Submission from Ohio Valley Environmental Resistance (OVER) received on 03.15.21

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On Sunday March 14^th in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the Ohio Valley Environmental Resistance with the help of several affinity groups held a noise demo outside the home of Allegheny County Executive Richard “Fitz” Fitzgerald to protest his support of the petrochemical industry in Southwestern PA.  The activists chose March 14^th to coincide with Pi day (3.14) which is celebrated by science enthusiasts around the world. In honor of Pi day, OVER created a paper mache Pi filled with plastic made to symbolize plastic in the world’s food supply.

Fitzgerald recently made national headlines by responding to Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s’ comments about Pittsburgh and the Paris Climate Agreement by stating “we believe in science around here” and “climate change is real.”  Mainstream news networks grabbed on to these comments and Fitzgerald’s similarity to the actor Jeff Daniels without delving any further into Fitzgerald’s actual record on environmental issues.

Fitzgerald was one of the largest recipients of fossil fuel interest money in the state of Pennsylvania in 2017-2018. In 2014 his administration pushed for fracking underneath a county owned park by Range Resources despite widespread community opposition and a campaign that lasted for eight months.  Fitzgerald also ignored environmental advocates by encouraging fracking near Pittsburgh International Airport and has been a strong supporter along with Donald Trump of the Shell Ethane Cracker Plant in Beaver County Pennsylvania.

The plant is currently under construction and will emit over 2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents every year along with produce 1. 6 million tons of ethylene plastic “nurdles” that are used to make plastic products.  The plant also will receive 1.6 billion dollars in tax breaks from the state of Pennsylvania in exchange for reversing all of the progress the Southwestern Pa has made to combat climate change and for producing more plastic to poison the world’s water and food supply.

Protesters used pots, pans, drums, speeches, chants, and songs to create noise. They also placed door hangers on neighbors’ doors to explain why they were creating such a ruckus.  Neighbors were mostly supportive although one person did attempt to drive through the crowd  Fortunately the bikes blocking the permiter marshalled the driver through the crowd as people called the driver a “jagoff” (Pittsburghese) for not taking another residential side street.

Two members of OVER attempted to confront Fitz by knocking on his door and leading the crowd in a chant to “come out now!”  As expected the lights were on, but Fitz did not show.    

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OVER has three demands they are making of Fitzgerald:

1. Fitzgerald must publicly declare that he was wrong about the economic and environmental consequences of fracking.
2. He must never again court fracking and petrochemical companies to come to Southwest PA.
3. Ban fracking on county owned land. 

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  To Contact Fitzgerald at his office, call 412-350-6500.

Ohio Valley Environmental Resistance (OVER) is a coalition of climate justice organizations and independent activists who are demanding the cessation of the petrochemical buildout in the Ohio Valley. OVER intends to engage in sustained resistance until its demand is met.

KDKA News Story –  https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/03/15/anti-fracking-allegheny-county-rich-fitzgerald-protest/

Campaign Donations – http://marcellusmoney.org/pac/FRIENDS-OF-RICH-FITZGERALD

Shale Cracker Plant – https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/ethane-cracker/

Deer Lakes Park – https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/proposal-to-drill-beneath-deer-lakes-park-raises-questions-of-safety-government-procedure/Content?oid=1708989

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_{[anonymous submission received on 12.15.20]}

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The following report comes from an anonymous Pittsburgh anti-fascist who participated in the D12 community defense against the Proud Boys in Washington DC.

This report includes the author’s experience of the day’s action, several accounts from others on the ground, and concludes with some critical reflections and lessons learned.

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We arrived in DC in the morning on Saturday. After dropping our bags at lodging we walked most of the way to the plaza to scout an approach that would let us bloc up close by. There were already small groups of MAGAs and PBs on the sidewalks although their behavior was relatively subdued.

Once we reached the plaza and were able to get into bloc, we started waiting. SURJ, a DC group, was holding the space. One of their people thanked us for coming out in bloc. People without masks were denied entry to the segment of the plaza antiracists controlled by a bike line backed up by people on foot.

One instance upset the relative calm of the morning. An unmasked man attempted to force his way through the bike line into the plaza. This was opposed by bikes as well as a large group of people. The police seized this as a tactic to throw their weight around and helped the man smash through the bike line and backing crowd of antiracists. No one was arrested though.

