Movements, to quote Batman: The Dark Knight, either die heroes or live long enough to see themselves become the villains and, in this case, antifa has certainly lived long to become the villain.
According to Wikipedia, when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini consolidated power under his National Fascist Party in the mid-1920s, an oppositional anti-fascist movement surfaced both in Italy and countries such as the United States. Many anti-fascist leaders in the United States were anarchist, socialist, and syndicalist émigrés from Italy with experience in labor organizing and militancy. Ideologically, antifa in the United States sees itself as the successor to anti-Nazi activists of the 1930s.
Except they’ve strayed far from those early, laudable beginnings.
The antifa of today bears little resemblance to the Italian and American anti-fascist movements of the 1920s. What was once a concerted movement against actual fascism, today’s antifa will go after anyone they perceive to be fascists.
And that includes anyone who so much as has a different opinion.
Take, for example, a women’s march that occurred in Bristol, UK last June for the purpose of speaking out against gender ideology where they were met with intimidation by members of Antifa who gathered to disrupt the event, attempting to shut it down.
The women were surrounded and harassed by men dressed in black bloc who yelled obscenities and accused them of being "transphobic fascists."
The severity of Antifa's threats and intimidation grew that the women had to require police protection after the far-left militants tried to provoke physical altercations.
Or even in the case of Kelly-Jay Keen, better known to readers of this fine Stack as Posie Parker, who was threatened by an Antifa trans activist so bad that she was forced to cancel the Portland leg of her Let Women Speak tour.
Isabel Rosa Araujo, formerly known as Philip Vincent Haskins-Delici, is a 35-year-old Portland-based transsexual Antifa militant with a history of extremism. Araujo was part of a group of around 20 Antifa in black bloc who confronted a small conservative pro-police rally last Thursday afternoon in downtown Portland. The two sides argued with each other outside the Justice Center before Araujo, who was wearing a gas mask, used bear mace against one of the right-wing protesters. He was not arrested for assault.
Philip even tried to solicit fundraising to acquire weapons in which the Antifa leader makes a “direct aid request” asking for $161 for everything he needs to “fight fash and TERFs” because bloc gear, batons, and mace don’t “grow on trees.”
Again, the movement has lived long enough to see itself become the villain as certain of its members have graduated into more serious crimes, including (but not limited to) domestic terrorism to child sexual assault/abuse to possession of bombs to murder.
Some even have ties to violent criminal gangs like MS-13 and some have actively engaged in witness tampering and intimidation.
Garret James Smith
A man in full black bloc behaving suspiciously near a right-wing rally outside the Pinellas County Courthouse in Florida on Jan. 6 was apprehended by deputies after he tried fleeing on foot. Garrett James Smith, 22, was arrested and found carrying an active pipe bomb, Antifa propaganda and a written document on what to bring for his direct action. He had recently returned from Portland, Ore.
An executed search warrant of Smith's residence he shares with his parents in Oldsmar, Fla. revealed more explosives, tape and nails for use in grenades. Bomb squad investigators from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Tampa Police responded to the home and determined the devices were homemade IEDs.
A search of Smith's home he shares with his parents in Oldsmar, Fla. revealed more explosives, tape and nails for use in grenades. Smith’s “direct action” checklist included a drawing of an umbrella, a symbol adopted by Antifa militants for their frequent use of black umbrellas to shield one another from cameras while they commit acts of violence or vandalism. The helmet found in his backpack during his arrest had the Antifa “iron front” symbol painted on it.
Christina V. Devitt
Devitt, a 34-year-old Antifa militant from Seattle, Washington, pleaded "not guilty" to criminal charges on Monday after allegedly causing significant damage to Seattle Police Department's East Precinct last spring.
The self-described Antifa "journalist" was arrested by Seattle police officers on May 7, 2021, for allegedly rolling a large dumpster into the garage doors of the East Precinct during a violent demonstration. Devitt's actions allegedly inhibited officers abilities to effectively respond to emergency calls, directly impacting members of the community in critical situations.
Upon further investigation into Devitt, findings revealed that she has a past history of being intertwined with criminal groups, including violent street gangs.
In 2003, Christina Devitt testified as a prosecution witness in a murder trial involving the MS-13 gang, one of the world's most brutal street gangs internationally known for their violent murders.
Devitt testified that she was at the home of MS-13's Joel Soto-Rodriguez when he and two other gang members, Freddie Dominguez and Rojel Perez-Mejia, abruptly left the party to take care of a dispute with a rival gang in White Center, a suburb of West Seattle.
A bystander that witnessed the confrontation named Margaret Emmitt, who tried to make peace between the two groups, was shot and killed by Perez-Meija during an exchange of gunfire. Both Perez-Meija and Dominguez pled guilty to second-degree murder. The jury found Soto-Rodriguez guilty of first-degree murder after it was determined that he supplied Perez-Meija with a firearm and encouraged them to carry out violence against rival gangs.
Mohamed Osman Adan
Adan was arrested for second-degree murder constituting domestic violence and unlawful use of a weapon and is currently being held without bail.
He had been initially arrested for allegedly violating the terms of a no-contact order that had been brought against him following a domestic violence-related incident with the mother of his children.
According to OregonLive, police received reports of a domestic disturbance at the home of 37-year-old Rachael Adan Abraham on Saturday morning. Three hours later, Adan himself called 911 and announced that she was dead.
When police arrived, Adan was found sitting downstairs with his three children. Abraham's body lay under a sheet in one of their bedrooms next to a bloodied kitchen knife.
On August 10, Adan was arrested for allegedly removing a GPS monitor he had been ordered to wear, and entering the home of Abraham, who he had a long history of abusing.
As OregonLive reports, Portland Freedom Fund president Amanda Trujillo is listed as paying $2,000 of Adan's $20,000 bail ten days later, thus allowing him to avoid being held in jail despite the judge citing numerous risks he posed to the community.
Leah Mabak and Jesse Cannon
An Antifa member in San Diego who was charged with multiple felonies, allegedly has a close relationship with an investigator for the San Diego Public Defender Office. And together they may have obtained privileged information with which to intimidate victims and witnesses, according to a prosecutor in explosive court filings uncovered last April.
Madbak’s alleged boyfriend, Jesse Merel Cannon, was among 11 alleged Antifa members charged in December 2021 after supporters of Donald Trump and random beach revelers were assaulted on Pacific Beach in early 2021. The case is the first time alleged Antifa members belonging to different cells have been hit with conspiracy charges in the U.S.
According to the declaration from the deputy district attorney, his office’s investigation found “gigabytes of data that the Antifa cells or ‘affinity groups,’ to which the defendants belong,” collected on their targets, which include victims, witnesses, police officers, elected officials and “even their own members who have fallen out of favor.”
The evidence discovered through search warrants includes addresses, license plates and surveillance photos of targets and their families. Two days after the first batch of defendants were arraigned on Dec. 6, 2021, Antifa began trying to intimidate victims and witnesses, according to the district attorney’s office. “I know recently social media accounts associated with several of the defendants’ posted pictures of people they believed to be the victims in this case…in an apparent attempt to intimidate or dissuade them from testifying,” the prosecutor declared.
Hopkins states that in addition to the digital evidence that was seized, investigators also confiscated several firearms from the Antifa defendants. “Further, there is evidence that several of these defendants have access to other weapons which were not recovered.”
Leah Madbak, the investigator in the San Diego Public Defender Office, is accused in the declaration of having “administrative privileges for several Antifa based social media accounts.” Hopkins alleges she and her boyfriend, defendant Cannon, “have posted police reports and intentionally disseminated potentially harmful information in an attempt to dox their targets.” Those Antifa social media accounts were listed as SDagainstFash, SDreportingcollective, SNAIL Cru and RABID.
Erich Louis "Nikki" Yach
The first of 11 Antifa defendants who rioted in Pacific Beach more than a year ago was sentenced to prison on Thursday. Erich Louis "Nikki" Yach, now 38, admitted to three violent felonies in a plea deal and was sentenced to 56 months in a California state prison. Yach will have 362 days credited against his time in prison, for the 316 days served along with "good time custody credits."
Yach has been held in custody since December 2021, the only one of the 11 total Antifa defendants charged in San Diego County that is in custody. Yach was arrested by San Diego police at one of the border crossings between California and Mexico, statements made by attorneys in court suggested that Yach was across the border, in Mexico, prior to his most recent arrest.
Yach may have been held in custody because he had multiple open criminal cases in San Diego County, and while Yach was at liberty he had multiple FTAs, or Failures To Appear for his court dates.
Of all 11 Antifa defendants, Yach might have been facing the most possible years in prison, if he had been convicted of all charges. He was out on bail for a previous felony when he committed the new felonies, which meant that Yach could have gotten 16 years in prison just for that aggravating factor, if he had been convicted of all eight felonies and multiple special allegations that he faced, after the grand jury indictment which listed 29 counts.
The second felony Yach admitted to was Count 11, saying "I did unlawfully use a tear gas weapon on S.M…not in self defense." The co-conspirators named in that specific attack are Alexander Akridgejacobs, Jesse Merel Cannon, Luis Francisco Mora, Samuel Howard Ogden, and Bryan Rivera, all of whom plead not guilty.
Jarrod DeFerrari
A grand jury has indicted a transsexual militant Antifa activist Jarrod DeFerrari from Florida over the vandalism of a church and other properties in downtown Portland during a post-Election Day riot in November.
Surveillance video showing antifa's attack on St. Andre Bessette Church in downtown Portland. The church provides services to the city's large homeless population. It has since halted those services due to damage to the building.
Jarrod DeFerrari, also known as “Sofie Thema,” of Sunrise, Fla., was indicted on one count of felony riot and three counts of felony first-degree criminal mischief. According to court documents, the 23-year-old was one of the masked militants who destroyed property at St. André Bessette Catholic Church, Riverside Tobacco and Alco Properties at a riot on Nov. 4, 2020.
