WEBVTT - New York Antifascists Confront the Far Right 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:08.879 Welcome to it could happen here, a show about things 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.600 falling apart and also putting things back together. Today we 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.360 have an episode about well it's that this is This 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:17.640 is kind of a big one, folks. So everyone who 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.480 listens to the show regularly will know that there have 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:23.280 been a rash of attacks by the far right on 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:26.800 drag Queen's Story hours and kind of similar events to that. 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:32.040 Events that are LGBT friendly, events that also involve children 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.639 have been regularly attacked all over the United States. At 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:39.159 the same time, there have been escalating attacks by right wingers, 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:44.120 often the very same people on reproductive healthcare resources clinics, 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.400 that sort of thing. Um. This is happening all over 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:50.600 the country, but one place where things have been particularly 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:54.720 aggressive as of late is in New York Um, New 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.160 York City. And today we're going to be speaking with 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.560 a couple of different people who live in New York 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.720 who have been present at some of these actions and 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.440 who want to talk about what's been going on with 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.760 the far right and the attempts to defend these people 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:14.200 in these organizations from from right wing aggression. So I 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:18.520 want to introduce Talia. Now, Talia, you are known to 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:20.760 our audience. You've been on this show and some of 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:22.880 our other shows a couple of times in the past. 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:27.200 Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, and hello 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:31.360 to everyone who still remembers what I sound like. And 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.000 do you wanna you wanna drop your your your Twitter 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:35.720 and stuff up at the top here too, because you 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:37.600 do a lot of on the ground reporting at different 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.640 times in the city. It's pretty simple. It's Talia O 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:47.120 t g as an on the ground um and yeah 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:54.080 that's where I do my reporting on events analysis all 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:57.680 that dumb ship. And then our other guests are two 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:03.320 New Yorker is sorry, New York people, um, who are 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.360 both anti fascist activists who have been present in the 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:09.040 streets for a number of these recent events. I'd like 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:12.280 to introduce Tom and Barry. Do we want to go 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:16.280 around and do pronounced real quick? Here? Um, I'm I'm 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:20.400 he him? Yeah, sure, I'm she? Are they? This is Tom, 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:24.040 I'm here him and I'm she her? Awesome? All right, 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:26.960 Well that is so, I guess I'd like to kind 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:29.760 of start and and hand it over to to Talia 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:32.240 if she wants to give kind of an overview of 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:35.600 how all of this has has has gone down. But 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.280 basically we've seen. I mean, the thing that surprised me 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.680 most in the coverage that I have watched from a 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:43.960 distance is how aggressive and large some of the right 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.720 wing presence has been at like reproductive health clinics in 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:50.720 New York City. I was kind of surprised to see 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.840 that in New York. Yes. So there's a group in 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:57.120 New York called NYC for Abortion Rights and they host 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:02.200 once monthly clinic defenses at the Planned Parenthood on Bleaker 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.280 in Lower Manhattan. UM. And they do that because there 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:10.760 is a church nearby the basilica of Old St. Pat's 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:19.280 that hosts a a coalition of anti abortion religious zelic groups. 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:25.360 They organized these large they're usually processions to the Planned Parenthood, 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:30.399 where they pray outside, they throw holy water on the building. 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:34.560 They attempt to hand out UM propaganda and literature and 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:39.720 intimidate people who are coming into the clinic for necessary 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:45.280 health services. UM. And these dame individuals have been seen 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:49.600 attending anti vaxx rallies that the man who leads the 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:54.720 procession to the Planned Parenthood UM his name is Christopher Mansinski. 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:59.000 He's also known as Fidelis, and he has invaded clinics 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.640 in White plain New York in I think UM East 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:07.680 Hempstead UM. He has been trying to revive Red Rose Rescue, 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:11.440 which UM. People who are familiar with the fight for 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:15.680 reproductive rights are probably aware that that is the primary 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:20.360 group that invades clinics and tries to harass patients, UM, 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:24.920 threatens doctors and care workers and all all sorts of things. 