The plaza continued to fill with groups of people as noon came and went. The police eventually blocked off I street at 15th and 17th and pulled their northern line out to K Street. This created a much larger space for antifascists to operate in.

Some time after noon, a large crowd of MAGAs/PBs marched by on 15th. The plaza began boiling like an ant hive and what seemed like the whole group went down to confront the fascists from across the police line. This rush of people led to the macing of at least one antiracist by the MPD as they struggled to separate the two groups.

For several hours this continued. A group of fascists would make an appearance a block away, separated from the plaza by a line of police, and antiracists would move to oppose them from across the police line. To editorialize – it seemed like a lot of concern and effort went into these one block mobilizations. While holding the space was a priority, there was never a time when fascists had unhindered access to the plaza, even in the absence of an antifascist response. Regardless, it was fortunate for us that only a few of us were maced during these instances.

At around 4pm, a group no larger than 40 antifascists including many carrying shields, departed BLM plaza with the intended destination of McPherson Square. McPherson was the planned site of a 530pm vigil for Casey Goodson Jr. and Brandon Bernard. As the sun began to set, this group established itself in the square.

It was then learned from people with comrades still in the plaza that after the advance group had left, MPD had rushed the plaza, arresting around five antiracists. After the police backed off, a group of the people remaining in the plaza managed to make it to McPherson Square as well.

The advance team in the square, which included a shield wall, was busy almost immediately upon arrival. A small detachment was tasked with holding the southeast entrance of the park. As that group arrived, they saw a number of kids riding bikes north past the McPherson building. There were MAGAs chasing them. I saw a woman pull a taser out of her pocket and discharge it at the back of a fleeing teen, only to miss. We quickly motioned the kids behind our shield line into the park. At that point a large crowd, a mix of MAGAs and Proud Boys began to come up the street from south near the Sofitel. A runner went to alert the rest of the people in the park. Our numbers could not have been more than 60 all told.

Despite their overwelming numbers and verbal provocations, no Proud Boys attempted to cross 15th St. to the park where our group held the sidewalk. Instead, PBs/MAGAs waited for MPD to put bike lines on both sides of the street, separating the groups. The police dispersed the crowd of MAGAs towards the east on I and south on 15th. Antifascists returned to a more neutral position in the park, waiting for the arrival of the vigil group.

The presence at McPherson slowly swelled as people trickled in for the 530pm vigil. However, reports that a friendly church nearby was under siege by MAGAs pushed more than half of the group there to head north. Others stayed, waiting on the delayed vigil organizers.

When they did arrive, the remaining group began to march as well. Initial fears that the first contingent had been kettled were allayed. According to people in that group, while police did surround them, the appearance of a crowd of fascists pulled away one of the police lines and they were able to leave the area.

This march moved around town for some time, unhindered by police. After a break some ways to the north, the march moved back south in an attempt to return to the plaza. A confrontation with a group of fascists occurred, although the formidable shield wall combined with general numerical superiority [in the immediate area] prevented any real fights. A photo of the confrontation:

As we moved further south, a more serious confrontation arose. At K Street, MAGAs/PBs first presented themselves in small numbers in our direction of travel. However, as police moved to wall them off, more approached from the east. It became hectic as the shield unit attempted to cover multiple directions at once, leading to pockets of shields intermingled in lines with those sans shields. Minor clashes broke out but were separated quickly. Police began to push our group west, requiring a determined withdrawal, towards yet another waiting police line. Instead antifascists made a fast turn north. As the main body of the march streamed up the street ahead of a police line now pushing north, a group of 8-10 fascists moved down the sidewalk to engage.

The following is an account from a person who confronted the fascists:

Police were behind us, shoving us north. A group of approximately 10 PBs came down the street we were going up. I noticed and quickly rallied 5 people to confront them and protect the flank of the march. We assembled a line in the street, facing the sidewalk. The PBs attempted to fight us almost immediately. One ran in and was rebuffed by the center of the line. A second tried to mace the person on the very end of the line. He got his shield up in front of most of it and then smacked the mace-carrier. A second rush at the line was rebuffed with determined shield shoves. At that point, the fight was cut short as the police line pushing from the south reached our detachment, shoving us hard with baton crosschecks to the north.

