“Straight America You Won’t Ruin Me”: How a Large Autonomous Coalition Shut Down “Straight Pride”

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On August 27th, 2022, over 200 people from across Northern California and the Central Valley converged in Modesto, a city of around 200,000 about an hour and a half east of the San Francisco Bay Area, to oppose the 4th annual “Straight Pride” rally which brought together a broad coalition of far-right groups under a white nationalist banner that openly attacked Jews and the LGBTQ community. While the counter-demonstration was violently assaulted by riot police several hours after it began when a small group of Proud Boys attempted to attack the much larger group, the counter-mobilization was successful in shutting down the rally with mass numbers and a clear antifascist, pro-LGBTQ and pro-reproductive freedom message.

The low turnout on the far-right side, especially among the Proud Boys, is also indicative of a wider trend: despite its increasing embrace by the GOP and Fox News, this hasn’t manifested as big numbers in the streets. In fact, the opposite is happening: growing attacks on LGBTQ+ people and abortion access, both in the streets and the halls of power, are helping to build coalitions that did not exist during the Trump years.

The Grundmann Cometh

In 2019, “Straight Pride” rallies gained national headlines when a washed–up Bay Area bigot named Don Grundmann called for a “Straight Pride” parade in Modesto and alt-right militants associated with a group called Resist Marxism in Boston under the banner of “Super Happy Fun America” announced a similar march in Boston. While the two rallies attempted to pull from both the far-right and Trump supporters, they were connected in name only. In Modesto, Grundmann worked with his long-time allies Mylinda and Ron Mason in the local Republican party to form the California Straight Pride Coalition, which grew to include a small cadre of supporters and boasted among its ranks a local pastor and even the former Modesto police chaplain. Also involved in the group was Ryan Schambers, a member of the Stanislaus County Republican Party Central Committee, whose name was quickly removed from its homepage when the media began reporting on Ryan’s involvement in a group that promoted outright white nationalism.

Grundmann then found 15 minutes of fame after appearing before the Modesto City Council, demanding that it sign off on a permit for the “Straight Pride” rally, which was then denied in the face of mass opposition, protests, and packed council meetings. A clip of Grundmann losing his cool before the council quickly went viral in which he referred to the Straight Pride Coalition as a “totally peaceful racist group.” The backlash was so bad that even the local Proud Boys put out a statement saying that they had nothing to do with the demonstration, and despite Grundmann’s statements, would not be attending the rally.

Grundmann’s first attempt at a “Straight Pride” rally was a total failure. First the group was kicked out of a local barn once it was discovered who they were, and when counter-protesters learned of their plans to rally in front of the Modesto Planned Parenthood, the group was quickly surrounded by hundreds of counter-protesters and shut down. Realizing he needed to expand his circle, the next year Grundmann and company began working more closely with the Modesto Proud Boys (several of whom attended the January 6th attempted coup) who organized a parallel, QAnon-themed “Save the Children” event. This “Straight Pride” rally also began attracting a local militia, the Echo company out of Oakdale, along with a tapestry of Boogaloo Boys, neo-Nazi American Guard members, and beyond.

Over the next two years, Grundmann and the Masons were able to mobilize around 100 supporters to rally in front of the vacant Planned Parenthood building. Despite the California Straight Pride Coalition website openly referring to the “superiority” of white people, Western Civilization, heterosexuality, and Christianity, Grundmann rushed to deflect calls of racism by harping on Planned Parenthood’s racist and eugenicist past (so much for opposing CRT!) and bringing on board the Black anti-LGBTQ bigot Jesse Lee Peterson, best known for a recent scandal over sexual relationships with his male supporters. The Modesto police were also playing ball, helping to set up barricades and facilitate the far-right rallies in 2020 and 2021, even pushing the Modesto City Council to pass laws targeting antifascists for carrying items like umbrellas and wearing helmets at protests.

Against a backdrop of rising rhetoric and attacks against the LGBTQ community and reproductive autonomy from the GOP, Fox News, and the far-right it seemed as if Grundmann had found a winning strategy.

Wins and Losses

But while Grundmann was going viral, others were getting organized to oppose him. In 2019, the media spotlight brought out hundreds to protest his attempts at gaining a permit from the city for his rally, though apprehension by local officials had more to do with the response from “antifa” than the far-right threat. Several locals who set up a Facebook page for a potential protest also sent mixed messages to those who wanted to resist the fascists. At one meeting at a local coffee shop, the “protest” organizers were joined by local clergy and non-profit organizers who told people not to demonstrate, claiming they would instead set up “safe spaces” throughout the day which were all far away from the zone of potential conflict. Meanwhile, the police were pushing the city council to outlaw various “protest items,” using photos of “Berkeley antifa” to sow panic at the threat of Charlottesville-style chaos, rampaging through town.

