UPDATE: The Olympian is now reporting that the police are still looking for the suspect and that it may have been a low caliber gun that was used.
Please note that cooperating with police can often end up being used against antifascists or other anti-authoritarians in these situations.
The police will not help keep us safe.
Here is what we know: Inauguration night, someone drove down
4th Ave in downtown Olympia in a white Toyota Tacoma yelling “Hail
Trump” and fired a low caliber gun or a high powered pellet gun through the windows of at least two
local businesses, one of which had people inside. Remarkably, no one seems
to have been hurt; high-power pellet guns can and have killed people. The Olympia newspaper has not covered
this. The Olympia Police Twitter account, which regularly reports on crimes as
trivial as graffiti, has been largely silent.
Photo of the windows of Our Table after they were shot out
This concerns us greatly. We refuse to let this indiscriminate fascist
attack go without comment or response. The police and the press
would like to let this new normal, in which armed Nazi attacks are
commonplace, settle in quietly. Over the last few years we have seen a
substantial increase of fascist and far-right activity in Olympia. Now
emboldened by Trump, fascists have escalated even further. We must not
back down now. It is outrageous that fascist shootings in Olympia and
Seattle go unreported, while minor anti-fascist scuffles get described by
the media as violent and irresponsible. The media and
the police, following Trump’s lead, are trying to normalize right-wing
vigilante violence. We cannot let that happen.
In the past, people in Olympia have organized anti-fascist
patrols and coordinated safe rides to help people get out of dangerous
situations downtown. In order to keep each other safe, we should consider
acquiring the skills and supplies needed to stabilize and treat gunshot
and knife wounds. There are actual fascists, literally trying to hurt or even kill
us, from Minneapolis to Sacramento, from Olympia and Seattle–and an uptick
in racially-motivated violent attacks on people of color. Providing for these
exigencies will only become more vital and important as the alt-right
grows under Trump’s encouragement. It is clear that the state will not
protect us from fascists; all we have is each other.
We must unrelentingly confront fascism and fascists. We must also
not fall into the logic of symmetrical warfare, nor let determination
and militancy be replaced by specialized violence and minoritarian
practice. Rather than exchanging blows with fascists tit for tat, we seek to
build anti-fascist power in our streets, neighborhoods, and
communities.
UPDATE: The Olympian is now reporting that the police are still looking for the suspect and that it may have been a low caliber gun that was used.
Please note that cooperating with police can often end up being used against antifascists or other anti-authoritarians in these situations.
The police will not help keep us safe.
Here is what we know: Inauguration night, someone drove down
4th Ave in downtown Olympia in a white Toyota Tacoma yelling “Hail
Trump” and fired a low caliber gun or a high powered pellet gun through the windows of at least two
local businesses, one of which had people inside. Remarkably, no one seems
to have been hurt; high-power pellet guns can and have killed people. The Olympia newspaper has not covered
this. The Olympia Police Twitter account, which regularly reports on crimes as
trivial as graffiti, has been largely silent.
Photo of the windows of Our Table after they were shot out
This concerns us greatly. We refuse to let this indiscriminate fascist
attack go without comment or response. The police and the press
would like to let this new normal, in which armed Nazi attacks are
commonplace, settle in quietly. Over the last few years we have seen a
substantial increase of fascist and far-right activity in Olympia. Now
emboldened by Trump, fascists have escalated even further. We must not
back down now. It is outrageous that fascist shootings in Olympia and
Seattle go unreported, while minor anti-fascist scuffles get described by
the media as violent and irresponsible. The media and
the police, following Trump’s lead, are trying to normalize right-wing
vigilante violence. We cannot let that happen.
In the past, people in Olympia have organized anti-fascist
patrols and coordinated safe rides to help people get out of dangerous
situations downtown. In order to keep each other safe, we should consider
acquiring the skills and supplies needed to stabilize and treat gunshot
and knife wounds. There are actual fascists, literally trying to hurt or even kill
us, from Minneapolis to Sacramento, from Olympia and Seattle–and an uptick
in racially-motivated violent attacks on people of color. Providing for these
exigencies will only become more vital and important as the alt-right
grows under Trump’s encouragement. It is clear that the state will not
protect us from fascists; all we have is each other.
We must unrelentingly confront fascism and fascists. We must also
not fall into the logic of symmetrical warfare, nor let determination
and militancy be replaced by specialized violence and minoritarian
practice. Rather than exchanging blows with fascists tit for tat, we seek to
build anti-fascist power in our streets, neighborhoods, and
communities.