Thread by @UR_Ninja

Five years ago, white supremacists converged on Charlottesville, VA for the "Unite the Right" rally #unitetheright . Unicorn Riot reporters were on site
unicornriot.ninja/2017/white-sup…

earlier in 2017 at another major racist rally in Pikeville, Kentucky, we interviewed people like @DLamontJenkins who have tracked the white supremacist movement, which was trying to coalesce into a larger presence in U.S. politics

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/858809984192327683

In Pikeville at the April 2017 rally we asked Matthew Heimbach of the now-defunct Traditionalist Worker Party about Holocaust denial and fascist organizing:

On Friday night in Charlottesville, our reporters livestreamed the 'torch rally' on the UVA campus - White Supremacist Mob Carrying Torches Attacks Anti-Racist Protesters in Charlottesville
unicornriot.ninja/2017/white-sup…

Amidst the 2017 UVA 'tiki torch rally' our reporters asked #UniteTheRight Jason Kessler about his claims of "white genocide"

Peter Tefft, from the Fargo-Moorhead region, attacked our reporter at the tiki torch march. He was later disowned by his father

Richard Spencer bragged that counterdemonstrators were surrounded and trapped at the statue on the UVA campus. Many were beaten with tiki torches (he is still permitted on this site by Twitter management)

The next day, many counter-protesters were attacked by white supremacists around a park near downtown Charlottesville. Authorities like the Virginia State Police largely stood back - a chaotic scene even before the murder to come. unicornriot.ninja/2017/violent-w…

Large shield formations, like this one with Vanguard America insignia, were used to charge at counterdemonstrators #unitetheright

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/896406633672314880

This group included a lot of 'Identity Evropa' white supremacists led by Nathan Damigo - police eventually cleared the park

During the confrontation in the park Richard Spencer was maced by the police:

Forced out of the park, white supremacists attacked people in other areas, including a notorious fight in a parking ramp that nearly turned deadly - one brandished a firearm:

[Content advisory]
While counterdemonstrators celebrated driving white supremacists out of the city, one of the worst acts of political violence in many years hit the crowd - James Alex Fields murdered Heather Heyer and wounded dozens. (📹@Rebelutionary_Z)

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/896434999603240962/video/1

@Rebelutionary_Z Ambulances did not arrive for quite some time, and law enforcement’s first response was to deploy an armored vehicle with a SWAT officer on top pointing a teargas grenade launcher at the crowd as street medics were helping the wounded.
unicornriot.ninja/2017/violent-w…

Before the vehicle attack, Fields was seen wielding a shield with the insignia of “Vanguard America.” At least one shield with “Vanguard America” insignia was also used by white supremacists attacking a group of people inside a parking garage, Unicorn Riot reporters documented.

#HeatherHeyer's friend Felicia Correa told @washingtonpost “She died for a reason. I don’t see any difference in her or a soldier who died in war…She was there standing up for what was right. I just want to make sure that it wasn’t in vain.”

@washingtonpost After the attack, in many cities including Minneapolis, people marched in memory of Heather Heyer unicornriot.ninja/2017/minneapol…

On August 14, 2017, Unicorn Riot broke the news that an anonymous source had provided us access to the planning chats for #UniteTheRight on the gaming app @discord. Thousands of messages on multiple servers were exposed, a new line of investigation opened
unicornriot.ninja/2017/white-sup…

@discord Material found in the Discord chats from #UniteTheRight would prove invaluable in uncovering fascist and white supremacist networks, leaders and support systems around the USA. The imagery proved that violence was not an accident, but planned & envisioned

In time many of the organizers and participants in #UniteTheRight were identified partly through the breadcrumbs of information left in the Discord chats Unicorn Riot released

The Unicorn Riot Discord Leaks server today hosts millions of searchable messages copied from Discord and a similar platform, RocketChat, to document far-right activity centers for public scrutiny - organizational, "lobby" and crossover hangout locales.
discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja/discord/

We published chats as quickly as possible in the days following Unite the Right:
LEAKED: The Planning Meetings that Led Up to Neo-Nazi Terrorism in Charlottesville (Aug 16, 2017)
unicornriot.ninja/2017/leaked-pl…

“Discord has had a monopoly on communication between members of the far right hate groups[...] Almost every leader in this movement has an account there. So much of the coordination and collaboration of Charlottesville took place on Discord.”–Keegan Hankes theguardian.com/technology/201…

