reposted from Pacific Northwest Antifascist Worker’s Collective

Anti-fascist activists from Rose City Antifa, Pacific Northwest Anti-Fascist Workers Collective, and Eugene Antifa have been able to get access to the logs of a Discord server used by a variety of Pacific Northwest fascists and white supremacists, under the tongue-in-cheek name, the “Cascadian Coffee Company” (CCC).  Discord is a chat app originally developed for online gaming, but often used by the far-right and white supremacist groups to organize their groups and events. These logs contain thousands of messages detailing activities, organizing, and interactions of one particular group in the region.
In an ongoing series of articles, the coordinating anti-fascist groups will publish revealing information about this particular set of Nazis organizing throughout the Pacific Northwest region, from Ashland to Seattle. You can follow all of these stories by visiting our website at pnwawc.com, or following us on Twitter: @pnwawc , and using the hashtag #PNWfascistlogs and #CCC.

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A Quick Refresher on American Front

On September 1^st, 2017 the Pacific Northwest Anti-fascist Workers Collective and Eugene Antifa wrote a collaborative in-depth look at Jake Laskey’s American Front (AF), a neo-Nazi group operating in the Pacific Northwest, their membership, and their allies. Since reviewing the “Cascadian Coffee Company” Discord chat log leaks, which were recently made available , another layer to the American Front network was discovered, known as the “American Patriots Brigade” (APB). The American Patriots Brigade operates within the American Front network as a recruitment arm for the core of American Front, where new members are vetted and prove their commitment prior to full entry into AF.  Before we dive into the APB we would like to refresh the reader on the current known structure of the American Front network:

1. American Front – The core group of Vetted American Front neo-Nazi members.
2. Greystorm Productions LLC – A Facebook-based business page that sells clothing, Nazi paraphernalia and books in order to raise money to fund the core AF group.
3. American Patriot Brigade – A recruiting and vetting arm for new membership to the core American Front group.

As detailed in our September 1^st, 2017 article, American Front was resurrected in the NW by white-supremacist Jake Laskey upon his release from prison, where he served 11 years for a racist attack on a Eugene, Oregon synagogue. It should be noted that Laskey prolonged his sentence by adding charges for soliciting both the murder of a witness and a bomb threat against the courthouse, where the grand jury prosecuting Jake’s case was located.

Before this federal case, Laskey had a criminal record in Florida and Oregon for violent acts against perceived racial and political opponents. Since his release, he has been warned by his parole officer that he is not to be involved in neo-Nazi organizing in any way, shape or form.

Since his PO’s warning, Jake Laskey has mostly operated out of view, but very often goes on mentally unstable rants on the official YouTube channel for Wolfclan Armory, his family’s armory store .

Jake denies being a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist, or having any involvement in American Front (as many Nazis these days do, especially when it is a condition of parole), however he does occasionally slip up: Recently, while posting a link to his Anchor.fm account on the AF Twitter page, Jake exposed himself as the admin for the American Front Twitter page.

Having already committed acts of domestic terrorism, worked to rebuild the AF network (AF, Greystorm Productions, and APB), and meeting with Militia types with an American Front/Nazi background, such as 1990’s AF member Steve Shallenberger, one can only wonder what AF’s next attempt at building a domestic terror network will be?

For now though, let’s turn to some of American Front’s views…

 

 

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American Front in 2017

In the pictures above we see a few things: First, on October 1^st, 2017, Jake Laskey posts a link on the American Front official Twitter page to his personal Anchor.fm account, which is under both his name and the name of his family’s business, the Wolfclan Armory.  Attached above are 4 pictures from that same Twitter account. The first picture is making reference to “oven services” with a picture of Adolph Hitler. The second is a meme with Dylan Roof, which Jake apparently thought was funny, but is very much in line with what American Front wants: More murder of non-Aryans. The third is a retweet advertising the Hammerskin’s “Hammerfest” in Boise, Idaho, where Nazi “bonehead” skinheads from all over the region gathered on September 30^th 2017 for music (which is a subjective designation) and white-power festivities. The fourth picture depicts marching Nazi soldiers with the caption “The awakening is coming again.” Make no mistake about it: American Front is very much a neo-Nazi organization, and Jake Laskey is very much involved––though he refuses to admit it publicly for obvious reasons.

