philly philadelpia pa

city of brotherly love

GOP TRUMP TARGET // dETROIT aa

note good paper inquirer

And just last week, one leader of Trump’s Pennsylvania Election Day effort had to be escorted out of a satellite election office in Philadelphia's City Hall. Elections officials there accused James Fitzpatrick of causing a "disturbance," a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Sheriff's office told ABC News.

Philly Election Official says City Hall is NOT a public building!! TRUMP observer thrown out of City Hall! what are they doing?? pic.twitter.com/QufmAfdSIA

— Mike Roman (@mikeroman) September 30, 2020

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DA KRASNER SAY HER NAME GOOD, NO MASKS

Philly Sheriff Vows To Arrest ICE Agents

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ahead of former President Donald Trump's Wednesday visit to East Palestine, Ohio—where a Norfolk Southern-owned train transporting carcinogenic chemicals derailed on February 3, prompting a mass evacuation and release of pollutants—progressive critics highlighted the key role his administration played in making the fiery crash and its toxic aftermath more likely.

During his speech, Trump—considered a leading GOP presidential candidate for 2024 despite spearheading a deadly coup attempt following his 2020 loss—criticized how President Joe Biden's administration has responded to the environmental and public health disaster unfolding in East Palestine, a poor rural town of about 4,700 people located a few miles west of the Pennsylvania border.

But as critics noted beforehand, the Trump administration's gutting of train safety rules at the behest of railroad industry lobbyists was instrumental in creating the conditions for the derailment and ensuing chemical spill and burnoff, which has provoked fears of groundwater contamination and air pollution.

"He should be apologizing to that community for his administration rolling back rail regulations," progressive stalwart Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, tweeted prior to Trump's address.

philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch made a similar point in an opinion piece published earlier this week.

"If residents of East Palestine—a**modern news desert**of downsized or disappeared news sources, which allows misinformation to fester—truly knew the reality, a delegation of townsfolk would likely greet Trump with tiki torches and pitchforks," Bunch wrote, comparing the former president's visit to "the tendency of a criminal to return to the scene of his crime."

Bunch noted that "Trump acted specifically to sabotage a nascent government effortto protect citizens from the growing threat posed by derailments of outdated, poorly equipped, and undermanned freight trains that were increasingly shipping both highly flammable crude oil from the U.S. fracking boom as well as toxic chemicals like the ones that would derail in East Palestine."

"Trump had been in office for less than a year when he moved to killthe 2015 rule change initiated by the Obama administration that would have required freight trains to upgrade the current braking technologythat was developed in the 19th century for state-of-the-art electronic systems," wrote Bunch, who pointed out that this came after Norfolk Southern and other rail carriers donated more than $6 million to Republican candidates in 2016 and spent millions more on lobbying.

"With the investigation into the East Palestine wreck still in its early phases, it's not clear if the modern brakes—originally required for installation by 2021—could have prevented the toxic derailment or whether the specific Obama rule would have applied," Bunch continued. "But experts do believe the new brakes could have mitigated the wreckage—and thus the release of so many hazardous chemicals."

"The rule reversal wasn't the only time that Team Trump sided with Big Rail over the forgotten Americans who live on the wrong side of their tracks," he added. "In 2019, for example, the Trump administration moved to not strengthen but relax regulations on shipping fracked natural gas through communities like East Palestine. The same year, Trump's White House also killed an Obama-era proposal that would have required two crew members in freight-train locomotives."

Ahead of Trump's visit,More Perfect Union also argued on social media that the ex-president's "attempt to portray himself as a friend of the town and as someone who would have stood up to Norfolk Southern... couldn't be further from the truth."

As the progressive media outlet observed, the Trump administration "withdrew multiple rail safety recommendations and moved toward a 'self-regulatory approach' where rail companies could do as they pleased."

"It's no surprise that the Trump years were filled with dangerous deregulation," More Perfect Union asserted, describing his decision to nominate top rail industry executives to lead the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration as "a prime example of the revolving door between business and government."

"The Trump approach to the rail industry was to let the companies do what they wanted, which was to avoid regulations, slash jobs, and extract profit," the outlet continued. "This approach, and rail companies' greed, has led to over 1,000 derailments each year. Some are massive catastrophes like East Palestine. But every single one is harmful. And if the industry isn't regulated and forced to change, we'll soon be seeing more disasters."

When Trump "pretends to care about rail workers, or the people of East Palestine, we can't believe him," More Perfect Union added. "His record tells a very different story, the story of his own role in creating this problem in the first place."

Even some conservative critics of Trump have questioned the sincerity of his visit.

"It's clear that it's a political stunt," Ray LaHood, a Republican ex-member of Congress who led the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) during former President Barack Obama's first term, told Politico on Wednesday. "If he wants to visit, he's a citizen. But clearly his regulations and the elimination of them, and no emphasis on safety, is going to be pointed out."

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wasted little time in doing exactly that, calling the GOP's indignation "fake" soon after Trump announced his travel plans.

Bunch acknowledged that "it's beyond hypocritical for Trump to bring his Harold Hill-huckster shtick to East Palestine when residents are still experiencing headaches and breathing foul air from the kind of catastrophe he didn't lift a finger to stop from the Resolute Desk."

"But also it's a bit baffling why Biden or his Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg—who seems to be channeling**his inner McKinsey & Co**. these days—haven't gone to Ohio," he argued. "Especially when Trump and any other Republicans hoping to make political hay off of East Palestine's misery are coming to town empty-handed."

"None of the anti-Biden critics on this issue have offered a solution, because they can't," wrote Bunch. "The only fix for the kind of runaway abuses of modern capitalism that cause these environmental catastrophes isgovernment regulation, aided by empowering worker safety with strong unions—two things that the Trump-led GOP has opposed at every turn."

Even in the wake of the disaster, Republican lawmakers have refused to demand stronger regulations, as HuffPost reported:

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), a vocal Biden critic who represents East Palestine, on Tuesday dismissed immediate calls for stricter rail regulations, saying actions toward accountability will hinge on the findings of a National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] investigation into the derailment:{.

'That will dictate whether there are laws, regulations that need to be changed, whether there were rules that were violated,' he said during a news conference in East Palestine. 'We don't know any of that yet, and we won't know that until NTSB releases its report.'}:

Hours before Trump spoke, Buttigieg announced that he plans to travel to East Palestine on Thursday. His visit is expected to coincide with the publication of the NTSB's preliminary report about its ongoing probe into the crash.

On Tuesday, Buttigieg unveiled DOT's recommendations for improving the safety of the nation's rail system, though an inter-union alliance of rail workers immediately criticized the plan as inadequate.

Given the scale of the problems—and in light of the transportation secretary's ongoing refusal to exercise his authority to reinstate previously gutted rules along with his consideration of an industry-backed proposal to further weaken the regulation of train braking systems—union leaders have called for nationalizing the railways and implementing their proposed solutions.

Turner, for her part, emphasized that she has "been outspoken about the two years the Biden administration had [to] fix these problems."

"The Trump administration is at fault, as is the Obama administration," Turner contended, referring to the fact that the latter's regulations were also watered down in response to industry pressure.

"The Ohio GOP is to blame as well," she added, echoing recent reporting on Norfolk Southern's campaign to influence state-level lawmakers and officials. "Failure at every level of government and multiple administrations led to this."

big lie 2020 target minority cities in swing state so philly detroit etc; 10 22 trump plot dress rehearsal for 2024

A top-ranking election official in Philadelphia is facing deep scrutiny for deceiving voters in wake of critical upcoming elections.

In a report published by The Philadelphia Inquirer, reporters Jonathan Lai, Chris Brennan, and Anna Orso detailed how Philadelphia Commissioner Lisa Deeley "knowingly misled voters multiple times this month when they said adding special elections for City Council seats to the November ballot did not delay mail ballots being sent to voters."