Planning doc included: Discord, Doxing/Security Concerns, Women, Friday Night, Legal, Lodging cancellations, Guns/Open Carry/Closed Carry, Knives/Tasers, Masks/Facecoverings/Gas Masks, Flags/Flagpoles/Shields, Helmets, Pepper Spray, Tiki Torches unicornriot.ninja/2017/leaked-pl…

LEAKED: Chats of #UniteTheRight Reacting To Murder of Heather Heyer - disturbing material later reviewed in a major lawsuit against UTR organizers:
unicornriot.ninja/2017/leaked-ch…

Aug. 18 2017: DATA RELEASE: Discord Chats Planned Armed Neo-Nazi Militia Operations In Charlottesville
unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-rele…

Meme images traded by white supremacists in Discord continue to be a major lens for understanding their motives as people look back on that day:

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/897979666610491394

DATA RELEASE: “Unite The Right” Planning Chats Demonstrate Violent Intent - Aug 22, 2017
unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-rele…

DATA RELEASE: Server Logs Reveal Neofascist Tactics - Aug. 23, 2017 - unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-rele…

DATA RELEASE: White Supremacist Fundraising & Planning for Charlottesville - Aug. 25, 2017
unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-rele…

DATA RELEASE: Discord Logs Expose Regional Networks Planning for #UniteTheRight - Aug. 29, 2017
unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-rele…

Charlottesville Violence Planned Over Discord Servers: Unicorn Riot Reports
unicornriot.ninja/2017/charlotte… - this landing page gives an overview of our investigations to that point in late 2017.

In the years following Charlottesville we picked up more threads leading from the event to other groups and active participants in the white supremacist movement. You can see groups of reports at the Far-Right Investigations Desk page:
unicornriot.ninja/far-right-inve…

After #UniteTheRight many white supremacists kept on using @discord to plan further violence and rallies:
DATA RELEASE: Neo-Nazis Plan Revenge in New Discord Server After #UniteTheRight (Sept 2017) unicornriot.ninja/2017/data-rele…

In October we found that Richard Spencer's bodyguard Brian Christopher Brathhovd was in the National Guard.
unicornriot.ninja/2017/richard-s…

In October 2017 we also leaked chats from "Anticommunist Action" which tried to create a secretly fascist organizing group - Anticom Discord Server Shows Months of Neo-Nazi Incitement unicornriot.ninja/2017/anticom-d…

Further leaks in Nov. 2017 exposed the neonazi principles of 'Anti-Communist Action' unicornriot.ninja/2017/discord-l…

Also in Nov. 2017 a "Southern Front" neonazi cell was exposed, yet another element of fallout from #UniteTheRight unicornriot.ninja/2017/southern-…

"Patriot Front" formed out of #UniteTheRight as Vanguard America splintered - in March 2018 internal chats and meetings were leaked in our first major investigation - “We’re Americans, And We’re Fascists”: Inside Patriot Front unicornriot.ninja/2018/americans…

In 2018 the Traditionalist Worker Party abruptly crumbled - That April we released a huge set of leaks from inside that organization collected during its final months -- Leaked: A Year Inside The Failed Neo-Nazi Traditionalist Worker Party unicornriot.ninja/2018/leaked-a-…

Using FOIA requests we traced how hoaxes trafficked by the National Socialist Movement influenced police planning in Georgia (May 2018) unicornriot.ninja/2018/georgia-p…

In June 2018 we released Facebook chats showing an attempt by Jason Kessler and other white supremacist organizers to launch a followup rally that year: unicornriot.ninja/2018/leaked-vi…

A major Discord server in Unite the Right called "Vibrant Diversity" was released in August 2018, with more than 250,000 messages, which exposed more fascist networks: unicornriot.ninja/2018/alt-right…

In August 2018 we reported on the 'Unite the Right 2' rally in DC - one year after the Charlottesville event unicornriot.ninja/2018/unite-the…

The "Rise Above Movement" group of fascist brawlers centered in California faced federal scrutiny in 2018 -
Feds Arrest 4 Neo-Nazis Over Charlottesville Violence
unicornriot.ninja/2018/feds-arre…

In one of the strangest connections, a man who tried to hijack a train was connected with #UniteTheRight chats.
Amtrak Hijacker Participated In Neo-Nazi Chats with Charlottesville Organizers (Oct. 2018)
unicornriot.ninja/2018/amtrak-hi…

