The so-called “anti-fascist” movement has been around for decades in the United States. They are largely anonymous, violent, and take no prisoners with them.
The black-clad anarchists have come under a harsher spotlight following major disruptions during Donald Trump’s inauguration in January and then riots at the prestigious University of California, Berkeley in response to the provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos’ scheduled event in February.
During the Inauguration Day and UC Berkeley violent disruptions, the activists engaged in what’s known as “black bloc” tactic, smashing anything that gets in their way, including people opposing them, while hiding their identity.
“By putting on our masks we reveal our unity; and by raising our voices in the street together, we speak our anger at the facelessness of power,” reads an anarchist credo printed on the inside of masks distributed at a violent anti-capitalist protest in London in the 1990s.
Most anarchist/Antifa groups refuse to talk to the media — they value anonymity above else, and for a good reason. It has been reported that the FBI is after the UC Berkeley rioters and is trying to identify those engaged in militant tactics.
A group called Refuse Fascism declined an opportunity to speak to us at length, but said that the movement is aimed at “moving millions of people” out of the state of “passive fear into a state of resistance.” Adding:
We – in our millions – by shutting down business as usual, will create such a crisis for the ruling structures as to force a response in favor of humanity. Our tactics reflect this aim.
Among those refused to talk was the New York offshoot of the Antifa movement, which shut down Vice co-founder and current host on The Rebel Gavin McInnes’ talk at New York University last week. They shortly deleted their account on Facebook, leaving no trace behind on the Internet.
We eventually got in touch with a person, who claims to be an Antifa member in Washington, DC. He agreed to talk, provided he gets total anonymity because he works at “a well-known white shoe law firm, so my anonymity is important to me.”
Due to total anonymity of the member of Antifa, however, whatever is said must be taken with a pinch of salt.
He told us he was “directly involved with the J20 black bloc actions” at Trump’s inauguration — actions that include smashing electrical boxes and vandalizing buildings, which forced the authorities to use rubber bullets.
As someone who participated in the Inauguration Day riots, symbolized by sucker-punching white nationalist and generally a douche Richard Spencer, we asked whether he thought the punch was appropriate.
“Hell. Yes. And, I can’t wait for his college tour,” he said.
In the email conversation that followed, he explained that he was brought to militant anarchism because “it offers an alternative form of left resistance to fascism, racism, and capitalism that was unwedded to traditional notions of orthodox peaceful protest, which I believe are ineffective alone.”
“I believe Trump is a fascist with a short attention span who has surrounded himself with more dangerous, competent fascists. This revival demands a different, more militant, response,” he added.
According to him, Antifa stands against “structural violence and all forms of oppression and social coercion” and fights for “just society based on mutual aid.”
“In this political climate, to be a ‘moderate’ is to be confused,” he said. “Liberals are regarded as potential allies in a popular front against rising fascism and yet also regarded as dangerous compromisers to be held at arm’s distance.”
The anarchist dismissed the common perception that what they do is actually rioting which hurts the left. “The black bloc is not a protest. It is a direct action. It is not a riot.
“It may well be counterproductive, but I don’t think anyone is in a position to know… Don’t knock it till you try it! In no particular order, the primary purposes of the bloc are to confront the police and destroy corporate property, but it becomes a kind of guerilla street theatre demonstrating that people, even within highly militarized or policed environments, still have the power.”
He insisted that “violence does not, per se, make someone a fascist,” and wrote a bizarre analogy: “If an Italian peasant took a shovel to the back of one of Mussolini’s squadrista, were they engaging in an act of fascism or were they bashing in the skull of a fascist?”
At this point, the conversation turned to UC Berkeley riots opposing Milo Yiannopoulos’ scheduled event. The anarchist didn’t personally participate in the direct action there, but expressed the support for the actions undertaken by the Antifa. According to him, “Milo events are conduits for white supremacist organizing and I support the disruption.”
He added:
Many reactionary Milo supporters are claiming that the disruptors are the ‘real fascists’ because they’re shutting down ‘free speech.’ For people who like to wrap themselves in the Constitution, they seem painfully unaware that the free speech protection contained within the 1st Amendment is an injunction against government action, not the actions of other citizens. The framing of Milo’s event as merely ‘free speech’ is not only ignorant of the function of the 1st Amendment, but it also avoids addressing the content and political context of the event.
He has, however, offered some caveats. He doesn’t consider all Trump supporters as fascists. In fact, “antifascists and Trump supporters have a lot in common,” citing their resistance to globalization and free trade, adding “the difference, though, is that the antifascists have been consistent.”
“When NAFTA was passed in the 90s, it was the black bloc in Seattle confronting the WTO. Where were the Trump supporters? Capitalism and globalization was working for them then, or so they thought.”
The interview ended with a prediction that the movement will grow. “As people lose faith in the capability of our ostensibly democratic institutions to meaningfully oppose Trump’s fascist agenda, they will look for alternatives.”
Time will tell.