Thread by @EdmontonAgainst

Hello again! Today marks another anniversary in Edmonton's antifascist history.

Unfortunately, it is the anniversary of the day protesters were assaulted by a gang of fascists.

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @YQLAnarchists @YYCantiracist @antifaintl @antihateca

The previous evening, Antifascists shut down a rally that was supposed to last 3-days at the legislature.

The next day, the fascists who were visiting joined the yellow vests for their weekly 11am gathering. This rally was effectively disrupted and ended by anti-fascists.

The yellow vests decided to move to Whyte Ave to protest in front of Notley's campaign office.

This gathering was bookended by anti-fascists who alerted passersby of the hate groups gathering.

The fascists later reconvened at Churchill Square. They had a rally and marched back to the Legislature, where they were met by fewer anti-fascists.

The assault took place after everyone left the Legislature grounds and it is documented here:

These fascists were quite proud. They went back to a house in Calder to take photos. They left the house number in the photo and the house was found in seconds.

These photos and celebratory posts also helped us identify the majority of these people.

Of the people in these photos, there is only 1 we haven't been able to identify. There are some other people we saw that day who we also haven't been able to identify.

It was quite the learning experience and it still surprises me how quickly the names came flowing in.

We learned a lot from this experience.

Most importantly, I think, is learning when to not confront fascists. Having greater numbers reduces the chance of violence. If you don't have the numbers, don't go.

Another lesson, which was more of a reiteration than anything, is that the cops/Sheriffs don't care and will end up supporting fascists.

When asking about Steven Lane, a cop later told us we would be surprised by who might actually be charged.

Steven Lane was the only one to be taken by police, but they surely just drove him around the corner and let him go.

Like most people present, he has bounced from hate group to hate group since then.

We also met the right wing grift and the need to always be the victim.

Amanda McKait claimed she was assaulted. This had us all very confused. As far as we can tell, Amanda was hit in the head with a flag pole when someone else was fleeing their attackers.

Of course, the narrative these folks push is that antifa is violent. In the above video we put together, you can hear Steven talking about attacking anti-fascists.

In the video, you can also see anti-fascists trying to de-escalate the situation.

After the violence started, Kyle Puchalski did catch a left to the mouth. Surely that's something we can all celebrate.

This event was an eye-opener for many of us. We were not expecting violence. Perhaps we were still naive, as footage from past yellow vest rallies showed consistent violence and aggression from the right wingers and so-called "patriots."

What anti-fascists can do with this information, I really don't know. Again, having the numbers to deter it is probably the best solution.

Otherwise, if you're down to take a hit, step to the front. If you're not, move back a bit.

Whatever the case, always have someone recording. Record the fascists. Record the cops.

This might just be for your own sanity so you can check to make sure what actually happened.

I definitely began to doubt my own sanity and recollection of events after McKait somehow turned the attack into an assault on her, especially after seeing this scenario play out.

But they are liars. They are grifters. They are opportunistic. And they are generally incoherent in their beliefs, if following their social media accounts has taught us anything.

On the plus side, this rally that was, again, planned for months, may have attracted 45 people. They came from BC, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario and 45 was the best they could do.

In the year since then, the yellow vests no longer exist in Edmonton. The Northern Guard has splintered and has had members poached by the Mammoths.

Urban Infidels splintered off from Soldiers of Odin and is now feuding with NG...

Some of these guys have bounced from group to group to group. They profess brotherhood and loyalty and then turn on each other without fail.

It would be impressive if it wasn't sad how they waste so many resources on switching up their patches every couple of months.

If you're interested in the stories of far right infighting, you can check out anti-racistcanada.blogspot.com. It's constant.

For now, I will leave you with two posts from the eternal flame we know as Win Nay. He was present on the 30th. For part of the day he was carrying a flag pole with a nail in it.

Anyway, here are his reflections on that day as well as some bad medical advice.