Smaller splinter groups like "National Socialist Legion" also turned up (Nov 2018)
Neo-Nazi Splinter Group’s Chats Show A Fractured, Violent Movement unicornriot.ninja/2018/neo-nazi-…

Arrested D.C. Nazi Marched in Charlottesville, Befriended Pittsburgh Shooter - Nov 2018 - the Clark brothers were connected to Charlottesville and later to disinformation peddler Jack Posobiec unicornriot.ninja/2018/arrested-…

Overlapping with UniteTheRight chats were participants in "Bowl Patrol" which venerated mass shooter Dylann Roof (Jan 2019) unicornriot.ninja/2019/bowl-patr…
Bowl Patrol leader ‘Vic Mackey’ was later ID'd as 27-year-old Andrew Richard Casarez of Orangevale, CA.

More than 770,000 chats from neonazi hipsters Identity Evropa and closely related parties turned up in March 2019 - this led to further exposures of their members.
unicornriot.ninja/2019/neo-nazi-…

In March 2019 Identity Evropa tried to rebrand as "American Identity Movement" but carried over its membership, used the same email addresses, etc.,
‘Identity Evropa’ Leader Fails To Sneakily Rebrand Neo-Nazi Group. Patrick Casey later disbanded the group.
unicornriot.ninja/2019/identity-…

Identity Evropa also used skills acquired from a former employee of the Leadership Institute which trains young conservatives in movement organizing (March 2019)
unicornriot.ninja/2019/marketing…

In the summer of 2019 James Alex Fields was prosecuted for the car attack in Charlottesville and received multiple life sentences in July unicornriot.ninja/2019/charlotte…

In August 2019 a U.S. State Department official, Matthew Q. Gebert, was exposed in the Charlottesville chats by @MichaelEHayden using, in part, material Unicorn Riot released
Exposed: State Department Official Posted in Nazi Charlottesville Chats unicornriot.ninja/2019/exposed-s…

@MichaelEHayden A Missouri GOP volunteer, Gavin Sample, was linked to fascist organizing and Identity Evropa (Oct 2019). This showed how 'entryism' among white supremacists into more mainstream organizations is carried out.
unicornriot.ninja/2019/missouri-…

@MichaelEHayden In July 2020 while examining the major conservative movement umbrella group Council for National Policy we noted Michael Anthony Peroutka was on its board in 2014. He was also in League of the South's board, a key organizer of Unite The Right. unicornriot.ninja/2020/leaks-exp…

@MichaelEHayden Identity Evropa's rebranded organization, American Identity Movement, abruptly disbanded in Nov. 2020, the same week as the presidential election. An ignominious defeat for the key #UniteTheRight organizing group. unicornriot.ninja/2020/neo-nazi-…

@MichaelEHayden In late 2021 Unite The Right organizers and their groups went on to trial in a major civil suit. We provided in-depth reporting with voluminous notes every day from the trial - covering many intricate details of the white supremacist organizing scene:
unicornriot.ninja/unite-the-righ…

Two of the defense attorneys in Unite the Right lawsuit trial were truly odious figures --
Bottom of the Barrel: Charlottesville Trial Defense Attorneys Spread Antisemitism (Nov 2021)
unicornriot.ninja/2021/bottom-of…

Charlottesville Lawsuit Defendants Implicated In Premeditated Violence (Nov 18 2021) unicornriot.ninja/2021/charlotte…

The jury seated in Charlottesville awarded $26 million in damages to Unite The Right plaintiffs, finding many liabilities among the white supremacist defendants and their organizations, although they did not convict on all charges.
unicornriot.ninja/2021/jury-26m-…

You can read our rush transcripts of the Unite the Right lawsuit trial starting here - all 19 days in court are available - unicornriot.ninja/2021/sines-v-k…

Former Identity Evropa Organizer Tells Secrets In Trial Deposition - Samantha Froelich exposed various workings of the fascist movement during the trial. (Nov. 2021)
unicornriot.ninja/2021/former-id…

Patriot Front Fascist Leak Exposes Nationwide Racist Campaigns - In January 2022, one of the last functioning organizations from #UniteTheRight was exposed with more than 400 gigabytes of leaks from their operations unicornriot.ninja/2022/patriot-f…

It's been a long and winding path for Unicorn Riot in the five difficult years since #UniteTheRight. At every step of the way we have been backed by our supporters, and we are deeply thankful for all of you.
Support our work at unicornriot.ninja/donate
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