Portland Anti Racist Action Media Release

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release: April 1, 2010

Contact: Portland Anti-Racist Action

fight_them_back@riseup.net 971.533.7832 (voicemail)

*Portland Anti-Racists: Downtown Shooting was Likely a Neo-Nazi Ambush*

*Anti-Racist Targeted in Saturday Morning Attempted Murder*

Portland, Oregon – In a city that still remembers the 1988 beating death of Mulugeta Seraw by three racists, a recent downtown shooting may thrust the issue of white supremacist violence into the forefront of public consciousness once again.

A local anti-racist organization claims that the early morning shooting in downtown Portland on March 27, whose survivor remains in Intensive Care, was most likely an attempted murder by one or more neo-Nazis. The victim of the shooting, Luke Querner, is an entrenched and beloved figure in the anti-racist community. He has devoted over a decade of his life to opposing Portland’s white power movement.

Luke Querner was shot at approximately 12:20AM on Saturday morning, in an unprovoked attack on SW 5th Avenue, between Stark and Washington Street.The shooting appears to have been well-orchestrated; the assailant concealed his identity, fleeing at least initially by foot in a closely-surveilled area.

The attempted murder of Querner occurs in the context of escalating activity from a racist underground that believes it can operate with impunity. The past half year has been one of increasing audacity from local white supremacists, with organizations such as Volksfront, the Northwest Front and the National Socialist Movement drawing closer together. Members of these and similar organizations--as well as cliques on their periphery--share information about anti-racists and the Left, and have been increasing their actions against such targets.

Portland Anti-Racist Action believes that the attempted murder of Querner was a political act, most likely by neo-Nazis. To treat this violence as gang-related obscures its political context and almost certainly misses its point. The shooting seems designed to send a message and to intimidate anti-racists. Portland ARA criticizes the police’s choice to release

Querner’s name on Sunday, placing him at further risk. The organization also questions the police portrayal of the shooting, which frames the incident as near-random, rather than as an act of political terror and attempted assassination. Querner was shot because of his convictions, the group believes.

“The Portland Police aren’t telling the whole story” states Alicia of Portland ARA, “They have not mentioned the most obvious motive for the shooting. We fear that they are more interested in smearing the victim than in uncovering the truth. Our thoughts go out to Luke right now.”

An expanded statement with further details surrounding the shooting is available on the website: rosecityantifa.org. Information on how to contribute to Querner’s medical bills and related expenses may also be found on this site. Portland Anti-Racist Action continues to be interested in any and all information related to white supremacist organizing in Portland and its vicinity.



For more information, please contact Portland Anti-Racist Action at

fight_them_back@riseup.net or 971.533.7832 (voicemail.)

News on upcoming "White Unity" meeting in Boston: Disunity and treachery in the US nazi movements

from Anti-Racist Action website

White Unity? It's Bonehead Against Bonehead in the "White Pride" Scene

On April 11, 2009, the white supremacist group "East Coast White Unity" (ECWU) plans to host a neo-nazi gathering in Boston, MA named "Patriot Action 2009". The co-sponsor of this event is Volksfront International, a racist skinhead organization founded in 1994, which has a presence in several US states as well as chapters in Canada, Australia and Europe. Although the Boston event is intended as a display of unity between fascist groups, anti-fascists have discovered plotting and betrayal behind the scenes of the white power movement, the extent of which many event organizers and scheduled attendees might not be aware.

The primary organizer for East Coast White Unity is Scott Clarke, a Massachusetts resident who uses the handle of "Hedge" on several white nationalist internet sites. Before the founding of ECWU, Clarke was active in another white power organization named "North East White Pride" (NEWP). Clarke broke from NEWP for a large number of reasons--including questions about the use of finances, and alleged general mismanagement of NEWP by leader Rob O'Donovan--and moved on to form ECWU. NEWP continues to this day in a reduced form, still under the direction of O'Donovan. By all accounts, the split was acrimonious. As we will show, it wasn't enough for Clarke to leave NEWP taking much of its membership with him; he also tried to sabotage his former "brothers."

In August 2008, anti-fascists from DatenAntifa ("Data-Antifa") hacked the fascist website bloodandhonour.com. The entire contents of this website were then uploaded to the web, so that anyone who wished to see its posts and user information could do so. While most of the original web links are no longer available, the hacked Blood and Honour forum may still be downloaded via torrent sites. Importantly, the DatenAntifa hackers removed password requirements from the bloodandhonour.com site, so that anyone who downloaded its contents could check the private messages of any Blood and Honour user. This is where things became interesting for us.

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