This Saturday on May 8th, 2021 a national group of white supremacists known as White Lives Matter planned their second wave of actions in various cities across the country. Here in Houston we received credible information that the local White Lives Matter leadership was planning to show up at George Floyd’s grave early in the morning where they would be holding some sort of demonstration. As far as we are aware this was the only White Lives Matter action scheduled for a major Texas city this weekend.
Upon learning about their plan we quickly gathered an assortment of local groups and individuals together to defend the Mausoleum where Floyd is buried. On Saturday morning a sizeable group of Houstonians assembled and marched through the graveyard with flowers, which were laid near Floyd’s grave. We stayed until well after the Neo-Nazi group had been planning to appear.They apparently changed plans on short notice and never showed up, possibly having caught wind of our counter protest and being intimidated.
Threats like these will be met with zero tolerance by the people of Houston, and for now the resting place of George Floyd remains unscathed, adorned with flowers instead.
This is an abridged version of Matthew N. Lyons’ essay “Two Ways of Looking at Fascism,” originally published in the July 2008 issue of Socialism and Democracy (Vol. 22, No. 2), available online at https://sdonline.org/issue/47/two-ways-looking-fascism
We believe this essay provides an extremely valuable analysis of the class politics, ideology, and historical evolution of fascism. The booklets measure 5.5 inches in width and 8.5 inches in height. They feature custom artwork printed in color on the front and back covers by the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee. Front and back covers are card stock paper with a semi-gloss matte texture. Zines are shipped in bubble mailer envelopes via USPS First Class Mail. Pricing per booklet goes down from $3 to $2 as you increase the quantity of your order through the selection of bulk packs.
These zines are also available as both digital and printable PDFs for free here:
**UPDATE** It appears this man is also listed as the High School Principal for Chireno ISD High School. https://www.chirenoisd.org/o/chireno-isd/staff If you call, consider calling the Chireno ISD Superintendent at 936-362-2132 to let them know as well.
Overview
Last week Friendswood Highschool Track and Field Coach Erik Thormaehlen, who goes by “Enrique Thornacion” on Facebook, traveled to Washington D.C. to join the mobs of Trump fanatics who flooded the capital to contest the election results. Erik has kept it no secret, making multiple proud posts about it online from that day onward.
Help us call Friendswood Highschool on Monday 1/11/21 between 8am and 4pm to let them know what you think of their staff storming the capital for Trump!
The following is being posted on behalf of Central Texas ARA:
Dustin Ray Hamby, aka “Chef Goyardee”, is an Austin-based Neo-Nazi and cook who now serves as the Austin area Network Directing Officer for the fascist group Patriot Front. His most notable activities include leading the Texas fascist delegation to the Nazi “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville and coordinating security for a Richard Spencer talk in Florida. Dustin was previously doxxed by Autonomous Student Media here, but no connections were made to his identity as Chef Goyardee or the extent of his involvement in fascist activity. Flyers have been posted around his apartment and surrounding neighborhood in Austin this week with information about Dustin’s Nazi activity.
Prior to his current role with Patriot Front, Hamby was a member of more casual fascist clubs like the “Edelweiss Order”, aka the “Whomsters”, and the “Kek Group”. His activism took a more serious turn when he helped plan the June 17th, 2017 “Texas Is Ours” event for Vanguard America. He also participated in the Austin “March Against Sharia” event June 10th of the same year alongside Paul Gray, and attended the disruption of the Houston Anarchist Bookfair.
Dustin Hamby saying he is associated with the “Edelweiss Order” using his alias “Chef Goyardee”
Dustin Hamby’s former twitter under his real name, also posting about the Edelweiss Order.
Hamby then became the key Texas organizer for the deadly “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville. He coordinated van rentals, carpools, and hotel reservations for Texas Nazis. His username “Chef Goyardee” also appeared in a Charlottesville related lawsuit. Additionally, Dustin designed and sold the Red White and Blue Sonnenrad flag (pictured below) which has been flown by erratic Nazi, domestic abuser, and kidnapper William Fears, among others.
Dustin Hamby coordinating plans for the Charlottesville rally.
Dustin Hamby advertizing his flag design to others.
In October 2017 he accompanied Richard Spencer to the University of Florida in Gainesville, serving as a security coordinator. After the speech, Texas Nazis Tyler Tenbrink and the Fears brothers were arrested for firing a pistol at protesters.
