MIAC Report: Anarchist Movement

8/14/2019 MIAC Report: Anarchist Movement

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Matl BluhtGovemot Mark S. James James F. Keaihley Van GodseyDircctot, DPS ColoheL MSHP Ditectot, MIAC

This Strategic Beporl analyzes the Anarchisl lMovement and relaled Anarchlst activitjes. The majority oi this in-iormation i;open source a;d can be localed in many anarchy related websites. RECIPIENTS AFE REMINDEDTH'S DOCUI\TiENT IS A STRATEGJC BEPORTJ THE INFOBMATION THEFEIN SHOULD NOT SERVE AS THEBASIS FOF FUFTHEF INVESTIGATJVE ACTIVITY.HistoryThe first known usage 01 ihe word Anarchy appears in the play "seven Against Thebes" by Aeschylus daled al467 BC. The heroi;e, Antigone openly retuses to abide by the rulers'decree to leave her brother Polyneices'bodyunburied,aspunishme;tiorhispafiicipaiioninlheatlackonThebes. lnthiscontext,anarchyisreterencedas a retusal to abide by qovernment decree.According to Harold Barclay (a prolessor in anthropology and notable writer in anarchisl theory), long beiore an_archjsm ;merged as a distinct perspective, hUman beings lived for thousands ol years in societies withoUt gov_ernment. ltw;sonlyaitertheriseofhierarchicalsocietieslhalanarchislideaswereformulatedasacrjticalresponse to and relecljon of coercive poJilica inslilutions and hierarchica sociai relationshipsThomas Jefierson spoke oJ his respect for a soclety with no government. "The basis of our governments beingthe opinion of lhe people, the very ffst object should be to keep that right; and were il lelt to me to decide whetherwe should have a governmenl without newspapers or newspapers wjthoul a government, I should nol hesitate amomenl to preier tihe latter. Blt I should mean thal every man shoulcJ receive those papers and be capable o{readjng them. I am convinced thal those societies (as the lndians), which live withoul government' enjoy in theirgeneraj mass an jnfinilely grealer degree ol happiness than those who live under the European governments'Anarchists played a role jn many ol the labor movemenls, uprisings, and revolutions o'f the late 191h and eariy2othcenturies;includingtheRussianBevolution(1917) lntheUnitedStates,manynewimmigranlswereanar-chists; an especially noLble group was the large number ot Jewish immlgrants who had left Bussia and EasterriurcpeOuringtnetatelgtha;dearly20thcenruries ThesegroupsweredisruptedbylheRedScareoll919 Aoeriod in which there existed stionq anii-communjst teelings in the US

I1'ItrACSTRATEG]C REFORT11-2A-2AAAAnarch!st lMovennent

On 16 September 1 920 al aboul noon time, if New York City New York, alimed improvised explosive device (lED) exploded in the back ol a horsedrawn wagon al the corner ot Wall Slieet and Broad Slreet in iront ol theJ.P. Morgar building and Assay Oflice, killing between 38 and 40 civilians,iniurinq between 300 and 400 others, and causing exlensive damage toseveral nearby vehicles and buiJdings. The American Anarchisl Fightersclaimed responsibility, bul no arrests were ever made.A surge oi popular interest in anarchism occuffed during the 1960s and -1970s: lntheUKthiswasassocialedw1hthepunkrockmovement;thebandcrassiscelebratedlorlisanarchistunO-pu"it"l ideas; ol note is atso the Sex Pisiols hit "Anarchy in the UK' ln Denmark, the Freetown Christiania"ui !t"ut"O t ao""to*n Copenhagen. The housing and employmenl crlsis in mosl oJ Westerf Europe led lo theformation ol communes and squatter movemenls like the one still thriving in Barcelona' SPain'