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:28.040 That the main people who lead Red Rose are either 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:34.440 in jail or have died thankfully, UM. And he's trying 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:38.599 to revive that here in New York. UM. And he 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:44.760 has attended um rallies organized by bar right conspiracists, Anti 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:50.039 vas conspiracists UM. And it's like, you know, he he 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.359 went to d C for the March for Life and 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:57.640 then he stuck around for the My Body, My Choice, 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:01.560 Anti vacks rallies. It's it's very it's it's very contradictory. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:06.839 But we see these same people because they're aligning on conservativism, 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:10.880 on crystal fascism, and we're seeing him pop up UM 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.400 insured spaces pretty frequently in New York in ways that 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:18.520 I think are more transparent or like more easy to 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.400 clock here, even if there is like a larger density 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.479 of them that do mobilize to these specific things like 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:29.799 clinic Crossman's Yeah, that's um, that's a really interesting point. 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:31.919 And that's also what we've seen a lot in the 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:36.480 Pacific Northwest. Um. You know, we just had an attempt 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:39.480 at rally at a drag Queen Story Hour in Eugene 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:41.599 and it was a lot of the same old crowd 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:43.880 who used to rally in Portland before they got scared 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:50.040 off of Portland. Now I'm wondering kind of what how 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:53.920 would you characterize the response of the police to these 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:56.320 events and how they kind of have have have treated 0:05:56.360 --> 0:06:00.400 the right wing at these Well, it is about it's uh, 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:05.520 cliche as cliche comes. Because every single time, Um, when 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:09.880 I've covered clinic defenses specifically, the police are helping move 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:15.359 the procession along and threatening clinic defenders with arrest on 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:20.200 the basis that they're blocking the roadway. Um they are. 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:25.560 They they essentially work as like secondary of security. Um. 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.320 Sometimes they will split off from the other police and 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:31.560 be like pushing and shoving clinic defenders on their own 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.120 in a way that doesn't make any sort of strategic sense. 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:39.200 But it's like they're getting enjoyment from doing that. Um, 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.240 it's it's the same story over and over again. You know, 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:46.440 we see it in in San Diego when anti fascists 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:50.640 were mobilizing against uh like Trump's supporters that were being 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:54.080 very violent. The Trump supporters were doing the violence, and 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.719 it was the police that were attacking the anti fascists 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:01.039 trying to fight against like trying to defend themselves against 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:04.680 the far right um. And we saw the same thing 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:09.159 at Penn State just the other night. The there was 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:13.480 a gaggle of like proud boys or I think Tess 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:17.480 Owen referred to them as fascists in all black, who 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:25.080 were macing the crowd and they they you know, I 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.760 didn't do anything. The police escorted there was an incident 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.400 where a Proud Boy was assaulting or like somehow there 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:33.640 was a fight that happened with a demonstrator and a 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:36.800 Proud Boy and the demonstrator. The police threw the demonstrator 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.160 on the ground and then escorted the Proud Boy into 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:44.239 the building where Gavin mcinness and Alex Stein were supposed 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:48.400 to put on a very bad it didn't end up happening, 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:52.560 lead him back to his friends. Jesus Christ I asked 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:55.040 that question, and I know everybody like listening, and I 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:56.960 know all of you knew like what the answer was 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:58.600 going to be. I feel like you still have to 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:04.480 like ask it. Um. I am curious. The NYPD has 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.280 a kind of manpower, access to manpower, and access to 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:14.000 surveillance equipment that, in my experience out does most nations 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:18.760 I've been in. And I'm interested particularly and everyone's responses 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.480 are welcome, but particularly what what Tom and Barry might 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:25.880 have to say about what sort of roadblocks that provides 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:29.640 towards organizing responses to these events and kind of how 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.960 activists have had to adapt to that. Uh, this is 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:35.199 Tom here. I mean, I will say it's very clear 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:39.959 that the NYPD constantly monitors any sort of online space whatsoever, 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.520 and I think most people know to organize, you know, 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:46.760 in person or on signal with a small group of 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.880 their friends, rather than trying to get a larger group 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:53.240 of people to come to a thing publicly on the internet, 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:56.600 because anytime that happens, it's like there's instantly, you know, 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.120 that much larger of a police presidency at dozens and 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:02.360 dozens of what's called the s RG, the Strategic Response Group, 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:04.240 which I think probably can maybe speak on that a 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.520 little more but they're basically the hats and bats that 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:12.120 come bust up protests. Yeah, definitely agree with that, UM. 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.520 And I would also say that because of the share 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:18.800 volume of events that these exact same groups of people 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:22.560 who are now attacking UM drag story hours and clinics, 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:25.840 because we know this group already and they were having 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:30.679 on the daily anti vax rallies which objectively stopped kind 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:33.280 of being a thing to them, consider try to mobilize 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:36.160 account of protests for um SO, I think there is 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:38.959 kind of a large disconnect right now, which, whether by 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:41.760 design or accidentally, where I think a lot of people 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:45.160 feel like um, people who might attend account of protest 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.520 that is might feel like, oh, no, it's just those 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.400 same idiots up to their nonsense again, you know that 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:52.920 that's we don't worry about that. Tell me if it's 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.600 the proud voice coming and we'll mobilized kind of protest. 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:59.360 Um So, I honestly feel that it's sort of a 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.480 mental kind of the mental associations that we have with 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.520 these familiar faces UM. I mean, despite the fact that 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.319 it's been kind of obviously bomb observed that the anti 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:16.560 vax stuff is direct pipeline and radicalization um platform for 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:20.560 these more extremelyst Cristal fascists and transport with actions. Now 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.600 people still can't really detach that this is actually serious now, 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.800 so um, but yeah, I agree with that. Tom said 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:31.280 that it's a matter of not dropping it. I'm sorry. 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.960 I mean that that gets to another kind of advantage 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:39.679 these folks have, which is because of how much additional 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:43.080 state repression y'all are dealing with, the kind of personal 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:47.080 cost of attending these events, encountering the Right is higher, 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:49.120 both in terms of potential risk and just kind of 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:53.200 in terms of the trauma incurred. I know from personal experience. 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:54.440 I mean, I haven't been out in the street in 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:56.160 quite a while, about a year at this point, and 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:57.960 I know a lot of other people who are in 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:01.080 the same place, because it just kind of you know, 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:03.040 you can only take so much as an individual. What 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:05.800 are some ways in which y'all is a community try 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.880 to cope with burnouts that you can continue to meet 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.280 the pace at which the Right is doing this stuff. 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:13.959 I mean, I think it's really relying on other people 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:16.600 like the same one, two or three or four or 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:20.560 five people can't keep doing everything well. As people start 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:22.720 to get exhausted. I think then it's time to you know, 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:24.800 take a step back, take a week off, take three 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:26.880 weeks off, Like there have to be other people that 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:30.319 are ready to step up, um, you know throughout your community, 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:34.200 but throughout everywhere. Yeah, and definitely I think there's going 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:36.320 to be more of a need to emphasize that this 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.520 requires every day and say fascists. I think in New 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:41.840 York City especially, we kind of fell into a trap 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:45.400 where any kind of public falled encounter was very I 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:49.240 mean mil it's into style and boarding, you know, very 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:52.040 clear that it's a cab and their black the water 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:54.560 cans at that and the kinds of people that are 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:56.920 just meeting members that we actually do need to also 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.320 show up and saw the fascists that they're not welcoming 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:01.760 here any able. It's either they're not going to response 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:05.800 to something like that multitude of reasons, and uh, what 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:07.800 can you say about sort of the numbers that you're 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.319 seeing kind of on both sides on the ground here, 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:14.680 what's like a normal action looking like in terms of that? UM, 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:18.600 I mean, you know, just from reporting and keeping tabs 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:21.440 on different types of protests in New York City, we 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:27.160 have a lot of uh, nonprofits and more established type 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:32.319 groups that organize larger events UM, and those are typically 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:38.160 just marches for visibility and awareness UM. And when it 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:42.760 comes to a counter or some sort of direct action 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:47.760 like Mutual Aid for example, UM, we see much smaller numbers. 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:51.280 But those numbers that I mean that I see at 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:54.600 least is that these are people who've built community and 0:12:54.880 --> 0:13:00.400 UM communicate together. As opposed to seeing a flyer showing 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.640 up just for that one day. These are people who 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:08.680 consistently are engaging with one another and with that space. So, 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:12.800 like I mentioned mutual Aid, we have UM Washington Square 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:17.400 Park mutually which meets every Friday, and the core group 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:22.000 that UM sets it up and distributes and everything is 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.600 relatively small. But the people who have shown up to 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.120 support in some capacity in the past two years that 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.360 it has been active UM, they all know each other. 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:37.520 And that doesn't mean that you know, they're like necessarily 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:42.160 going to birthday parties together or UM you know, donating 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:44.320 kidneys to one another or something like that. It's not 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.480 necessarily like best friend groups, but it's people who have 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:52.400 built a sort of neighborhood in this ideology and in 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.640 this space in this time. I would also say like 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:57.800 these particular events have kind of brought in like a 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.800 different group of people. It's not like this same cruise 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:03.080 of people that were doing other things, because there's more 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:06.040 kind of liberal people getting involved that are like coming 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:10.040 to these drag String Court, drag Queen Story our defenses 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:12.280 to you know, be joyful and hold up signs and 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:16.040 saying and like welcome people into the library. So that's 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.400 also made it more easy to keep these going because 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:22.120 we've kind of got a larger revolving door of people 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:26.120 rather than you know, smaller groups. Yeah, that makes sense 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:29.480 as like, particularly as a way to not burn people out. 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:43.720 You know, I'm curious as to what have you seen 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.680 as far, like one of the major tactics anti fascists 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:53.920 always uses identification um and exposing people who are attending 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:57.920 these events rallying with fascist organizations. Have you noticed a 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.680 difference on how well this works for the people who 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.520 are showing up to protest like drag Queen Story Our 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:08.160 events versus um the people showing up at reproductive healthcare clinics, 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:11.080 at planned parenthoods and such. Because it kind of strikes 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.600 me that one of those is more mainstream maybe than 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.040 the other. Although perhaps I'm being kind of optimistic in that, 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.480 But I'm wondering, does that does it appear to be 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:23.840 more effective against kind of one kind of rally than 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.040 it is in another kind, if that makes any sense. 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:29.920 So a lot of the people who are engaging in 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:34.440 the clant harassments are known among their networks, and because 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:39.760 their goal is to present a sort of legitimizing face 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:45.960 for opposing abortion, um, they don't typically show up to 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.280 things that are a little bit more volatile. But we 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:52.640 have seen that with so it as it happens that 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.440 this the people who are harassing drag Story are for 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.360 the most part have been a part of one specific 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:02.840 core group of people that I've been monitoring and reporting 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:05.320 on for the past year. So I know all of 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:10.440 their names, which has pigeonholed them into what they can 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:14.080 and can't do. We had, um, there's there's this far 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:18.920 right propagandist or in Levy. His brother was at ah. 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:21.560 He was trying to harass a drag Story hour at 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.560 the Andrew High Scale Library for the Blind, and that 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.160 was an event put on for Neurow divergent children and 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:30.720 he was attempting to harass that. He ended up pepper 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:35.440 spray to people, and because he has known, his name 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.400 is out there, his face is known, and he is 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:42.400 identifiable across all social media networks, it was very easy 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:47.760 for those people to be able to file complaints against him. Um. Yeah. 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:50.880 And another thing too is that because this one group 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:54.280 does all of these harassments together. They started out doing 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:56.640 anti vax stuff where they were going and harassing a 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.920 restaurant called Dame in Um think it's in the village 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:03.400 or yeah, it's in the village. They were harassing that 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.280 restaurant for a while, and then they started harassing the 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:09.720 Health Commissioner's house and then Gracie Mansion, which is where 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.680 Eric Adams lives. And they were all doing these things together, 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:16.760 so their network was very easy to monitor and trace UM. 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:20.720 And so when they started harassing Drag Story Hour, which 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:24.480 was undeniably they were doing that as a result of 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:28.800 far right propaganda that was being pushed into all of 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:32.399 their social media spaces trying to convince them that Drag 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.960 Story Hour is, you know, the Satan incarnate. Um, they 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:41.160 start showing up and trying to harass those and immediately 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:43.919 they're known. They tried to harass UM, they tried to 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:48.400 disrupt AOC at a listening event that she was doing 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.480 in Queens. Immediately they were known. It was like I 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.920 saw the footage and I was like, that's Robert White, 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.680 that's you know, Cliff Lee, that's sort of Ronan Levy. 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:00.679 And it's doing that because they're known, because it's clear 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:04.359 that it's one group. It's showing up and doing this, 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.000 trying to trying to follow the lead on what is 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:12.119 the trending outrage on the far right that week. It 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:15.159 limits the number of people who are interested in joining 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:19.679 them because it's they rely on making it seem like 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:23.480 they are just neighbors and constituents who aren't happy with X, 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:25.240 y Z. And it's like, you know, you're a coordinated 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:28.919 group of harassers. We know who you are. So that 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:33.160 mask being off, definitely, I think has helped to reduce 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:40.000 the willingness to grow in those harassments. But I can't 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:45.119 necessarily speak to the future on what would hold or 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.160 like what other people have been inspired by them, because 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:51.480 we have seen neo Nazis show up in other states 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:54.320 to protest drag story are the same way that these 0:18:54.640 --> 0:19:01.080 this little you know band harassers has been harassing story ours. Yeah, um, yeah, sorry, 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.720 just a direct response to that that I definitely agree 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:09.399 um that Yeah, we've been monitoring the movement of uh 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.200 the main actors in the anti backs movement for a while, 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:14.720 but I didn't want to say that it is occasionally 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:16.719 other groups, but that they all have the same thing 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.760 in common and that they attached to the kind of 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:23.000 hot topic issue that they see happening in other cities 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:25.840 and states. So we did have actually like a very 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:32.320 like certainly Crystal cashis group um uh TMP that was 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:35.879 called who you know had publicly announced a rally to 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:40.480 harass the story or initially flashed onto that UM. But 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:43.640 all of it is kind of following national trends, UM, 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:46.720 because they are initially trying to make see ur t 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:50.679 and schools be the thing that was a multitude of 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.480 different groups that are trying and you know, they're looking 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:56.199 for something that sticks, and they're looking for something that 0:19:56.280 --> 0:20:00.000 passers by any given passers by walking by. We'll see 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.560 their side it if they hear it, um. But their 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:05.760 lack of success though is because of their violence and 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.320 UM not especially convincing and very human on sounding antics 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:13.080 to where it is clear that they are not actually 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:17.760 they're protesting what they playing themselves, they're protesting, Um, you know, 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:21.560 they're they're losing sympathy because eventually their signs started being 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:25.639 about Antifa instead of about Electricy protecting the children themselves. 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:30.320 UM So their own messaging kind of probably also at 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:33.199 fault there. But this issue is still always going to 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:37.119 be at risk for attracting different new Nazi groups. UM. 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.359 I mean we've seen Orlando and now there's a relition 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:43.959 of Nazi surgeon together to attack Story Hour. We've actually 0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:46.359 seen some of that in New York. It was just 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:51.880 coincidence that this one crazy into baxtor Um showing them 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.920 to attack story I was the same day that perhaps 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:58.480 other groups were, UM, don't to say too much that 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.399 at the moment, because they can talk something. Yeah, I 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:03.199 was just gonna say, I mean about the you know, 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:07.240 neo Nazis and other areas coming in protesting these drag 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:10.120 queen Story Hours. I mean that the first bigger one 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.560 we did was at Elmhurst Library. There were not only 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:16.160 somebody who was at a neo Nazi rally in front 0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:20.480 of Trump Tower. Once we had a January six insurrectionists, 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:23.120 and I think Holly can probably speak to those two 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:26.480 characters a little more. But then there was some other 0:21:27.000 --> 0:21:29.640 There was another Drug Queen Story Hour where someone from 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:32.520 g d L showed up, and I'm sure you're familiar 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:35.600 with g d L, Robert right, Yes, yes, yeah, the 0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:39.159 Goyam Defense League. These guys around the hate bus flying 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:42.240 the swastika there. Yeah, I mean you just said swastika. 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.080 But in place people are not aware of what Goyam means. 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:47.120 What you need to know is the Goham Defense League 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:51.199 or hardcore Nazis. Yeah, like they are legitimate, straight up 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:54.080 neo Nazis. They fly to the swastika, they go harassed 0:21:54.160 --> 0:22:02.560 Jewish neighborhoods, um count in those yeah, capital a Nazi. Yeah, 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:05.120 one of them went and harassed one of the Drag 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:09.720 Queen Story Hours recently. Uh. Then he ran off and 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:11.840 said he was going to get his friends and didn't 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:17.520 show up with anyone else from what then? Speaking of 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:23.840 neo Nazis, you probably know Jovie Valve. Oh yeah, Jovie 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:26.040 and I had a conversation a couple of years ago 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:30.000 with with my good friend Goad. Yeah, your old buddy. 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:34.160 M hmmm. Well he showed up at UM I believe 0:22:34.160 --> 0:22:36.399 it was a pediatric health care facility. I don't know 0:22:36.440 --> 0:22:39.119 if they do gender affirming care, but he was in 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:42.920 front of it to sign I'm sorry, I said, neither, 0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:48.399 did he? Yeah, yeah exactly. It was literally because the 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:54.280 clinic had tried flags in the window. Yeah okay, because 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:56.920 he was holding up a sign that said I'd rather 0:22:57.160 --> 0:23:00.119 a Nazi than a pedophile, which is just like a 0:23:00.280 --> 0:23:08.840 nonsensible and we all know, just say, you're a fucking Nazi. 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:12.600 Why is that the choice. It's so funny because there's 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:15.720 like pictures of him with the swastic netflace, like doing 0:23:15.760 --> 0:23:20.040 the Roman salute, Like, dude, everyone knows you're a Nazi. No, 0:23:20.200 --> 0:23:23.000 he's completely unashamed. And that's the weirdest part about him, 0:23:23.040 --> 0:23:26.320 because you know, he learned an interesting lesson about wearing 0:23:26.600 --> 0:23:28.840 just a you know, a maga hat in a bar 0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:30.960 in Brooklyn a few years ago. If anyone knows what 0:23:31.000 --> 0:23:36.399 incident I'm talking about, Oh yeah, So I find it 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:38.800 interesting that this actually did not deter him from ever 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:41.919 leaving his house again, you know, nearly losing his entire nose, 0:23:42.600 --> 0:23:45.760 um so, and then still deciding to just double down 0:23:45.840 --> 0:23:48.320 and actually start carrying the Nazi flags, thinking it will 0:23:48.359 --> 0:23:52.680 go better this time. Um and Apparently he just hes 0:23:52.760 --> 0:23:55.560 trying to make Nazi ship. He's trying to make his 0:23:55.680 --> 0:24:02.840 name again in two like Jovi val Is, he's he's expired, 0:24:03.320 --> 0:24:06.280 and he doesn't seem to realize that he's one of them. 0:24:06.359 --> 0:24:08.080 You know what I'm gonna do is I'm going to 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:10.960 show up and I'm gonna have nobody with me, and 0:24:11.000 --> 0:24:13.720 I'm just gonna be standing in front of a closed 0:24:14.119 --> 0:24:19.120 pediatric clinic, like with a sign telling people all they 0:24:19.160 --> 0:24:21.600 see from a distance is the word pedophile and the 0:24:21.600 --> 0:24:24.840 word Nazi. Like I mean, he did had his one 0:24:24.920 --> 0:24:27.280 little body with him in fairness, according to his own 0:24:27.400 --> 0:24:30.320 videos that he posted of the encounter, and that buddy 0:24:30.440 --> 0:24:33.440 of his, whoever he was, could be heard saying, uh 0:24:33.480 --> 0:24:37.560