Footage released from that night shows van Spronsen's car ablaze, the flames so big they fill the frame of the surveillance camera. Aaron laughed as he recalled how frustrated he'd get with van Spronsen when the two of them the efficient former union organizer and the free-spirited musician were passing out pamphlets to introduce the club to Seattle's bustling activist community. The family decided to postpone a memorial service. Jim Urquhart for NPR Jay: Yeah. In van Spronsen, the Trump administration sees a terrorist. "And so we went ahead and released him into the water.". "I remember him giving me a hug and telling me to keep up the good work," she said. Her cherished weekend visits with van Spronsen ended, and from around age 6 to her early teens, she had only sporadic contact with her father through letters and visits during summer break. Vasiliy also brought a book that van Spronsen had given him about anarchists in Argentina during the 1920s. " Xicano said. WebDonate to the John Brown Solidarity Fund, to support anti-fascist community defense groups nationwide. Kansas Mutual Aid focused on a variety of organizing initiatives and social programs including free food distributions, support for political prisoners and prisoners of war, Ariel said she has spent the past year trying to come to terms with her father's death and how it has been mythologized by both the right and the left. In the early 2000s, Ariel said, her dad married for the fourth time and had a son. Scenes of black-clad militants at protests have shaped antifa's image in the popular imagination in large part because the bulk of antifascist work is unseen, said Mark Bray, a veteran activist and Rutgers University historian who wrote Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook. WebLast week, a group of about 40 activists used their bodies and cars to block city officials from cleaning the site of a homeless encampment under Interstate 45 in South Dallas. Gun Tips w/ Red & Black . Armed with a semiautomatic rifle, authorities say, van Spronsen crept onto the grounds of a sprawling immigration jail, set his car on fire, tossed Molotov cocktails and died in a hail of police bullets. Willem van Spronsen with his daughter, Ariel. John Brown Gun Club is a Antifa-friendly anarchist militant left wing organization associated with Redneck Revolt. I think I actually used the words "FARC Milsim" and to them that was the greatest idea anyone had ever had. hide caption. They host regular events and The details were fuzzy at first one dead, a fire, the local ICE facility but those who were close to Willem van Spronsen all said the same thing: They just knew. The Dutch-born immigrant, musician and father of two was a lifelong activist and early member of the armed antifascist group in the Seattle area. "That, in many cases, is a last resort when the other methods have failed," Bray said. Whether that's a legitimate cause, van Spronsen's words suggest a premeditated attack in service of a political goal to federal authorities, that makes him a domestic terrorist. In her telling, there is no terrorism: "For me, my friend was killed by the police while trying to destroy buses that were going to be used to round up and deport my neighbors.". For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding. Antifa groups see a martyr. At the site of his death, supporters left signs saying, "Rest in power," and "Arm in arm with John Brown," likening him to the legendary white abolitionist whose violent crusade against slavery ended at the gallows. The interview was her first time speaking publicly about what happened that night. About Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. "If you can create a boogeyman and if you can make it about us vs. them, humans crave that," Ariel said. hide caption. hide caption. In the weeks before van Spronsen's "final action," members said, he cut official ties with the John Brown Gun Club. I've seen them - they are trying to be the SA without realizing who they are actually emulating. What Is Your Favorite 9MM Pistol To Shoot??? It went something like this: Stalinistic "useful idiots." "It's just that those methods are more spectacular, public and newsworthy and generate a lot of the buzz around what antifa is.". In 2019, according to domestic terrorism statistics, far-right extremists killed at least 38 people. "He believed only in home schooling. "I'm not standing by.". "People taking militant action, whatever that militant part means, is what keeps fascism at bay," Aaron said. Ariel said her father saw the conflict as doing irreparable damage to his relationship with his son. They believe he deliberately chose the middle of the night when no one was milling around. The Tacoma Police Department's version goes like this: Before dawn on July 13, 2019, officers responded to a report of a gunman at the Northwest Detention Center. When they are used up, their masters will cast them aside with no thought. Van Spronsen's friends from the gun club insist that, based on his location in a transportation yard across the street from the main detention center, his target wasn't the jail but nearby buses that were to be used to enforce family separations. On a warm day this month, just before the anniversary of van Spronsen's death, Ariel and her dad's second wife, Susan Harrell, kayaked onto Puget Sound. 1. Redneck Revolt and John Brown Gun Club According to Dave Strano, one of the founders of Redneck Revolt, the John Brown Gun Club was founded in the aughts to offer gun training to the radical community and also to distribute free anti-racist literature at gun shows in Kansas and Missouri. She obtained four protective orders against him over the years; she also was awarded full custody. A small "Was it Will?" The family lived in a converted bus on Vashon Island, a hub for artists and activists. Shannon McMinimee, van Spronsen's friend and a fellow gun club member, said examining that night at the detention center is like looking into a kaleidoscope people turn it around until they see what they want. For safety reasons, Xicano asked to be identified only by his club nickname. Antifascists, Bray said, aren't the ones going on hate-fueled rampages. They will ND their comrades right into their graves. Report Back on Community Defense of Story Hour in "I am absolutely antifascist. The Russell, Kansas John Brown Gun Club went live in late June of 2020 and now counts 33 members. Liberal Gun Club. The original club was active between 2002 and 2008, but it has since given rise to spinoff Who wouldn't be antifascist?". That's certainly defensible, and in fact it's a good thing," Jones said. WebRedneck Revolt first launched in 2009 as an offshoot of the John Brown Gun Club. The Socialist Rifle Association's mission is to uphold the right of the working class to keep and bear arms and maintain the skills Ariel said the only thing she recalls as a red flag was her father's growing interest in guns, which she said started around five years ago as a nerdy, gearhead's fascination with the technical side of how firearms work. Am I going to be labeled a terrorist?' They brought along Van Spronsen's ashes, tucked inside a biodegradable flower-shaped container. Recruit No. They are dangerous due to their ignorance, not their competence. I have been ban from the John Brown Gun Club's web page. Being on the water was an escape, Ariel said from the debate over her father's legacy and her own struggle to reconcile his lessons about peace with the violent way his life ended. Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club gather in memory of van Spronsen. We need real formulated responses for the upsurge in reactionary Seattle protesters made national news and enraged the president by carving out a self-proclaimed autonomous zone in front of a vacated police station. "There's no fear for me of, 'Am I going to be labeled antifa? Many antifa groups focus primarily on "doxxing," identifying and exposing far-right extremists in the police, military and other positions of power. The Geo Group, which owns and operates the facility, said in a statement that the surveillance video "shows the seriousness of the threat to our employees and immigrants" at the center. We recommend upgrading your current browser or. Just before the anniversary of van Spronsen's death, Ariel and her dad's second wife, Susan Harrell, kayaked onto Puget Sound. McMinimee said one point is not in dispute: "He went there that night knowing that it would be his last night on earth.". WebChapters of the Socialist Rifle Association. hide caption. The John Brown Gun Club is a leftist gun-rights group originally based in Kansas. The original club was active between 2002 and 2008, but it has since given rise to spinoff groups such as the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club. The original club sought to militarize the white working class and spur it toward a social-justice revolution. The ex-wife involved in the dispute, who asked not to be identified by name for security reasons, said van Spronsen wasn't some peacenik who just snapped one day. "I was a total daddy's girl, madly in love with my dad, and we just had a really close bond," Ariel recalled one recent afternoon, speaking by phone from Seattle. She had assumed he was withdrawing because of problems in his personal life. Join the #1 community for gun owners of the Southwest. Stalin called them "useful idiots". Founder Duke Aaron greets members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club. They brought along Van Spronsen's ashes and released them into the water. Then, on Monday, activists showed up again even though there werent city officials around. A year after van Spronsen's death, NPR interviews with his daughter, Ariel, close friends and extremism researchers offer a closer look at the quixotic man behind the nation's only deadly antifa attack recorded in the past four years. Aaron, who's Jewish, was incensed. Jim Urquhart for NPR ". Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club hold a memorial service for Willem van Spronsen on July 28, 2019, at the site where he was killed by law enforcement outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Tacoma, Washington. Ariel van Spronsen Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club provide security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5. Jones, the terrorism analyst, said antifascist activism is protected until it drifts into vigilante-style justice. Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club provide security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5. hide caption. WebThe California Chapter is one of the largest chapters in the country and includes leadership and instructors in both Northern and Southern California. des professionnels de la langue votre service, Cest la rentre TransProfessionals, rejoignez-nous ds prsent et dbuter les cours de langue anglaise et franaise, + de 3000 traducteurs, + de 100 combinaisons linguistiques,
It is our mission to encourage, organize, and support these efforts throughout Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Nick Vasiliy, a member of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, wears a bullet that belonged to Willem van Spronsen as the group provides security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle in January. A shirt and pins that belonged to van Spronsen. It struck him as another troubling sign of a resurgence of racist, anti-Semitic hate. There are chapters in Puget Sound , "The way he explained it to me was that, in a perfect world, we wouldn't have to have guns, but that there were so many factions out there that were rising up and really starting to do damage that it was the only way to properly defend ourselves," Ariel said. She said she didn't say anything because she didn't see any harm to her brother, who was around 10 at the time, but she remembered thinking that it was "a little much for him to process at his age.". Jim Urquhart for NPR We believe the 2nd Amendment is best defended through grass-roots organization, education, and advocacy centered around individual gun owners. Then you see his target a good 4 yards in front of him. Bray said antifa groups generally turn to the use of force only after they've exhausted less risky avenues of attack. "I don't condone the fact that he was carrying a weapon. Nous sommes une compagnie de traduction spcialise dans la gestion de grands projets multilingues. Nov 22, 22. You can go there and they offer classes. Can you talk about that? hide caption, Ariel says her dad was outraged by immigration policies like family separation; he'd already been arrested at the same ICE facility in 2018 in connection with assaulting an officer. "Now I realize he was distancing the club from the fallout of what he was going to do," she said. Nick Vasiliy, a member of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club (left), teaches a self-defense class as the club provides security for demonstrators in Seattle. A shirt and pins that belonged to van Spronsen. Yes, she said, her father's actions fit the technical definition of domestic terrorism. In a letter this month, two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee asked the CIA and FBI to look into false information campaigns intended to whip up fears about antifa groups. Jim Urquhart for NPR Jim Urquhart for NPR Jim Urquhart for NPR A news outlet mistakenly reported that her name was an alias of her dad's. They did a lot of herbalism for their medicine," Ariel said. "The problem is when you start getting into violence. Van Spronsen had long described himself as an anarchist; "antifascist" came later. I have been ban from the John Brown Gun Club a book that van.. Use of force only after they 've exhausted less risky avenues of attack Brown Gun Club went in! 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