Rebel Girl: November 14, 2018: The empire’s centrists strike back! Liberals and centrists back mouthpiece of white nationalist bullshit, Tucker Carlson, after anti-fascists protest outside his home; centrists also hold pro-law demonstrations after Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and actions on Kristallnacht show the need to once again organize to defeat fascism. Welcome… to the Hotwire.

Riot Dogg: A weekly anarchist news show brought to you by The Ex-Worker. With me, the Riot Dogg

Rebel Girl: And with me, the Rebel Girl. You can find a full transcript of this episode with shownotes and useful links at Crimethinc.com, where we also have a twenty-nine-and-a-half minute version of this episode for standard radio broadcasts, and no cussing.

Riot Dogg: And now, the news…

HEADLINES

Riot Dogg: The most destructive and most deadly so-called wildfires to hit California are still burning across the state. I say so-called because they are more the product of climate change and capitalist development than they are the product of any wild, uncontrolled natural processes. 42 people have died so far.

Rebel Girl: Another autumn, another season of hurricanes and forest fires, and another reminder that many of the firefighters out battling these deadly fires are prisoners. Once they’re released, they won’t qualify for a firefighting job on the outside because of their record.

Riot Dogg: This is the future—mass incarceration as a surplus labor pool to protect the in-group of citizens from the catastrophic effects of climate change.

Rebel Girl: After the elections last week, anarchists covered the Board of Elections building in Brooklyn, New York with red paint. They also published a communiqué reading, “This election cycle was particularly disgusting, using migrants and black victims of police violence as political capital. The entire spectacle of this electoral charade rests on the graveyards of millions of murdered souls… The colonial capitalist enterprise known as the United States only came into existence through ruthless genocide and slavery. Every political platform is situated in this reality, standing on the graves of millions of slaughtered indigenous people, black people, the poor and economically disenfranchised, women and queer people killed and marginalized in order to uphold patriarchy, and the millions who have died through imperialist war. On this Election Day, as this country teeters on the brink of civil war, we chose to take an action against the democratic system. In the early morning hours we targeted the Brooklyn Board of Elections office, splattering its windows with symbolic blood. Our only regret is that we couldn’t do more.”

Riot Dogg: A tree-sitter in the Hellbender Autonomous Zone, where tree-sits are blocking Mountain Valley Pipeline construction in western Virginia, also drew a contrast between the anarchist virtue of direct action versus the disempowering strategy of electoralism, “For the sake of your own sanity, you should… not operate under the misconception that these elections have anything whatsoever to do with the fight against fossil fuel infrastructure. You can’t have a blue wave without clean water, and a red wave is actually a toxic algae bloom that is a symptom of climate change. I didn’t come down [from my tree] to vote… Come to the tree-sit and support action against the pipelines! Take your money out of Bank of America, PNC, Wells Fargo, Suntrust, BB&T, US Bank, or the dozens of others funding the fracking pipelines. Organize an action in your community, and take the time to talk to your neighbors about stopping these destructive projects. The mainstream culture would have you believe that all you can do is vote and file complaints with the Department of Environmental Quality and politicians. This is not the case. You can get in the way.”

Rebel Girl: At Evergreen college in Olympia, Washington, the IWW South Sound General Education Union held a rally with over 100 people in attendance against the hiring of a new cop, instead pushing for that money to go to hiring two full time teaching positions.

Riot Dogg: On November 4, nocturnal rebels sabotaged a prison construction site in Paulding County, Georgia, disabling several construction vehicles there.

Rebel Girl: In Medford, Oregon, protestors disrupted a Chamber of Commerce meeting to demand an end to the LNG fracked gas pipeline project.

Riot Dogg: In the UK, the Animal Liberation Front liberated 30 turkeys and sabotaged a farm vehicle in memory of the late animal liberation prisoner Barry Horne.

Rebel Girl: In Athens, Greece, anarchists attacked a French diplomatic institution for the French state’s prosecution of 7 migrant solidarity activists, utilizing an organized crime law against them, a case we explained in more depth last episode. The anarchists used paint and rocks to leave their mark, with one big slogan reading, “Burn all Borders, Fuck the State, Anarchy.”