Despite this, hundreds of people mobilized the day of the first “Straight Pride” rally at a local park, and upon learning that Grundmann and his followers were headed towards the nearby Planned Parenthood, began to march towards the clinic which was located only a few blocks away. Protesters filled the clinic’s parking lot, surrounding a group of about 20 “Straight Pride” supporters, covering their signs with massive banners and flags. Soon the far-right rallygoers called it a day and left the area. After capturing the attention of the nation, the first “Straight Pride” rally ended with a whimper and mass opposition.

The next year, Grundmann again called for protests. In response, autonomous groups that had pushed hard for people to self-organize and come out in opposition to the “Straight Pride” rally in 2019 took a step back as a local non-profit headed up organizing a counter protest. However, several weeks before the event, this group pulled out and called instead for a “caravan” protest to drive by in front of the rally. The day of, militia members and Proud Boys scowled while recording people’s license plates as around 30 cars drove past around 100 “Straight Pride” protesters and a small counter-protest of around 30 people rallied across the street. The event almost led to a brawl when Proud Boys crossed the street, forcing the smaller counter-protest to leave the area. Towards the end of the rally, a “Straight Pride” supporter attempted to run over a counter-protester with their truck, although they were thankfully unsuccessful in hitting them. Feeling defeated, local antifascists lamented this failure, even amidst the wave of rebellion of the summer of 2020.

The next year, local organizers tried a different tack, instead organizing a counter-rally at a local park featuring music, speakers, zine tables, and a festive atmosphere that was part anarchist bookfair and part counter-rally. The event itself was a big success, bringing out over 125 people. Despite an attempt by two local Proud Boys leaders to show up at the park and hold a banner (which was later stolen and burned), the far-right made no attempt to disrupt the festivities. However, the event ended on a sour note when a group of antifascists from the counter-rally attempted to support a small group of LGBTQ youth who had left the park to protest across the street from the “Straight Pride” rally. As soon as the antifascists stepped foot on the sidewalk, they were attacked by Proud Boys, who chased several groups of people back to their cars. The ensuing brawl was captured on film and became far-right click-bait celebrating the Proud Boys’ violence.

Going forward, people were left with a difficult question: with local non-profits and progressive churches refusing to back a counter-protest, how would they get out numbers? The initial media blitz around Grundmann in 2019 had also now dried up; the press couldn’t care less about Proud Boys unless they were beating up antifascists, and the local Modesto Bee certainly wasn’t going to run anything critical of the police or report on the GOP–far-right crossover. If organizers wanted to replicate the success of 2019, they needed to bring mass numbers against the far-right, holding the streets before they could mobilize and in such numbers that they could keep people safe.

The Mobilization

Knowing that a large coalition needed to be formed to mobilize people across the Central Valley and Northern California, organizers began to network months before the now-4th annual Straight Pride rally was even announced. Meetings were organized and groups began to hold meet and greets in towns and cities across the Valley and beyond. Slowly, a buzz began to build. A website was set up, zines were made, and people prepared to mobilize in late August. By the 27th, a strong coalition of anarchists, antifascists, and some progressives had been formed that stretched across multiple cities and towns.

The counter-protest on August 27th began at 9 AM, three hours before the Straight Pride rally was supposed to take place outside of a Planned Parenthood which wasn’t even open on Saturday. For two hours, hundreds of counter-protesters rallied with colorful banners, sharing food, water, throwing insults at a street preacher across the street with a sign that looked like it was designed by Dr. Bronners, and taking photos of a police surveillance drone flying overhead. A little after 11 AM, about half a dozen Proud Boys, some like Tyler John Greenhalgh, who had taken part in violent disruptions of of local LGBTQ events across Northern California, dashed past riot police and attempted to attack the crowd. Rushing to the frontlines, people quickly repelled the far-right and in the process threw several fireworks and one smoke canister, which lit a plant next to the sidewalk on fire, billowing smoke into the air.

Police then pushed the small group of Proud Boys further up the street and then called an unlawful assembly, demanding that the 200+ counter-protesters leave the area or face arrest. Later it emerged that a larger group of Proud Boys had been waiting in a parking lot nearby, but after the first wave was pushed back so quickly, it seems the larger group decided not to engage the much larger crowd.

At this point, people were mainly occupying the sidewalk in front of the vacant Planned Parenthood and in the facility’s empty parking lot. After five minutes passed and another demand to clear the area was given by law enforcement, police began shooting off pepper balls and pushing the crowd back with their batons. Several protesters were hit with projectiles and clubs as cops pushed the massive crowd south onto a major street, Orangeburg Avenue.

After being violently pushed out of the Planned Parenthood parking lot, the crowd took to the street, marching through a nearby neighborhood and finally rallying at a park. The scheduled “Straight Pride” rally in front of Planned Parenthood did not take place, although about 30 Proud Boys, boomers with the Straight Pride coalition, and elderly anti-abortion activists did rally later in the day in front of another reproductive health clinic across town (which was also closed for the weekend). During this rally a Proud Boy attempted to attack the car belonging to a left-wing journalist as it drove by, and several “Straight Pride” rallygoers were hit with eggs by unknown assailants. Despite having been pushed from their intended target, the “Straight Pride” crowd held a large anti-Planned Parenthood banner, a clear sign that they had failed to hold their ground. By the end of the day, police had arrested three people: two Proud Boys and one counter-protester.