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Anarchist ldeologyThere are many dillerenl ideoloqies that an anarchist may iollow. Althouglr lhere may be a number of difierences,they al coriain the same central beJief. Anarchism is lhe idea that government (lhe siate) is unnecessary andharmful. Anarchy is society withoul governmenl. Anarchists are people who desie io live n a sociely wiiho!1rllers as their anceslors once did. The main beJiej is thalthe communiiy in whichthey live be dependanl onlyupon itseli. PeopJe who believe in governmenl (such as liberals, conservatives, socialists and fascisls) are knownas "slatis1s". Anarchism opposes alllorms oi hierarchical control.The lerms "anarchism" and'anarchy' are oilen contused in their meaning When mosl people think Anarchisl,they think ol the chaolic [4olotov cocktail throwing teenager (whi6h grew ou1 oi the Anarcho-Punk persona) orALF/ELF members (Anima Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Fronl _ Eco-Anarchism, Green Anarchish, orAnarcho-Primitivism ideologies). Allhough there are a Jew direct aclion radical sub groups nol all belleve in vio_lence.Anarcha-Mascu I in ismAretE-MmllnisN sel oi socialphilosophies thal locus on ihe rights and erperiences of men. [lasculin_ism is sometimes conlused with palriarchy (slructuring ol society on the basis ol lamily units where iathers haveprimary responsjbjlily lor the weliare ol, hence althority over, their lamilies) while its main goal is to complimenlmale t;minism and to provide a way to show lnequaljties presenl ir today's system Some of their campaigns in-cJude: draft resislance (in the majority oi countries males are draited instead ol jemales), breaking the tabooaround male adull virginity, acceptance of sensilivity of males (in many cultures il is assumed that "men don'lcry"), and more equally shared parenlal resporlsibilily wilh children i.e. paternal ieave.

irom other syndjcales, making ii in lheir besl interesl to share. Anarcho-Communism also advocates the ab0lilronoi work in thi sense ol waoJslavery, and recommends worker seli'managemenl to improve working condjtions,ifcreaseefliciency,andmakeworkingenjoyable. Symbolisared(communist)andblack(anarchist)flag

Anarcho-syndicalism is the Anarchisl wing of the labor union movement ltsprimary aim is the end ol the wage system. Their basic princjpals are work-ers solidarity, direcl aclion, and sellmanagement. Anarcho-syndicalisls be-iieve thai only drrecl action-tha1 is, action concentrated on direcliy atlaining agoal, as opposed to indirecl action, like elecling a represenlalive 10 a govrn-;enl-will allow workers to liberate themselves The lnduslrial Workers oi theWorld, a once-powerful, stii aclive, and again growing laboMion, is consid_ered a leadino pan ol the anarcho'syndicalisl philosophy in the Unjted Stales

Radical ieminlsm supports the beliei thal patriarchy is a lundamenlal problemin our society. Feminisl Anarchism, or Anarcha-Feminjsm a lerm creaiedduring second-wave leminism, views pairlarchy as the firsl manifestaiion ol hierarchy in human history; thus, the 'first lorm of oppression occured in thedominance of male over female. Anarchisl ieminjsm appears in individualistand collectivisi forms, with individualisl forms having mosl adherents in theUnited Slates, while in Europe anarchisl feminism has had more emphasis oncollectivism Symbol is a plnk (feminism) and biack (anarchist) llag

Anarcho-Communism, or Liberlarian Communism, is a politica ideologyrelated lo Libenarian socialism. Anarcho-communlsm stresses the abolition olmoney and the introd!ctior oi the gifl economy (an economic syslem in whichgoods or services are given, rather than tladed) to lacilitale the exchange ofgoods.in Anarcho-Communism, proiil no longer exists. Goods are given away as giitsin the faith thal others will also oive producls back (in an industrial setting, thiswould occur belween worker syndicates as weil as belween individuals). llone syndicaie does nol share their products, they will not receive resouTces

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Anarcho-Communism


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An a rc h o-Prim itivism Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchisl cntique ol lhe origins and progress ofcivilizalion. Primilivists argue thal the shifl irom hunletrgatherer 10 agricul'luTal s!bsistence gave rlse io social stratification coercion, and alienation.They advocate a return to non "civiljzed" ways of llle.through deindusrializa-t on, abolii on ol division ot labor or specialization, and abandonment ol tech_nology. There are however, numerous other non anarchisl Jorms ol primiliv-ism, and not all Primitivisls poinl to the same phenomenon as the source ofmodern, clviiized problems. Anarcho-Primilivists are often djstjng!ished bytheir focus on the process of achieving an unlamed staie through 'rewllding .Bewllding is aboul 'overcoming" human domestication and relurnjng io lheinnale wildness. Though ollen assocjated with primitive skiJls and learning knowledge aboul wild plants and animals il emphasizes primal llving as a holistic realily Fewilding is mosl associated wjlh Green Anarchy and anarcho-prlmitivjsm. Symbol is a llghler green over black liag.

