It must have come as quite a surprise to prominent 8chan troll and frequent antifascist doxxer Jack “Pale Horse” Corbin when he found himself on the receiving end of the same odious tactics he usually wields to his own advantage. Corbin was ironically outed in his own stomping grounds as Jake Philip Loubriel of Ft. Lauderdale Florida, whose Facebook account identifies his employer as “Antifa Exposed”, position “field ops and admin”.
At this point most of us have become aware of and probably feel some sense of dread around the ever-present spectre of doxxing, or the publishing of personal, identifying information about targeted individuals online with the stated intent of causing them immediate, tangible harm. This threat is ever-present for antifascists, whose work to counter violent bigots and their organizations and coalitions – as well as entrenched, systemic bigotry and oppression – makes us subject to real life repercussions from online identification. This includes potentially murderous backlash from fascists, whether they be covert or unapologetic, and the real possibility of increased state violence, such as arrest and incarceration. That there are those who seek to build identity and gain satisfaction by attempting to exploit this paradigm is not exactly news.
Those who are familiar with the amoral cesspool that is 8ch.net/pol/, the home of the “Politically Incorrect – politics, news, happenings, and current events” understand that this forum is rife with deeply avowed racists, homophobes, transphobes, and misogynists. Mama’s basement Nazis and alt-right keyboard wizards of all stripes cordon off this territory, where a large percentage of the intelligence gathering and identitfying work of doxxing antifascists is accomplished. A singular, abysmal culture has emerged in this space, where dedicated bigots with seemingly all the time in the world to comb through online videos, photo stills, social media and public records can compete for praise from other anonymous contributors, who refer to each other as simply “anons”. Participants horrifically praise each other for “doing the Lord’s work”, while describing acts of violence they imagine being enacted on those they are exposing. They proudly serve as a conduit of information to local and federal law enforcement and fantasize about and glorify arrest, prosecution and other state violence against POC and other marginalized groups they have generated content to attempt to malign. It’s not uncommon to witness an “anon” bragging about having combed over protest videos for 12 or more consecutive hours, and being awarded with the carrot of “Bless you, anon!” by their flagrantly hateful peers. Conspiracies about Soros-funded far left activity and fantasies of racialized vigilante justice (up to and including brutal assault, murder and prison rape) seem to be an uninterrupted norm.
It’s in this rare habitat that Jack “Pale Horse” Corbin has long inhabited a prominent role. To say that his participation has been robust would be an understatement – when scrolling through posts it becomes obvious that two out of three will originate from 2aa6a2, his assigned posting number. Although most anons, even frequent posters such as dfac16 and 5903e7 are content to be – well, anonymous – user 2aa6a2 is so proud of and invested in his work he will often customize his posts with the signature, “Jack ‘Pale Horse’ Corbin – you’re welcome”. Although his participation has been noted since the aftermath of the clash between 400+ unaffiliated antifascists and the white nationalist groups Traditional Workers Party, Blood and Honor and the Golden State Skinheads on June 26, 2016 in Sacramento, CA, he seems to have a particular investment in revealing, tormenting and inviting interpersonal violence and state repression on those who were present to counter the Unite the Right gathering of fascist groups in Charlottesville, VA on August 12th of this year. His dedication to his cause eclipses most forms of common decency, as he is not afraid to allude to the possibility of misogynistic violence and sexual assault as outcomes of his campaigns, and is not averse to naming and endangering the minor children of those he targets.
Those who live, work, and operate in the vicinity of South Florida should be aware of the presence of this repugnant, noxious perpetrator and understand what he represents and is capable of. Anyone who engages in public protest and activism of any kind (but especially of the antiracist/antifascist variety) should be aware of his tactics and that of those who seek to emulate them, and should always take precautions accordingly. Let’s remain conscious of the dangers that come from those who would do harm to us or those we love, always counter them, and help keep each other safe.