[Discussion] Police, White Nationalists, and the Rise of Fascism

So forcing people to wear masks is similar to the holocaust says Taylor Greene...

Just wow..

whispa wrote:

So forcing people to wear masks is similar to the holocaust says Taylor Greene...

Just wow..

I would violate every rule of this forum repeatedly with what I’d like to say about her.

She is reprehensible on every level.

She's abhorrent trash.

Amoebic wrote:

She's abhorrent trash.

*The* GQP qualification for higher office

I’m willing to bet that she will end up physically assaulting someone in the Capitol Building before the end of her term.

ruhk wrote:

I’m willing to bet that she will end up physically assaulting someone in the Capitol Building before the end of her term.

If "physically assaulting" is a euphemism for "fatally shooting", then yes. I agree with you.

“Listen, we all regret the deaths of the five Representatives and especially the two members of Capitol Security who bravely gave up their lives defending them, but now is not the time to be pointing fingers. Representative Green is just as heartbroken over these events as the rest of us, and we need to respect her privacy so that she may return to her important work as a duly elected representative of the great state of Georgia, not bog her down in politics and hearsay over the events that unfolded around her.”

'Prime for abuse': Lack of oversight lets Phoenix police add protesters to gang database

ABC 15 Arizona wrote:

“ACAB” was never a real criminal street gang in Phoenix.

But as part of an effort to overcharge and suppress a group of police protesters, city officers and county prosecutors made it up in late 2020.

The fictional gang, an acronym for the common protest chant “All Cops are Bastards,” was created by officials using wild exaggerations, lies, and an informant with a documented history of lying.

Despite those problems, 17 protesters were officially documented as members of “ACAB” and added to Arizona’s gang database, according to records obtained by ABC15.

Officials declined to answer whether the falsely-accused people have been removed from the database.

“I think it really shows that this is a strategy being used and being abused by law enforcement to criminalize targeted groups, whether they are communities of color, low-income communities, or political protesting communities,” said Sen. Martin Quezada, a Phoenix Democrat.

On October 17, 2020, Phoenix police arrested a group of protesters, who were then indicted on criminal street gang charges.

Following the indictment, officers completed “Gang Member Information Cards,” or GMICs, for 17 of the protesters. GMICs are used to enter people into a statewide database called “GangNet.”

GangNet is managed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and police departments across the state have access to the database.

ABC15 obtained copies of the GMICs for the protesters.

Each of them are two pages. Many are hand-written. The cards contain each defendant’s personal information, including their name, address, phone number, email, Social Security number, picture, tattoos, and details about their alleged gang membership.

The group’s gang name was documented as “ACAB” and designated as an “extremist” group with “violent tendencies.”

In the notes section of most of the GMICs, it stated: “(Defendant) was part of a group that took over the city streets in downtown Phoenix and marched in the streets chanting, 'ACAB, all cops are bastards.' The members of this group wore primary all black clothing and possessed black umbrellas.”

The protest case highlights larger issues with the vague nature of Arizona’s gang statutes and the broad power provided to law enforcement agencies to document and track alleged gang members without public scrutiny.

...

In Arizona statutes, street gang classification requires only two of the following criteria to be met: (1) Self proclamation; (2) Witness testimony or statements; (3) Written or electronic correspondence; (4) Paraphernalia or photographs; (5) Tattoos; (6) Clothing or colors; (7) Any other indicators.

Phoenix police Sgt. Doug McBride, a “grenadier” who manages the Tactical Response Unit and former gang detective, testified the group of protesters met three of the criteria.

The first was chanting “All Cops are Bastards,” which he claimed was self proclamation. The second was because most of the group dressed in black, which met the colors requirement. And the third was many of the group carried umbrellas, which McBride claimed was part of their uniform.

Police and prosecutors also told a grand jury that “ACAB” was as dangerous as notorious gangs like the Crips, Bloods, and Hells Angels.

...

To obtain the gang charges, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office called Phoenix officers to testify on October 27, 2020.

The GMICs for all 17 defendants were completed in the days that followed.

“It’s a subsequent fiction that they’re making to justify things, and that’s what makes it obscene,” Kratter said.

The county attorney’s office reassigned the initial prosecutor behind the gang charges and dismissed all counts against the protesters without prejudice.

In a recent court motion, a newly-assigned prosecutor admitted the grand jury presentation was “deeply flawed” and there was “no likelihood of conviction on the gang charges.”

The motion also states that “gang” theory was heavily based on information from an informant with a "troubling history of lying to police, even going so far as to fabricate text messages as part of a sexual assault hoax in Tempe.”

