Last Wednesday, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder and ur-debate bro Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking in front of a crowd at a Utah Valley University. In the following days, discussion regarding the killing has completely dominated social media and news channels. Grifters and talking-heads from all corners of the political compass have been constantly espousing a competing set of theories. We are not interested in contributing to this discourse. This piece intends to look at the fallout of this event, its effect on the right, and how Antifascists might respond to its effects.
Within hours of the shooting, right-wing groups across the country have issued statements and have called for vigils in Kirk’s honor. These vigils are the largest street-protests we have seen from the American right-wing since the Stop the Steal rallies in 2020. They are also occurring following large, violent anti-immigrant protests in the UK and Australia. We think that this makes them extremely worth paying attention to.
On a national level, Kirk’s killing has done much to galvanize and unify America’s right-wing. While it’s already being memory-holed, Kirk was never a very popular figure. During the initial boom of the alt-right, TPUSA was routinely mocked by both leftists and rightists for their cringey astro-turfed lack of substance. Kirk was viewed as a toothless “hello fellow kids” representative of the old-money republican establishment. The far-right’s distaste for Kirk has been most epitomized by Nick Fuentes’, “Groyper Wars” in which Fuentes’ white nationalist followers would attend TPUSA debate events and use their time on the mic to espouse antisemitic and neo-Nazi talking points. The far-right’s hatred of Kirk has been quickly forgotten as nearly every white nationalist and neo-Nazi group has jumped to eulogize him on telegram. It is apparent that this far-right rehabilitation of Kirk is primarily opportunistic. They want to capitalize on the moment to feed off the energy of the dominant MAGA political bloc.
The neo-Nazi rehabilitation of Kirk hasn’t solely existed in telegram or online. In Huntington Beach, neo-Nazi Ryan Sanchez has been organizing vigils drawing mainstream conservative support. In Utah, California, Texas and North Carolina Patriot Front has marched alongside conservatives in memorials. We are certain that there are other instances of neo-Nazi involvement in these protests are occurring, but this piece is being written on 9/15, and we are awaiting more reports from across the country.
We aren’t able to monitor all far-right activity across the US, but we can keep eyes on what’s happening in our back yard. On 9/13 in Eugene, Oregon, approximately 800 people assembled at Alton-Baker park for a vigil led by Chris Tough. Attendees were primarily evangelical upper-middle-class normies, many of whom brought their children and elderly family members. At the vigil, the group gathered to some corny patriot music and bad bro country, a few prayers were led, someone was passing out vigil candles, and Chris Tough and his cadre spoke, adorned in white t-shirts printed with the words “WE ARE CHARLIE KIRK” on the front and a picture of a cross made of nails on the back. The organizers themselves seemed surprised at the size of the group as more came in, delaying their planned march. The group then marched a short distance to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. Along the way, bike cops blocked off roads, causing a huge traffic jam, to allow the march to pass without delay. Once at the stadium, Joey Gibson, the founder of Patriot Prayer, led a speech in front of the crowd. The crowd briefly blocked off the road to unfurl the “Flag Called Freedom” owned by Cresswell’s Paul Veluscek.
After a few moments of flag time, the march rapidly disbanded. While this was by far the largest far-right rally we’ve monitored since 2021, the energy was remarkably low. There were no calls for violence, hateful chants, or attacks on passers by, all of which are extremely common at events like this.
This event was far tamer than we expected it to be, but it isn’t completely innocuous. This rally turned out numerous far-right figures who haven’t been active in Oregon for several years. Two close associates of neo-Nazi spree-killer David “Joey” Pedersen were in attendance. Corey “Agnar” Wyatt who provided the murder weapon and Jeremy Roberts, a prison-confidant of the killer. Both of these men have been extremely violent at protests in 2020 and 2021, and Roberts is responsible for kicking in the door of the Oregon State Capitol on December 21st, 2020. Wyatt is currently in a wheelchair after becoming paralyzed during an ATV accident. Tim Edward Davis, a known Springfield white supremacist and J6er, was also in attendance.
Haley Lewis’ (née Adams) sad crew of PDX rejects was in attendance: David Willis, Skylor Jernigan, and Kerry Hudson were all there. This group has existed largely as a laughingstock, but members have engaged in violence in the past. Skylor famously discharged a firearm during a protest in downtown Portland in 2020.
While this particular protest was somewhat low-energy, this political moment is worth consideration and engagement by Antifascists. We are seeing neo-Nazi street movements work to enter the MAGA fold at the same time as the right engages in its largest series of actions in years. This is particularly concerning within a global context where violent anti-immigrant street mobilizations are sweeping the anglosphere. More vigils are being announced for next weekend, and we believe it is possible that this momentum may carry into future street actions.
Addressing mobilizations like these requires careful consideration. The most similar rallies we have seen in the PNW have been those following homophobic evangelical preacher Sean Feucht, where followers of a similar non-combatant, mall-church-family demographic have shown up in great numbers. Antifascists have attempted to counter several of these rallies in Portland and Seattle, but these counters have been unequivocal optical and tactical failures. Simply put, black-bloc counters of what appear to be normie worship events with children in attendance is a decidedly bad look and contributes to the American conservative persecution narrative, galvanizing otherwise politically inactive conservatives. This is particularly relevant as many apolitical businesses and institutions (including UO itself) have expressed public sympathy to Kirk and his cause.
As such, Antifascists must work to find more creative ways to counter this political moment. One option may be working to drive wedges between different segments of the right. We have already seen physical conflict between neo-Nazis and conservatives at these events when a group of bruisers associated with SoCal Active Club jumped a rockabilly guy at an event in Huntington Beach. One possibly useful wedge issue in this context is Israel. Conspiracy theorists have already jumped to blame Kirk’s assassination on Mossad, claiming the lifelong zionist was on the verge of becoming j-pilled.
While the reactivation of a far-right street movement, and the presence of neo-Nazis within mass protests may be unpleasant, we want to end this article with a moment of hope. At the same time as 800 right-wingers marched in Eugene, across town an equal number of fired up punks were gathered for Radical Alternative Development’s mental health benefit, an annual Anarchist crust festival. At the fest, hundreds of queers, punks, and freaks decked out in radical pins and patches reveled, pitted, and celebrated life without needing a national political moment to bring them together. ARA veterans, middle-aged crusties, and teenage mosh warriors danced together in unity to explicitly antifascist anthems, all to benefit local grassroots mental health, mutual aid, and street outreach programs. We aren’t so naive as to believe that punk rock is praxis in and of itself, but it is important to acknowledge that even in these dark times, resistant culture is alive and burning brightly. It is the role of us as Antifascists to channel it into social change.
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