Florida League of the South Involved in Arrest, Beating at Charlottesville Rally

[inanna]

Source: SPLC

August 13, 2017

Yesterday Virginia State Police announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with Jason Kessler’s Unite the Right (UTR) rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Among them was James M. O’Brien of Gainesville, Florida. O’Brien was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed handgun.

O’Brien’s arrest roughly coincided with a rush on a Charlottesville parking garage by local SWAT units after members of the Neo-Confederate Florida League of the South (FL LOS) were filmed viciously beating a black man, who attempted to run away, fell, and was savaged once again. Also visible in the video was at least one man carrying a shield with a Vanguard America logo, much like the one carried by James Alex Fields, who allegedly drove his car through a group of counter protestors killing one.

Social media seems to indicate that the same James M. O’Brien is a member of the FL LOS, a militantly racist organization intent on seizing federal equipment from the Florida national guard in its desire to see the states of the Confederacy secede and form a white ethno-state.



Read more: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/08/13/florida-league-south-involved-arrest-beating-charlottesville-rally

---

Michael Hill is the "president" of the League of the South.

Here is a tweet Hill posted yesterday, after the death of Heather Heyer:

Link to tweet

[Stonepounder]

1. Would it be inappropriate for me to start this chant:

Lock them up!
Lock them up!
Lock them up!

(Then misplace the key to their cell for a good long time!)

[inanna]

2. No. And I will chant with you!

Lock them up!
Lock them up!
Lock them up!

[sheshe2]

12. I am with you.

Lock them up.

[DonCoquixote]

27. I am temtped to start a thread

where I simply ask people to type "lock them up"

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Filth. Worse than filth. Deplorable doesn't even come close. No words....

[shenmue]

13. Amen

[underpants]

4. FL LOSers

[mcar]

5. Another stain on my state

Lock their sorry asses up and throw away the key.

[Ligyron]

18. Gainesville is such a cool town too.

College town and home of the U of F. - Hippieville really. Very progressive but this guy now and that Rev who burned the Koran live around there too.

[mcar]

20. It is

But surrounded by Redneck USA. I live 70 miles south.

[Ligyron]

21. You're absolutely right home boy.

Except for us coastal elites and a few islands of sanity like G'ville and Orlando one may as well be in Alabama. People who move here are often surprised by this.

Yeah, I was in Ocala for awhile myself. Broke my heart to see what became of Silver Springs.

[mcar]

22. I hate what they have done to this state

The racists, the Ayn Randers, the used car salesmen/legislators owned by the NRA, etc.

[GulfCoast66]

33. South Lake county here

What I would give to have Walkin' Lawton back as governor.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. These are violent crimes of hate

It's not just assault, or murder, it's these crimes with an added layer of hatred

I just hope they deal with these culprits quickly and judiciously and throw the kitchen sink filled with books at them

No languishing in prison for 15 years waiting for a pardon from a Republican governor

Carry out the sentences, whatever they are, swiftly. It may send a message and prevent other tragedies

[KT2000]

7. confused here -

did they arrest anyone who was beating Deandre Harris?

[inanna]

8. I believe Jacob L. Smith from Louisa, Virginia

was arrested on charges of assault and battery in the attack on Deandre Harris.

The Virginia State Police announced late Saturday that Troy Dunigan, a 21-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was charged with disorderly conduct; Jacob L. Smith, a 21-year-old from Louisa, Virginia, was charged with assault and battery; and James M. O'Brien, 44, of Gainesville, Florida, was charged with carrying a concealed handgun.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2017/08/charlottesville_rally_deaths_a.html

The above article links O'Brien to the League of the South, and O'Brien was arrested at approximately the same time as the assault on Harris was taking place.

[KT2000]

16. thanks!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. His warrior Fields with Vanguard America (bloodandsoul.org) shield

[byronius]

14. Little boys playing at war.

The Brownshirts were leftover ruthless trench rats with years of service on the Western Front, trained soldiers who had murdered and machine-gunned other soldiers.

The guys in the photo just finished playing Call of Duty. Period.

[DBoon]

28. Are the emblem fasces?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

29. Yes. His shield has the ax part down which is a faux pas, but supremacists are ignorant. . . nt

[GulfCoast66]

34. He is holding it upside down...

But when he looks down at it he sees no problem.