Dustin Hamby doing security at a rally.
As his alias implies, Chef works in the food industry. He consistently alienates his coworkers with his racism and immoral behavior: at Black Star Co-Op he had his “MAGA” hat tossed into the fryer, and at The Hightower (now closed) he was reported to have groped male coworkers without their consent – despite being in a long-term relationship with fellow fascist Connor Graham. He has previously written fantasies about insulting and scalding his immigrant coworkers, though there are currently no indications he’s actually followed through yet.
Dustin Hamby in a MAGA hat
Dustin Hamby at a former job (1)
Dustin Hamby at a former job (2)
Dustin Hamby at a former job (3)
Below, you can see some of the types of things Dustin posts about under his alias:
Dustin Hamby making racist posts.
Dustin posting photos of Hitler.
Dustin Hamby was responsible for leaving these Easter eggs on people’s lawns in Austin.
Chat logs of Dustin admitting to placing the eggs.
Dustin Hamby posted this photo from the manifesto of the New Zealand Christchurch mass shooter.
It speaks to Patriot Front’s fear and decay that they have chosen a drunken abuser as their leader for Central Texas. His days of fascist organizing will be brought to a sudden end soon.
On Saturday, June 8th, anti-fascists exposed a realtor named Paul Preston as being the leader of a local Neo-Nazi Group called the Houston Goylers. On the same day they confronted him outside his home in Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood where he lives with his Neo-Nazi girlfriend, Ariel Gherman. Before news even had a chance to spread about the confrontation, active members of Houston’s Alt-Right were already well into an uproar of infighting and blame on Facebook. Weeks prior to the event, tensions were already running high between “AK Lane”, an Alt-Right woman who was dating a Patriot Front member, and Paul Preston. AK Lane had vaguely accused Paul of being a “Nazi LARPer with a Jewish girlfriend” (Ariel bears a commonly Jewish surname), and Paul had in turn been making jokes about AK Lane’s body and appearance for some time. Preston further inflamed tensions by implying it was preferable to date an attractive non-white woman over an opinionated fascist white woman, angering the more “principled” Nazis. This infighting, driven largely by the hopelessly dramatic Paul Preston, ironically rendered him helpless and friendless just a few days later when a large bloc of anti-fascists arrived at their doorstep. Demonstrations continued for well over an hour, with Ariel hiding inside with no one to call upon for aid.
After finding out the hard way that being a Nazi in the real world won’t be tolerated, Paul and Ariel took their anger back to the internet looking for someone to blame for this series of humiliating defeats – while others made laughable claims they could have done something differently to stop us. Over the next few days arguments among fascists flared and it was revealed by AK Lane’s boyfriend that she had previously threatened to doxx Paul Preston.
Upon seeing this, Paul and Ariel became convinced that AK Lane had been solely responsible for doxxing them. Incapable of believing that anti-fascists could collect such extensive information on their own, a number of stories began circulating online about AK Lane working with anti–fascists and doxxing her former friends.
In actuality, Paul had doxxed himself by posting pictures from his home office, and by identifying himself as Wooderson on film during a fascist “Texas Is Ours” rally in Austin the year prior. AK Lane had not, despite her threats, communicated any information about Preston but it ultimately didn’t matter. His unprincipled, panicked, childishly dramatic demeanor lead him to doxx AK Lane as Kathryn Powell, a name not previously known to us. Both Paul and Ariel made a concerted effort to distribute this information widely online, including photos of Kathryn’s work badge as a TMS Transit Specialist for TAPS Public Transit in North Texas. It’s unclear if that is her current or former employer.
Throughout the weeks following, Kathryn Powell has been the target of continued harassment from her former Nazi associates. Memes, jokes, and threats about her have been circulating across fascist social media circles and are being shared by fascists not even originally involved in these disputes. She is no longer dating her boyfriend from Patriot Front, who appears to have betrayed her by releasing her threats to doxx Paul Preston. It’s no surprise that the first people they are ready to betray are women. The Alt-Right is deeply rooted in misogyny, and they will always seek to blame their own failures and weaknesses on women first.