Since the state is preparing for key elections, including races for governor and U.S. Senate, voters have been eager to receive and return their mail-in ballots.

The news outlet also reports that Philadelphia was on schedule to have ballots mailed out on the first legal date the state allows. However, that timeline has changed two times already — delays Deeley's office recently acknowledged.

In an effort to explain the matter, the reporters noted that Deeley's office began incorporating what appears to be stall tactics.

"As officials received some blowback from Democrats for the delays, Deeley and her office began to spin a new narrative, contradicting facts that it’s her job to know as chair of the city’s elections board — facts she herself acknowledges when pressed," they wrote."Deeley’s statements denying a delay were demonstrably untrue; she and her office made them multiple times; and she clearly knew the truth at the time, as she gave accurate answers when pressed."

The writers also explained the potential long-term effects of Deeley's actions. "Deeley’s obfuscation could further erode trust as growing elements of the Republican Party are seeking to undermine election results — especially by attacking Philadelphia," they wrote

Amid growing concerns about the delays, Deeley's office has released a statement explaining the matter. On Tuesday, October 25, her office, per the news outlet, "denied any dishonesty and emphasized that ballots went out at about the same time as in prior elections since the expansion of mail voting in 2020."

We Were Promised Proud Boys. Philadelphia Had Other Ideas.

By Jared Holt | November 19, 2018

It was hard to hear what right-wing rally goers were saying over the speakers without standing close. Hundreds of anti-fascism protesters had gathered across the street from Saturday’s “We The People” rally outside the Independence Visitor Center in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to overshadow the few dozen self-declared “patriots” who attended Saturday’s—a light turnout, peppered with members of the violent, right-wing Proud Boys group.

Ted Chmielnicki

“To be completely honest, this is pitiful,” Ted Chmielnicki, a rally speaker, said of the weak attendance. He accused members of a state-based militia group of trying to “actively sabotage” the event by telling people hate groups had been invited to the rally.

Christian Yingling of the Pennsylvania Light Foot Militia responded to the claims in a Facebook post, writing that event organizers were “attempting to blame us for the hate groups they invited not showing up.” Right Wing Watch has contacted Yingling via Facebook Messenger asking if he would let us review private messages he claimed in the post to possess, which allegedly contain evidence that hate groups were courted ahead of Saturday’s event.

“They were using the same rhetoric as Antifa, as the left, to try to destroy,” Chmielnicki said. “To have it from our own side, it’s disgusting.”

The rally’s Facebook event page stated that “all Patriots, Militia, 3%, constitution loving Americans, pro good cop, pro ICE, pro law and order, pro life, pro American value, pro gun and anti illegal immigration” believers were welcome to attend Saturday’s rally. The event’s initial planning involved members of the Proud Boys organization, which was founded by CRTV host Gavin McInnes and has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The event had also piqued the interest of Bob Gaus, member of a neo-Nazi group, as Rewire News reported. Gaus, who co-founded the Neo-Nazi group Keystone United, had asked in a comment on the Facebook event page if there was a meeting point for participants. Right Wing Watch did not spot Gaus in attendance at Saturday’s rally and a rally organizer told us that they privately asked Gaus not to attend.

Organizers were adamant that the rally was not a “Proud Boys event,” but Zach Rehl, a planner of We The People, is a member of the group. Rehl has organized past rallies in the city that have attracted people in extremist circles. Andrew Kovalic, who was reported to have originally planned security for the event, was fired from his job at Comcast for being a Proud Boys member.

When chatter first began that members of the Proud Boys group would take part in the rally, anti-fascist organizers began mobilizing crowds to turn out and oppose the demonstration. The Push Back Campaign spearheaded the effort, earning the endorsements of a handful of anti-fascist groups, legal groups, and labor unions. A post on the Push Back Campaign’s website read:

Far-right groups with ties to Neo-Nazis known as the “Proud Boys” and the “Three Percenters” are planning to attend a rally in Philadelphia on November 17th called “We the People”. They provoke and attack people on the streets who they deem to be unworthy of their far-right, fascist vision of the country. The Proud Boys were present in Charlottesville, terrorize residents in the cities of Portland, New York, and Providence, and have been listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The residents and allies of Philadelphia must stand in opposition to this escalation of the far-right’s push into the city’s culture and politics.

Rehl said the planned demonstrations against his event would be “kind of hilarious” if the Proud Boys didn’t attend his event during an interview on WPHT 1210AM before the rally.

They did.

Proud Boys member David Kuriakose

At least two Proud Boys attended Saturday’s rally, including David Kuriakose, who is facing riot and assault charges in New York City for his participation in brawls after McInnes delivered a speech to the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan last month. McInnes’ speech, and the subsequent violence, attracted members of the New York skinhead gangs 211 Bootboys and Battalion 49, and led to the arrest of several Proud Boys.

Alan Swinney, another Proud Boy, showed up at the Philadelphia event dressed in a full suit of armor.On two occasions, Swinney exited the barricades surrounding the rally to in apparent attempts to goad anti-fascist protesters into committing violence. On Swinney’s second foray outside the perimeter, an opposing demonstrator took the bait. The counter-protester was arrested.

Proud Boys member Alan Swinney

A separate scuffle involved a man that Billy Penn identified only as “Zachary.” Billy Penn purported Zachary to be a person mistakenly attacked by anti-fascist protesters, although there is some debate over whether he may have obscured his connection to the Proud Boys. Zachary entered the crowd wearing a hat advertising the Silver Dollar Bar, which coincidentally is the name of a bar where Proud Boys members crashed a Democratic Socialists of America meeting in September. (Update: The Silver Dollar Bar hat Zachary was seen wearing is actually from a bar in North Dakota). When an observer of the scuffle asked Zachary why he left the rally to go to the counter-protest side, he responded: “it’s a free country.”

McInnes was allegedly spotted in the city on Thursday, and many anti-fascist demonstrators told Right Wing Watch they had worried he might attend with a troop of his followers. But at Saturday’s rally, McInnes was nowhere to be seen.

Hundreds turned out on Saturday to oppose the rally, including government whistleblower and activist Chelsea Manning. Many protesting the event brought along signs, costumes, and memorabilia of the Philadelphia Flyers mascot “Gritty,” whose likeness has been co-opted by anti-fascist demonstrators and leftist activists.

“Whose streets? Gritty’s streets!” activists chanted.

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Jared Holt

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That's the good stuff

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Without active threats to oppose, anti-fascist demonstrators spent most of their day mingling with one another. Many groups that had demonstrated at the 2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, had traveled to the Philadelphia event, which became something of a reunion for many in the anti-fascist crowd, who were overheard sharing stories in good spirits. One activist described the gathering to Right Wing Watch as a sort of “Antifa Thanksgiving.”

‘Gritty’ Patch eat the rich"

Daryle Lamont Jenkins, a well-known anti-fascist activist in Philadelphia and the founder of One People’s Project, told Right Wing Watch that the community organizing efforts were responsible for the right-wing rally’s low turnout, which he called “pathetic.” One People’s Project endorsed the Push Back Campaign.

“They tried to pick a fight with us and we weren’t having it,” Jenkins said. “We mobilized against them and we’ve done it before. … Their numbers are down because of us.”

The less-clued-in participants in the right-wing rally were confused at the opposition to the event they were attending. We the People rally-goer Dmitry Kyrychenko, a local Philadelphian, said he found out about the event via a post on the Philadelphia Police Department Facebook page. Kyrychenko said he believed that rally counter-demonstrators were opposing “free market principles,” and expressed his shock that they would oppose a rally promoting American exceptionalism.

He was wearing a shirt displaying the NPC meme that received a flash of attention in right-wing internet circles, accidentally matching another rally attendee.