WEBVTT - City Council Death Squads 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:06.240 Cool Zone Media. 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:10.799 Hello, and welcome back to It Could Happen Here, your 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:14.040 favorite daily podcast about the studied dissolution of society as 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.560 we know it. I'm your guest host, Molly Conger, joined 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:18.000 once again by our friend Garrison. 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:22.240 Hello. Happy to look at the abyss once again. 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:24.799 Yeah, trying not to ruin your day, too bad today, 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.720 So Garrison, today, I want to talk to you about 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:30.960 some terrible guys that I know you're already pretty familiar with. 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:35.120 The Goham Defense League the g d L. The g 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.680 d L, there are sort of a loose network of 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:42.040 neo Nazi trolls, best known for their anti Semitic flyers, 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.239 headed up by a failed rapper named John Minnedeo who 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:50.920 calls himself Handsome Truth. Handsome Handsome Truth. So there's this 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:53.519 sort of core cast of characters in Minnedeo's orbit that 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.880 shows up in person, mostly in Florida and Georgia, but 0:00:56.960 --> 0:00:59.960 the group's real strength is online. They have this d 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.440 centralized network of thousands of followers nationwide who are encouraged 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.080 to download and print the anti Semitic flyers and distribute 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:08.560 them in their area. It's not a new model, right, 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:10.600 like the clan has been doing this for decades, and 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:13.959 National Alliance was big into this in the early aughts. 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.280 But that's what they do right in the news every 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:18.120 few weeks, you know, your local news wherever it is 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:20.399 that you live. You know, somebody left these racist flyers 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:22.800 on everyone's front lawn. And I know you and I 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:24.800 have talked about doing an episode in the future about 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:29.280 the sort of counter productive responses to these in person demonstrations, 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:32.039 the flying and the banner drops. There's a new law 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.119 in Florida and a proposed law in Georgia that are 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:38.080 sort of allegedly aimed at countering anti Semitism, but are 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.920 going to have some sort of counterproductive knock on effects. 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:42.800 And I hope we can get to that at a 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.039 later date. But today I want to talk to you 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:47.720 about a little project some GDL members have going on 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:51.080 the side called the City Council Death Squad. 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.160 Are they going you around in killing city council members? 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:57.760 Because that's kind of what it sounds like. 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:01.320 It does sound like, that's kind of that's the energy here. 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:05.400 They haven't done that yet, yes, But Garrison, how would 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:08.440 you feel if I told you a former Juggalo calling 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:13.440 himself Scotty big Balls trying to trying to destroy the 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:17.200 thing I love most, which is civic engagement in municipal government. 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.359 I have such complicated feelings of Juggalos. 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:23.200 Oh god, No, I want to be clear. I'm not 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.240 slandering the Juggalo community here, right, Like mister big Ball's 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:28.919 got his hatchetman tattoo covered up with a big snake 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:31.520 holding a gun a couple of years ago, so he's 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.640 no longer God that there's a cool name for their community, 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:36.200 he's no longer a part of the Juggalo community. I 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:38.799 don't think the jugglos would buy this kind of behavior. 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:42.240 Generally, not. They are kind of semi cool. 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.600 No, I'm off for chicken hunting, I don't. I don't 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:51.840 think they abide. No, I by just by happenstance. You know, 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:53.919 the ICP is not my cup of tea. No, no, shade, 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:55.280 it's not my cup of tea. But I did see 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:57.680 them perform with the Lincoln Memorial a couple of years ago, 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:02.000 and it was the most polite crowd I've ever experienced 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.320 at a live music event. So it hats off to 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.800 the Juggalos. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Now, if you're a city 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:12.280 council meeting enthusiast like myself. You may already be aware 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:15.160 of the rash of racist zoom bombings disrupting meetings around 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.200 the country over the last nine months or so. Remote 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.359 participation in meetings became nearly ubiquitous during the pandemic, and 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.800 the opportunity to make a public comment without having to 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.160 devote an entire evening to sitting in an uncomfortable chair 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:29.440 at city hall has made civic engagement more accessible for 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.240 all kinds of people right, not just because of contagion, 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:36.600 but remote participation benefits everybody, like parents who are managing 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.400 a bedtime routine by the time the public hearing opens 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.560 at eight pm, or sure don't work in nine to five, 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:45.880 or people without reliable transportation. So it's been a boon 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.800 for local democracy, but it's also created a unique opportunity 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:53.600 for people who want to ruin that. So last year, 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:58.800 Scotty big Balls Mister big Balls, the online pseudonym for 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.960 a self described not ze named Harley Ray Petero Junior, 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.400 started a group he calls the City Council Death Squad. 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:09.120 The group organizes online to find government meetings, mainly city 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:11.640 and county council meetings all over the country that allow 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:15.000 public comment by a zoom. Then it coordinates those members 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:18.040 to sign up for speaking slots, crowding out actual community 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:19.760 members who are trying to speak on you know, like 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.000 actual matters of local concern. And when the members of 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.680 the group get through, the calls follow a couple of 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:30.560 predictable paths. Sometimes the caller just starts screaming slurs. Right, 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.680 It's just as soon as they connect, it's just screaming 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:35.000 the N word over and over and over and over 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:36.800 and over again until someone can hit the button to 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.479 cut it off. Sometimes they do what they call the 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:41.960 slow roll, where they start off trying to sound like 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:43.479 a real caller. You know, they'll say like, you know, 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:46.520 I have concerns about zoning in my neighborhood, or I, 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.520 you know, I think we should pay the police more, 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.200 and then it veers abruptly into some kind of bizarre 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.359 anti Semitic conspiracy theory about crime or nine to eleven 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:56.760 or advocating for public lynchings. 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.680 Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. They it's like, spend a few 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.600 minutes eating up the city council time and then just 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:07.720 curtail it with some unhinged ramble. 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:11.599 Right, and then yell the slurs yes, yes, yes. And 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.000 Another favorite of the group is a call format where 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.000 they pretend to be gay or Jewish themselves and then 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:21.640 ascribe to themselves various traits associated with bigoted stereotypes of their. 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:23.880 Okay, okay, yeah, yeah yeah. 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:27.160 John Menedeo has participated a few times himself, and he 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:29.280 loves this one. He pretends to be a gay Jewish 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:33.640 person named Tammy and then says some pretty outrageous things. 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:39.880 I bet the callers give themselves inside joke names like 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:43.680 Rudy Hess or Sadie N word, which, when you say 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.039 it out loud, sounds like say the N word, so 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:47.719 it's like a Seymour Butts kind of thing. It's like 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:50.719 Bart calling most tavern except it's Nazis. 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.880 Wow, very very clever, on the cutting edge of comedy. Yeah. 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:58.279 Or they'll name themselves after a mass shooter, like Dylan 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.960 Rue for Andraspravic, or you know, sometimes it's like a 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.920 deep cut, like a more obscure killer whose name might 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.800 not arouse suspicion right off the bat, like Jim Adkisson, 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.159 a man who shot eight people at a Unitarian church 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:12.760 in Knoxville in two thousand and eight during a children's 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.640 production of the musical Annie, because he was angry about 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:20.720 the church's liberal teachings. So you know those good jokes. 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:23.200 Yeah, this is all like kind of like old like 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.200 old school kind of chan humor. It's it's not even 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:29.360 that popular anymore because it's kind of just out of vogue. 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:31.520 You're kind of you're kind of outing yourself as like 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:36.120 a bit of like a not an actual boomer, but 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.800 like it's become a boomer fied this type of humor. 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.560 It's not really ah, this sort of thing that younger, 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:46.440 more hip neo Nazis are into. They've they have, they have, 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.360 they have moved on, they have they have other other 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:51.479 horizons of bad jokes. 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:56.559 So ruining everybody's good time by shouting a racial slur 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:59.560 is hardly an innovation. But this particular operation has a 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:03.520 discernal origin. Point. In May of twenty twenty three, Petero, 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.640 that's mister big Balls, if you've forgotten already, and three 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:09.240 friends showed up in person to a Sacramento City council 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:12.640 meeting to show their support for Ryan Massano. If you're 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:15.920 from the Sacramento area, you'd probably know him. Masano a 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.640 former Proud Boy, with several failed runs for office under 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:21.280 his belt, already had a long history of being disruptive 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:24.560 in public meetings. In twenty eighteen, he's removed from chambers 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:27.200 during a Valejo City Council meeting after saying the city 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.840 was quote infested with homosexuals and refusing to be called 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:33.280 to order by the mayor. The meeting of the same 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:35.480 body in twenty twenty two, he was picked up and 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:38.160 carried out after refusing to end his remarks at the 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.800 end of his time. So in twenty twenty three, he's 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.320 attending every meeting of the Sacramento City Council. This has 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.080 been going on for almost two months. He shows up, 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:49.640 he gets up, he makes his homophobic, racist, and antisemitic remarks, 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:53.080 but he's keeping with the rules of the meeting and 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.360 they're letting him make his statements. But people aren't happy 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:57.280 about it. So activists are shooting to show up to 0:07:57.320 --> 0:08:00.000 the meetings. People are showing up with banners, people are 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:04.960 booing him. People are showing up to counter this, and 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:07.880 so he puts out a call for backup. So at 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:10.000 this at this point that Petero shows up with two 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.679 masked associates and a man named Jeffrey Perine, who, like Massano, 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:15.680 was a proud boy with a failed school board run 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.560 to his name at that time. In twenty twenty three, 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.920 paren had recently been arrested outside the home of a 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.720 youth pastor after publicly calling for others to join him 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.280 in going to the pastor's home during a school board 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.840 meeting that had to be adjourned because of Parene's disruptive behavior. 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.600 So we're seeing a pattern emerging here, right at this point, 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.920 We've got two proud boys who keep getting kicked out 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.800 of meetings and failing to run for school board. These 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:42.400 are people who are seeing the value in kicking up 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:44.000 some kind of disturbance at a meeting. 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:48.200 Yeah, and this was like during a time where school 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:51.760 board meeting disruptions were very popular. There was a lot 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:55.280 of far right influencers trying to convince their followers to 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:59.200 run for school boards. This was kind of a very 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.920 particular cultural moment in like twenty twenty two to twenty 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:02.440 twenty three. 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:05.360 So they show up to this meeting to support Massano 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.000 and it doesn't go well. One of the guys throws 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:11.600 a hitler salute. People react angrily. There's a bit of 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.400 a scuffle, it devolves, and the council ends up going 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:17.560 into recess and clearing the chambers entirely. Everybody has to leave. 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.760 You just can't be in here too much yelling. Everybody's mad. 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.000 Nobody gets arrested, but everybody has to leave, and the 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.400 council ended up continuing the meeting without the public's presence. 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:29.040 So I think there was a hearing that night on 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:32.160 an ordinance involving homelessness that people had showed up to 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:34.440 speak on and they weren't allowed to do that. Now 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:37.960 council continues their business, but nobody can be there. And 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:41.480 Patera's alliance with Massano didn't last. They actually butted heads 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.920 almost immediately over optics. Massano preferred to make his long 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.560 winded speeches that, at least in his mind, were more 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.400 palatable to the listener and might more effectively spread his 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:54.120 message and potentially red pill the listeners. Who's actually angry 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:57.480 that Potero's troll forward tactic of just shouting slurs and 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.360 obscenities was actually resulting in avenues for public come being 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.400 closed off. In September of twenty twenty three, he wrote 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.760 either out of ignorance, or deliberate sabotage. The GDL has 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.880 no idea what they're doing. So he was mad, right 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:11.640 because he was doing this thing where every week he 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.000 was showing up to Megan's comment and because of the 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:18.720 different strategy of disruption that was getting harder for him. Masano, 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.120 for his part, continues his one man battle against the 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:23.800 Sacramento City Council. He's still doing that. 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:29.920 Oh, okay, he's a lone wolf out there in Sacramento. 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:34.480 But Petero saw the potential and trolling on a larger scale, okay, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.560 almost immediately, he branched out. Over the next few months, 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.880 it developed into an organized trolling machine, targeting meetings across 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:47.800 the country, covering at least seventeen states, from Alaska to Maine, Idaho, Wyoming, Georgia, Virginia. 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.960 They're all over the place, often hitting the same city repeatedly, 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:54.880 and in some cases showing up in person with flyers 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:59.360 or banners either before or after the zoom bombing. After 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:01.839 targeting meeting in the city of Walnut Creek, California, the 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.960 group hung a racist banner in the area. Councilor Kevin 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:06.840 Wilk commented on the banner in the press and The 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.280 following week, the meeting was hit again, with members specifically 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:14.079 addressing wilk the locality's first Jewish city councilor, asking him 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:17.720 how he liked it. In a later stream, Petero laughed 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:21.040 about that personalized follow up, saying that pissed him off, 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:25.280 so I had to rub it in. After targeting the 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.439 city of Wooster, Massachusetts, the group didn't just flyer. They 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:32.640 mailed homophobic materials to the homes of several councilors, including 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.920 two nuen the state's first openly non binary elected official. 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:39.320 And it isn't even just regular city council meetings. Some 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:43.520 of the targeted meetings are incredibly boring governmental bodies like 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.240 the Morristown, New Jersey Board of Zoning Appeals. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:47.160 Oh wow. 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.040 When Petero posted a clip of their racist calls into 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:53.880 that meeting, a group member posted the board chairs home 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:58.520 address and the replies. They've also and this doesn't even 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.160 fit the pattern. I think they just got the bug. 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.559 But they've posted several composition videos of the group disrupting 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:05.520 AA meetings. 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.280 All right, that's interesting. 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.840 I think I think they just got into the idea 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:17.160 of making praying phone calls. So they target addiction support 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:21.040 groups often geared towards members of the LGBTQ community. 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:23.000 So okay, all right, yeah, just doing. 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:25.680 Like homophobic attacks on people who are trying to get sober. 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.880 Huh. They're just like finding any any meeting they can 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.080 and just spamming this thing. 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:34.120 I don't know that they have other hobbies. 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:37.040 Yes, this seems like a lot of time between keeping 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:40.520 up on the zoning board meetings and whatever local AA 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:42.880 call in there is. It seems seems to be a 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:47.040 bit uh childish and time consuming, right, I. 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.040 Mean this is it takes a lot of time, and 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.640 Potero is pretty clear about that. You know, he runs 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:54.720 these online spaces where he's organizing. He's you know, making 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.200 lists of meetings that they should check out. He's complaining 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.240 about how, you know, sometimes you have to wait for 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:01.920 hours while just doing like regular government stuff. You have 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.000 to just like wait for it to be your turnedy 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:06.080 all the un word. It's time consuming. 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:08.160 Do you know what isn't time consuming? 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.600 Spending your harder in cash on the products and services 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:14.440 that support this show. 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.839 That's right. We make it fast, easy and reliable by 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:31.960 listening to these products and services. Okay, we are back 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:37.000 talking about the Goyam Defense League, the GDL. So we 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.360 were just discussing how they were spending a lot of 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:43.520 time disrupting a lot of meetings with their little call 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:44.640 in campaign. 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.360 Right, And it's tempting to dismiss this behavior as, oh, 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.080 it's just trolling, right, they're just trolls. Sure, so, like 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.320 this is so juvenile. 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.640 How bad can it be? It's just people calling in, right, But. 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.520 This has real world consequences, and they know that. They 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:00.520 revel in the reactions to their behavior. They're full aware 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.000 of and celebrate the destruction that it leaves in its wake. 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:06.960 When the city of Portland suspended virtual public comment, commenters 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.200 in the group called it a big effing win when 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.400 there's other media coverage of cities who have limited or 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.880 even ended public comment altogether. The headlines are posted triumphantly 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:20.040 in the group, often captured only with loll comments like 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:22.400 the calls will continue until the Jews leave and shut 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:24.640 it down for the win and never let them regroup 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:28.040 arrest no comfort given literal the replies to posts about 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.920 city after city ceding ground to this harassment. 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:36.160 So it's not just causing little inconveniences, it is actually 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:40.360 shutting down city's ability to hold public comment and for 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:43.440 the public to actually speak on issues that are affecting 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:45.760 them and their city. Right. 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.480 So, there have been meetings that, you know, when this occurs, 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.680 the meeting itself, that particular meeting just ends. Everyone just 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:54.760 leaves because they can't continue, or you know, the meeting 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.320 does continue, but they stop taking public comment, or they 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.080 change their policies and procedures to limit public comment moving forward. 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:05.000 So this is having real effects that are you know, 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.400 living on in these cities even after they've moved on. 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.920 Group members suggest using burner phones and fake number generators 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:16.120 to avoid being caught or blocked. Potero has written online 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:19.200 that he's been quote banned on multiple devices, but I 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:22.720 have some tactics to prevent them from stopping me. Potero 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.200 noted on a recent stream that the ADL's estimate of 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:27.760 over one hundred and thirty disruptions is short changing them, 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.480 insisting they've done at least three times that many, sometimes 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:34.760 hitting dozens of meetings per week, and they're not just 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.600 doing it right, it's not just the act of doing 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.360 it that is the thrill to them. They then cut 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.000 the clips and then post them online for everyone to enjoy. 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.600 They're cutting promos and making highlight reels of their favorite moments. 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.880 There are compilations grouped by genre of hate. Right, there's 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:52.760 videos combining all the best moments of homophobia, all the 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:56.360 best moments of anti semitism. There are these promo videos 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.040 set to that sort of ugly electronic fash wave music 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:00.280 that they all love so much. 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:01.280 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:03.520 The promo videos have titles like this is our meeting 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:05.240 now or We're jacking your shit. 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:08.600 So these are being shared on like like bitchew and 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:09.560 Odyssey and Telegram. 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:12.640 I'm guessing yeah, they're they're you know, GDL, They're on 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:15.840 They're on every platform that's opened to people like them, right, Okay, 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.920 and following that GDL model, right, they're they're posting these 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:25.280 these videos and getting money. They're accepting donations to continue 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:29.840 doing this. And then on the anniversary of Krystall Knocked, 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:33.000 they targeted a planning commission in the Crescent City, California, 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:38.080 entitled the video CCDs goes Crystall Knocked on Crescent City. Right, 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.320 So it's it's just a joke, right, They're not really 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:44.480 doing Christall Knocked, but they're using the language of this 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:46.480 sort of genocidal violence. 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.720 And it's like monetized. They're like making money off of it. 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:53.880 They are making making those donos, as they say it. 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:58.000 After a recent ADL article about the operation, Patero posted, 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:01.920 fuck the ADL. We'll give those caseler something to covetch about. 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.919 In twenty twenty four, and his wife Haley reposted that, 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:09.600 adding you think he's playing. He lives for this. They 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.000 don't work. They really do live for this. 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.440 It does sound like this is like the most important 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:18.119 thing happening in their life, which is one quite sad. 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:19.840 That also shows that they have a lot of time 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:21.800 to dedicate to pulling off stuff like this. 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:25.600 Time that they should be dedicating to parenting. Honestly, Well, 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:29.280 I don't know if you want them around their kids. Honestly, 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.720 the more time they spend away from their children is 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:33.560 probably better. 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:37.600 God damn. During his zoo bombing in October, an official 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.800 in Saucelito, California voiced support for just cutting off the 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:43.560 calls over objections from other members of council that this 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.359 could get them sued, saying he would quote take the 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.080 lawsuit if these people can even get organized enough to 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.440 sue us. And while the group has made no progress 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:55.280 on actually filing any legal action there or anywhere else. 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:58.520 They haven't forgotten it. Just last week the group expressed 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:01.359 an interest in seeking some kind of retribution for that comment, 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:05.280 saying they may need a little visit, and the group 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.760 is raising money to start traveling to meetings in person. 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.679 A fundraiser on the platform of choice for right wing extremists, 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.359 give Send Go, has already raised one thousand dollars in 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.879 donations to fund travel and lodging for the group members 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:18.680 to travel to city council meetings for in person disruptions 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:22.119 on their weekly live streams. Viewers can donate directly in 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:25.440 the stream. On the stream, Potero thanks viewers for donations, 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.200 often in the amount of fourteen dollars and eighty eight cents. 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:29.560 Yeah that makes sense. 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.240 Oh yeah, they they live for the memes, reminding them 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:36.879 that every donation goes directly towards funding their IRL activism, 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:39.960 getting them offline and inter real life traveling around the 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:44.000 country to engage in racial harassment in person. He also 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:47.520 says the donations fund a side project called postcard Waffen 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:48.800 the Nazeeni Way. 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:50.520 Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:56.320 Say that one bird time just a little slower postcard waffen. 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.120 They love to add postcard waffen. They love to add 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:01.800 waffen to right, that's just the German word for weapon. 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:05.000 So this, this is weaponized mailings, and this is the 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:09.200 nickname they've given to the work of mailing hateful materials 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.040 directly to the homes of the elected officials who preside 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.920 over the meetings they disrupt. This seems like a sort 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:17.639 of targeted harassment kind of campaign. 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:22.000 Sure, target harassment, intimidation. There's some with the other like mentions. 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.640 You know, it's like veiled threats. These types of neo 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:29.199 Nazis are not averse to actually doing violence on people. 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:32.760 So yeah, there's there's a there's like a a pleasant 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.960 threat implied with these with this, with this sort of 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:37.760 rhetoric and activity, and. 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:40.040 Because the decentralized nature of the GDL, and I think 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:41.680 this is something we can talk about in a later 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:43.760 episode about kind of what they're up to these days. 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:48.399 Is they don't have communication with or control over all 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:51.520 of the people who are consuming this content. So they 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:54.280 may not plan to follow up with these people in 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:58.240 a manner that would be criminal, but they're encouraging people 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:02.199 to think that that's an option and that sure has ramifications. Sure, 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:05.560 so this isn't just annoying prank calls. It's an organized 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:09.760 effort to ruin local democracy, to make meetings unproductive and unbearable, 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:13.080 to intimidate and humiliate local government employees and elected officials, 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:16.240 to make your city council chambers and intimidating an uncomfortable 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:18.520 place for you, closing off that avenue for you to 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:20.840 address and engage with your local government, and to take 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:23.840 away options for actually engaging with local government by forcing 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:26.600 cities to limit public comment. And we can't sede that 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:27.160 ground to. 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:30.520 Them, ah man, that is I mean, I don't know. 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:34.480 There's just been so many instances with city council meetings 0:20:34.520 --> 0:20:38.320 and various other kind of these big public forms, especially 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:41.200 school board meetings, where like they are like discussing extremely 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:45.760 important stuff around like trans people and forming policies that 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:48.680 impact people. And I know a lot of people do 0:20:49.240 --> 0:20:52.000 actually end up going out to these and talking about 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.760 their experiences and why proposed laws or ordinances would be 0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:58.920