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MPD had now trapped the antifascists in one block. Their southern line was solid, but their northern line was being pressured by a massive crowd of MAGAs/PBs, at least the size of the one that had confronted us to the south. Antifascists waited tensely – we were completely boxed in. But MPD had their hands full. Slowly, their reinforcements arrived and pushed the PBs out of the intersection to the north and east, creating a buffer zone of an intersection.

The following is an account from a participant in the antifascist demonstration:

There was a kid in the “kettle” with us. I say “kettle” because the cops weren’t continuing to squeeze us in nor were they attempting to arrest antifascists at this time. This kid was dressed in street clothes, had a bike, and no other gear. He expressed to me that “he didn’t want to die” and that “he wasn’t supposed to be here”. I did what I could – I pointed out a recessed corner created by a pillar of the building we were next to on the sidewalk. If anything happens, I said, I’ll put my shield on the pillar and cover you. He agreed, but was clearly still in distress.

I decided to exercise all my options. I approached the bike line holding us from the north (and behind whom the west side of the intersection was clear). I communicated that there was a kid with us, who was alone and scared and not even supposed to be here. The police officer indicated that he would not let him leave. However, a few minutes later, a different officer who had overheard, said that the west exit was now considered safe, and after seeing him, allowed him through the line to go home.

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At this point, the unruly fascist crowds had been pushed away from the intersection by more MPD. MPD officers then extended an offer to the crowd – passage back through the city to the plaza – although it’s unclear what the alternative was. We slowly made our way back down to the plaza, surrounded by lines of cops. This clearly allowed the PBs/MAGAs to remain free to prey on people and roam more freely. However, it also meant that our march contingent made it back to the plaza. Once there, people relaxed. Someone ordered a stack of pizzas and the grubhub driver somehow got through the police line unmaligned with the food.

There was a small incident where a lone MAGA entered the plaza and was pushed back by protesters. Police who came forward were then forced back the antifascist shield wall. Once they were forced back to the edge of the plaza at J St, there was a brief respite before police charged in, arresting one person and pushing the shield wall back. At this point, a lively debate among protesters took place as to whether the shields should hold the space at a reasonable standoff distance from the police line at J or whether it was better to pull back to the center at I. Eventually the crowd backed off. 

Dispersal at this point was a dilemma. Any large group marching out would attract both state and PB attention, but small groups trying to be stealthy could be jumped by roving PBs. Eventually though, the waiting game seemed to win out. An attempt was made to get people going in similar directions to group up for as long as they could for safety, which was reasonably successful. Our group successfully left the plaza and navigated without incident back to our lodging, encountering PBs only at a distance across a traffic circle.

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Observations, Critiques, and Lessons Learned

1. Between 12 and 3, most of the plaza’s occupants repeatedly flowed to the edge of the plaza when MAGAs would pass by. In one instance, multiple people were maced as cops failed to form a proper line and deployed mace to cover their mistakes. It’s unclear what this accomplished. 
2. Flocking behavior to individual MAGAs at many points during the day was excessive. Distracting 20 people for 1 MAGA while in a supremely hostile environment was wasteful and potentially dangerous.
3. Shields leaving when they did for McPherson may have opened the plaza to attack. Should have been communicated better that they were marching out or coordinated a more complete emptying of the plaza to go to the vigil/march.
4. Decision to take more than half of the McPherson contingent north without the shields, who were waiting on the group that had called for the vigil at McPherson was very nearly disastrous. Splitting the party with that many fash around is risky.
5. Proud Boys really don’t want to fight you if you’re looking ready and in a group that’s even half the size as theirs. At multiple points, the PBs could have engaged in a general melee with a large but still heavily outnumbered group of antifascists and they chose not to. 
6. There still weren’t enough counterprotesters out. There were loads of bloc but without more liberal support the fash will continue to have a heavy numbers advantage. This puts us in the awkward position of being bailed out by the police separating the two groups.
7. It was absolutely galling to accept what essentially was a police escort back to BLM plaza. Necessary, but frustrating.

In Solidarity,
– A Pittsburgh Anti-fascist

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Anonymous submission received on 07.14.20

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Fred Hampton said that we fight racism with solidarity, and it is in the spirit of solidarity that I write this message. I write this as a person who has been doing organizing and activism for racial and economic justice for nearly 20 years. I write this as someone who will continue to do that work, to fight for marginalized communities against the forces trying to keep us marginalized. I write this as someone who wants to see our movements continue to grow, for struggle to spread, for the racist systems controlling us to fall. I hope that, in this spirit of solidarity and struggle, this message will be taken constructively, as that is how it is meant.

At the various protests happening in Pittsburgh over the past months, I have seen powerful testaments to the anger felt by many in the Black community. This anger is clearly justified, and I am glad there is finally a consistent, public outlet for it. Audre Lorde said, in her brilliant piece The Uses of Anger, “anger between peers births change.” “Between peers,” I will repeat.

In my past years of organizing, one thing that has become clear to me is that, if we want a movement to grow, it can only do so by empowering its participants. It does this by making space for autonomy and solidarity, solidarity between peers, as it is only between peers that solidarity can truly be built.

But too often I have seen a relationship between organizers and participants of these actions that is not one of peerhood. I have seen, rather than the spreading of empowerment, the spreading of shame, of guilt, of people talking down to each other, not as peers at all. I have seen fellow people in the streets talked to as though they are incompetent and ill-meaning, from being corrected on the proper way to raise their fist in solidarity, to a white person being told they are racist simply for wanting to speak, to show their solidarity.

White supremacy is a system which ultimately benefits the powerful by maintaining divides among the powerless, divides based on false narratives and superstitions. Some of us are manipulated with the carrot of privilege, and others with the stick of the police baton. If we do not overcome these manipulations, we will only ever be fighting for table scraps. It is for this reason that when the powerless organize we need to walk the tightrope of neither pretending that differential treatment doesn’t exist (through some “colorblind” approach), or by reproducing those same divisions within our own movements. If we want this to be about more than changing the way corporate PR campaigns are run for a few years, we need to empower people by overcoming the very divisions that keep all of us too weak to be a threat. Being made to feel guilty simply for existing is not a recipe for solidarity. Audre Lorde said in that same essay “All too often, guilt is just another name for impotence, for defensiveness, destructive of communication.” Only empowered people are willing and able to stand up to the police, to take the actions necessary to combat racism, to go on the offensive and to communicate with each other constructively.

People who are ashamed of themselves, who feel guilt and condescension, will not be willing to continue this struggle for the long term, and it is a long struggle we face, and have been facing. Despite my years of doing this, I am well aware that there are people who have been fighting this fight for far longer. I have continued in this fight for this long only because of the empowerment it makes me feel, and the empowerment that has been spread to the communities I care about.

But guilt-tripping participants is anything but empowering. “I have no creative use for guilt, yours or my own,” Lorde continued, “Guilt is only another way of avoiding informed action, of buying time out of the pressing need to make clear choices, out of the approaching storm that can feed the earth as well as bend the trees.”

Clear choices do indeed need to be made, and I choose to feed the earth and bend the trees together with all of you. My hope is that I will find many other empowered people in the streets with us. Not people cowed by shame and guilt, but ready and willing to lift each other up, as peers, to continue this struggle for as long as necessary.

In solidarity,
a friend

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Statement from “some anti-fascists based in the East End.”
Submission received on 06.14.20

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Timeline of Events

(Confirmed) Around 6pm on Saturday, June 13th,  approximately 15 fascists (some affiliated with the Nazi skinhead gang, Keystone United) attempted to picket The Big Idea Cooperative Bookstore & Café in Bloomfield. Within minutes, dozens of East Enders turned out to oppose the Neo-Nazis. 

(Confirmed) 
Around 6:30, the fascists split into smaller groups and put up propaganda flyers around the neighborhood. Local anti-fascists monitored the situation, following the fascists from a distance and filming their activities. 

(Unconfirmed) Around 6:45, one fascist assaulted someone who was documenting his activities outside of Silky’s Bar on Liberty Ave. 

(Confirmed) Around 6:45, police arrived at the scene outside of Silky’s Bar. The police and several others separated the fascists from the locals, and two officers briefly spoke to two of the Neo-Nazis. A few minutes later the police and the Nazis shook hands and went their separate ways.

(Confirmed) A few blocks up the street, another splinter group of four Nazis began taunting ~10 local anti-fascists and other residents outside of Lou’s Corner Bar. As the video shows, the Nazis went to their parked vehicle. One of them pulled a handgun out of the backseat, chambered a round, and threatened the people filming him. The Neo-Nazis drove off shortly after. 

(Unconfirmed) The gunman may be Keystone United member Josh Martin. 

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Pittsburgh is no stranger to the fascist movement’s violence. The tragic attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in October 2018 is still fresh in our memories. In 2009, a white supremacist named Richard Poplawski made the front page for murdering three Pittsburgh police officers (it is worth noting that the police killings of Paul Palmer and Lamar W. Smith earlier that same year went largely ignored by the media).

In July 2018, the last time Keystone United gathered in Pittsburgh, six members of the gang were arrested for their racially-motivated attack on Paul Morris in Avalon.

Keystone United is not welcome in Pittsburgh; East Enders proved that on Saturday. Fascist groups like KU have become emboldened by growing national unrest. Pittsburgh antifa has returned that boldness in kind. Even though many local anti-racists were attending Black Lives Matter protests in other parts of the city, Pittsburghers stayed vigilant and communicative. Many different anti-racist organizations and individuals came together and helped mobilize the neighborhood to successfully disrupt the Neo-Nazi picket.

We will continue to confront them by any means necessary, and our neighborhoods will continue to turn the fuck out. Hate has no home here.

Keystone United may have retreated for now, but it is likely that they are staying with their local contacts and will remain in town for the weekend. So please, please be safe yinz. Roll with a crew if you plan on hitting the bars. 

If you think you’ve spotted a group of Nazis and want to alert the community, remember the acronym SALUTE.

Make sure you come prepared if you intend to document their activities or to intervene in racist / sexist / homophobic / transphobic attacks. Always protect your identity: bring a mask, cover your tattoos, bring a change of clothes. When leaving an encounter, remember to take three turns to check for tail; you don’t want them to know where you live or what kind of car you drive. If you cannot risk a confrontation, then perhaps you can assist with coordinating communications, transportation, provide safe houses, child/pet care, alert your neighbors… anti-fascism is a community effort!

Remember: Antifa is not an organization you can join. Anti-fascism is a position of community self-defense; it is something that you do. Let’s take action to protect ourselves, our friends, and our neighbors.

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– some anti-fascists based in the East End

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Anonymous submission received on 05.02.20

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On May Day, an autonomous group of individuals carried out a series of banner drops in Pittsburgh in support of the 5 global demands.

In this time of crisis, it is more important than ever that we prioritize the safety and well-being of our neighbors and communities over the profits of the owning class or a quick return to “normal”. Too many of us in Pittsburgh believe that the course of the response to this pandemic is out of our control, that we can only make the best of plans and actions handed down from on high by politicians, landlords, and business owners. It does not have to be that way. With these banners, we are spreading awareness of the possibilities of collective action, hoping to foster the knowledge that we as people can make the decisions that will keep us and our people safe, housed, and secure despite the changes that the virus has made necessary. These problems are systemic, and our demands are inextricable from one another. We cannot have homes for all if we do not cancel rent, debt, and mortgage, or if prisoners are released without healthcare and homes to go to. Our power lies in our autonomy and our solidarity—together, we can all protect one another.

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Demand 1: Free Healthcare

Free testing, treatment, and medical care for all. We must be able to seek access to preventative and emergency care without fear of debt or incarceration. With health insurance tied to employment, millions of newly unemployed people have lost access to medical care in the midst of a pandemic.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 2 million Pennsylvania residents had unpaid medical debt. As the health crisis continues, we must expect this number to increase dramatically. We need to radically expand access to COVID-19 testing and make healthcare available for all people, regardless of class, employment status, and ability to pay. In response to the crisis, the government has funded a $2 trillion dollar stimulus package that functions primarily to bail out billionaires. This is proof that we have the capability to take drastic measures to protect vulnerable populations during this crisis; what we lack is the political will. For this reason, the masses of unemployed and working people must come together to demand a radical new approach to health care access in this country. We need to stop protecting corporations and the exploiting classes. We need testing, treatment, and healthcare for all, and we need it now! 

Demand 2: Workers Decide

Work can only continue on our terms. Guaranteed benefits and expanded insurance for the unemployed. Paid sick leave, hazard pay and worker protections for essential sectors. Any essential service must adopt strict protective measures for workers and their families.

We call on Governor Wolf and the state legislature to defend workers’ right to decide how and when they go back to work, once widespread testing, tracing and necessary protective measures have been made free, accessible, and available. Workers across the globe are communicating and organizing together to resist premature reopening of businesses and worksites. Workers in “essential” industries such as healthcare, sanitation, food production, and retail are coming together to demand appropriate protections and compensation. If workers aren’t given paid sick leave, hazard pay, worker protection, and personal and medical protection, there will be hell to pay when we strike. We demand that employers stop asking workers to risk their lives for their employer’s accumulation of wealth!

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Demand 3: No Paying, No Debt

Cancel rent and mortgage payments, utility and bill collections and all debt payments for the duration of the pandemic. No work means no pay. The unemployed cannot be forced to choose between survival and settling their debts.

Prior to COVID-19, two in five Americans and three in five renters across the United States would have been unable to afford a $400 dollar emergency expense. According to reports, about 59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, with 44% struggling to make payments on their bills and credit card debts. In Pittsburgh, 22% of residents live at or below the poverty line, significantly higher than that of the state average of 13.3%. Comparisons of today’s economy to the 2008 financial crisis indicate that we are heading for a collapse that could eclipse the recession of twelve years ago. We cannot repeat our past mistakes. The $2 trillion stimulus package that was passed in late March must work for the people, not Wall Street. 

Even with the $1200 stimulus check, many who are out of work will not be able to make their payments. If we are unable to work, we are unable to pay. The unemployed cannot be expected to bear the burden of debt during the pandemic.

We call upon the Pennsylvania state legislature to sign on to bill HR 6515 introduced by Representatives Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee of Allegheny County, Representative Elizabeth Fiedler of Philadelphia and Representative Danielle Friel Otten of Chester County, to suspend rent and mortgage payments during the COVID crisis. Moreover, we challenge landlords and banks to open their ‘rainy day funds’ to their lenders, and tenants and individuals to organize with their neighbors through the Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters.

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Demand 4: Free Prisoners

Release high-risk inmates and those held on bail from jails and prisons immediately. Release all immigrants and asylum seekers held in detention centers. Provide care for those infected and adequate minimum distance requirements for remaining inmates. Prison cannot mean a guaranteed death sentence.

Formerly incarcerated folks have reported to Jailbreak (a jail after-care support group) the poor conditions of those currently inside Allegheny County Jail. N95 masks given with the seals broken, 1 roll of toilet paper per week to be shared with a cell-mate, limited access to soap, medical care and testing, just to name a few. If the state is going to keep people in the jail, it is paramount that they treat all those behind their walls in a safe and humane manner. 

Dr. Debra L. Brogen, the newly appointed Director of the ACHD, must do more. Those inside must have proper access to basic hygiene and medical needs, including testing anyone that has even 1 symptom. If Dr. Brogen does not act, the jail will inevitably become a death camp. With how easily the virus transmits we know cases are rising daily. As of May Day 2020, there are 27 positive tests for those incarcerated—out of only 48 total tests. There are over 1,600 people currently locked up. We believe in the end of the industrial prison complex. Free Them All!

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Demand 5: Homes For All

Shelter the houseless. Halt eviction proceedings. Sheltering in place is the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Open unoccupied homes and hotels to anyone who needs shelter. End the criminalization and sweeps of houseless encampments.

Housing is a human right, and collectively we have the capability to house everyone. Renters across the region are still facing the prospect of houslessness, eviction, and increases in their rent, while landlords sit idly by waiting for our rent checks. Moments of crisis such as this pandemic force us to make a choice: safety and security for the people, or profits for those who own the buildings we live in? 

Seventy percent of Americans are under lockdown orders. Although banks and homeowners have been offered forgiveness for late-payments and adjustments to mortgages, many of our most vulnerable are left without a safety net yet again. In a small sample of houseless individuals in Boston, 36% tested positive for COVID-19. Other cities have created housing programs that open empty hotels to houseless individuals. Pittsburgh must follow suit. We understand that these are temporary solutions in a long, systematic struggle against the powers of privilege, property, systemic racism, and capitalism, but even temporary solutions are worth our while during a crisis such as this.

If we cannot rely on those in power to protect us, we have to take matters into our own hands by organizing with our neighbors, negotiating with our landlords, and if necessary, taking part in a rent strike. We stand collectively in agreement with the  Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters’ (PURR) call to:

• Cancel rent
• Cancel mortgages
• Extend the eviction moratorium (currently expiring May 8)
• Provide protective equipment for all workers
• Guarantee shelter to the unhomed
• Guarantee paid sick leave
• Decarcerate the Allegheny County jail. It remains inhumane and a deadly health risk.

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We know that these 5 demands are not relevant only in the time of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Regardless of the course of the pandemic and the government’s response to it, these demands will continue to guide us towards a better world in which we can all thrive. These are difficult and scary times; there is no going back to the patterns of living and working we were familiar with before this global pandemic. Even scarier is the fact that this was inevitable—this moment of realization that the system we had before was not created for the welfare of all.

The needs that the 5 Demands address existed before the crisis, but have made unmistakably clear by the pandemic’s effect on a system with no extra space for those at the margins. Although COVID-19 is the immediate cause of much suffering and our response to it is our priority, the underlying problem is not the virus, but the stranglehold that capitalism holds on our lives and our ways of thinking. Until it is destroyed, we will continue to fight.

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The following communiqué was submitted anonymously to Filler on 03.05.20.

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Last night, we sabotaged 7 ATMs in Pittsburgh, PA by jamming adhesive-soaked plastic rectangles into their card slots. It was quick, easy, fun, and no one even gave us a second glance—you should try it sometime.

Whether it’s because of the cold, a health precaution, or for criminal direct action… one day we’ll all wear gloves and masks.

We’d like to dedicate a special fuck-you to PNC Bank for collaborating with EQT and the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. No, this petty vandalism won’t put all that much of a hole in your pockets. But if you want to get rich by destroying our Earth, then we’ll get our kicks by destroying your property.

Yo Philly, we’re coming for your high-score!
– guerilla biscuits

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You can send your report-backs, zine submissions, critiques, graffiti/action photos, demo tapes, hate mail, & memes to…

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[photo unrelated to action]

Anonymous report-back originally published by It’s Going Down on 12.30.19

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On Sunday, December 27th, 2019 a group of queer anarchist Jews and loving co-conspirators dropped a banner in so-called Pittsburgh in solidarity with those facing anti-Semitic violence in Monsey, Brooklyn, Jersey City and across the country.

Below is a reportback:

“We Will Outlive Them,” the banner announced to the cars heading down Bigelow Blvd. We watched as the spray painted words billowed throughout the night and into the next day. Together we declared; we will claim our space, our anger, our voice even amidst the fear.

“Mir Velen Zay Iberlebn!”

“We will out live them!” ​The banner echoes the words sung in protest by Jews captured in their town square in Nazi-Occupied Eastern Europe. “Sing us a song,” the Nazis commanded the corralled Jews in an attempt to humiliate them  in their final moments. But they sang in triumph, in grief, in love for one another. “We will outlive them,” while death stared them down. Their words became blessed flames, strong enough to light fires of rebellion today.

But our hearts are breaking.

Across the US our Jewish community is bracing for a new wave of anti-Semitic violence that feels so familiar. Our hands are beginning to move like the hands of our great-grandparents. Those sweating palms that slammed shutters closed as Pogroms tore through their villages. The jumpy fingers that locked doors, wondering if it would soon be  time to leave again.

We look out to our non-Jewish comrades and ask: will you have our backs?

We ask you to listen to us and hear our fear. Will you stand against anti-Semitism that happens to any Jewish person? Will you learn about anti-Semitism and understand its unique ways of working? We ask you to honor our own ability to fight back while joining us in our song and protest, our joy and grief.

We ask you to not look away.

As we walked up Pittsburgh’s winding hills, the banner to our backs, a comrade reminded us, “We are so powerful and beautiful together.”

We returned home to light Chanukah candles and sing and pray. It is in practicing  persecuted rituals and small acts of resistance like this that we will continue to survive. ​We burned eight candles and watched as they turned to smoke on this final night of Chanukah.

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More anarchist news from Pittsburgh

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The following report-back is from Unity Division, a Pittsburgh-based anarchist collective dedicated to street theater and direct action to promote systemic change.

It was initially published by It’s Going Down on July 12, 2019, and details noise demonstrations that took place outside the home of a former CEO connected to the building of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and at a shareholder meeting in downtown Pittsburgh.

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In the early morning hours of July 10th, a protest was held outside the home of the now former EQT Corporation CEO Robert McNally in the town of Wexford, PA. EQT Corporation is the largest fracking company in the United States and is responsible for the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline that communities in the Mid-Atlantic region have been resisting since it was announced.

At the action, McNally hid in his two million dollar home while the protesters banged on drums, blared cars horns, and shouted chants and obscenities at him. Police didn’t arrive until a half hour later to tell the protestors they were being “too loud for this hour of the night.”

About 8 officers arrived on the scene and also attracted the attention of a local news team that covered the protest. No arrests were made although the protesters did have fun taunting the police who were basically powerless to do anything since no real criminal activity had taken place (at least not by the protestors).

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Later in the morning a second noise demo was held along with a banner drop in downtown Pittsburgh to protest the annual shareholder meeting of EQT. Members of EQT’s board and other shareholders were forced to go around the demo while protestors chanted “1-2-3, Fuck EQT” as they banged on buckets and scrap metal to make as much of a disturbance as possible. After the meeting it was announced that McNally would be removed as CEO due to a successful proxy fight by shareholders who wanted to gain control of the company. Rest assured we will be at their homes soon enough.

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Filler is a DIY media platform, free-to-comrades recording studio & anarchist zine distro affiliated with the Steel City Autonomous Movement (SCAM) and Pittsburgh’s autonomous student network.

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Anonymous submission, received on 03.23.19
Photos ripped from twitter, @notthreefifths & @jacobcbpaul

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Please send funds to the Rose family through CashApp:

$AntwonsMother

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No one is surprised.

Michelle Kenney, Antwon’s mother, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “It isn’t what I hoped for, but it’s what I expected.”

A white cop can shoot a black kid three times in the back and get away with it. Of course the “justice” system would never incarcerate officer Michael Rosfeld of 1519 Hudson Street, Verona PA 15147.*
[*house recently went up for sale]

“I hope that man never sleeps at night,” Michelle Kenney said of Mr. Rosfeld. “I hope he gets as much sleep as I do, which is none.”

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The following is a short list of what I saw in the streets of Pittsburgh last night, which only includes the later action in East Liberty. I did not include powerful moments of collective mourning and outrage—if you wanted to read about those, just show up next time and live it instead.

1. On the way there, I encountered several groups of people who seemed liked they were looking for the action but couldn’t find it (looking confused, scrolling furiously through social media, etc). My friends and I just told them to follow the helicopters or the police caravans speeding by—a reminder that this isn’t as obvious to others as it may be to “us.”

2. The action began by shutting down intersections near the Target on Penn. This allowed time for the protest to grow in size before beginning to march and getting harder to people to track down.

3. Many crews, medics, and organizers brought free food, drinks, handwarmers, etc, but I noticed two separate street corners where a few boxes of supplies were left behind. Shopping carts or bike carts are probably a good look for next time.

4. People stormed yuppie restaurants, which was cool… except most of the yuppies used it as a selfie opportunity and even pretended to join the protest for a few minutes before returning to their meals.

5. Out of several hundred people, I noticed maybe 20-30 masked-up folks dispersed throughout the crowd. However, there was never an actual “black bloc” to speak of—for whatever reason, we were unable to stay tight and form a visible presence. Without a bloc, there’s no focal point in the march for potential accomplices to cohere around. Instead, militants remained isolated and easy to police. We should make every effort to find each other and roll together. Side note: I usually remember to bring extra masks but forgot this time, which sucked ‘cos several folks actually asked me for some.  Don’t forget to bring goodie bags.

7. In my experience, a trashcan only gets knocked over once somebody realizes that the bloc has formed and they want to start hyping shit up. Wasn’t the case this time, but shout out to that kid anyway.

8. A lot of people seemed to get really pissed as soon it became clear that nothing was going to pop off. How many more kids are we going to let the pigs murder before we actually shut this shit down? This is not the time to be another jaded critic commenting from the sidelines. It’s better to at least show up, even if you’re pessimistic about what can be achieved.

It should go without saying that I don’t speak for anyone but myself. I hope other people write better report-backs than this.

– some kid

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