Kathryn is still active in some fascist circles such as the “Othinn Folk” Nazi Pagan group which she administers on social media along with other Neo-Nazis. Paul Preston and his friends have gone out of their way to make a fake Facebook group where they make fun of Othinn Folk and Kathryn Powell herself. These events seem to have pitted Paul Preston and his friends in the Houston Goylers and Patriot Front against anyone who supports or tolerates Kathryn in other groups.
White supremacists, and in this case “Chad Nationalists” in particular, build themselves up as strong, disciplined fighters who put their “movement” above all else. In reality, these are fragile, childish white men terrified of being exposed and ready to throw each other under the bus at the first sign of trouble.
Thomas Graham Bartram is a Houston resident who recently appeared on the news for waving weapons around in El Paso after Trump’s visit in response to the mass shooting that took place last week. He was detained by police outside a Community Center and released without arrest or citation. He can be seen posing next to his truck which is covered in pro-Trump, InfoWars, and other far right wing bumper stickers. One can’t help but be reminded of Cesar Sayoc’s white van. While police execute black and brown people for holding any number of random objects when stopped, they continue to be able to detain white men with large rifles unharmed, even in the midst of mass shooting sprees. Not even a week after El Paso saw a young man gun down dozens of innocent people and post his racist Alt-Right manifesto, this other young white man very visibly associated with wingnut Alt-Right groups shows up with weapons, wearing rubber gloves, and is sent on his way with a wag of the finger at a related event. Unbeknownst to the public, this is not even the first time Bartram has been detained and released by police officers for flagrancy with weapons. Many believe his actions and politics mirror that of the beginnings of mass shooters and violent white supremacists, and that action should be taken before he injures or kills people, not after.
Thomas Bartram being detained next to his truck in El Paso, Texas
Bartram, 21, is part of the “InfoArmy,” the pathetic following of conspiracy-peddling white supremacist Alex Jones and his dollar store replica Owen Shroyer. Jones is currently embroiled in a legal battle over his part in urging his base to harass the families of the Sandy Hook victims, including his defense sending a cache of child porn to the families lawyers. Bartram frequents the InfoWars forums, openly posting about his organizing and propagandizing activities around Houston. His crew have done multiple “banner drops” with white supremacist slogans such as “Itz OK 2 B white” while brandishing guns, and have taped dozens of InfoWars fliers around the Houston area. After one banner drop where they were confronted by a concerned citizen, Bartram and crew were interviewed by Shroyer on InfoWars’ official channels. Just as 8chan was recently shut down for it’s part in radicalizing the El Paso shooter, a case could be made for InfoWars radicalizing and even officially endorsing violent extremism as well. While goofy, conspiracy-driven groups like InfoWars and more mild “Alt-Light” groups like the Proud Boys may seem like less of a problem than explicitly fascist and Neo-Nazi groups, they must still be understood as a very serious threat. Organizations like InfoWars may not openly advocate for genocide or ethno-states, but they certainly attract people who are interested in those things as well as dangerous wingnut conspiracy theorists who believe mass shootings are their last option.
Thomas Bartram (Left) posing next to one of his banners.
Bartram, who goes by @texas_T online, doxxed himself, posting his name, date of birth, and phone number. His twitter is filled with deranged racism, homophobia, and nationalist rants.
On Bartram’s bitchute page, we discover videos of him having been detained by police in the past for brazenly waving guns around on public streets. Police detained him, joked with him, and then let him go. Not that cops will ever challenge white supremacist ideology, Bartram facing consequences may have prevented the citizens of El Paso from yet another danger to their safety. Bartram also posts videos showing off one of his guns, as well as the hundreds of dollars worth of InfoWars snake oil he consumes daily.
Daddy’s Money
Thomas was home schooled and his background fits the stereotype of a privileged white boy who was radicalized online by right wing conspiracies. His family is very wealthy and seemingly right wing, supporting his cosplay lifestyle. His father, Mark Albert Bartram, born February 6th, 1960, has worked at companies such as BP, IBM, and as the Vice President of Koch Industries. He is currently an “Executive Partner” with Gartner Executive Programs. The Trump-plastered truck Thomas drives around was bought by and registered to his father, who is clearly enabling his son’s participation in the Alt-Right scene.
Yesterday Thomas posted that he’ll be on his way to Portland, Oregon for an August 17th “End Antifa” Rally, we can guess who is paying for his travels. We hope any of our comrades who may encounter this person stay safe and are aware of his history.