Riot Dogg: In Montreal, Quebec, a group of reportedly 70 people ran riot throughout a university residence—we think that’s like a dorm building—smashing surveillance cameras and writing graffiti on the walls that read, “Black Bloc’n’roll,” “Make riots, not strikes,” “Neither homeland, nor State, nor Quebec, nor Canada,” “Lower the cost of my student housing,” and, uh, “Moscow Death Brigade Brother & Sisterhood”…? I’m not really sure what that last one was about…

Rebel Girl: Oh, you don’t know Dogg???

Rebel Girl: Friday evening was the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the massive 1938 pogrom across Germany and Austria in which normal, patriotic German citizens killed nearly a hundred Jews, destroyed hundreds of synagogues, and defaced thousands of Jewish businesses. 80 years on, the Kristallnacht anniversary weekend showed that across Europe and North America, Nazi ideas are alive and well, and the need to resist them is growing.

In Warsaw, the centenary celebration of Poland’s independence was attended by thousands of far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis. In the past few years Poland’s independence day has become a gathering for neo-fascists from all over Europe. Richard Spencer was set to attend last year. While 60,000 people attended last year, there were up to 200,000 people this weekend. Of course, not all the people who attended are out-and-out Nazis, but the far-right openly sports anti-Semitic and racist banners and chants in order to legitimize their ideas and recruit at this event. Three people attempted to block the fascist march and unfurl a banner reading “Women Against Fascism,” but fascist marchers tore the banner from their hands and knocked them to the ground.

Riot Dogg: In Prague, hundreds of neo-Nazis marked the anniversary of Kristallnacht with a brief rally where they chanted fascist slogans, while police and tourists looked on.

Rebel Girl: In Nijmegen in the Netherlands, neo-Nazis from the Racial Volunteer Force threatened to attack the De Grote Broek social center on Saturday for their anti-fascist affiliations. 250 anti-racists and anti-fascists showed up, both to protest the Nazis and to remember the victims of Kristallnacht—but the Nazis decided not to show.

Rebel Girl: In Austin, Texas, the windows of the anarchist bookstore Monkey Wrench Books were broken out. While it doesn’t seem that any group is claiming the vandalism, we’re sure that the significance of breaking out the windows of an anarchist space on the night of Kristallnacht was not lost on the vandals.

Riot Dogg: But the anniversary was also memorialized this weekend by Jews and anti-fascists, even as they faced far-right and anti-Semitic harassment.

In New York City, a march organized for the #OutliveThem days of action against fascism and anti-Semitism was followed and harassed by three anti-communists and Trump supporters who even interrupted the Jewish Havdalah service held at the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial. Of course, dozens of cops protected the trolls, and the only people arrested were Jews and anti-fascists.

Rebel Girl: Cops and Klan, yo. A similar scene played out in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where a man shouting anti-Semitic abuse also interrupted an #OutliveThem vigil. He shouted over prayers, put his camera up in people’s faces, and eventually charged into the middle of the prayer circle. The anti-fascists and Jews present were incredibly patient while enduring the harassment, but when the man charged into the group, police stepped in and, surprise surprise, didn’t arrest him, but arrested one of the Jewish people there… for assault!

Riot Dogg: So disgusting.

There were also rallies against fascism and anti-Semitism in Chicago; Melbourne, Australia; and in Berlin, 1000 people demonstrated against the far-right.

In Minneapolis, anti-fascists targeted the businesses and home of a well-known Nazi-sympathizer, Julius DeRoma, with rotten eggs. DeRoma supported David Duke’s campaign run in 2016, and has contributed funds to Patrick Little, a white nationalist who was chat buddies with the man who carried out the massacre of 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Rebel Girl: And while for months democrats have tried to win votes by capitalizing on decent people’s very reasonable fear of rising fascism and racism, this week, just days after winning the house, the left and center of the political establishment have shown the alacrity with which they will sell out anti-fascists who don’t go through the state’s channels.

Riot Dogg: On Wednesday evening, November 7, just under 20 anti-fascists protested outside the Washington, D.C. home of Tucker Carlson, Fox’s leading pundit in parroting contemporary white nationalist talking points.

The demonstration basically consisted of someone knocking on the door, then going back to the sidewalk to chant with the group for a few minutes, and as the group slowly moseyed away, someone spraypainted a circle-A in the driveway. Bow wow!