Recently Jake received a visit from Steve Shallenberger, who was mentioned earlier in this article and earlier reported on by our friends at Rose City Antifa (their article on Steve is linked in his name above). Steve is a long time neo-Nazi whose involvement with American Front goes back to AF’s earlier years during the early 1990’s, during Bob Heick’s reign as the leader of AF in Oregon, and nationally (Heick originally founded American Front in S.F. In 1984 prior to moving to Oregon)

Steve Shalleberger was one of the 5 Nazi “boneheads” arrested in 1992 while trying to smuggle weapons to the Aryan Nations-affiliated white supremacist Randy Weaver during the notorious standoff at Ruby Ridge. Like Jake Laskey, Steve Shallenberger also denies being or having ever been a neo-Nazi, despite a wealth of photos and years of eyewitness reports to the contrary. Steve has been spending his recent years trying to build bridges with far-right movements––particularly with so-called militias–and regularly attends Patriot Prayer events. Most recently he attended the November 25^th 2017 “Its OK to be white” rally, in Vancouver, Washington with other known neo-Nazis such as the convicted sex offender Jarl Rockhill and Raúl Gonzalez, just to name a few. That same group did another “its OK to be white” rally a little over a week prior on November 13th witch also happened to be the 29th anniversary of the death of Mulugeta Seraw, Steve was absent at the first rally on Nov 13th but was present at the second rally on Nov 25th.

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What is Greystorm Productions LLC?

Greystorm Productions LLC is a limited-liability corporation registered in Oregon, which American Front uses as a fundraising channel for selling their own branded AF “supporter” gear and Jake Laskey’s self-published books, which range in subject matter from Holocaust Denial to “Esoteric Hitlerism”…clearly Laskey has a niche.

Greystorms public-facing web presence is mostly via Facebook and Twitter. The Facebook page also serves as a primary entry point for new prospects via American Front’s previously mentioned recruiting arm. the “American Patriots Brigade”.

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Usage of patriotic imagery and terminology is a popular tactic used by many other neo-Nazi groups across the country to help normalize their views. The imagery acts as a gateway to introduce significantly more unsavory neo-Nazi ideology and opinions, and also allows them to fly under radar of anti-fascist groups for a time, by appearing to appropriate more mainstream right-wing causes such as lack of patriotism, border insecurity and the struggle against perceived bias in the media.

In the 80’s and 90’s Nazis like Jake and Steve were openly and belligerently proud of their neo-Nazi beliefs, which they displayed both through public events and street-level harassment and violence. However as they were met with increasing resistance and confrontation (both violent and non-violent), began to lose their jobs after exposure, and were made persona non grata in habitual recruiting venues like punk-rock clubs and youth shelters, these ersatz little-Hitlers began to fade from view.

With the threat of violence and the utter failure of their recruitment attempts in the 80s and 90s, neo-Nazi groups like American Front then turned to the internet, where they began infiltrating right-wing groups with whom they felt they held a certain level of idealogical simpatico. No longer would they openly admit to being neo-Nazis (some still do but very few), instead they reframed their ideology as “patriotic” by cloaking their more extreme views under the guise of upholding the values of “free speech” and “personal liberty”, which most mainstream Americans on either side of the spectrum would have a hard time arguing against.

The members of American Front and American Patriots Brigade are no different from the overall trend described above: Publicly most of them deny that they are Nazis. However in private conversation––both on- and offline––they speak in favor of the same intolerance, lionization of historical Nazi figures, and most disturbingly, the same violence of their 80s and 90s forebears.

