hill of III% Security Force on right. (From footage by Ford Fischer/News2Share)

Documentation: Far-Right at Stone Mountain, Georgia, August 15, 2020 (Gallery 2 of 3)

Glen Mitchell Simon (AKA Mitch Simon) with megaphone.

In background with flag head-wrap: William “Danny” Aye, Virginia member of Heirs to the Confederacy.

Documentation: Far-Right at Stone Mountain, Georgia, August 15, 2020 (Gallery 3 of 3)

Update: Georgia Republican Candidates Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gurtler Assist Recruitment for Antisemitic “Patriots” Group

Update 8/11/2020: Marjorie Taylor Greene won in the GA14 Republican runoff and will likely head to Congress. Matt Gurtler was defeated in GA09.

On August 11^th, Georgia Congressional candidates Marjorie Taylor Greene (14^th District) and Matt Gurtler (9^th District) will compete in runoff elections for their Districts’ Republican nominations. Greene faces John Cowan for the 14^th District nomination, while Gurtler is competing against Andrew Clyde in the 9^th District. Both the 9^th and the 14^th Districts lean heavily Republican, so whoever wins the GOP nomination for each of these districts is likely to take a seat in Congress. Both Greene and Gurtler have ties to American Patriots USA, an ostensibly pro-Trump organization with roots in the neo-Nazi and Klan undergrounds.

*Chester Doles video with Marjorie Greene sign in background*

We have covered the “American Patriots USA” (APUSA) organization in north Georgia since it was formed last year, in the wake of a September far-Right rally in Dahlonega. That rally’s organizer and APUSA’s leader, Chester Doles, has a history spanning decades in the white supremacist movement. Doles led a Ku Klux Klan group, operated the Georgia unit of the neo-Nazi “National Alliance”, and more recently supported the violent Hammerskins racist gang. Other white nationalists are also involved with APUSA, and Doles has boasted that there is no “Jew loving [… in] this Crew”. The organization has also built tactical alliances with some far-Right people of color.

As we documented in our May article, Doles has now built bridges to Republican candidates. In late February, Doles and other members posed with Marjorie Taylor Greene behind an APUSA banner. In March, State House Representative and current GA09 candidate Matt Gurtler talked to an APUSA meeting and posed for a group photo.

REVEALED: White Nationalist who Targeted Synagogues in Columbus, Georgia

On July 29 of last year, two members of Patriot Front – a fascist and white nationalist organization – placed propaganda at synagogues in Columbus, Georgia in an apparent attempt at intimidation. We can now identify one of the two people responsible, who we had written about earlier this year but failed to connect to activity in Columbus. As discussed in our previous article, Christopher Skylar Brooks helped place Patriot Front (PF) materials in the Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville in May 2019. We connected Brooks to the PF materials in Lawrenceville via an online brag in combination with Brooks’ internet handle, location, dress, and other clues. In our article about Brooks, we surmised that he did not last long in Patriot Front. However, he stayed long enough in the organization to target Columbus, Georgia synagogues with another member, a month and a half after the May propaganda run in Lawrenceville.

*“Red hat” in Columbus surveillance footage*

“Heritage Not Hate” and White Nationalist Networks

On August 15, 2020, racists and the far-Right vow to rally at Stone Mountain outside Atlanta.

*Heritage Not Hate private Facebook group*

An earlier alert discussed the upcoming rally and Stone Mountain Park’s history. We noted how two projects promoting the August 15 rallies – Protect the South and American Patriots USA – have their roots in neo-Nazi organizing. Both projects now try to build broader alliances through coded messaging.

We also mentioned the “Defending Stone Mountain” call to action from leaders of the Confederate States III% militia (CSIII%). CSIII% is a nominally non-racist far-Right group. In this update, we focus on these “Defending Stone Mountain” organizers and their ties to white nationalist networks.

At the end of this update, we discuss a new white supremacist project from a long-familiar face who is also trying to agitate around the Confederate carvings on Stone Mountain.

ALL OUT Against the Racists at Stone Mountain, August 15th

The FrontLine Organizations Working to End Racism (FLOWER) coalition is organizing to oppose the August 15th far-Right and racist rallies at Stone Mountain outside Atlanta.

For more information, visit the FLOWER website. Also see the coalition’s Facebook and Twitter for updates.

See you on the 15th!

ALERT: White Supremacists and Far-Right Militias Rallying at Stone Mountain, August 15

Update 7/19/2020: The III% Security Force, an Islamophobic far-Right militia headed by Chris Hill, yesterday reversed its earlier position and stated it will rally at Stone Mountain on August 15th.

On August 15, 2020, far-Right demonstrators will rally at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. The August 15 rally, held at the birthplace of the modern Ku Klux Klan, is being promoted and partially organized by figures tied to neo-Nazism and the white supremacist movement. Although some organizers claim to represent “Heritage Not Hate”, a closer look at who is mobilizing shows that August 15 will bring an influx of racists to the surrounding community.