Rebel Girl: Slow down there dog, while it’s tempting to get excited about the undeniably Bart Simpson style tagging, Tucker Carlson, and prominent right-wingers AND democrats reacted as if Al-Qaeda had just called in an airstrike on his family’s home.

In classic right-wing disingenuous fashion, Carlson, who wasn’t even there, claimed that the protesters had blocked off his street…

Riot Dogg: False—they were on the sidewalk.

Rebel Girl: …so that one of them could slam their body against the door, leaving it damaged and cracked…

Riot Dogg: So false! I’ve seen pictures and the door is immaculate! Not even the police report states any damage to the house.

Rebel Girl: …and that the group threatened his family with pipe bombs.

Riot Dogg: GOD. THIS LIAR! A VIDEO OF THE DEMO SHOWS ONE OF THE PROTESTERS CITING THE PIPE BOMBS SENT BY CESAR SAYOC AS ONE OF THE ACTS OF VIOLENCE THAT TUCKER CARLSON INSPIRES WITH HIS FALSEHOOD-FILLED, ANTI-LEFTIST PANIC.

LIAR LIAR LIAR!!!

Rebel Girl: What’s even more shameful is how many supposedly liberal politicians and news outlets took the bait. The Washington Post kept referring to “deleted social media posts” by Smash Racism DC, making it sound like they were nefariously trying to cover up videos they had tweeted of the protest, but Smash Racism DC hadn’t deleted their posts, Twitter deleted their account! The Post’s story, of course, doesn’t mention that.

And none other than Stephen Colbert tweeted that while, “Fighting Tucker Carlson’s ideas is an American right. Targeting his home and terrorizing his family is an act of monstrous cowardice… Don’t do this, but also, take no pleasure in it happening. Feeding monsters just makes more monsters.”

Riot Dogg: Oh yeah, vom, I did see that, not because I follow Stephen Colbert but I do like to monitor the far-right, and none other than RICHARD SPENCER retweeted it. God—do rich liberals understand that their civility fetish is playing right into the fascists’ hands?

Rebel Girl: They might just not care. Someone like Stephen Colbert is probably more concerned about how the class privilege that he shares with Tucker Carlson is no longer a guarantee to keep him safe.

Riot Dogg: Safe? Nothing even happened—here, listen to how boring this protest sounded.

Like, the most exciting part of that clip is the goddamn tambourine.

Rebel Girl: OK, point taken, nothing really happened, but I don’t think we should emphasize our civility here. Like, that sounds like you’re asking for liberals to forgive these protesters for their action, when really they’re upholding the capitalist right of the rich to never face the people whose lives they destroy. Like, what about that Lucy Parsons, “Let us devastate the avenues where the wealthy live as [General] Sheridan devastated the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah.”

Riot Dogg: Fair enough—it’s just disgusting the lengths liberals and centrists will go to punish people for not directing any and all discontent through the political system of the state. For more on what REALLY happened, we spoke with one of the anarchists who was actually there.

So, what happened and why are people like Stephen Colbert freaking out about this protest?

DC Anarchist: So what happened was about 20 people attended a small antifascist demo at Tucker Carlson’s home. The motivation for the demo was to kind of go politically on the offensive and make direct action against fascism more of a viable offensive thing, you know, a visible opposition to fascistic politics that’s more than just about reacting to fascist mobilizing. The reason why people like Stephen Colbert are freaking out is because this is another step towards taking politics out of the hands of like people who officially do politics like Stephen Colbert and into the hands of everyday people to do everyday things that are quite possible for everyone to do

Riot Dogg: And what kind of blowback has SmashRacismDC had to face?

DC Anarchist: Smash Racism DC got permanently banned from twitter. One activist had a home visit by the Metropolitan Police Department, the same activist is also being heavily doxxed. We developed a platform and were able to go on the political offensive, and because we’ve had two instances, one where DC anti-fascists heckled Ted Cruz out of a restaurant and heckled other people out of a restaurant and now visiting the home of a prominent political figure, I think there just was kind of like a pushback against the political visibility of antifascism within Washington D.C.

There is the other aspect where because we posted the pastebin that had not just Tucker Carlson’s address but a bunch of national political figures like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity’s home addresses—this has been a big scare for the far right, so they’re trying to pressure Twitter into essentially deplatforming us so we can no longer promote antifascist direct action on a national level.

But beyond that, like DC anarchists and antifascists have been dealing with harassment since like J20 right neo-Nazis going like you’re going to go to prison is nothing new right we went down that avenue and we won.

Riot Dogg: What is up with Fox News’ reaction on Twitter to this?

DC Anarchist: Fox news being what Fox news is, them flipping out over the security their inability to guarantee security has caused real problems for them and now we’re seeing Fox news leave Twitter.com as a weird protest against Twitter leaving up the dox for five plus hours of prominent right wing figures.

I mean they didn’t delete their twitter account but they haven’t tweeted in three days and most of their prominent figures have not tweeted since the protest, or a day after. I mean we have a deleted and banned Twitter account but we can always create more Twitter accounts and develop more Twitter presences that’s not the hard part right it just takes a burner phone and a email and maybe using a VPN to mask your IP address, but leaving Twitter.com is literally them losing advertising revenue through losing traffic, it’s them not promoting right wing politics to a massive political platform—that’s a good thing, that’s a political win.

Riot Dogg: Why was the tactic of home demonstrations chosen?

DC Anarchist: So we want to raise the social political cost of promoting white nationalism and fascism. The Daily Caller is Tucker Carlson’s website and it’s been a key uh key bridge from the fringe far right to the mainstream far right. As a matter of fact Jason Kessler during the first torch march was actually still employed by the Daily Caller and the Daily Caller actually promoted Unite the Right. Daily Caller uh has taken conspiracy theories from Infowars or The Daily Stormer and even doxxed their political opponents on the Daily Caller and brought them to the mainstream via Fox News right and through Tucker Carlson’s TV show, so this is like a key intersection in the road between mainstream conservatism and white nationalism.

So when we’re thinking about why do these people or like why target them, it’s because their model relies on their politics to be so normalized so their life is normal and their politics are a part of everyday life. Once you starts bringing them actual repercussions, then their model falls apart.

Riot Dogg: Thanks so much for speaking with us, is there anything else?

DC Anarchist: So how we believe the information was found was you can look up through various databases their public information a lot of political donations. So if you know of a prominent right wing figure in your community they probably donated to the local Republican Party and you can look up their names through the Federal Elections Commission. You can also go to your local case search, so search for your state plus case search and see if they have any tickets. Those are two ways of finding prominent local right wing figures.

Rebel Girl: But liberals swallowing hook-line-and-sinker Tucker Carlson’s version of events last Wednesday was just the beginning of this week of extreme centrism.

On Friday, PayPal decided to cancel the accounts of several anti-fascist action groups, including Atlanta Antifascists, Antifa Sacramento, and the Anti-Fascist Network in the UK, along with the accounts of the Proud Boys and Gavin McInnes.

Atlanta Antifascists released a statement, reading:

“Our group completely rejects the “both sides” stance taken by PayPal. The Proud Boys engage in group beat-downs of those they perceive as leftists or other enemies. In collaboration with open white nationalists, they target marginalized communities. Antifascists monitor and oppose the far-Right. All our efforts are community self-defense.

“The donations we received helped offset the costs of our organization. But far worse than any monetary harm is the implicit message sent by PayPal: that those engaging in and opposing far-Right violence and intimidating are comparable. We note PayPal took this action soon after far-Right gunmen murdered fifteen people in three different incidents (in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Florida). PayPal commemorating the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht by targeting anti-fascists is particularly reprehensible.”

Atlanta Anti-Fascists still have other donation options, including Bitcoin, that you can check out on our website.

Riot Dogg: And the day right after Tucker Carlson’s victim mentality jiu-jitsu, liberals around the country celebrated the newly elected democrat majority in the House of Representatives by holding, “No one is above the law” demonstrations against Trump’s firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Rebel Girl: Uh………….. what..?

Riot Dogg: I know, I know, but to expand on that reaction just a little, we’re going to read at length from the CrimethInc op-ed “Take Your Pick: Law or Freedom; How ‘Nobody Is above the Law’ Abets the Rise of Tyranny”:

Rebel Girl: We saw you last night among thousands of other anti-Trump demonstrators around the US. Their signs proclaimed, “No one is above the law.” You were the one with the sign reading “I love laws.” We need to talk.

Riot Dogg: Really, this is what gets you into the streets? Trump’s goons have been kidnapping your neighbors, preparing to block your access to abortion, openly promoting “nationalism,” calling the targets for lone wolf assassins who send mail bombs and shoot up synagogues—and your chief concern is whether what they’re doing is legal?

Rebel Girl: And if Trump and his cronies were to change the laws—what then? If you’re trying to establish the foundation for a powerful social movement against Trump’s government, “no one is above the law” is a self-defeating narrative. What happens when a legislature chosen by gerrymander passes new laws? What happens when the courts stacked with the judges Trump appointed rule in his favor? What will you do when the FBI cracks down on protests? If everything that put Trump in a position to implement his agenda were legal, would you be at peace with it, then? When some nice centrist politician takes office after him, but the police keep enforcing the policies he introduced and the judges he appointed keep judging, will you withdraw from the streets?

Riot Dogg: Come to think of it, where were you under Obama when people were being imprisoned and deported by the million? Perhaps you have no problem with millions of people being imprisoned and deported as long as no one colludes with Russia or talks over a journalist?

Rebel Girl: We saw other protesters with signs entreating us to “Save Democracy.” Didn’t democracy inflict Trump on us in the first place? Isn’t it democracy that just brought Bolsonaro to power in Brazil—a racist, sexist, and homophobic advocate of the Brazilian military dictatorship and extrajudicial killings? If democracy enables outright fascists to legitimize their authority rather than having to seize power by force, what’s so great about it, exactly?

Riot Dogg: If “no one is above the law,” that means the law is above all of us. It means that the law—any law, whatever law happens to be on the books—is more valuable than our dearest desires, more righteous than our most honorable aspirations, more important than our most deep-seated sense of right and wrong. This way of thinking prizes group conformity over personal responsibility. It is the kiss of death for any movement that aims to bring about change.

Rebel Girl: Social change has always involved illegal activity—from the American Revolution to John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry, from the sit-in movement to the uprising in Ferguson. If not for the courageous deeds of people who were willing to break the law, we’d still be living under the king of England. Many of us would still be enslaved. That is what makes your cheerleading for the FBI so chilling. You’re familiar with COINTELPRO, presumably, and many of the other ways that the FBI has set out to crush movements for social change? Imagine that your best-case scenario plays out and the FBI helps to orchestrate Donald Trump’s removal from power. What do you think that the FBI would do with all the legitimacy that would give them in the eyes of liberals and centrists? It would have carte blanche to intensify its attacks on poor people, people of color, and protesters, destroying the next wave of social movements before they can get off the ground. Nothing could be more naïve than to imagine that the FBI will focus on policing the ruling class.

Riot Dogg: The more Trump’s regime is described as exceptional, the easier it will be for the next administration to get away with the same activities. In the long run, the system is at its most dangerous when it does not outrage people. Firing Jeff Sessions helps Trump evade Mueller’s investigation, yes, but let’s be clear—men like Sessions, Trump, and Mueller do the most harm in the course of carrying out their official duties in strict observation of the law.

Mobilizing to support an FBI Director in response to the firing of one of the most racist Attorney Generals in living memory—this is the same “lesser of two evils” argument some have made for voting taken to its logical extreme; this approach guarantees that we will be reduced to advocating for the second worst of all possible evils.

Rebel Girl: What Gives the Law Legitimacy in the First Place? Partisans of democracy like to imagine that laws arise because of their general utility to the population as a whole. On the contrary, for most of the history of the state, laws were decreed by monarchs and dictatorships—and only existed on account of their utility to rulers. If we no longer believe in the divine right of kings, that undermines any inherent claim that laws could have on our obedience. Rather than blindly complying, we have a responsibility to decide for ourselves how we should act. To cite Hannah Arendt, “No one has the right to obey.”

Riot Dogg: The law masquerades as a sort of social contract existing for everyone’s benefit. But if it’s really in everyone’s best interest, why is it so hard to get people to abide by it? The truth is, neither the powerful nor the oppressed have ever had good cause to obey laws—the former because the same privileges that enable them to write the laws release them from the necessity of observing them, the latter because the laws were not established for their benefit in the first place. It shouldn’t be surprising that a billionaire like Trump does not obey the laws. What’s surprising is that you still think that the rest of us ought to.

What’s the difference between the illegal activity of a Donald Trump and the illegal activity of a person who engages in civil disobedience? If “no one is above the law,” then they’re both equally in the wrong. No, the real distinction between them is that one is acting for selfish gain while the other is attempting to create a more egalitarian society. This is the important question—whether our actions serve to reproduce hierarchies or undermine them. We should focus on this question, not on whether any given action is legal.

Rebel Girl: What we are seeing today is the fracturing of our society. The peace treaties that stabilized capitalism through the second half of the 20th century are collapsing, and members of the ruling class are adopting rival strategies to weather the crises ahead. On one side, nationalists like Trump are betting on chauvinism and brute force, preparing to make the best of it as society splinters into warring groups. On the other side, centrist technocrats want to present themselves as the only imaginable alternative, using the specter of Trump and his kind to justify their own quest for authority. When they get back into office, you can bet that they won’t turn down any additional power that Trump has vested in the state. Your advocacy for “the rule of law” is music to their ears. And, of course, whatever additional power and legitimacy they concentrate in the state will be passed on to the next Trump, the next Bolsonaro. Each side aims to instrumentalize the discourse of law and order in order to outflank the other in the battle for power. This isn’t new; it’s as old as the state itself.

Riot Dogg: Immediately after the confirmation of Kavanaugh, you’re a sucker to imagine that the law represents some sort of social consensus rather than the edicts of whoever happens to control the institutions. To fetishize obedience to the law is to accept that might makes right. To march under the banner “no one is above the law” is to spit in the faces of all those for whom the daily functioning of the law is an experience of oppression and injustice. It is to reject solidarity with the sectors of society that could give a social movement against Trump leverage in the streets. It is to assert the political center as a discrete entity that holds itself apart—that views both Trump and the social movements that oppose him as rivals to its own power. Finally, it is to legitimize the very instrument of oppression—the law—that Trump will eventually use to suppress your movement. Remember “Lock her up”? You have to ask yourself some important questions now. Do you love laws—or justice? Do you love rights—or freedom?

If it’s laws you believe in, you’re on the right track. Just don’t have any illusions about what it means to value the law above everything else. If it’s justice you want, on the other hand, you need to be prepared to break the law. In that case, you need a totally different narrative to explain what you’re doing. If it’s rights you’re after, you’ll need a government to grant them, protect them, and—inevitably—take them away when it sees fit. Whenever you use the discourse of rights, you set the stage for this to occur. There are no rights without a sovereign to bestow them. On the other hand, if you love freedom, rather than vesting legitimacy in the government, you’d better make common cause with everyone else who has a stake in collectively defending themselves against invasive efforts to impose authority, whether from Trump or his Democratic rivals.

Rebel Girl: From the anarchist perspective, all of us are above the law. Our lives are more precious than any legal document, any court decision, any duty decreed by the state. No social contract drawn up in the halls of power could provide a basis for mutually fulfilling egalitarian relations; we can only establish those on our own terms, working together outside any framework of imposed responsibilities. The law is not our salvation; it is the first and greatest crime.

REPRESSION ROUNDUP

Riot Dogg: In this week’s repression roundup…

Jace Buras, a prison rebel who helped organize a peaceful protest at Hyde Correctional in North Carolina during the national prison strike, has written Atlanta Anarchist Black Cross to let supporters know that he has been transferred to Bertie Correctional and placed in 180 days of isolation. During the strike, prisoners at Hyde put up simple, self-made banners in the prison yard reading “In Solidarity”, “Better Food”, and “Better Wages” while prison abolitionists simultaneously held a solidarity noise demo in sight and hearing distance from the yard.

The actions taken against Jace are directly in retaliation to his organizing on the inside, but in his own words, “I stand proudly still and hope that all men and women who deserve a second chance at life is given it. You may lock me away and throw away the key. But you cannot take my voice.” We have an address for Jace on our site.

Rebel Girl: Another prison rebel in need of support is Dayvon Person. Dayvon was just about to reach his minimum custody requirements in January, when he was charged with inciting a riot at the Craggy Correction Institution, also in North Carolina. He is asking that people please, please, please call and ask that his appeal against these false accusations is heard. You can call the Director of the prison, Kenneth Lassiter at 919 838 4000 or the North Carolina Department of Public Safety at 919–733–2126.

Riot Dogg: The Vaughn 17 trials continue in Wilmington, Delaware, with defendants Deric Forney, Dwayne Staats, and J. Ayers currently on trial. Staats and Ayers are both defending themselves pro se. The state is expected to rest their case any day now.

Also, during trial last week, the state called a Sgt. Weaver to the stand as a witness. Sgt. Weaver sat at the state’s table the entire time and didn’t cooperate during cross-examination. After Ayers cross-examined him, he made plain before the jury that Sgt. Weaver, and thusly his work on this case, should indeed be scrutinized, by asking “Are you aware AG Downs asked you 20 questions, and you had an answer for every one, but none for questions I asked you?” You can read more of what’s been happening in court at vaughn17support.org, or better yet, you can show up and witness it yourself! Ongoing court support is needed and appreciated, trial is taking place every day from 10am to 5 pm in Courtroom 8B at 500 N King St, Wilmington, Delaware.

Rebel Girl: Ke Huelga Radio, an anarchist affiliated pirate radio station that has been squatting Mexico City’s airwaves for over 19 years, is under threat by both media conglomerates and the federal government. The Federal Institute of Telecommunications, or FIC, recently renewed contracts with two of the largest media conglomerates in Mexico, with contracts that are good for another twenty years. The FIC is equivalent to the FCC in the states, and since early October the agency has been interfering with Ke Huelga’s broadcasts by playing bad music or even white noise over our compas’ broadcasts. Ke Huelga is refusing to give up 102.9 and is urging folks to listen on their site, kehuelga.net, and to continue to try and pick up their signal if you’re in Mexico City. Ke Huelga, the Hotwire wants to be like you when we grow up!

Riot Dogg: Three anarchists arrested after May Day celebrations in Yogyakarta, Indonesia have finished trial and are being held in Cebongan Prison awaiting sentencing on November 22nd. They each face a maximum of 10 months in prison. We’ll keep you updated on their sentencing when we find out more.

Rebel Girl: Anarchists in Russia are facing ongoing repression in the wake of the bombing carried out two weeks ago by young anarchist, Mikhail Zhlobitsky. In the aftermath of the attack, Russian Special Services are targeting subscribers of the People’s Self-Defense group on the social media network Vkontakte, summoning a hundred people in for questioning and vowing to investigate all 26,000 subscribers of the group. As a result of the repression, new cases are already being opened across Russia, with Vyacheslav Lukichev, an anarchist from Kalingrad known for his animal rights and antifa activities, facing 7 years in prison. Vyacheslav is accused of publicly justifying terrorism for having republished Mikhail Zhlobitsky’s pre-death message, despite media across the country republishing the same exact message.

Anarchists in Russia have had it increasingly rough for the last year and half, when the Russian Federal Security Service—the FSB—initiated a wave of repression before the presidential elections, arresting and brutally torturing anarchists in order to force them to sign false statements admitting to participating in a supposed terrorist group invented by the Russian authorities.You can read more about the Network cast on rupression.com. There is a call out for solidarity actions with our comrades in Russia, to whom we extend solidarity and wish luck, we hope you can stay safe and know that you will stay brave.

NEXT WEEK’S NEWS

Riot Dogg: And now for prisoner birthdays and next week’s news.

This weekend is Cameron Crowley’s birthday. Cameron is accused of being the hacker Vigilante, who hacked into Minnesota state servers as a reprisal for the acquittal of police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who murdered Philando Castile during a traffic stop in 2016. You can write Cameron a letter, or send him a used book! We have his address and a guide to letter-writing in our shownotes.

Rebel Girl: And we’ll close out this episode with next week’s news, our calendar of events that you can get plugged into in real life

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief continues their tour across the Midwest with their two-part workshop on community organizing, disaster relief, and resisting disaster capitalism. This week, you can catch them on November 14 and 15 in Kansas City, Missouri; November 17 and 18 in Columbia, Missouri; and the 19 and 20 at the Flyover Social Center in Carbondale, Illinois.

Riot Dogg: On November 15 in London, England, there will be a queer dance party outside the Brazilian Embassy against Brazilian president elect Bolsonaro and to save the amazon. It will last from 5:30 PM until 8:30.

Rebel Girl: This weekend, November 17 and 18 has anarchist book fairs in both Seattle, Washington and Boston, Massachusetts. More at SeattleAnarchistBookFair.net and BostonAnarchistBookFair.org.

Anarchists in Umea, Sweden are hosting their first ever bookfair from November 29 to December 2.

Riot Dogg: SOA Watch is holding a Border Encuentro from November 16–18 in Nogales, Arizona and Mexico, around the theme Dismantle Border Imperialism!

Rebel Girl: On November 16, that’s Friday, in Portland, Oregon, there’s a “We Won’t Be Erased” demonstration against transphobia. Meet at 4:30 in the afternoon at City Hall, and follow @WontBeErasedPDX on twitter for more.

Riot Dogg: On November 17, Proud Boys, Militias, and a notorious neo-Nazi skinhead gang are all planning to attend a conservative “We The People” rally in Philadelphia. The rally is right next to the National Museum of American Jewish History. The Pushback Campaign and anti-fascists are calling for those opposed to Nazis and Proud Boys to gather at 10 AM at the Independence Hall Visitor Center.

Riot Dogg: Anti-fascists are also planning to oppose a Patriot Prayer rally on November 17—this one in Portland, Oregon. Patriot Prayer are holding this rally to disingenuously attempt to cast men as victims of false accusations of sexual assault. Rose City Antifa are calling for those opposed to rally at 1 PM on Saturday at Terry Schrunk Plaza.

Rebel Girl: On November 18 in Aachen, Germany there is a demonstration against the political swing to the right and state repression. It’s in solidarity with people charged for getting into a fight with some organized neo-Nazis. It’s at 3 PM at Markt.

Riot Dogg: There’s a demonstration against singularity and surveillance in Athens, Greece on Monday, November 19. Meet at Parko Eleutherias at 11:30 AM.

Rebel Girl: There is a call from “social movements, political organizations, anti-extraction groups and organizations of workers, women, feminists, LGBTQIA+, indigenous peoples, peasants, migrants, [and] students” for a week of action against the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina from November 25 to December 1. The 25–27 will have popular education and workshops from different groups; the 28 and 29 will feature a People’s Summit, with day one at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Buenos Aires, and day two in Plaza de los dos Congresos. November 30 is when the big street demonstration will take place. Anarchists in Argentina have really taken to the streets in the last year, over the disappearance of anarchist comrade Santiago Maldonado, over the economic crisis, and against the new right-wing government under President Mauricio Macri—and with the fierce resistance to the G20 and capitalism in Germany last summer, we expect Buenos Aires to be a flashpoint of anti-authoritarian action.

Riot Dogg: There’s an international call from anarchists on four continents for a day of action against borders on December 10. The idea is to kick off the 10th of each month being an anti-border day of action. You can find a link to the full call in our shownotes.

Rebel Girl: The 2019 Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar is now available and makes the perfect stocking stuffer…

Riot Dogg: Wait, I thought we didn’t promote things for capitalist holidays…

Rebel Girl: Sorry! But I LOVE this project—it raises money for political prisoners and other great causes! This year’s theme is “health/care” and features art and writing from Bec Young, Hikaru Ikeda, Alisha Walker and Laura Whitehorn. You can order one (or 100!) at certaindays.org

Riot Dogg: And lastly, the Christie Books anarchist film archive of over 1,000 rare and sometimes just plain weird videos with anarchists throughout history and across the globe has just been relaunched. You can watch them for free at christiebooks.co.uk.

OUTRO

Rebel Girl: And that’s it for this Hotwire. As always thanks to Underground Reverie for the music, and thanks to the anarchist in DC for the interview. You can contact us at podcast[AT]CrimethInc[DOT]com, where you can also find all the links, mailing addresses, and useful notes we customized for this episode.

Riot Dogg: You can subscribe to The Hotwire on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, just search for The Ex-Worker. You can listen to us through the anarchist podcast network Channel Zero, and believe it or not, every Hotwire is radio-ready, with a twenty-nine and a half minute version found in each episode’s shownotes, so feel free to put The Hotwire on your local airwaves. If you do, let us know so we can plug your station.

Rebel Girl: Stay informed. Stay rebel. Plug into the Hotwire.