To find out more about the American Front and their financial arm, Greystorm Productions LLC, take a look at our original in-depth article from September 1^st .

Now we’d like to direct the reader’s attention to the AF’s recruiting arm, the “American Patriots Brigade”…

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The APB was not very well-known prior to the Discord leaks. However, after reviewing the CCC chat logs, a better picture of the APB has emerged regarding who its members are, and the APB’s  role within the American Front Network…

As mentioned before, the American Patriots Brigade was created by Jake Laskey, and serves as a recruitment entry-point into the American Front,  where newer prospects are vetted and establish their worth in order to eventually join the core group of the American Front. In Jake Laskey’s book the American Patriots Brigade Constitution the group is described as:

“[A] white Ethno-Nationalist organization that is preparing for the inevitable collapse of the United States government and the survival of the Euro folkish heritage and identity for future generations to come.”

He also establishes the groups place in the hierarchy in relation to the core AF group:

“[AFB’s] constitution is the plan, goals, laws, and guidelines of the elite Support Club of American Front that is known as the American Patriots Brigade.” 

 

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Who is American Patriots Brigade?

Now that we have recapped and established Jake Laskey’s various roles within in American Front, Greystrom Productions, and the American Patriots Brigade, let’s briefly review some of the other members of APB, as well as the things that they discuss within the Cascadian Coffee Company Discord chats. While we’re at it, let’s take a look at who some of their Facebook followers are too!

In one particular chat, the user “My Name Is Hate”–a self-described “Esoteric Hitlerist” asks the other users to enlighten him as to what APB, and AF are. The response from “Blackhat 16”, whose real name is Matthew Combs  (and a member of American Patriots Brigade) replies: “American Front” [then further down adds] “and AF Support Club: American Patriots Brigade”

Another user, “Wehrmacht”, which is the Discord handle of  [Justin Marbury], of Medford, OR, confirms this as well; giving a final comment saying explicitly ““if they call u Nazis and u don’t use explicit imagery u make them look crazy”

In the excerpt above from the Discord chat, “Blackhat 16” (Matthew Combs) asks the user “Uberhat” to create a specific group for the APB members that are already present in the CCC Discord chat. At the end, he names the members to be added to the APB group: “Uberhat”, “Blackhat 16” (Matthew Combs), “Wehrmacht” (Justin Marbury”), and Nathan Valdez (of Eugene/Springfield Area).

It should be noted that “Uberhat”, also tried to start a GoFundMe drive to buy the town of Tiller, Oregon…through which he managed to raise a whopping $5. Honestly, we can’t make this stuff up.

As stated before, the APB tries to get their message out without using explicit Nazi imagery or language, but the utopian goal remains the same: A white ethnostate. Like most of the more savvy leaders of the so-called ‘Alt-Right’ know, initially introducing bald-faced Nazism will likely be rejected by even the most sympathetic fellow-traveler–as well as invigorating any anti-fascist opposition–and ultimately publicly expose their true agenda.

Instead, their tactic is to move within far-right groups and public events, and discreetly meet and talk to people that hold similar ideas one-on-one. This personal style, coupled with internet organizing, and flyer campaigns, helps them to gain more members.

However, within the CCC Discord chat-logs there are several instances of infighting regarding the use of explicit Nazi imagery–so much so that an entire group of users who disagreed with this tactic ultimately left the chat over it.

“Blackhat 16″/Matthew Combs mentions in image #1 (above) that he cannot go to Joey Gibson’s 4-29-17 rally on Portland’s SE 82^nd Ave due to an APB meeting and a bachelor party. However “Australopithecus” Jordan (AKA David “deedub” Woods), among other new-Nazis that organize with AF/APB were present at Gibson’s rally on that day.

In image #2 “Wehrmacht”/Justin Marbury asks if anyone is interested in furthering the goals of the American Patriots Brigade, and if so to contact “Blackhat 16″/Matthew Combs. This indicates that “Blackhat 16″/Matthew Combs appears to be the highest-ranking member of APB, and therefore also likely a full member of AF (American Front).

In image #3, we can see just how insecure the members of the group can be: David Woods  (or, the artist formerly known as “Deedub”) freaks out a little upon surmising that the feds are onto him, and that he is associated with American Front/APB; as if it was a huge secret that he is an active neo-Nazi.
Seriously, you can’t make this up–unless, of course, “Deedub” is a Fed HIMSELF.

Just imagine: A failed rapper turned Nazi, turned Fed snitch. With those polar opposite cover-identities, what’s next? Modeling?

 

In the above image, David “Deedub” Woods starts the chat with formulating a “false-flag” campaign in order to sully Antifa through circulating fake Antifa flyers.  Subsequently, Justin Marbury goes a bit further by suggesting also planting an agent provocateur. Then lo and behold!: “Blackhat 16″/Matthew Combs chimes in, suggesting that the crew stop in at the Wolfclan Armory (owned by Jake Laskey and family) to meet up. Justin Marbury asks if Jake will be there and Matthew Combs confirms that, indeed, Jake Laskey will be present at 6:30. Justin Marbury is thrilled at the opportunity as a new APB recruit, at the occasion to finally meet Jake Laskey!

As a side-note: PNWAWC only hopes that Jake was not abusing Lithium at the time of this fortuitous encounter: Jake frequently discusses taking Lithium on his YouTube channel in between his at times incomprehensible harangues, which would seem to indicate that he doesn’t regularly administer himself the proper dose. What makes this even more discomforting is the fact that he regularly handles weapons while going on his YouTube tangents. We are serious when we say we hope Jake was not all whacked out on Lithium, he is most likely clinically insane and when he talks about Lithium on his business YouTube channel it’s pretty bizarre, and that would probably scare an already fragile Justin Marbury. The mental image of deedub rapping in the background while Laskey chews on Justin’s ear in a Dahmer style fit is just kind of unsettling, and wouldn’t be surprising had it happened, lucky for Justin he seems to have survived, unmolested by Jake Laskey.

In another post, Justin Marbury’s ex-fiancée agrees to come to the APB June meet-up, with the hope that “Blackhat 16″/ Matthew Comb’s wife, Bethany Sherman , will help convert Justin’s ex-fiancée to White Ethno-Nationalism,
PNWAWC can’t help but wonder if “appalled” was the proper description when Justin’s ex-fiancée met with the motley crew of white ethno-nationalists.
Regardless of the outcome, PNWAWC has chosen not to name Justin’s ex-fiancée in this article, because when reading the Discord chats, it does not appear that she was ever on board with his Justin’s newfound Nazi beliefs. Like most of Justin’s friends, it seems that she left and took her and Justin’s child with her–presumably due to the whole Nazism issue.

In contrast, as outlined in the recent article by Eugene Antifa, Matthew Comb’s wife, Bethany, is very much involved with APB and AF; and Bethany even appears in the Twitter chats with CCC Discord members for a short while as the user “Mrs. Blackhat”…until they purged her (and all of the women) from the chats.

On April 24^th, 2017, APB members met at Jimmy “Genocide” Marr’s home in Springfield, Oregon to stage a “Holocaust Denial” rally. Jimmy Marr ( of 1321 G Street, Springfield, Oregon 97477), and his wife Judy have a long history as active neo-Nazis, having previously been involved with groups like the Nationalist Socialist Movement (“NSM”). They have even gone so far as visiting Leith, North Dakota during the attempted takeover of the town by Craig Cobb and Kynan Dutton. Jimmy and Judy are also very involved with the American Front and the APB. The anti-Holocaust gathering was largely attended by APB-affiliated neo-Nazis, such as Justin Marbury, David “Deedub” Woods, and Matthew Combs to name a few.

