Tonight, it's been five years since hundreds of fascists gathered in Charlottesville to march with torches.

Anarchists had already been mobilizing against the rise of fascism for years—but most people had not taken our pleas seriously.

http://cwc.im/Charlottesville

On the day of Trump’s inauguration, an alt-right assaulter shot an unarmed anti-fascist protestor in Seattle. Police initially responded by declining to charge the shooter with a crime, while continuing to condemn and repress anti-fascist demonstrators.

https://crimethinc.com/escalation

Politicians had already sent the message that both police and fascists could freely assault those who stood up against racism, taking steps to legalize using vehicles to murder protestors, while Fox News and the Daily Caller promoted vehicular assaults:

https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/15/media/daily-caller-fox-news-video-car-crashing-liberal-protesters/index.html

This text chronicles the years leading up to the fascist rally in Charlottesville, during which the far right attacked protest from the top down with police, courts, and legislatures—and from the bottom up with militias, fascist groups, and lone shooters:

https://crimethinc.com/j20charlottesville

It is inspiring and humbling that, despite the risks, a small number of students, anti-racist activists, and anarchists mobilized against a larger force of armed fascists in Charlottesville.

Had Nazis been able to gather unopposed, today's world might be even scarier.

In this interview—a valuable historical document—a participant in the anarchist resistance in Charlottesville speaks on the stakes of the conflict, why anti-fascists were able to achieve their goals, and how the outcome impacted the course of US politics.

https://crimethinc.com/squaringoff

We also recommend this text—"Why We Fought in Charlottesville"—from an anarchist participant in the resistance to the fascist "Unite the Right" rally, exploring why it is crucial to prevent fascists from organizing and legitimizing their political parties:

https://crimethinc.com/whycharlottesville

In response to the courageous efforts of anti-fascists, the city government—which had attempted to permit the fascist rally—was forced to call it off.

In retaliation, a fascist drove his car into the demonstrators.

We mourn Heather Heyer and everyone else fascists have killed.

Although the person who murdered Heather Heyer and critically injured many other people is in prison today, his attack—thanks to the efforts of the far right in general and to centrist apathy—set a precedent for increasingly frequent vehicular attacks. The risks and the stakes of street action have both gone up since 2017.

https://crimethinc.com/VehicularAttacks

It's no coincidence that when Joe Biden announced his candidacy for president, he did so with a video centering footage from Charlottesville. But he wasn't in Charlottesville that weekend. To Democrats, the rise of fascism is chiefly a means to seek votes.

Just like Trump, centrists want to present themselves as the only ones who can control the violent conflicts that cut through our society. But if we count on them to do so, they will also crush movements for liberation.

It's up to us to defeat fascism and build a better world.

The struggle continues. Thank you for participating in it alongside us. 🖤🤎💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

We still passionately believe that together, we can create a society without oppression, in which all of us are free to fulfill our collective potential on our own terms.

"We anarchists understand that if all we accomplish are short-term agreements with the capitalists that actually control the state, Sri Lanka's problems will only continue."

These interviews with anarchists in Sri Lanka chart the course of the movement:

https://illwill.com/dispatches-from-sri-lanka

Tonight—8/13—sunset—8 pm
at (the heroically reconquered) Peoples Park, Berkeley

A 🌌night🌌 at the 📽movies📽 with the CrimethInc. Ex-Worker’s Collective, featuring…

—We Are Now (2020 police-free autonomous zone documentary)
🔥🚓🔥
—Chile: from chaos to constitution slideshow
🔥🚓🔥
—lost gems from the anarchist television vaults
🔥🚓🔥
Bring blankets, friends, and be ready to DEFEND FREE SPACE
✊✊✊🏴🏴🏴