Conclusions

The Modesto experience shows both the strength of organizing autonomously, but also how hard it can be sometimes. Autonomous organizers have everything stacked against them: non-profits and local faith leaders push people not to protest, while the police join the attack on communities already under assault by the state and the far-right. While the media can bring attention to the threat of reactionary forces, more often it is simply interested in publishing click-bait and sensationalizing “both sides” without ruffling the feathers of those in power. The ability to go beyond and outside of all of these pitfalls demands of us not only infrastructure, legal observers, medics, communications, media, and beyond, but also the relationships and base building needed to actually organize — especially at a time when social media is hitting a wall of diminishing returns.

In this terrain, winning means being able to build and organize our own networks and infrastructure outside of the institutions and organizations which are poised to throw a wet blanket on self-organization and direct action. But this doesn’t mean also giving up on outreach, building up our coalitions and networks, and drawing in those outside of established radical milieus.

Moreover, it means realizing that despite calls by Biden and the Democratic Party establishment to oppose the “semi-fascism” of the GOP, the neoliberal center is still much more willing to turn its guns on the organized working class in the streets fighting to confront the far-right, than it is to go after the very same groups which took part in the attempted coup on January 6th and now have turned their rage towards attacking whole swaths of the population. The state is not coming to save us, but if we’re willing to fight and build, we have the power to save ourselves.

Pro-Choice Protesters Confront Forced Birth Celebration at Modesto Church

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On the evening of June 26, around 20 pro-choice demonstrators gathered outside of Calvary Chapel in Modesto, CA in response to an event hosted that evening by the church, “Thanking God for the Overturn of Roe v. Wade.” This comes just two days after the controversial landmark ruling by the Supreme Court to undo Roe v Wade and allow states to restrict reproductive rights.

While the churchgoers were inside, the church had security in yellow vests riding around the parking lot on bikes and in golf carts. Aside from one security guard instigating a brief shouting match as demonstrators marched by, there was initially little interaction with the crowd.

The protestors (who were told early on that the police would be called if they entered the church property) marched to the corner of the church just off of Pelendale avenue with picket signs such as, “Women Won’t go Back. We’ll fight back” and, “Fuck the SCOTUS,” as well as an upside down American flag that was spray painted with, “Fuck your theocracy.”

Eventually, the police were called in response to demonstrators sitting on the stone sign where they were gathered, but no arrests were made.

Once church got out, the churchgoers were met at every exit of the parking lot by signs and chanting. Protestors chanted, “Abort the Court,” and “No Church, no State, only I decide my Fate.”

One demonstrator read out bible verses that called for the murder of children, asking the churchgoers if that sounded pro-life to them. Eventually, the church closed all but one of the exits. Some of the cars attempted to use the other exits in an attempt to avoid having to face the protestors as they drove by, but ultimately had to turn around and go by them anyways. As the cars began to dwindle in the parking lot, the protestors went home.

This demonstration was a quickly organized and could be easily replicated across the Valley and beyond. All it takes is putting out a flier, getting a group of friends together and spreading the word. Small actions like this are necessary for building larger movements with the capacity to fight larger battles while also strengthening bonds with people in our communities.

It’s important that in times such as these we band together and push back against the forces that would see us submit to their authority. It is also essential that this doesn’t end here. While the need to resist the worsening conditions of late-stage capitalism is essential, we must also push towards an even better future, one without capital and the State.

In the Wake of Rebellion: An Analysis of Abolitionist and Antifascist Currents in Modesto in 2021

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The police murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent rebellion that followed saw a new wave of working-class self-activity hit the so-called Central Valley, which was met in turn by a tide of far-Right reaction and State attempts at containment.

In the days after George Floyd was murdered, over 1,000 took to the streets of Modesto, riots and looting broke out in Sacramento, and protests soon spread into even smaller conservative towns such as Lodi, Turlock, and Oakdale, the “Cowboy Capitol of the World” and home base of ‘Unite the Right’ organizer, Nathan Damigo, as self-organized demonstrations and marches, called almost entirely by local youth of color, rocked the establishment.

The fires which swept across Minneapolis and brought down the third precinct, had found resonance with thousands of youth and beyond across the Central Valley of California.

The Embers of the George Floyd Rebellion Spread to the Central Valley

In response to growing protests, militia groups in Oakdale mobilized against the ‘threat’ of Black Lives Matter and to ‘defend’ local stores from imaginary hoards of looters, as police deployed flash bang grenades after drunken Trump supporters, screaming racial slurs and jumping around like monkeys, attacked counter-protesters on June 3rd. The next day, county officials declared a state of emergency – citing the threat of Black Lives Matter protests, not far-Right violence. Meanwhile, only 30 minutes away, hundreds of far-Right Free State of Jefferson supporters mobilized in the foothills east of the valley, against a small, youth led Black Lives Matter demonstration. 

Over the next few months in the Modesto area, the demonstrations lost their steam and frequency, dwindling from hundreds to several dozen marching down empty streets or rallying in front of local police stations. In July, members of the far-Right group, the Central Valley Patriots, attacked Black Lives Matter protesters in nearby Gustine. Soon after, “Back the Blue” protests began to pop-up, bringing together Trump supporters and segments of the far-Right under one umbrella. By late August of 2020, over 100 far-Right Proud Boys, Boogaloo Boys, militia members, and Christian Nationalists rallied outside of an empty Planned Parenthood for the second annual “Straight Pride Parade,” facing off against only 30 or so counter-protesters, a far-cry from the 250 or so who had mobilized the year before; quickly shutting down the far-Right.

While the George Floyd rebellion spawned a new generation of street militants sprinkled throughout the small towns across the Central Valley, these partisans quickly found themselves with fewer and fewer numbers in the streets. By 2021, the same forces that had been calling for arming themselves to “prevent looting” as the county declared a state of emergency, were now decrying the “communist” government for COVID lockdowns and school vaccine mandates.

The Central Valley experience is the same of many small towns and cities across the US, where protests are met by gangs of Proud Boys and police forces are quick to give the far-Right a clear pass to engage in violence and intimidation. Where manufactured fear of ‘ANTIFA’ and black rebellion spreads over social media, only to be weaponized by the far-Right, the police, and the State.

It’s also in these rural places, largely forgotten about or not reported on, that the difficult task of building autonomous, grassroots movements is being carried out.

The Growing Abolitionist Current and the Fight for Trevor Seever

In late December of 2020, Trevor Seever, a 29 year-old unarmed white man, was shot and killed by Joseph Lamantia in West Modesto while he was sitting behind a church. Police were called to the scene by his family who asked them to do a wellness check after Seever had a breakdown at their home. In a police video of the killing, Lamantia can be seen exiting his car and then quickly opening fire on Seever. Lamantia then tells him to put his hands up and then fires again. Minutes later, other police arrive on the scene, as Seever can be heard saying, “I’m dying,” to which Modesto police replied, “Sorry bro.”

From a report on It’s Going Down:

Since joining the Modesto Police Department back in 2008, Lamantia has also been involved in five other incidents that have resulted in four deaths, all of which have been cleared.

After the killing, Modesto policed rushed to construct a narrative of Trevor as a dangerous individual, citing anti-police sentiments posted to his personal Instagram page. According to the Modesto Police, these postings led them to issue a bulletin to the wider department in an attempt to construct their argument that this supposed danger made Lamantia afraid for his life during his encounter with Seever.

As word of the shooting and its horrific footage spread, helped in large part due to being reported on in the New York Times, opposition to the killing grew quickly, and weekly demonstrations began to be organized in front of the police station in Downtown Modesto, which in the middle of the pandemic, was largely a ghost town. Crowds grew to over 100 and people began to also march through the downtown following various rallies, which also mobilized outside of the DA’s office, as police not so inconspicuously flew drones overhead.

The friends and family of Trevor Seever were also joined by various clusters of socialists and anarchists along with newly radicalized Black Lives Matter activists, and more importantly, local (largely Black and brown) families who had also lost loved ones at the hands of local police. This included seasoned organizers such as Dionne Smith, who’s 16 year-old son, James Rivera Jr., had been killed by police in 2005, in nearby Stockton.

Justice for Trevor Seever rally in Modesto

The protests then moved to various neighborhoods and key intersections throughout the city, after it was noted that during COVID, the downtown area was mostly dead. When the group rallied in South Modesto, a prominently working-class Latino neighborhood, they were also joined by the family of Alonso Nunez, who had recently been savagely beaten by the police. In this way, the rallies served as a vehicle for families to keep pressure on the police, outreach to the larger community, and also network and build relationships with other families doing the same. In a city where working-class neighborhoods are deeply divided along lines of race, this was crucial in building wider community support. 

In this context, local anarchists were involved in attending and supporting rallies, bringing banners and zines out and also participating in a successful disruption of a “Coffee with the Cops” event, which was quickly shut down. Such events are held by police departments in many cities and towns and we encourage others to consider organizing similar disruptions, which are both confrontational and are a low-risk action, easy to pull off. The day after the disruption, it was announced that the Modesto police were firing Lamantia.

Soon after, a BBQ in a Modesto park was organized and attended by over 100 people and featured speakers from around 10 different families, a four directions ceremony, zine tables, lots of food, and participants from across Northern and Southern California. The event was even attended by two City Council members, who half-heartedly spoke in front of the crowd; wincing at the fact that they had to be performative in front of organized proletarians and begrudgingly made the point that it was the continued protest actions of the Seever family that forced Lamantia to be fired, not anything that the city or police did internally.

BBQ in Modesto in Support of Justice for Trevor Campaign

Although thousands of miles away from Minneapolis, everyone in attendance grasp the historic importance of the George Floyd rebellion and the Black Lives Matter movement, with many speaking about the need to keep the goal of abolition on the horizon. The fact that so many involved in bread and butter struggles have made this leap in their thinking is telling and shows the degree in which the George Floyd uprising had expanded the popular consciousness.

The Far-Right Moves Against the Trevor Seever Campaign

In the wake of the firing of Lamantia from the Modesto Police Department, local law enforcement was keen to rehabilitate its image within the community. In the summer of 2021, MPD brass backed the creation of the ‘Forward Together Work Group,’ made up of police officers, the ACLU, the NAACP, and others. The committee was tasked with hosting “listening sessions” within the local community and developing policy proposals for the City Council.

In response, members of the Modesto Proud Boys, the white nationalist group American Guard, and the Qanon supporting Christian Nationalist group, the California Straight Pride Coalition, began rallying and speaking in front of the Modesto City Council. In a series of incoherent statements, Modesto Proud Boy leader Sean Adam Kuykendall, the owner of Andrew’s Appliance Repair, put council leaders “on notice” for the creation of the working group, claiming it represented a “Communist” takeover of the City Council and was proof that local officials had gone back on their “oaths” to uphold the Constitution. Ironically, some of the same people repeating this line had taken part in the attempted storming of the capitol in DC, in an attempt to stop the counting of electoral votes.

Sean Adam Kuykendall throws up a fascist salute in 2020 at the “Straight Pride” Rally in Modesto

The appearance of the Proud Boys at the local council meetings, which coincided with similar attempts at intervention across the US by multiple Proud Boy chapters, came to a head on June 22nd, when the Proud Boys announced that they would rally outside of the local police department, in support of Lamantia and in protest of MPD for his firing.

This rally drew less than a dozen Proud Boy members and supporters; largely folks from outside of the county, and ended with the group calling someone a “faggot” and throwing a water bottle at them. They then rallied outside of the Modesto City Council chambers along with Mylinda Mason, a local GOP organizer and fund-raiser, and about a dozen supporters of Lamantia. During the City Council meeting, the Proud Boys attempted to verbally attack the Seever family and label them as “Communists,” but by the end of the night, the Proud Boys were vastly drown out by the comments of locals who supported the family and denounced the far-Right group.

As Raw Story reported:

“The PD here has always been fantastic,” chapter president Sean Kuykendall, who owns an appliance, air-conditioning and heating repair business in Modesto, told council on June 8. “And I’ll say that they are underfunded, not overfunded. And I’ve had multiple officers tell me — because I have a lot of police officer friends — that they can’t do their job, and they worry that they’re going to be defunded, okay?”

 

“We know what Sean is, and we know the violence that his group engages in has a clear goal: to get everyday working-class people to shut up and stop organizing for change,” said one speaker, who called in to city council remotely under then moniker “Jail Killer Cops.” “The fact that he can stand here and claim to have direct contact and support from local law enforcement should trouble everyone, and it’s exactly this violent fascist-to-police crossover that is causing so many people to assert their rights to police the police in the first place.”

The event ended in a near brawl outside the City Council chambers, as Proud Boys clashed with a dozen antifascists. Over the next few weeks, antifascists also organized several call-in campaigns to local restaurants where the Proud Boys and other far-Right groups liked to gather and hold meetings, including one event which featured guest speaker Jeff Dirkse, the local Sheriff, in an effort to shut these meetings down. Throughout July, Proud Boy events were also cancelled through community pressure in Modesto and Manteca, as the Proud Boys and their supporters attempted to hold events in support of a far-Right Republican who was running for Governor in the failed recall election. The group did manage to hold a pop-up picnic in nearby Turlock, drawing about two dozen people.

In late August, the Proud Boys alongside the California Straight Pride Coalition, held the third annual, “Straight Pride Parade,” which was neither a parade nor centered around “Straight Pride,” but was instead a rally in front of a closed Planned Parenthood building. Like the year before, the rally brought together Proud Boys from across California, Boogaloo Boys, white nationalists, local militia members, Trump and Qanon supporters, and Christian Nationalists. The event represented a continued coming together between local GOP organizers like Mylinda Mason and groups like the Proud Boys and showed how deep the intersections between the Republican party and far-Right groups had grown in recent years.

The local police also showed their hand, and for the second year in a row, pushed the City Council to ban from protests largely defensive items such as umbrellas and helmets, in a move designed to target antifascist protesters. This made it clear what side the police were on and provided law enforcement with an excuse to push through new draconian rules designed to clamp down on future unrest.

Despite this, locals realized that a repeat of 2020 could not be allowed – both in ignoring the rally and allowing local non-profits to head the organizing, which combined with the outset of the pandemic and smoke from climate change fueled wildfires, led to a small counter-mobilization on the streets.

Instead, local antifascists worked to build a coalition of local groups and organize a community rally up the street from the “Straight Pride” protest, looking to hold a much larger community event that built relationships and defended the park from any possible attacks or incursions from the Proud Boys. While many wanted to hold a counter-demonstration and drown out the Proud Boys at their own rally, organizers realized that since they couldn’t guarantee mass numbers, they should focus on holding space in the most powerful way possible that also sent a clear message against the far-Right. Similar community mobilizations by antifascist groups in Portland that opted to not directly confront the Proud Boys and instead presented a mass showing of solidarity and defense were looked to as direct inspiration.

The event ended up bringing out over 100 people and involving a wide variety of mutual aid programs, non-profits, collectives, and the family of Trevor Seever. The event featured music, food, speakers, and tables from various groups. The turnout was an interesting mix of the local queer community, young antifascists wearing all black, and older activists, progressives, and community members. At one point, Sean Adam Kuykendall and a Proud Boy supporter, Jeyna Marie Griffin, showed up with a banner and stood across the park and various crews of antifascists surrounded them. Eventually their banner was taken and they left the park.

While the counter-rally was wrapping up in the park however, on social media people discovered a small group of LGBTQ youth were protesting across the street from where about 75 militia members, Proud Boys, and Straight Pride Coalition supporters were rallying in front of Planned Parenthood. Several crews of people wearing black and in masks decided to go and stand in solidarity with this group of young people, however as soon as they exited their cars and stepped foot on the pavement, they were attacked by the Proud Boys, leading the police to declare an unlawful assembly, arrest two Proud Boys, fire projectiles, and shut the rally down.

Small groups of antifascists were attacked by a larger group of Proud Boys and in the chaos of people attempting to run back to their vehicles, one person was left behind and was further attacked by the far-Right. This violence, which mirrored in many ways similar events in Portland the week before, provided fresh click-bait for the Right-wing media eco-system.

Vaxx to the Future

While autonomous anti-capitalist groups and antifascists in other parts of the Central Valley engaged in mutual aid projects and disaster relief in the wake of massive wildfires, in Modesto, once again the far-Right was on the move.

In the wake of the Straight Pride Rally and the dramatic failure of the California recall election, local Proud Boys focused their energy on growing anger around vaccine and mask mandates. Proud Boys and militia members were seen at various anti-vaccine and anti-mandate rallies, one pathetic attempt at a walk-out at a local high school which never really materialized, a rally in Ceres that brought out Samuel Bosshardt, a member of the county’s Republican central committee, various anti-vaxx ‘holistic’ fairs organized by Proud Boy adjacent groups, and finally a mass rally outside of the Stanislaus Office of Education in Downtown Modesto. 

In response to this shift in focus, antifascists began a flyering campaign, in an attempt to expose leading Proud Boys and their supporters within the larger anti-vaxx and anti-mask current. Ironically, despite anger on the Right, schools were already in the process of re-opening, Biden rejected mandates across the board outside of public officials and health-care workers, and as Omicron surged, the CDC rushed to lower standards in an effort to push people back to work and re-open supply chains.

Outreach Flyer on Local Proud Boys

It’s unclear how the Right will respond to this, especially as working-class anger rises at growing infection rates and lack of access to COVID tests. If we can be sure of anything, it’s that the far-Right will attempt to co-opt this anger and channel it away from anything that resembles an anti-capitalist analysis which calls for direct action and solidarity and attempt to channel back into conspiratorial/culture war nonsense in support of Republican politicians.

In Closing

The events of 2021 bring up a lot of hard questions for organizers in the current terrain. While 2020 saw the high of the initial rebellion, the responding fallout from the far-Right and the State in rural areas of California offers a window into what we can expect in the future. This includes the State enacting a state of emergency and clearing people off the streets with the same toys we’ve seen being used in much larger cities – against much smaller crowds with less tactical experience. Moreover, we can expect that groups like the Proud Boys will be allowed free reign to attack their enemies.

We should keep in mind as well that our enemies aren’t all powerful. Over the course of the year, autonomous groups were able to not only get a police officer fired, but also pushed back heavily against the far-Right. Even small actions like call-in campaigns were successful in shutting down events, while larger sections of the community spoke out against far-Right groups. What’s needed is to expand these actions, make them stronger, and continue to develop a presence on the street which can push back.

It’s up to us to foster real relationships with each other in the post-rebellion landscape and find the activities, discussions, and projects that will allow us to do so. Overcoming the generational divides will be difficult; it takes real effort to get younger folks to listen to those who are older and to get older folks, often well versed in the realities of repression, to open up and be patient with those who are newer. We also have to be realistic and draw hard lines against those who just functionally can’t work – or shouldn’t – with others.

Lastly, we need to be open to the organizational forms which allow us to build power and networks of action, solidarity, and strength. This can mean mass street demos and blockades and it can also mean mutual aid networks and block parties.

Modesto Proud Boys Kicked Out of Elks Lodge; Call for Qanon Themed Rally in Manteca

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After receiving a flood of negative press and their leader, Sean Adam Kuykendall, the owner of Andrew’s Appliance Repair, being outed as the President of the Central Valley Proud Boys, the Modesto Elk’s Lodge was flooded with a barrage of emails, asking them to cancel an upcoming event, organized by the far-Right street gang.

Far-Right GOP Candidate Daniel Mercuri speaking in Sacramento to crowd of Proud Boys and other neo-fascist groups against the police killing of Washington DC attempted coup participant, Ashli Babbit

The event scheduled for July 30th, was to feature long-shot far-Right GOP candidate Daniel Mercuri, known for speaking at far-Right rallies alongside the Proud Boys and promoting a host of conspiracy theories. On June 6th, Mercuri spoke at a demonstration against the police killing of Ashli Babbit, the Trump and Qanon supporter who was shot and killed by law enforcement during the attempted coup in Washington DC on January 6th. The rally was organized and attended by various far-Right groups like the Proud Boys and American Guard. 

Soon after the July 30th event was cancelled by the Elk’s Lodge in Modesto, posts on far-Right social media platforms announced that the event would be re-scheduled at a private location in Manteca, followed by a rally against “child trafficking” and “pedophilia.” 

For over a year, Qanon supporters have attempted to hijack grassroots campaigns against child trafficking in an effort to popularize their pro-Trump, far-Right conspiracy theory. While everyone can agree that pedophilia and child trafficking is horrific, the Proud Boys and Qanon supporters have weaponized this widespread opposition to child abuse to push conspiracies that see all opponents of Donald Trump as part of an international secret cabal of Satanic pedophiles that engage in child sacrifice.

We have already seen examples of this play out in Modesto. During the second “Straight Pride Rally” in 2020, Proud Boys and their supporters branded the rally along lines that would attract Qanon supporters; claiming the rally was against “child trafficking” and “pedophilia.” Members of the Proud Boys displayed a massive banner reading “#PatriotsAgainstPedophilia, One Cure,” next to an image of an assault rifle. The implied association between the LGBTQ community and pedophilia was clear: as was the Proud Boys’ solution: mass violence and outright murder.

The Proud Boys are continuing to use the #PatriotsAgainstPedophilia hashtag to promote Daniel Mercuri’s run for California Governor, in an attempt to popularize the Qanon conspiracy theory within California Republican politics.

Photos of ticket-stubs for the upcoming Daniel Mercuri benefit posted to social media accounts associated with the Proud Boys also feature the phone number, (209) 416-2825, which is the office phone for JNC Tax LLC, which is owned by Jeyna Maire Griffin, a member of the Central Valley Proud Boys/Militia. Griffin is also known for her close association with Denise Aguilar, of the Freedom Angels and Mamalitia. Both Griffin and Aguilar attended the attempted pro-Trump DC coup on January 6th.

According to the Proud Boys, they will be announcing the location of their benefit event a week before July 30th. Local community members should be ready to mobilize and demand that these far-Right fascist groups and the violence that they thrive on has no place in our communities.

The Proud Boys are also organizing a rally on July 30th in Manteca, at Main Street and Louise Ave, part of what they claim is a “World Wide Awareness Day Against Sex Trafficking of Children.”

Jeyna Marie Griffin, a Modesto Proud Boys organizer who participated in the attempted pro-Trump coup in Washington DC that is directly involved in promoting and fundraising for Daniel Mercuri’s campaign.

By attaching themselves to the fight against child abuse and sex trafficking, the Proud Boys are attempting to give themselves and their far-Right politics a cover; cloaking their ideas in something seemingly innocuous. It’s up to the wider community to call bullshit on these deception campaigns and call them out for what they are: fascist thugs which advance a reactionary and bigoted agenda that ultimately serve the corporate and anti-working-class elites in the Republican party whose candidates they hope to elect.

Proud Boys Clash with Community Members in Support of Killer Cop; Rally Alongside GOP Organizer Mylinda Mason

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On Tuesday, June 22nd, members of Proud Boy chapters across the Central Valley, American Guard, and the California Straight Pride Coalition (CSPC) rallied in support of Joe Lamantia, a former Modesto police officer that now faces charges for killing Trevor Seever in December 2020.

According to a report on It’s Going Down:

On Thursday, March 18th, Modesto police officer Joseph Lamantia was fired from his position and is now currently facing criminal charges of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Trevor Seever on December 29th, 2020. Since joining the Modesto Police Department back in 2008, Lamantia has also been involved in five other incidents that have resulted in four deaths, all of which have been cleared. In the case of Trevor Seever, Lamantia responded to a call for a wellness check from Seever’s family, only to find Seever behind a church and opened fire on him within seconds of exiting his vehicle; Seever was unarmed and died while being transported to a hospital.

Locals were tipped off to the rally after a screenshot began circulating showing a flyer advertising a protest outside of the police station in support of Lamatia followed by a show of force at the Modesto City “Councel.”

Proud Boys Come Out in Support of Killer Cop Fired by Department

Although the Proud Boys did not materialize for a rally at 9 AM like their flyer said, by early afternoon local community members began getting reports of a group of about 8 Proud Boys and their supporters outside of the police station. When one individual walked past and recorded them on their phone, the group responded by calling the person a “faggot” and throwing a water bottle at them.

