A year in review: Coalition of anti-fascists ensure that participants of the deadly Unite the Right rally are still being identified.
This week marks the sixth anniversary of Unite the Right, the deadly white supremacist rally that was held in Charlottesville, VA in the summer of 2017.
This week also marks the one year anniversary of Ignite the Right, a project spearheaded by a coalition of antifascist researchers intent on making sure every last participant is publicly identified and held accountable.
While many participants of the violent white supremacist rally had been identified by various anti-fascist collectives and volunteers by the time Ignite the Right launched last year, there were still hundreds who had never been named. Another issue was that the identities of those who had previously been exposed were scattered across multiple websites and social media platforms. Those that weren’t lost to time (or to a Twitter ban) weren’t always easy to track down. Ignite the Right works to organize the existing documentation from numerous anti-fascists into a cohesive catalog, and continues to research information on new identities.
Since launching one year ago, Ignite the Right has expanded their database from 240 entries to over 600. This includes over 200 new identities for previously unnamed Unite the Right participants, bringing the total number of identified participants to 320. And those are just the identities that have been made public. The group has several dozen open files in which participants have been identified, but research is still ongoing.
Ignite the Right is comprised of over a dozen anti-fascist groups and individuals, many of whom are at the forefront of identifying various fascists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists and have had their work verified and cited by major news outlets. The researchers, who have gathered nearly 1 Terabyte of video and photos that were taken at the rally, rely on open source intelligence (OSINT) methods and personal skill sets in tracking and confirming the identities of Unite the Right participants. The public has also lent a helping hand by sending in anonymous tips that have helped lead to the identification of some of the white supremacists featured on the group’s website and Twitter.
In 2023 we have seen a new development in which individuals are now being arrested for their actions at the Unite the Right torch rally. And with additional efforts individuals who have been identified as participants of Unite the Right are also being identified as participants in the January 6th Capitol Attack.
When Ignite the Right launched a year ago, they did so with a message: “We do not forgive. We do not forget.”
Over the past year, they’ve proved that point time and again.
This project is dedicated to Heather Heyer and all the victims of racism.
Many prominent identifications by Ignite the Right researchers are listed in the timeline below.
TIMELINE
Aug 10, 2022 – Ignite the Right Launched
ignitetheright.net website launched with database of 240 attendees.
Aug. 31, 2022 – Ryan Michael Slingerland #OrangeHelmetUTR
White nationalist Ryan Michael Slingerland aka Sharia LaBeouf of Whitehall, NY, a racist and antisemite identified by @AnonComrades
https://twitter.com/AnonCommieStan/status/1564982412320325642
Sept. 30, 2022 – Christopher Healy #PoloHatUTR
Prof. Chris Healy, a Computer Science lecturer at Furman University identified by @SunlightAFA
https://twitter.com/SunlightAFA/status/1575763767148744704
https://sunlight161.noblogs.org/polohatutr-as-professor-christopher-andrew-healy-of-greenville-sc/
Oct. 1, 2022 – Daniel Ethan Springhorn #DanielEssUTR
Unite The Right attendee Daniel Ethan Springhorn aka Daniel Ess, Identity Dixie and National Alliance member identified by ShermanMarching
Oct. 10, 2022 – Endri Misku #FarmCasualUTR
Albanian reality TV star Endri Misku of Staten Island, New York identified as Unite the Right attendee #FarmCasualUTR by @SunlightAFA
https://sunlight161.noblogs.org/endri-misku-realtor-perputhen-maths-staten-island-ny/
https://twitter.com/SunlightAFA/status/1579377713554821120
Oct. 14, 2022 – John Donnelly #BlazerAviatorsUTR
John Joseph Donnelly aka Johnny O’Malley, Woburn, MA Cop and neo-Nazi security for Richard Spencer at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally identified by @UnmaskUTR and @letsgomathias
https://ignitetheright.net/nazi-cop-john-joseph-donnelly-of-woburn-ma/
https://twitter.com/letsgomathias/status/1580669998275915776
https://twitter.com/UnmaskUTR/status/1580764599007162370
Oct. 16, 2022 – Tyler Dykes #LanyardNoShirtUTR
Tyler Dykes, CEO of Technology King of the Lowcountry, Bluffton SC, is a Neo-Nazi identified by @SunlightAFA
https://sunlight161.noblogs.org/technology-king-lowcountry-ceo-tyler-dykes-bluffton-sc-marine-nazi/
https://twitter.com/SunlightAFA/status/1581541635397414912
Oct. 25, 2022 – Christopher John Andrukaitis #GollumSouthUTR
Christopher John Andrukaitis aka “Marcus Cicero” of Chelsea, Alabama. He marched with the League of the South at the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA in 2017 and is one of the most vicious Nazis we have ever exposed identified by @AnonComrades
Jan. 13, 2023 – Judson Blevins #JudsonGannonBlevinsUTR
UTR Participant and former Identity Evropa Coordinator Runs for Enid City Council.
https://twitter.com/SunlightAFA/status/1614080347381141505
March 8, 2023 – Timothy Gallaher Murdock #SmithBaldUTR
Timothy Gallaher Murdock, aka “Horus the Avenger” of Dearborn Heights, Michigan identified by @UTRResearch
March 20, 2023 – Benjamin Arvin #HuWhiteLion
White Art Collective founder & Benjamin Arvin aka “Jeff Winston” & “HuWhiteLion” from Bloomington, Indiana. His failed grab for the brass ring of both rock stardom & film auteur status led to a dark turn to white nationalism & Nazism identified by @AnonComrades
https://accollective.noblogs.org/post/2023/03/20/winston-hiraeth-wac/
https://twitter.com/AnonCommieStan/status/1637888500941856783
April3, 2023 – Jamie Ryan Troutman #JamieTroutmanUTR
White Art Collective Musician “James Ryan” Revealed: Jamie Ryan Troutman of Harpers Ferry, WV identified by @AnonComrades
https://twitter.com/AnonCommieStan/status/1642948480007122945
https://accollective.noblogs.org/post/2023/03/30/jamie-troutman/
April 30 , 2023 – Logan Michael Smith #LightGreenHatUTR
Logan Michael Smith of Stillwater, OK, UTR attendee and operator of the racist ‘/pol/ News Network’ accounts identified by @SunlightAFA
https://twitter.com/SunlightAFA/status/1642822858081550336
June 30, 2023 – Sean Clayton Spaulding #BlackBristlesUTR
Sean Clayton Spaulding of Carlsbad, CA — Unite The Right Participant Has Years – Long History of Hate Group. Sean is a biotechnologist-turned-wannabe holistic health practitioner and a long-time racist activist identified by @SCResearchClub and @SunlightAFA
https://twitter.com/SunlightAFA/status/1674728454955192323
We would also like to thank the photographers and journalists whose work has been critical to our research. Please follow and support: