Exposed: Far-right Berkeley organizers linked to Unite the Right 2, funded by Alex Jones

Far-right organizers Amber Cummings and Lindsay Grathwohl are planning to hold a rally in Berkeley’s MLK Park on August 5. The event is meant to commemorate Cummings’ failed “No to Marxism” rally that was cancelled and overwhelmed by community opposition last August. Despite the organizers constant claims that they are in no way connected to the alt-right’s upcoming Unite the Right 2 rally, this has recently been proven to be a lie as shown in leaked chat logs obtained by Unicorn Riot.

On Saturday, July 21 Lindsay Grathwohl streamed a live video to her friends and followers on Facebook, which consisted primarily of Grathwohl rambling about the upcoming August 5 event. One point Grathwohl wanted to make absolutely clear to her audience was that this event would not be like her previous event in San Francisco on July 7. Instead, she said, this event on August 5 would have a security team that would arrive early to keep participants safe. Grathwohl went on to reveal that people would be coming into Berkeley from multiple states across the US to attend her rally on August 5.

This point echoes co-organizer Amber Cummings’ claims in her own Facebook video streamed on July 12. It was in this video that Cummings actually revealed which group she and Grathwohl obtained for security: American Guard. Indeed, before Cummings changed the settings on her August 5 Facebook event page to hide the guest list, several members of the group American Guard could be seen listed as promising to go to the event. This is consistent with Cummings’ claims that American Guard will be in Berkeley for security as well as Grathwohl’s comment about out-of-state participants, as the American Guard members are not located in California.

American Guard is a white supremacist group that started as a chapter of the Soldiers of Odin, an international anti-immigrant and anti-refugee group. It was transformed into American Guard by Brien James, who also co-founded Vinlanders Social Club, a racist gang connected to several murders.

In LEAKED: Violent Racists Use Facebook Chat To Plan ‘Unite The Right 2,’ Unicorn Riot exposed leaked chats showing that the head organizers of Unite the Right 2 were also in talks with American Guard to attend Jason Kessler’s event, which is scheduled to take place on August 12 in Washington DC. Neither Amber Cummings or Lindsay Grathwohl can claim to be ignorant of these facts, as it was well-known that members of American Guard were among those gathered at the first Unite the Right in Charlottesville last August that resulted in a neo-Nazi killing anti-racist protester Heather Heyer. One of the speakers at Unite the Right, fascist Augustus Invictus, was once a member of American Guard.

Lindsay Grathwohl also confirmed the participation of Patriot Movement AZ, a far-right group based in Arizona. Last March, two women affiliated with Patriot Movement AZ were arrested on felony charges with a possible hate crimes enhancement after they brought a gun to a mosque and proceeded to enter and take literature while harassing those inside.

Equally disturbing is the news that the organizers planning these events in Berkeley are receiving funds from far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. On the July 12 episode of InfoWars, Alex Jones had Lindsay Grathwohl on his show as a guest. During the segment, Jones called Grathwohl an “amazing patriot” and pledged to give her $5,000. Jones went on to encourage his audience to augment this donation and pitch in to help Grathwohl themselves. In Grathwohl’s July 21 livestream, she listed off some of the things she would spend this money on, including a new GoPro camera so that she can be “hands-free” at future rallies.

A Festival of Resistance is being organized to oppose these fascists and prevent another Charlottesville. Join the rest of the Bay Area in saying no to hate:

August 5
2pm-7pm
Ohlone Playground and Greenway to MLK Park, Berkeley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/667654553588783

For more information about fascist and white supremacist organizing in Northern California, visit NoCARA at https://nocara.blackblogs.org/