On Saturday, June 8th, a large group Anti-Fascists rallied on Houston’s Near Northside Neighborhood. They marched to the home of white nationalists Ariel Gherman and Paul Preston (the leader of the Houston Goylers) who were thoroughly doxxed the same day. NearNorthside residents were alerted of Paul’s presence in their neighborhood through outreach efforts the week before the action andduring the action itself. The neighbors we spoke with were grateful to be informed about Paul and highly supportive of the rally itself, and many said they planned to join us at the action. A few neighbors we spoke to had already gotten a bad vibe about the house in the past, and one told us that Paul already had a confrontation with some black high school students who had seen him hanging a racist flag outside at one point. Paul’s house is across the street from Near Northside High School, so his presence there is a huge danger to black and brown students. Leading with a banner which said “Fuck Racists, Smash White Supremacy”, the march was greeted with friendly honks, waves, and smiles from passersby. Neighbors were encouraged to join in and said they wanted to, but some were afraid that the Nazis could recognize them or retaliate. Once the march arrived at the front of Paul Preston’s house, a few of the families looked on and filmed from the periphery.
At Paul and Ariel‘s house, the crowd made a ruckus with chants, horns, drumming and so on. We could see that Ariel Gherman was home, with her car parked out front, but couldn’t tell who else might be inside. Ariel remained quietly inside with no visible movement despite some protesters taping up flyers to the window, knocking, and spamming the doorbell. After some time, a few cops rolled up at a distance, and shortly afterwards a crimson pickup truck with a trailer drove by. Multiple people spotted Paul in the passenger seat looking surprised, embarrassed, and afraid as the truck tried to sneak around the corner undetected. The crowd shifted onto the next street in pursuit of him. Unfortunately for Paul, the street was a dead-end and the driver began awkwardly maneuvering to back up down the street with the trailer they were towing. At the corner, with a little distance from the crowd, Paul quickly hopped out of the truck and darted for his front door. He was dressed in a colorful tank top that had a number 1947 bib, and a goofy sweatband around his head. With a big crowd whooping and hollering at him he scurried inside, half skipping steps and avoiding eye contact. Even now, a few days after the ordeal, Paul continues to talk a big game online, but when confronted in real life it was a very different story.
More police eventually showed up and wedged themselves between the crowd and the fence around the house, met with chants of “Cops and Klan go Hand in Hand”. The police made their way up to the front porch and began to take down the flyers, one of them remarked “thanks for the fingerprints”, and they knocked on the door. Ariel sheepishly answered and they were invited inside. Two black cops went in first and shut the door behind them, then the other two white cops entered moments later. Exhausted of any more openings to confront the Nazis now that the cops had come to their rescue, the crowd decided to march back through the neighborhoods and call it a day. More outreach and flyering was done on the way back, with more warm welcomes from everyone we came across.
Trying New Things
After some reluctance, and weeks of rigorous organizing, this event turned out to be a huge success. Without the use of social media or relying on any of the more liberal left, Texans were able to turn out a sizeable bloc of militants to confront a Neo-Nazi at their doorstep without any arrests or injuries–all on a 95 degree day. The police typically have the convenience of seeing events weeks ahead of time on Facebookand making plans to shut things down before they even begin. In this case,cops were not given that luxury. The resultsof keeping the event offline seemed to pay off. We would have liked to have more neighbors with us in the crowd. Although we did a lot of on-the-ground outreach ahead of time, it’s certainly worth reflecting on ways to bring out more neighbors to the event itself. Improvements could be made to help with turnout such as: scheduling an outdoor event at a time less sunny and hot, changing the meetup location to somewhere more comfortable and less open, and handing out/explaining the use of masks ahead of time to neighbors. This was a chance to experiment with a new tactic and see if home demonstrations can be a viable pressure point against the Alt-Right. When dealing with leadership figures, and people who are less vulnerable to doxxing due to their occupations, we think a home demo can be an effective alternative when enough precautions and preparations are made.
Paul Joseph Preston, often using the aliases Whit Wooderson and Woody White, is a co-founder of a local white nationalist organization known as the Houston Goylers, and a frequent contributor to the Alt-Right podcast Exodus Americanus. He has participated in numerous white supremacist and Neo-Nazi rallies including the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, the attempted disruption of the Houston Anarchist Bookfair in 2017, and the attempted disruption of Bingo Against Borders in 2018, among others. He works in real estate and holds a Texas real estate license. His license is sponsored by Applied Real Estate Technologies, LLC, which does business under the trade name ListingSpark. Paul lives with his white nationalist girlfriend, Ariel Gherman, in Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood where he owns a house.