[onetexan]

31. these boys look like a bunch of misfits acting out their delinquency

shields and flags? looks like they were playing dressup to attend a medieval game of sorts. Talk about the Bad News Buckaroos.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

32. In Nazi Germany they would have been labelled degenerates for not shaving & being overweight. . nt

[McCamy Taylor]

10. Brown shirts.

And sadly, they do not know that if they achieved the fascist coup, they would be among the first the fascists would eliminate. Making them vicious and stupid, a dangerous combo.

[gademocrat7]

11. Vile evil men.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Reuters Photos Of August 12, 2017 Day Of Violence By Racists In Charlottesville, VA

Last edited Sun Aug 13, 2017, 06:28 PM - Edit history (1)

https://grondamorin.com/2017/08/13/reuters-photos-of-july-12-2017-day-of-violence-by-racists-in-charlottesville-va-news-update/?shared=email&msg=fail


A Du'er commented on the wierdness of the fact a lot of these fascists were wearing white polo shirts and khakis, and I remembered I had seen Blackwater mercenaries escorting the US Ambassador around, wearing the same costume. I had to wonder:



- click for photo -

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.3407920.1502621356!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1200/unite-white-supremacist-rally-charlottesville.jpg

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.3406226.1502561174!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1200/white-nationalist-rally-charlottesville.jpg







Charlottesville rally.

[Ligyron]

19. Interesting.

I just figured the khakis and polo shirt were a tribute to their fuhrer Trump's golfing attire.

[Hieronymus]

17. They don't look much like peaceful protestors to me.

[SergeStorms]

23. "Our warriors acquitted themselves as men".

Your "warriors" are nothing but fucking, scum-sucking COWARDS!

Attacking unarmed, defenseless people, with intent to KILL! Yeah, real "warriors" you gutless cowards are.

And there isn't a REAL man among you all. You're scared little boys. You can't compete in a world where intelligence is valued more than brawn, so you MUST kill those who are more intelligent than you (which is just about everyone). Your day will come, you scum-sucking pigs. Your day will come. And your hero, Hitler, IS DEAD! He killed himself because he wasn't MAN ENOUGH to face the consequences of his "convictions". He was a gutless coward, just like you ass clowns.

[HAB911]

24. The FL man

snip

After being contacted by a Tampa Bay Times reporter on Facebook, O'Brien said his arrest was an "independent matter" not related to the rally, called "Unite the Right" by its organizers. He said he was given a misdemeanor citation and sent on his way for an incident in which police thought he was breaking into his own car after he lost his car keys. A photo of the citation provided by O'Brien had an issuance time of 6:38 p.m., hours after the demonstration.

"I voluntarily disclosed the weapon and was issued a misdemeanor citation," O'Brien said. "I do not know why the State Police have stated what they did."

snip

The Facebook page for O'Brien's blog included a since-deleted post describing the scene at the rally, which began peacefully then turned violent when "Marxist agitators" surrounded the group.

"While the media lies about the truth of events, blaming White Nationalists and Southern Heritage groups for inciting violence, no one from those groups started any violence until assaulted by Marxists," the post said. "I was there."

snip

The post echoes O'Brien's online presence, which paints a picture of a world where Southerners and Christians are under siege from a political left that should be eliminated. His blog includes posts blaming black mothers for high incarceration rates of black men; denying climate change as scientific fact; and referring to Democrats as "violent extremists."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-man-among-three-arrested-in-connection-to-white-nationalist-rally/2333643

[Justice]

25. These groups are gangs. Talk sounds like initiation rites.

[Ilsa]

26. Florida has the second most number of hate groups

According to the SPLC:

https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map

[RKP5637]

30. Looks like a very disturbed hate filled country in so many places! n/t

[inanna]

35. Update from SPLC

UPDATE 8.17.17

Jim O’Brien was formerly employed by North American Roofing, where he was hired in March of this year.

The company announced Tuesday that they had severed O’Brien’s employment, stating "We do not support the extremist activities that were on display in Charlottesville, Va. over the weekend or any other similar activity," it says. "We promote a culture of inclusion and diversity."

Footage from the rally appears to show O’Brien, marching with the League of the South, punching a woman repeatedly in the face.

The man dressed in a black polo, black hat and sunglasses, can be seen repeatedly striking the victim beginning around :30 seconds. Other footage of the incident shows the woman being pulled into a crowd of LOS members and their Nationalist Front ilk by Kentucky chairman Spencer Borum and thrown to the ground.

...

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/08/17/florida-league-south-involved-arrest-beating-charlottesville-rally-update

I haven't viewed the video. Requires a FB account. Plus, I just don't want to...