However, MCAO denies that prosecutors and police targeted protesters based on their political beliefs.

Phoenix officials would not answer questions for this report.

“The Phoenix Police Department declines to comment on this case due to ongoing litigation,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

In Arizona statutes, street gang classification requires only two of the following criteria to be met: (1) Self proclamation; (2) Witness testimony or statements; (3) Written or electronic correspondence; (4) Paraphernalia or photographs; (5) Tattoos; (6) Clothing or colors; (7) Any other indicators.

So cops are a gang? We have a lot of people to report.

So cops are a gang? We have a lot of people to report.

Well there is indisputable evidence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 against cops so, yes...

Once again, cops prove ACAB true.

Reminds me of how people were protesting police violence so the cops thought it would be a good idea to go to the protests and incite some violence.

WTF is wrong with these assholes?

Stele wrote:

Once again, cops prove ACAB true.

Reminds me of how people were protesting police violence so the cops thought it would be a good idea to go to the protests and incite some violence.

WTF is wrong with these assholes?

They think they are above the law because they enforce it, and because they can.

Mixolyde wrote:
Stele wrote:

Once again, cops prove ACAB true.

Reminds me of how people were protesting police violence so the cops thought it would be a good idea to go to the protests and incite some violence.

WTF is wrong with these assholes?

They think they are above the law because they enforce it, and because they can there has been a clear precedent established that cops can commit horrific acts against the folks that they’re meant to be serving and never be held accountable for their actions except in the most extreme cases which happen to be captured on video by a civilian.

FTFY

So to paraphrase... Cops think that they’re above the law because they are very obviously above the law.

Speaking of ACAB, it looks like America's most notorious Burger King customer wants a new trial.

I’ve started getting ads for Black Rifle Coffee Company on YouTube. Ugh.

I did a double take when I noticed one of their coffee bags. I looked it up and apparently it’s named “Silencer Smooth”.

This can’t be a coincidence, can it?

IMAGE(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61l0mdbnDjL._SL1080_.jpg)

I think last year or the year before they got called out for posting an editorial on their website from some european neo-nazi guy but I don’t remember the specifics.

gewy wrote:

I’ve started getting ads for Black Rifle Coffee Company on YouTube. Ugh.

I did a double take when I noticed one of their coffee bags. I looked it up and apparently it’s named “Silencer Smooth”.

This can’t be a coincidence, can it?

IMAGE(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61l0mdbnDjL._SL1080_.jpg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/QGH2fG4.png)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/5ieJsOS.png)

To be faaaair, that was just Rittenhouse wearing one of their shirts and neither of the other guys are involved with the company either. BRC publicly distanced themselves from Rittenhouse after that picture was published and it got them in hot water with conservatives.

So they built their entire brand around fascist iconography and then got cold feet.

Also, anyone who buys coffee plastered with American flags doesn't know sh*t about coffee, which doesn't grow for crap in these latitudes. There's some damn fine beans coming out of Mexico though.

I doubt their beans are grown here, the bag only says “roasted in the USA.”
They likely aren’t too picky about the ethical or labor standards when sourcing their beans though.

No. It’s not a coincidence. It’s all done deliberately. They are a fascist themed coffee brand.

ruhk wrote:

To be faaaair, that was just Rittenhouse wearing one of their shirts and neither of the other guys are involved with the company either. BRC publicly distanced themselves from Rittenhouse after that picture was published and it got them in hot water with conservatives.

If I was the marketing VP for a company and found out that a white supremacist multiple murderer was gleefully wearing a branded shirt I would burn the place down while wondering how the f*ck my messaging appealed to precisely the most sh*tty people in the world.

But BRC's marketing VP worked for Cambridge Analytica handling Trump's campaign back in 2016 so you already know their entire strategy is to shamelessly appeal to absolutely horrible people.

ruhk wrote:

To be faaaair, that was just Rittenhouse wearing one of their shirts and neither of the other guys are involved with the company either. BRC publicly distanced themselves from Rittenhouse after that picture was published and it got them in hot water with conservatives.

Effin hell this is disgusting. If Black Rifle is the Fox News of coffee, we have some OAN's and Newsmax's coming after them for being too liberal.

At least two conservative coffee shops opened this February alone. One, Covfefe Coffee and Gifts in Maine, sells brews named after Trump. The other, Conservative Grounds in Florida, includes a makeshift Oval Office with cardboard cutouts of Donald and Melania Trump. Conservative Grounds’ owner told the Washington Post the shop was “a place for conservatives to feel welcome,” and noted that the store had a sign leading out to the dumpsters with a label “liberal safe space, enter here.”