Paul Preston and Ariel Gherman marching in the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, 2017.
Paul Joseph Preston isone of the two original founders of a Houston-based Neo-Nazi organization called the Houston Goylers. The name is an antisemitic play on the name of the old Houston football team, the Houston Oilers. Goy is a Hebrew word that was historically sometimes used to refer to non-Jews, and is often used today by white supremacists and Neo-Nazis today to emphasize how not-Jewish, and in fact how anti-Jewish, they are. Among Houston Neo-Nazis, the Goylers are generally regarded as the “main guys” who organize as explicit white supremacists in Houston, alongside Patriot Front. In 2016 the Goylers boasted a membership of around 25 people, with about 10 of them reported as being highly active according to Paul Preston, though it is unclear if they have maintained the same membership over recent years.
The Houston Goylers logo, featuring the Neo-Nazi “Black Sun” symbol on top of the Houston Oilers logo.
Wooderson (Paul Preston), featured as a Co-Founder on the Goylers website, which may no longer be active.
Paul Preston uses the alias Whit Wooderson online (and variations like “Woody White”), and credits himself as “one of the founders of Chad Nationalism” as well. Like many other Alt-Right terms, Chad Nationalism is really just a meme-based rebranding of white nationalism, centered around building up one’s identity as an “alpha male” as featured in Chad memes online. Under his Whit Wooderson alias, Paul is also an administrator to the “Boartex of Power” Facebook group, which serves as a private social group for the Alt-Right talkshow “Exodus Americanus”, a channel on “The Right Stuff” (TRS) fascist podcast platform. He has participated in a number of TRS podcasts under the name Wooderson, discussing the social activities of the Houston Goylers, his love of Confederate Flag regalia, work and life advice for fellow Neo-Nazis, and his contempt for everyone who isn’t a white, straight Christian male with racial slurs littered throughout. Here is a short clip of Wooderson laying out his beliefs on Exodus Americanus Episode 112:
Whit Wooderson listed as an admin for the private “Boartex of Power” Facebook group where Exodus Americanus listeners congregate.
On top of just talking on The Right Stuff podcasts, Paul helped organize “TRS Pool Party” meetups around Houston. These are basically just real-life social meetups for Alt-Right Nazis who listen to or are involved in the podcasts, but they have played a role in networking different fascist groups together and bringing in new members. Paul also joined the white supremacist group “Identity Europa” when they were around in 2016, and put up some of their flyers around Houston which FreePress Houston reported about at the time.
Paul showing off the Nazi pins he says he wears around town.
Paul Preston showing off the 1488 sign in his house.
He also posted about having made shirts with the same 1488 design.
Racist memes are commonplace on Paul’s timeline.
References to Rhodesia are popular among Neo-Nazis, including Dylan Roof who committed the Charleston shooting at a black church in 2015.
In 2017, Paul traveled to Charlottesville to participate in the Unite the Right demonstrations that culminated with James Field’s deadly car attack. During Friday’s torch-lit march, Paul could be seen dressed in a white polo shirt and khaki pants–the uniform of the now-defunct white nationalist group Vanguard America. He held hands and walked with his girlfriend Ariel Gherman (who sometimes uses the alias Ariel Sherman). You’ll remember last year we exposed Ariel for renting the house that the Texas Neo-Nazi contingent stayed in during their trip to Charlottesville. After our expose, Ariel was promptly fired from her job at a right-wing graphic design and media strategy firm, Harris Media (which has its own ties to international fascism), and soon after moved back to her hometown of Houston, where she took up residence with Paul.
Paul in Charlottesville (1)
Paul in Charlottesville (2)
Ariel and Paul in Charlottesville (1)
Ariel and Paul in Charlottesville (2)
In the summer of 2017, Paul attended a white nationalist “Texas is Ours” rally in front of the Texas Capitol in Austin. With his organization “The Houston Goylers”, Paul participated in the attempted disruption of the Houston Anarchist Bookfair in September 2017, alongside Patriot Front and other fascists. He also was one of the white nationalists who attempted to disrupt the SURJ Bingo Against Borders event at a Houston bar in August 2018. He was caught on camera daring onlookers to “Take my picture, try to get me fired!” Aside from trying to disrupt various left wing events, the Goylers focus mostly on physical fitness training and do a lot of group activities in private, such as going on “Hate Hikes” with Patriot Front members and other Nazis.
Azzmador from the Daily Stormer (Left), talking to Paul Preston (Right) at the “Texas Is Ours” rally in Austin.
Paul Preston and other Nazis were filmed by multiple people when they tried to disrupt a “Bingo Against Borders” event at Alabama Ice House.
There are a number of things which we will feature below that help prove Paul Preston is the real person behind the “Whit Wooderson” alias:
On his “Woody White” account, which is a backup account for his other “Whit Wooderson” profile, Paul posted this picture from his front porch. The picture was determined to be taken from the porch of 1205 Morris Street, the house Paul Preston owns. The black fence in the photo is the northern edge of Near Northside High School.
A cached photo from Paul’s old twitter account, featuring a young version of him with a face that matches his current appearance.
Also from his Woody White account, Paul posted here about telling his dad he went to an Andrew Yang presidential campaign event. Though he obviously cropped out his and Ariel’s faces, you can see them wearing the same clothes in other peoples photos of the Yang event (in the photo to the right).
Joffre Cross, Ariel Gherman, and Paul Preston can be seen more clearly from another angle.
Realtors,White Supremacy, and Gentrification
Paul and Ariel live in a house Paul owns in the Near Northside, a historically Latino and Black neighborhood in central Houston, just north of downtown. It was the site of the 1978 protests and rebellion following the police murder of Jose Campos Torres.It’s also a neighborhood which, like much of inner loop Houston, has been struggling with gentrification and displacement, especially since the construction of the Red Line MetroRail in 2013. Additionally, the Near Northside has been the base of Paul’s real estate business activities.
Paul currently holds a real estate license sponsored by Applied Real Estate Technologies, LLC, which does business as ListingSpark. It’s unclear whether Paul is an employee of ListingSpark or just an independent contractor. In either case, Texas law makes ListingSpark legally accountable for all the actions of the agents it sponsors. Sponsoring the license of an open Neo-Nazi like Paul or any of his associates therefore creates a huge liability for ListingSpark or any other sponsoring brokerage.
The Fair Housing Statement by ListingSpark states that they “fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act … which generally prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, [and] religion,” and that they “are committed to, creating and fostering an environment of diversity throughout their … organization and franchise system.” Additionally, Section 531.19 of the Rules of the Texas Real Estate Commission prohibits real estate license holders from indicating “any preference, limitation, or discrimination” based on race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry, among other characteristics. Article 10 of the Texas REALTORS® Code of Ethics (of which Paul is a member) contains a number of anti-discrimination provisions as well. But how can they expect an openly white supremacist Neo-Nazi to abide by these Fair Housing and non-discrimination laws?
Before his current gig with ListingSpark, Paul was the co-owner of Bayou City Properties, LLC, together with Daniel Nelan Starr. During that time both Paul and Daniel had real estate licenses sponsored by Granite Point Realty. The registered address of Bayou City Properties was 1205 Morris Street, the very house that Paul purchased in 2018 and for which he used Daniel as the real estate agent.
Dan Starr clearly had a close relationship with Paul and is still Facebook friends with Paul’s openly fascist account “Woody White,” and he “likes” or interacts with some of Paul’s Nazi posts. Dan Starr’s wife, Olivia, is also Facebook friends with Ariel Gherman. Dan Starr still owns and lists a number of other properties in the Near Northside as well, but appears to currently work for an Austin-based real estate company called Jovio.
Dan Starr’s facebook profile, where you can see he has friended “Woody White”
Below, we can see Paul Preston’s realty friend Dan Starr jokingly post “WE STAND WITH ISRAEL” in the comments of one of Paul’s posts complaining about Donald Trump supporting Israel.
The presence of an openly white supremacist real estate agent on the Near Northside, along with his other realty connections, is an enormous threat to all the non-white people still trying to hang on in this neighborhood. Like all U.S. cities, Houston has a long history of racial discrimination, segregation, and white supremacy in the real estate and housing industries, from redlining neighborhoods for disinvestment; blockbusting and white flight; discrimination in lending; and many other practices–both overt and subtle–used to arrange urban space to reflect and reinforce the larger racial hierarchies in society. The recent efforts at gentrifying the Near Northside follow this legacy closely.