The group then headed to Fuzios, a nearby local restaurant, before rallying outside of the Modesto City Council, where they were joined by members of the California Straight Pride Coalition, which is led by long-time anti-LGBTQ activist Don J. Grundmann, who resides in the bay area, and Mylinda Mason, the Modesto-based leader of the California Republican Assembly of Stanislaus, which provides support and fund raises for Trumpian Republican candidates and law enforcement. Mason is deeply tied to local Republican circles, elected officials, and also the far-Right. Before the City Council meeting began, she gave a speech about working directly with Sean, the leader of the Modesto Proud Boys.

In 2019, the CSPC, which states it believes in the superiority of “Whiteness”, “Western Civilization”, and “Christianity”, and calls the LGBTQ community literally “Satanic”, organized an attempted rally, but were denied a permit by the City of Modesto. The event only ended up bringing out around a 12 supporters, and was vastly outnumbered by hundreds of counter-protesters, who swarmed the demonstration in front of an empty Planned Parenthood building with large banners and signs. In the run up to the event, Grundmann stated in the media that local Proud Boys would be in attendance, however the organization issued a statement denying they were supporting the event. 

By summer of 2020 however, things had changed, and dozens of Proud Boys, American Guard, Boogaloo Boys, local militias, and QAnon supporters rallied alongside Grundmann and Mylinda. The rally ended with a far-Right supporter almost running someone over with their truck. The CSPC was also able to build connections with local pastors in the area who double as police chaplains, effectively building a bridge between the far-Right and local police.

Now in June of 2021, as the Modesto City Council meeting began, members of the Proud Boys attempted to intimidate Trevor Seever’s family and their supporters as they entered the chamber to attend the meeting. Over the next two hours, a handful of Proud Boys and others in their camp spoke, including two known to be from the Modesto area, and several from the surrounding region such as Josh Fulfer, known by many as “The Cum Shorts Guy.” Most of the comments made, both in person and through Zoom, were against the Proud Boys and in support of the Seever family and the creation of a police oversight committee that is supported by both local police and groups like the NAACP and ACLU.

Occasionally the Proud Boys would attempt to rush the mic or interrupt other speakers, but were quickly shut down. Their goal was to paint a basic reform proposal with limited power as the work of “Antifa,” “BLM,” and an example of a “creeping communist conspiracy”. Over and over, the Proud Boys argued that if implemented, the entire region would “go the way of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles” and be “in ruins.”

One of the last people to speak on the far-Right side was none other than bay area resident and CSPC leader Don J. Grundmann, who stated that he worked closely with the Proud Boys, and used his time to announce the third annual Straight Pride Parade on August 28th, 2021, again outside of a vacant Planned Parenthood building.

After the meeting was over, the Proud Boys made their way outside and scuffled with a group of about a dozen bloc’d up antifascists, before both groups were separated by police.

Conclusions

It’s clear that the Proud Boys have been monitoring the growing movement for police reform around Trevor Seever and are looking to clamp down on it, using a barrage of anti-BLM, anti-antifa rhetoric, coupled with conspiracies.

But this strategy doesn’t seem to be working. By exposing themselves, the Proud Boys have already outed their leader, Sean Adam Kuykendall, (the owner of Andrew’s Appliance Repair), and showed their need to rely on members of chapters across the Central Valley to get boots on the ground. One of their members, Jeyna Marie Griffin, even admitted to taking part in the January 6th attempted pro-Trump coup, which some of their associates have already had their homes raided over. The Proud Boys were also joined in Modesto by members of the American Guard, a more overtly neo-Nazi version of the Proud Boys, formed by the racist skinhead, Brien James, as well as a group of Boomers from the CSPC who held signs in support of Lamantia. The presence of these other fringe groups do nothing to help the Proud Boys image.

So far the strategy of the Proud Boys has been to inject themselves into pro-Trump or anti-lockdown rallies and present themselves as “protectors against antifa”; but in Modesto, they’re simply going after a (white) working class family and having to align themselves with a vastly unpopular anti-LGBTQ group to do it.

Sean Adam Kuykendall, in middle.

As in other situations around the country, the Proud Boys also can’t contain themselves when it comes to violence. The group has demonstrated a need to engage in fights whenever possible; their stated politics are frequently shifting and self-contradicting, and it’s clear that most of their members are primarily interested in public displays of machismo and generating content for social media. Listening to their speeches at the city council, it’s clear very few were well-versed in the Seever case.  Some didn’t even know that the tape of the shooting had been released.

Regardless of their shortcomings, it’s clear that sections of the local GOP and far-Right groups based in the streets are attempting to come together to be a force both on the ground and in the halls of government – and more violence isn’t far behind. Before our enemies are able to solidify their alliances and entrench themselves, it is crucial that we come together, plan, and mobilize to defend our communities.

Introducing Off the 99!

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Off the 99 is a hub for autonomous news and action in so-called Central Valley, otherwise known as occupied Yokut and Miwok territory.

This site will be used to promote autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-racist news, action, analysis and events.

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