Anti-Communist Action | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | Anticom |
| Founder | Seth Vitco |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Ideology | Anti-communism Neo-fascism Neo-Nazism Pinochetism White nationalism |
| Political position | Right-wing tofar-right |
| Party flag | |
 | |
Anti-Communist Action, also known asAnticom, is aright-wing tofar-right[a] political organization based in theUnited States andCanada.[1][2][3] The group has described itself as "the right's response toantifa."[4] Some members and associates have been linked toneo-Nazi ideology and have attended events described as neo-Nazi, though not all members identify with these views.[5][4][6] The group has provided security at variousalt-right andwhite supremacist rallies.[6] Anticom has shared members with theneo-Nazi terrorist groupAtomwaffen Division and has reportedly exchanged information related to combat and bomb-making.[6]
The group was a lead organizer of the 2017White Lives Matter rally alongside the neo-Nazi groupsNational Socialist Movement,Traditionalist Workers Party andVanguard America as well as theSouthern nationalistLeague of the South and theKu Klux Klan.[7][8][9] The group was also a lead member of theUnite the Right rally.[2][10] In September 2017, members planned an event similar to the Unite the Right rally titled "March Against Communism" inCharlotte, North Carolina, on December 28, 2017, with speakers includingwhite nationalists such asAugust Sol Invictus andRichard B. Spencer as well as a representative of the white supremacist organizationVanguard America.[11] Anticom later cancelled the event due to safety concerns.[12]
According to theSeattle, WA Patch, the organization is not specifically aligned with white supremacists.[13] While the group has stated that it accepts members of allraces,[14] leaked chat logs included violent rhetoric against minorities in the organization.[6] A chat log from the 2017 Berkeley protests promised the event would turn into a "bloodbath".[6] Some members of the movement have promotedmass killing against minorities and the overthrow of the government.[6] In 2017,ProPublica estimated the organization as having 1,200 participants in its chat room.[6] The organization uses yellow and black flags and symbols as a reference tolibertarianism in the United States. Some flags also depict people being thrown from helicopters, a reference toexecutions duringAugusto Pinochet'smilitary dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990).[2][6] A ProPublica report detailed leaked chat logs from the organization calling for violence. A representative for the group stated that the report was true, but that it was not encouraged by leaders of the organization.[6]
Vanguard America, Anti-Communist Action and The Right Stuff also are white-supremacist, far-right groups, all with strong xenophobic and anti-Semitic messages.
Right-wing extremists communicating in confidential online chats in recent months have shared scores of documents detailing the manufacture and use of bombs, grenades, mines and other incendiary devices. ... Anticom openly embraces fascist ideology and imagery, and the group's members have engaged in hate-filled talk involving Jews, Muslims, immigrants and African Americans.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)Participating right-wing organizations include the League of the South, the Traditionalist Worker's Party, National Socialist Movement, Vanguard America, and Anti-Communist Action. Each of those organizations has espoused views and policy positions that are either racist, anti-Semitic or openly pro-Nazi.