A third right-wing coffee brand is now gunning for BRCC’s customers, promoting stickers that advocate throwing communists to their deaths from helicopters, and patches mocking the corpse of a man Rittenhouse killed. The brand earned an endorsement from the Proud Boys after it released a statement lauding Rittenhouse on Sunday.

That’s the thing about the far right, no matter how bad you think a person or organization is, there’s always someone worse.

OG_slinger wrote:
ruhk wrote:

To be faaaair, that was just Rittenhouse wearing one of their shirts and neither of the other guys are involved with the company either. BRC publicly distanced themselves from Rittenhouse after that picture was published and it got them in hot water with conservatives.

If I was the marketing VP for a company and found out that a white supremacist multiple murderer was gleefully wearing a branded shirt I would burn the place down while wondering how the f*ck my messaging appealed to precisely the most sh*tty people in the world.

But BRC's marketing VP worked for Cambridge Analytica handling Trump's campaign back in 2016 so you already know their entire strategy is to shamelessly appeal to absolutely horrible people.

I don’t discount the “sleep with dogs and get fleas” aspect but the context in which you posted the picture implied a more direct relationship. Whether intentional or accidental, it isn’t helpful.

Sadly, I just realized Rittenhouse has a very lucrative future ahead of him as a right wing marketer when he invariably gets found not guilty. I’m hoping I’m wrong but there’s reasonable doubt about the first shooting and then he can argue he tried to retreat when the mob came after him.

jdzappa wrote:

Sadly, I just realized Rittenhouse has a very lucrative future ahead of him as a right wing marketer when he invariably gets found not guilty. I’m hoping I’m wrong but there’s reasonable doubt about the first shooting and then he can argue he tried to retreat when the mob came after him.

He'll be found not guilty because we are profoundly racist country, not because he is actually innocent. He went to the protest to shoot people, FFS.

At this point I wonder if he is hoping to be found guilty, as that seems likely to increase his future economic gains.

Natus wrote:
jdzappa wrote:

Sadly, I just realized Rittenhouse has a very lucrative future ahead of him as a right wing marketer when he invariably gets found not guilty. I’m hoping I’m wrong but there’s reasonable doubt about the first shooting and then he can argue he tried to retreat when the mob came after him.

He'll be found not guilty because we are profoundly racist country, not because he is actually innocent. He went to the protest to shoot people, FFS.

Not talking about his actual motivations - all of his jackassery since his arrest proves he wasn’t just the dumb but well meaning kid he initially pretended to be. I’m talking about what will likely happen during the trial, especially given his defense team and that his first victim was not very sympathetic.

jdzappa wrote:
Natus wrote:
jdzappa wrote:

Sadly, I just realized Rittenhouse has a very lucrative future ahead of him as a right wing marketer when he invariably gets found not guilty. I’m hoping I’m wrong but there’s reasonable doubt about the first shooting and then he can argue he tried to retreat when the mob came after him.

He'll be found not guilty because we are profoundly racist country, not because he is actually innocent. He went to the protest to shoot people, FFS.

Not talking about his actual motivations - all of his jackassery since his arrest proves he wasn’t just the dumb but well meaning kid he initially pretended to be. I’m talking about what will likely happen during the trial, especially given his defense team and that his first victim was not very sympathetic.

I think we're trying to communicate across two different universes.

Natus wrote:
jdzappa wrote:
Natus wrote:
jdzappa wrote:

Sadly, I just realized Rittenhouse has a very lucrative future ahead of him as a right wing marketer when he invariably gets found not guilty. I’m hoping I’m wrong but there’s reasonable doubt about the first shooting and then he can argue he tried to retreat when the mob came after him.

He'll be found not guilty because we are profoundly racist country, not because he is actually innocent. He went to the protest to shoot people, FFS.

Not talking about his actual motivations - all of his jackassery since his arrest proves he wasn’t just the dumb but well meaning kid he initially pretended to be. I’m talking about what will likely happen during the trial, especially given his defense team and that his first victim was not very sympathetic.

I think we're trying to communicate across two different universes.

None of this is my personal opinion - there is plenty of video footage of Kyle running around talking to people in a friendly manner and asking if anyone needs medical help. This is going to look good for the jury. What won’t look good is that his first shooting victim Rosenbaum was a convicted multiple child rapist who chased after Kyle, threw things at him and then tried to disarm him. Now, it’s very possible Rosenbaum was trying to be the good guy and get the gun away. But the defense can make a good case that at this point Kyle legitimately feared for his life. Jurors likely won’t see all the stupid stuff Kyle has said since the trial that is pretty damning.