DeFerrari was arrested with other Antifa militants in a parking lot garage in downtown Portland. His partner, Leslie Johnson, also a transsexual militant Antifa activist, was among those arrested in the group. DeFerrari initially refused to identify herself and gave police the fake name “Candle Moma.”
A sheriff’s deputy found a hammer, a gas mask, spray paint and an illegal mortar explosive in DeFerrari’s backpack, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. DeFerrari was taken into custody at the time and also charged with first-degree disorderly conduct, unlawful sale, possession, or use of fireworks, felony second-degree burglary; and attempted second-degree arson, — but all of those charges were dropped and DeFerrari was quickly bailed out.
The Georgia Antifa 5
Five militants part of a violent far-left occupation in south Atlanta were arrested on Tuesday and charged with domestic terrorism and other felony charges.
On Dec. 13, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) launched a raid on the so-called autonomous zone at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. Since June 2021, Antifa and other far-left extremists from across the US have descended on the location to prevent the construction of what they call a "cop city." Responding law enforcement were assaulted with rocks and bottles by militants occupying makeshift treehouses. The GBI says it found explosive devices and gasoline after the rioters were cleared from the area.
In the months leading up to the anti-terrorism raid by the GBI on Tuesday, militants part of the @defendATLforest autonomous zone had been carrying out a campaign of terror. They committed assaults, arson attacks, property destruction and even a carjacking.
Serena Abby Hertel, 25, who has addresses believed to be in Los Angeles, Calif. and Boise, Idaho, was charged with domestic terrorism, criminal trespass, aggravated assault, obstruction and inciting a riot.
Leonard Voiselle, 20, of Macon, Ga., was charged with domestic terrorism, criminal trespass, and possession of tools of the crime.
Nicholas Dean Olson, 25, of Bennington, Neb., was charged with domestic terrorism, aggravated assault, interference with government property and obstruction
Francis M. Carroll, 22, of Kennebunkport, Maine, was charged with domestic terrorism, criminal trespass, aggravated assault, felony obstruction, interference with government property and possession of tools for the commission of the crime.
As was reported in The Daily Mail, Carroll is the son of surgeon Dr Mike Carroll and grew up in a $2 million five-bedroom and four-bathroom mansion in Kennebunkport – as well as enjoying time on his parents’ yacht.
His father works at Maine Health County Medical Center as a general surgeon, and his mother is a keen sailor - along with one of his two sisters.
And finally, Arieon Robinson, 21, of Milwaukee, Wisc., was charged with domestic terrorism, criminal trespass and obstruction.
In the days ahead of the raid on Tuesday, Antifa had been escalating violence by carrying out a series of arson attacks, including trying to burn a man to death. In late November, an auto mechanic who drove into the autonomous zone thinking he found free discarded equipment reported to police he was ambushed by people dressed in camouflage.
"It seemed to me like they were going to burn the truck with me in it," Richard Porter told 11Alive News. He was forced to run for his life as his vehicle was torched.
The domestic terrorism charges in Atlanta is not the first time Antifa-linked suspects were formally charged this way. Samantha Frances Brooks and Ellen Brennan Reiche were both convicted by federal prosecutors in Washington state for a terrorist attack on train tracks in 2021.
All five suspects remain in Dekalb County Jail, where they were awaiting arraignment but have since been denied bail.
William Kerr
Portland Antifa riot arrestee William David Kerr has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies related to sexually abusing a child and making child porn. The 35-year-old Portlander was arrested by Gresham Police on Nov. 2 and charged with felony first-degree sexual abuse, felony using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, and two charges of fourth-degree assault.
Kerr is a career criminal and convicted felon who was arrested at a violent Antifa riot in 2016 in downtown Portland after Donald Trump was announced as the presidential election winner against Hillary Clinton. For three days, Antifa and far-left rioters smashed up businesses and cars, and also started fires across the city. Kerr's second-degree disorderly conduct charge over the riot was quickly dropped by prosecutors.
It is unknown if he returned to rioting in 2020, but on his social media, he shared a video in August 2020 defending rioting and looting.
Kerr has a long criminal history in Oregon. In 2006, he was convicted of attempting to commit both a Class A and Class B felony over a violent robbery case. In March last year, he was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, attempted murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and other felony charges. The attempted murder and attempt to commit a Class A felony charges were dropped by the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office under DA Mike Schmidt while a judge dismissed the remaining felony charges.
Kerr's child sex abuse case echoes another recent case of Portland Antifa riot arrestee, Aubrey Ryan Quinn-Ward, who was arrested and charged following a child sex sting in a neighboring county.
For the sake of brevity these are all members of Antifa who are up to their eyeballs in all sorts of crimes against property, persons and even children and now you know why they all wear masks - because they most likely have a sordid past they don’t want discovered.
I’m beginning to think that maybe Donald Trump was right.
Just another bunch of gentle souls trying to get through life. Thank you, William, for putting this together!