 

 

Final thoughts on APB/AF:

In conclusion, PNWAWC wants to affirm that the neo-Nazi American Patriots Brigade is an integral part of Jake Laskey’s broader vision for a large American Front-affiliated network, in order to bring new members into the American Front fold via “soft” racist and antisemitic propaganda.

American Front has set up a sophisticated network, with a core group, a funding apparatus (through Greystorm Productions LLC), and a recruitment pipeline (through the American Patriots Brigade). Members vetted via the American Patriots Brigade are then groomed to become candidates for the next generation of American Front recruits.

In theory, by the time Jake Laskey is off parole in 2019, his network will be ready to operate at full steam via the APB-to-AF pipeline. Though there doesn’t currently appear to be enough discipline within the APB to create a team of crack storm-troopers ready to operate at Laskey’s beck-and-call, the power of a bunch of angry, violent young men with delusions of the nobility of their to cause havoc and unspeakable violence should never be underestimated.

 

• The American Front core group that was once a force to be reckoned with under Bob Heick, and other leaders prior to Laskey is now largely a group of washed out neo-Nazi individuals that struggle with addiction, employment, and incarceration when they aren’t pulling an Elvis in the crapper. Their leader Jake Laskey appears mentally unstable, while definitely capable of violence and acts of domestic terror as his criminal record proves, it seems he has lost any real mental function, and is more consumed with making bizarre unintelligible you tube videos on his family’s business you tube account, though we will see once he is off parole. PNW AWC Article on: American Front RCA article on: Steve Shalleberger

 

• The American Front funding apparatus while a sound idea on paper for funding doubtfully makes much money for the group selling primarily support shirts, memorial shirts, and patches to the few American Front supporters that exist. The most troubling part of Greystorm productions LLC is the books that it sells, authored by Jake Laskey that promote and push forth a Nazi white ethno-Nationalist ideology and Holocaust denial.

 

• The American Patriots Brigade is bringing in fresh recruits, and that is something we should keep an eye on and not take lightly. In recent articles put out by Rose City Antifa, Eugene Antifa, and the Pacific Northwest Anti-Fascist Workers Collective; based on the info that our three groups worked together to expose from the Cascadian Coffee Company Portion of Discord leaks we were able to quickly identify some of the key membership of APB, additional groups they work with, their tactics, and expose them out of the cowardly shadows they so depend on.

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Addendum:

A new wing of American Front was announced Friday, December 8, 2017, called the “American Nationalist Front” (ANF). ANF is set up as an “open-patch” group (no affiliation needed), which is open to all White Nationalists, III% (three-percenters), US Military and veterans, Alt-Right, Republicans, Nationalist Libertarians..and all those who would fight the “red hordes” (in their terminology, it means anybody who opposes bigotry and violence against minorities).

Later in the document they mention that: “The American-White-Communist-Liberal-Progressive acting in a self serving and Capitalist manner gave the world a new Ni**er”. Then following up with the assertion that the “White Nationalist working class youth is the new whipping boy”.

In this statement American Front reveals its long-standing ideal of taking over the US and installing a third position government, which is basically a euphemism for fascism.

The statement below once again makes it very clear that the American Front seeks to use ultra-nationalism coupled with perverted patriotism, and outdated fear of “Communism” (Again: They mean “mainstream tolerance”) to unite the right, bring otherwise centrist right-wing folks together with the far-right, and build a popular base for the creation of a neo-fascist ethno-state, which is also the same goal of the more prominent neo-Nazi organization, Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP). 

Yes, it does get a little “foil-hat” at the end of that last paragraph, but consider this: The TWP along with the Nationalist Socialist Movement (NSM) have been working tirelessly to create a nationwide neo-Nazi/extreme-Right coalition which also include the Klan and other white power groups like the Nationalist Front.  See a trend here? The ANF, along with AF and APB are just the type of group that the TWP/NSM would like to integrate into the ranks of their nationwide neo-Fascist coalition. History shows us that these extremist political outliers start as a trickle, and can become a tidal wave if left unchecked.