As Atlanta Antifascists noted in their 2017 expose of a white nationalist lawyer and real estate developer, “Involvement in property development and gentrification has several obvious appeals to white nationalists. First, insofar as it builds white enclaves at the expense of communities of color, this parallels the larger-scale political goals of white nationalism. Second, it generates funds and material resources that may be put at the disposal of the racist movement. Third, being perceived as a successful businessperson can itself generate political capital and greater opportunities to spread one’s message.”
To be clear, the serious problems of racist development strategies and gentrification, housing and lending discrimination, and the displacement and subjugation of communities of color is so much bigger than a handful of avowed Neo-Nazis in the real estate business–just like a handful of Neo-Nazis in law enforcement or the military are not the cause of the white supremacist and colonial/imperial function of policing and the military. The attraction of white nationalists and Neo-Nazis merely illuminates the white supremacist structure and function already existing in these institutions. The structural white supremacy that exists in these industries and institutions creates attractive work opportunities for overt white nationalists, lends them an appearance of legitimacy while they enact their white nationalist agenda, and provides fertile ground for recruiting people steeped in the same culture.
#YangGang
On March 10th,2019, Paul and Ariel, along with fellow Nazis William Fears and Joffre Cross (both currently under indictment for being felons in possession of firearms), attended a Houston campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Paul later bragged on social media about getting memes signed by Yang and sent a picture he had taken with Yang to his dad. At first glance, white nationalists supporting an Asian-American Democratic party candidate is entirely incomprehensible, but there are several forces at play in this. First is the alt-right’s disillusionment with Trump, partly because of his lack of follow through with the border wall and his support for Israel. Organizing support for an opposition candidate is partly a way to punish Trump for these betrayals, an attempt to prove that he and other Republicans need the alt-right to win.
William Fears and Andrew Yang
Ariel Gherman and Andrew Yang
Yang Gang memes that Paul Preston had Andrew Yang sign.
The comments from Paul’s signed yang memes post, where he shows his and ariel’s clothes.
Paul Preston, Ariel Gherman, and Will Fears can be seen at the Yang event.
Joffre Cross, Ariel Gherman, and Paul Preston can be seen more clearly from another angle.
Having given up on Trump, and presidential candidates in general in some cases, many people on the Alt-Right are “ironically supporting Yang” because they say they just want the free $1000 per month (from his platform focused on a universal basic income) to fund their attempts at activism. The funny Yang Gang slogan, ripe opportunities at endless Yang memes, the fashwave aesthetic of Yang’s hats, and the irony of white supremacists appearing to back an Asian candidate are all factors that have combined into a large support base for Andrew Yang by the Alt-Right.
For his part, Yang has denounced the Alt-Right support, but has hardly done anything to make his campaign inhospitable to them. And signing his name on print outs of Pepe memes seems, at the most generous, extremely naive for someone who wants to run for president, and at worst looks a lot like when Trump feigned ignorance about David Duke and his endorsement of Trump. Additionally, the Alt-Right YangGang phenomenon creates opportunities for the muddying political lines and dangerous left-right cross-overs. Traditionally left-wing positions like a universal basic income can easily be co-opted by fascistic movements, especially when they exist in isolation of a larger political analysis of capitalism, the state, and fascism.
But Charlottesville Was A Long Time Ago And I Thought The Alt-Right Was Dead?
After Charlottesville and the other big fascist rallies of 2017, much of the Alt-Right retreated from grandiose public displays–a reflection of their declining power and legitimacy and also a strategic attempt to regroup.They have made some strides in bolstering their tactics, messaging, and security, such as switching to moreunannounced flash-mob style actions, flyering campaigns, and organization building. Our tactics have to evolve as well.
Unfortunately, the lack of a visible fascist spectacle has lulled some on the left into a sense of complacency on a false assumption that what can’t be seen either doesn’t exist or isn’t a serious threat.
