The right is inexplicably attempting to blame yesterday's coup attempt on Antifa, but a cursory round of the Capitol revealed the would-be insurrectionaries were the same fringe right and white nationalist groups that anti-fascists have been warning about for years. My photos: 1/
Overt white nationalists were present at the Capitol yesterday. I personally saw two people waving Kekistan flags. Kekistan is a fictional white ethnostate created by the alt-right. It's flag is designed to emulate the Nazi battle flag. 2/
Seeing a Kekistan flag flying on the balcony of the US Capitol building was particularly disturbing. 3/
Far-right militia group the Oathkeepers were present yesterday. Here's about a dozen of them talking outside the Capitol.
[blacked out face of one person who was probably a Trumper, but based on clothing I was not certain.] 4/
[blacked out face of one person who was probably a Trumper, but based on clothing I was not certain.] 4/
Several groups of QAnon conspiracy theories brought their banners. ("where we go one, we go all" or "WWG1WGA" is their slogan). 5/
Supporters of Alex Jones brought InfoWars gear and even affixed an InfoWars sticker to an armored government vehicle. 6/
Symbolism of far-right militia group the III%ers also had a heavy presence. Keep in mind that Threeper gear has become common among people who are not part of an organized militia, so these are not necessarily militia members. 7/
You can also see a III%er flag in at the end of this clip, which also gives a sense of how large the crowd was on one side of the Capitol alone. 9/
Right-wing biker culture was involved as well. One person had a Bikers for Trump patch and another wore hoodie from this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which turned out to be a covid 19 superspreader event. 10/
I am not sure if the man with the bloody face is a proud boy, but he is wearing Proud Boy colors on his scarf.
One of his backpack patches says, "I'm here to break shit" and I imagine that's how he ended up with the bloody face. 11/
One of his backpack patches says, "I'm here to break shit" and I imagine that's how he ended up with the bloody face. 11/
Trump supporters - and even Trump himself - have been using Lion imagery similar to a logo originally designed by white nationalist blog/hate group VDARE. 12/
[for reference see: https://www.vox.com/2019/8/29/20838289/trump-fascist-lion-head-bull-testicles-video-twitter]
[for reference see: https://www.vox.com/2019/8/29/20838289/trump-fascist-lion-head-bull-testicles-video-twitter]
It was bizarre to see police nationalism as the crowd was engaging in hostilities with the police, but I nonetheless still saw some "thin blue line" symbols, including this patch. 13/
These photos only represent what I was able to capture from a brief walk around the Capitol. This symbolism was everywhere, and others have documented the presence of additional fascists and white supremacist groups. 14/
The would-be insurrectionaries wouldn't have achieved these numbers without Donald Trump's personal exhortations to his supporters
He encouraged them to align with fascist &white supremacist groups - in many cases, the same groups that rallied under swastikas in Charlottesville
He encouraged them to align with fascist &white supremacist groups - in many cases, the same groups that rallied under swastikas in Charlottesville
'Normie' republicans joining the alt right in massive numbers is a scenario that anti-fascists have been warning about for years.
This is why we emphasize making fascism and white supremacy socially unacceptable.
This is why we emphasize making fascism and white supremacy socially unacceptable.
You shouldn't be able to assist white nationalists in a coup attempt one day and claim you're just a concerned citizen the next.
We have to hold people accountable for the alliances they choose. And we need to resist fascism wherever it rears its head.
We have to hold people accountable for the alliances they choose. And we need to resist fascism wherever it rears its head.