Green Anarchism puls an emphasis on envilonmentalissues. Some green.anarchists can be described asAnarcho'Primilivisls and sometimes Anli-CivilizationAnarchists, lhough nol all Green Anarchists are Primitiv-istslvlany Green Anarchisls choose lo iocus nol on philoso-phical issues Jor a Juture society, but on lhedefense ol the eadh and social revolution inthe preserl. Besisting systems in the pre-senl, and creating alternaiive, suslainabJe ways ol living are often deemed morermpodanl than f rivolous protesiing-

l\lost Green Anarchlsts hold their jdeals passionaleiy and some engage ln direclaclion. Organizing themselves through grolps like Eafth Firstl, Rool Force, oImore draslically, the Earlh Liberation Fronl (ELF), Earlh Liberation Army (ELA)and Animal Liberation Front (ALF). They may take direct aclion agalnst what they see as systems oi oppression,such as the iogging industry, the meat and dairy industries, animal testing iaboratories, genetic engineering facili-ties and, more rarely, governmenl institulions-Such actions are normally though not always, non-violenl. Though nol necessarily Green anarchisls, activistshave used the names Anjmal Bights Militia, Justice Departmenl and Revolutionary Cells among others, to claimresponsibility ior openly violenl attacks. Symbol is a darker green over black flagEco"AnarchismEco Anarchism combines oider lfends ol primitivism, bioregiona democracy, ieminism (as eco-feminism)' paci_Jism, secession, and intentiona community. 11 is lhe dedlcation 1o these ideals thal distingulsh jt from the moregenera Green anarchism, whjch sees a conttnuing role for global institulions and global definitions oi fairness andsafety. lngeneral,eco-anarchistsreieclthecommonnotionolhumanityasawholeandhumandignityjnpartic!'lar. Whal difierentiates the eco-anarchisl irom the primilivisl is this tocus on the village and its social capital, asopposed to lechnology and iis acceptance or rejectlon. Eco-Anarchism ls largely a North AmeTjcan movement.Christian Anarchism

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Green Anarchism


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Associated ConceptsAnarcho.PunkAnarcho-punk is a iaclion oi lhe pLnk subc!llure that consrsts of bands, groups and individ!als promoiing anafchist politics Although nol all plnks suppon anarchism, lhe ideology has played a signiiicanl role in the punksubcult!re, and punk has had a significanl inlluence on the expression ol contemporary anarchism.

Anarcho-Punk involves the cooperation of various forms ol anarchism. Some Analcho-Punl(s are Anarcha_Feminists, while others are Anarcho-Syndicalrsts. The Anarcho-Punk band "Psalters has an aitiliation wiih Chris'tian Anarchism. Crimethlnc. (a decentralized Anarchisl collective composed oi aulonomous cells who also pub'ljshanumberofmagazines/books)isstronglyconnecledtoiheAnarcho-P!nkmovemenl. lManyAnarchoPunksare supponers ol issues such as animal righls, racial equaliiy, anli-heterosexism, ieminism, environmentalism,worker's autonomy, the antr-war movemenl, and the anti-globalization movemenl.Some anarcho-punks are "strajghl edge", clalming lhat alcohol, lobacco, drugs and plomiscuity are instruments oloppression and are selldeslructive because they cloud the mind and wear down a person's resjstance to olhertypesoioppression. Somecrusipunksalsocondemnthewasteofland,waterandlesourcesnecessarytogrowcrops io make alcohol, tobacco and drugs, Jorleiting the potentral io grow and manuiacture iood. Some may bestraight edge for rellgious reasons, such as in the case of Chrislian, l\,4uslim, Buddhist, or Hare Krishna anarcho-punks.Anarcho-punks !niversally believe in direct action, although the way in which lhis manilests ilseli varies greatly.Despitetheir dilierences in strategy, anarcho punks oJlen co-operate with each other. Many anarcho-punks arepacilisls and therefore believe in using non-violenl means o'f achieving their alms. These include peacelul pro-test, retusal to work, squatting, economic sabotage, dumpster diving, grafliti, culture jamming, ecolage, lreegan'ism, boycotting, civ, dlsobedience, hacktivism and subvertising. Some anarcho-punks believe that vjolence orproperly damage is an acceptable way oi achieving social change. This maniiesls itseli as rioling, vandalism,wire cutting, assauli, h!nl sabotage, padicipation in Anima Liberation Fronl- or Eadh Liberation Fronl-style aciivities, and in extreme cases, bomb ngs. ftrany anarchists dispute the applicability oi the lerm "violence" to describedestuctron of property.Anti-Racisl ActionANTI-RACNgT Anti-Racist Action Network (ARA) is a decenlralized network oi ant {ascist and

Anti-Racisl Activisls. ARA activists organize actjons to disrupt neo'nazi andwhite supremacisl groups and help 10 organize resistance mainly 10 lascisl andracisl ideologies. ARA groups also oppose sexjsm, homophobia, heterosexism,anli-semilism, and anli-aboftion activisls. They are somelimes seen lo be "Bed"or Communisl, partic!iarly by delractors, howeverl lhe network incl!des a largenumber ol anarchists.ARA slarlecl in lMinneapolis, Minnesota in 1 987. Since then il has expanded to

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ACTI C}A| ;;;;;;;t'rnities, counlrles and conlinents. Members or Love and Base, arevolulionary anarchist orqanizalion played a major role jn buildlng ABA groups and the ABA Neiwork in the1990s. They are somelimes associated with the Skinhead and Punk subcultures and work wilh organizaiionssuclr as Skinheads Againsl Racial Prejudjce (SHABP).


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Black Bloc

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A black bloc is an aflinity group oi individuals thatcome logether during some sorl oi protest, demon_statlon, or evenl invoivrng class struggle, anli-capitalism, or anti'qlobalizalion, and wear all black(we saw a nlmber of them in both the RNC andDNC 2008 prolesls recenlly). Black clolhing andmasks are used lo make the bloc appear to be onelarge mass, promote solidarity, creaie a clear revol!ruW tionary presence {usually associated wrth anarchism,sometimes also wilh communism), and also to avoid being idenlified by authoritjes.There is a mislaken beliel, especially among the mainslream news media, tlral the"Black Bloc' is an international orqanization ol some kind, when in lacl i1 is nothrngmore than a tactic used by a subset oi demonslrators. There may be several black blocs wilhin a particular pro-test, with diilerent aims and tactics As an ad hoc group, they share no universally common sel of principals orbelieJs; however, black blocs that have lormed in the pasl have been made up largely of anarchists, bll can incl!de many other anti-capitalisl qroups. Like all affinily groups, they are based on common lrust between thosernvolved, and usually share a common goal such as blocking deiegales tom entering a lrade meeting, and a mu't!al understanding oi shared lactjcs.CopwalchCopwatch is a nelwork of Unrled Slates volunieer organizations that 'pollcethe poljce". Copwatch groups usually engage in monitoring ot the pojice,videotaping police activity, edlcating the public about police misconduct, andadvocaling for more accounlabJe law eniorcement practices.The main {unclion oi most Copwatch grolps is monjloring police activity."Copwatchers" go out on fool or driving patols in their communilies andvideotape inleractions between the police and civilians. Some groups aiso

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patrol at protests and demonshalions to ensure thal the rights oi protesiers are nol violaled by police officers.Copwatch organizations generally abide by a policy of non-inierventions with the police, although this may not belrue tor all groups. The anarchist ran lntoshop News published the new "Copwalch '101' booklet tound al the tol-lowjng address http://news.infoshon.ClosingThe MIAC is aware oi a number of anarchist nelworks within Missouri. With thetr past clashes with the white su-premacisl movements tn our area, we believed il to be importanl ior all Law Eniorcemenl oJJicers 10 be aware ofthe many ideologies and spjinter groups that are presenl wjthin the anarchist movemenl.

Although it is imporlanl to know the icleologies and moiives ior lhese groups, it is essenlial to realize thal mostanarchists operate either as lone wolves, in small cells (3-4 members), or can, at times, rally as anonymousmobs. ldentificalionandintefiogationscanbediffcultbecausemost,iinolall,memberswhoparticipateirdirectaclion are we/l aware oi their rights and are inlormed nol to speak io oflicers when quesiionedIMIAC always welcomes commenls on these inlelligence products, and encourages all Law Entorcemenl agenciesto submil sugoestions for future IMIAC strategic inlelligence Suggeslions and/or comments may be sent to

MEsswwm6 Emffwmmm@&E@m ffimmWsEs @@mft@rDivision ol Drug & CIime Contol, P. O Box 568, Jeilerson Ciiy MO 651 02_0568Phohe: 573-751-6422 Toil Frce: 866-362-6422 Fax: 573-751-9950

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MIAC Report: Anarchist Movement