Also much of the left has simply been re-captivated with the spectacles of a new election cycles and official investigations of the president. While Donald Trump’s candidacy and election lent momentum and legitimacy to the Alt-Right and white nationalist politics more generally, an electoral defeat of Trump cannot, by itself, defeat an autonomous fascist movement that no longer believes in him. Radical, creative, and expansive anti-fascist movements are more important than ever.
When it comes to fascists, we don’t forget and we don’t forgive. Stay vigilant and stay anti-fascist!
Photographer Brendon West has been exposed by Central Texas ARA as a highly active member of Alt-Right circles who has been working to compile and publish doxx about various leftists, both locally around Central Texas and Nationally. (link above)
“Brendon West (aliases include Vlka Fenrika, Fenrika Foxtrot, and Foxtrot DEVGRU) is an alt-right activist and leader of “Anticommunist Action” (ANTICOM). He has photographed and attempted to dox NLG volunteers and others in Central Texas. West led the effort to dox Spenser Rapone, a West Point student expelled from the Army for anti-imperialist statements.”
Updates
The Professional associates of Brendon West (alias Fenrika Foxtrot, Vlka Fenrika, etc.) have attempted to cast doubt on the ItsGoingDown article documenting Brendon’s fascistic behavior. Jacob Stone of Phantom6Productions went so far as to call the article “fake”.
Jacob Stone did not make clear what particular piece of information he considered false, but we willconclusively demonstrate here that:
1.) Fenrika Foxtrot is Brendon West
2.) Brendon West has been involved in the doxing of legal aid volunteers, anti-confederate protestors, and others.
3.) Brendon West has disseminated fascist material including podcasts from FashTheNation and The Daily Shoah, articles from The Daily Stormer, and more.
Our fight is not with Brendon’s professional contacts. We are not accusing Phantom6Productions or Jacob of any racist activity. All they are asked to do is make clear they will cease association with Brendon. If they insist instead on lying, defending Brendon, and forcefully denying reality we will be unable to help them.
1.) Fenrika Foxtrot is Brendon West
This is undeniable. Brendon West has been tagged and named numerous times as Fenrika Foxtrot, as shown below. Brendon is pictured wearing a campaign t-shirt for the alt-right candidate Paul Nehlen. Here and in numerous other instances Brendon is tagged by Fairy Godmother Ninja productions as Fenrika Foxtrot.
Brendon West is also listed as the owner of Libertus7 productions on LinkedIn and elsewhere. Here is Fenrika Foxtrot taking credit for Libertus7 videos, further proving that Fenrika Foxtrot is Brendon West.
2.) Brendon West doxxing people
“Vlka”, one of Brendon’s aliases screenshotted earlier (Vlka Fenrika III), is referred to in the “Front and Center” Patriot Front Discord server here.
Below, Brendon brags on multiple occasions about doxing Spenser Rapone, and posts photos of National Lawyer’s Guild members:
3.) Brendon West sharing fascist material and associating with Nazis
Below, Brendon shares a FashTheNation podcast featuring antisemitic candidate Paul Nehlen:
Below, Brendon shares an image (perhaps of his own creation) celebrating “Unite The Right”, the rally in Charlottesville that lead to injury and death just two days before his posting.
Below, Brendon (with Camera) attends a political rally alongside Neo-Nazi Ken Reed (Red Hat):
Below, Brendon shares an article from the DailyStormer, a site so racist multiple companies have refused to host it:
It is undeniable that Brendon West is an active fascist.
With all that said, why defend him? His friends know this. His professional contacts know this. Some, who have chosen to defend him, apparently find children getting tear gassed at the border to be funny, and consider him to be the “ultimate internet troll.”
We are here to remind Brendon and all who would foolishly defend him that we don’t consider Nazis very funny at all. His professional contacts are not, for now, our primary concern. We do not have reason to believe that Stone himself is involved in any political activity or overt racism and we do not consider him a fascist. But attempting to deceive the public, and calling the truth a lie, in the defense of a Fascist can change their situation as rapidly as they wish.
All statements made in the original article are factual, none of it is false, and there is no denying the truth of these claims.
If Brendon cared about his friends, he would simply own up to his errors publicly and make a real correction to his behavior instead of making colleagues tell embarrassing, disgraceful lies that help no one.
For now, do your part to alert the following sites to Brendon’s far-right proclivities:
Please contact these studios on Facebook and ask them to publicly explain their (current or prior) association with Brendon and to clarify that it will not continue:
