Rebranding Fascism and Refinancing Mortgages: Andrew Murphy Harkins, Portland’s Nazi Banker

reposted from Pacific Northwest Antifascist Worker Collective

Since the announcement of Trump’s candidacy and his eventual ascension to the presidency we have seen a rise in white supremacist/fascist organizing and a level of hate crimes across the nation reminiscent of the 80s and 90s. Still, like a virus, fascism adapts to different conditions and takes on a different face in each new iteration: During the wave of white supremacy in the 80s and 90s, Nazis were much more easily identifiable. Born out of the punk rock scene, they primarily hijacked the style of traditional non-racist (and in many cases, anti-racist) skinhead culture, adopted a militant look, and took to the streets to commit acts of violence against those who they deemed as lesser-than. This then-new breed of violent white-supremacists were simply called “skinheads” in mainstream media, but to traditional anti-racist skinheads and to anti-racist activists they were and continue to be called “boneheads”.
Nowadays, the violent, dimwitted bonehead no longer encapsulates what we think of when we think of a neo-Nazi. Since Trump’s election, a much more subtle type of neo-Nazi has arisen: These days, white supremacist, fascist, and neo-Nazi organizers seek to hide in plain sight, wearing khakis and polo shirts, and speaking in code to project a more ‘polished’ image of their racist agenda, while largely organizing and recruiting online away from the gaze of society, using online platforms such as 4chan and other white supremacist web sites.

Since Trump became president we have seen a growing wave of pro-Trump rallies across the nation acting as a subterfuge for recruitment to these organizations. With Trump’s rhetoric of mass deportations, building a wall, and extreme nationalism, Nazis, fascists, and white supremacists have come out into the light of day, seeking to normalize their hate by shifting the “Overton window”  in and effort to make their ideas socially acceptable. At the same time, they paint the antifascist fight for community self-defense as extreme or violent when in fact these same neo-Nazis are the ones actually committing assault and murder.

This new generation of fascists devote considerable financial resources to promote rallies as prime recruiting grounds to attempt to increase their ranks by attempting to recruit moderate conservatives and run-of-the-mill Republican Party “patriots”– who at least superficially share some of the same beliefs –while at the same time often using dog-whistle phrases and imagery to signal their presence to other fascists.
One reason that this model continues to flourish is that conservatives continue to ignore or play down the presence of active neo-Nazis, fascists, and white supremacists in their midst; often citing “free speech” when it is pointed out, and thus tacitly enabling the hijacking of Conservative rallies for hate groups to recruit and organize within.

This brings us to Andrew Murphy Harkins, aka “Murphy Harkins”. Murphy Harkins is a fascist white supremacist involved with many local fascists and is affiliated with the racist group True Cascadia. When Murphy Harkins first became known to antifascists, he attempted to conceal his racist beliefs and connections. However, by June 2017 he was outwardly organizing with known fascist groups like Identity Evropa and True Cascadia. By August 2017, he was caught on film in Charlottesville, Virginia, attending the neo-Nazi/fascist/Confederate revanchist “Unite The Right” rally, both marching in the racist and anti-Semitic torch procession the night before the rally, and also during the violent day of the rally, when one of Murphy’s racist compatriots took the life of Heather Heyer.

In this article we will build the narrative of Murphy’s white supremacist organizing, starting with the first time Murphy Harkins came on our radar at the October 19, 2016 “Build a Wall” rally, which was organized by known racist provocateur James Allsup at the Washington State University, Pullman campus. We will then trace his steps toward associating with fascists and fascist organizations in an increasingly open and brazen manner.

 

 

 

In the above pictures, Murphy Harkins can be seen with racist pravocatuer and far right organizer James Allsup along with other compatriots at a pro-Trump “Build The Wall” rally at the Washington State University, Pullman Campus held on October 19th, 2016. Our research shows that after this rally Murphy Harkins built a strong relationship with James Allsup. Whether or not they were friends or associates prior remains unclear, but from this point onward they built a friendship that has led to them marching together at far more sinister rallies since this first picture together: Since the October 19, 2016 WSU rally it must be noted that James Allsup was pressured to step down from the WSU College Republicans leadership due to his involvement in the infamous Charlottesville, Virginia “Unite The Right” white supremacist rally that left one person dead and several others injured. Also, it should be noted that James Allsup’s Twitter has also been shut down by Twitter due to racist/bigoted tweets.

After the October 19, 2016  rally at WSU, Murphy Harkins was next spotted at the March 4, 2017 Trump rally in Lake Oswego,  Oregon. The “March 4 Trump” rally received a lot of press due to the presence and participation of KKK Imperial Grand Wizard Steven Shane Howard and his Nazi “bonehead” friend, Ray Anthony Schneider. Murphy Harkins became agitated and attempted to pick a fight with antifascists and police intervened to move him away from the area. This type of unhinged, erratic behavior is reminiscent of Jeremy Christian, who committed a double murder on the Max train in a racist attack in May of 2017.

Soon after the Lake Oswego rally, Murphy Harkins again popped up at Patriot Prayer’s inaugural rally at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington on April 2, 2017. At this rally Murphy Harkins was seen with known fascists from the area, one of whom was carrying the “Imperium of Man” flag—a flag from the video game Warhammer, which is often used as a fascist dog whistle. Many were also open carrying firearms. Murphy Harkins did not appear to be carrying but hung close to his fellow fascists during the rally.

Murphy Harkins’ next documented appearance was at Joey Gibson/Patriot Prayer’s June 4, 2017 rally in downtown Portland, Oregon, which took place less than two weeks after the racially motivated murder on the MAX light-rail train by Jeremy Christian, which left two people dead and another seriously injured. The June 4th rally featured a speech by the racist, anti-Semitic troll, Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet, and nationalist media darling Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman, who sought celebrity by attacking antifascists with a stick in Berkeley, California. Murphy Harkins was observed and documented walking into the rally with then-leader of Oregon Identity Evropa Jake Von Ott, Identity Evropa member Liam Wynn aka Gary Lee, and Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman. Murphy Harkins was dressed for battle in a helmet, and carried the fascist dog-whistle “Imperium of Man” flag. After the rally, Murphy Harkins was documented enjoying a beer with Gionet, Gionet’s body guard, Tony Foreman, James Allsup, and a host of other far right provocateurs—many of whom flashed white power hand signs in the photo.

Given that Murphy has less notoriety than other alt-right and fascist celebrities, we understand that Murphy’s presence at these events may have only raised the eyebrows of antifascists, who track the who’s who in fascist circles. However, in mid-August, Murphy Harkins attended the notorious white supremacist “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville Virginia. The Charlottesville rally was one of the most aggressive attempted displays of far-right force, and one of the largest scale white supremacist rallies in recent history, and led to many clashes, injuries, and one death.

On August 11, 2017, the first day of the “Unite the Right”, white supremacists organized a nighttime torch march to a Thomas Jefferson statue. As the white supremacists marched to the monument with their burning tiki torches, they shouted “Jews will not replace us,” among other extreme racist and nationalist slogans. When the white-supremacist torch bearers arrived at the monument they found about two dozen counter-protesters, whom they attacked. Murphy Harkins was observed, and is documented openly and enthusiastically participating in the white-supremacist torch rally. He was seen wearing a True Cascadia hat, alongside at least three others wearing the same hat, signifying group membership. Propublica reported that True Cascadia was one of many hate groups present at that rally. Murphy Harkins was also caught on video shouting for Cascadia members around the time the crowd was dispersing. This would suggest that he might have even been leading the True Cascadia group that evening.

On August 12, 2017 , the second day of the Charlottesville rally, near Emancipation park, hundreds of neo-Nazis and antifascist counter-protesters clashed in and around the park. Murphy Harkins was documented in detail throughout the rally, where he situated himself with fellow white supremacists. Earlier in the day, Murphy Harkins could be seen standing alongside white supremacists, behind the shield wall of the Traditionalist Workers Party near the steps to Emancipation Park. The TWP is a relatively large, well-known Nationalist Socialist (Nazi) organization. Throughout the day, Murphy Harkins and his cronies from the prior evening were seen with their True Cascadia hats on, while one member of the group carried the True Cascadia flag. Prior to the racists being driven from Emancipation Park, Murphy Harkins was photographed standing with the Vanguard America contingent, immediately next to James Alex Fields, who later that day drove his car through a crowd of counter-protesters, killing antifascist Heather Heyer.

In conclusion, Murphy Harkins no longer hides his white supremacy. He marches with white supremacists, wears the insignia of a white supremacist group, and was photographed with a neo-Nazi that killed a person who dared to oppose to their hateful views. In Portland, a city with a history of racist violence—where racists and fascists have committed murder on several occasions, we have no other option than to expose Murphy Harkins, a preppy looking white supremacist who works at Wells Fargo as a home loan mortgage agent and fits right into his affluent upper middle class SW Portland neighborhood. Wells Fargo has a history of biased lending that has cost the company a substantial amount on money in settled lawsuits throughout its history. July 13th 2012 it was reported that Wells Fargo was to pay $175 million to settle lending bias allegations against African Americans and Latinx borrowers. We find it completely unacceptable that a white supremacist is not only in the position to deny or interfere with the approval of home loans, but also that he has access to sensitive information about people seeking home loans. Murphy Harkins’ position at Wells Fargo bank puts people at risk. Should Wells Fargo choose to continue to employ Murphy Harkins, it is effectively sanctioning Murphy Harkins’ bigoted and dangerous views.