Haley Adams in Portland with Violent Intent

On August 7th, Seaside resident Haley Adams announced a “Stand Against Domestic Terrorism” rally at Portland’s Justice Center today, August 15th, at 12:00 PM. 

The infamous far-right agitator did not elaborate on precisely what “standing against domestic terrorism” means. She did, however, wonder aloud on Twitter whether wooden shields would stand up to live ammunition three hours after the announcement. 

Adams has since described the event as a “Flag Wave” and explicitly denies all rumors that her group intended to cause violence in Portland. Communications obtained by Portland activists, however, indicate that the group may have far more sinister plans than a bit of jingoistic performance art. These internal documents indicate that Adams and associates may have joined forces with a national militia. They plan to go in armed and bait protesters into attacking their group. According to one source, the group then plans to use their weapons to “put Antifa in the ground.”

THE PLAYERS:

Haley Adams has been a major figure in the Pacific Northwest protest scene for the last three years–or at least, she’s done her best to become one. Although she has a small and dedicated circle of followers, her steadfast ideological commitment to being the center of attention at all times has largely relegated her to the fringes of her own far-right community. Adams’ ongoing feud with Tusitala “Tiny” Toese helped drive a wedge between the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer a year and a half ago. 

Adams often feuds with other Proud Boys groupies, such as former MMA fighter Tara LaRosa. Nearly one year ago to date, I ate a hotdog at a Proud Boys picnic while a woman from Colorado and Adams got into a screaming fight about an airport ride gone wrong. The incident led to the Colorado chapter of the Proud Boys ordering its members not to speak to Adams and an ignominious, hotdog-less retreat from the bizarre Vancouver event. 

When you hang out around Adams, these things happen.

Adams’ hunger for fame, combined with her tenuous grip on reality, often yields hilarious results. My personal favorite occurred on the morning of January 29th, 2019, when Adams led a protest in front of Portland’s IWW headquarters the day after two of her followers received a beatdown after deliberately crashing an Antifa meeting at the same space. With what appeared to be full sincerity and absolute conviction, she angrily accused Antifa of “beating a black man to death” while the black man in question stood beside her, very much alive.

The absurdity that infuses the air around Adams can make it difficult to remember how unpleasant and dangerous her views actually are. She has gone on record as supporting white pride, worked closely with an alt-right political candidate, and delights in advocating violence against undocumented immigrants. Adams founded and led Portland’s #HimToo movement: a misogynistic reaction to the #MeToo movement, and also heads Portland’s Liberation (formerly PDX Crew). Both groups are small spinoffs of Joey Gibson’s Patriot Prayer; their membership and tactics overlap significantly.

Like Joey Gibson, Haley Adams excels at the art of the real-life troll. Her favorite tactic involves advertising an event as “peaceful” while sending strong signals to Portland’s antifascist community that she intends to cause trouble and bring violence. When speaking at her events, she often uses alt-right dog whistles to communicate bad intent. If her enemies rise to the bait, her videographers record the ensuing chaos and create a victim narrative for a right-wing public hungry for tales of left-wing oppression.

Portland will likely see such tactics today.

What may make today different from previous events, however, is the possibility of deadly force in response to perceived “Antifa” aggression (in practice: anyone in the vicinity who rises to their bait). Internal communications indicate that Adams and her crew intend to arrive armed and ready to shoot those they consider intractable enemies.

We expect the following members of Adams’ entourage to show up in Portland today, possibly with firearms and the intent to use them:

• Andrew Duncomb (aka “Black Rebel”): slavery apologist and confederate flag afficionado. Duncomb, who is black, attended the infamous “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville and is a known affiliate of the Proud Boys. Internal communications indicate that Duncomb intends to take the lead in efforts to bait Antifa into attacking. He has experience at this position: on July 29th, Duncomb grabbed a protester from behind at a Portland BLM event. The protester stabbed Duncomb in self-defense. “Black Rebel” spun this story into a tale of victimhood based on his identity as a black conservative, which made the rounds on conservative media.
  
• Chandler Pappas: an Astoria resident and participant at recent events hosted by Haley Adams. Pappas frequently carries an AR-15. Communications indicate that he is on point for “security” today, along with Skylor Jernigan

• Skylor Jernigan: a long-time Haley Adams fan. Jernigan attends most of Adams’ events and has lately taken to open-carrying a rifle. When not at rallies, Jernigan enjoys openly fantasizing about murdering his enemies. In a 2019 Facebook video, Jernigan threatened: “you’re gonna be getting knives put into your throat. You’re going to be getting bullets put into your head if you don’t stop this shit with us.”
  
• Mack Lewis: Close associate of Haley Adams and regular attendee of far-right events. Most famously, he attended the 2019 May Day Riot deliberately provoked by Patriot Prayer. Lewis faces riot charges for his violent actions that day.
  
• Russell Schultz: A familiar face at right-wing gatherings. Like Lewis, Schultz received riot charges for violence on May 1, 2019. When not assaulting people drinking cider, Schultz’ hobbies include extended violent fantasies about all the ways he’d like to kill Antifa. Lately, he’s been very vocal about what he’d like to do to BLM protesters in Portland.
  
• Reggie Axtell: A dedicated Haley Adams supporter perhaps best known as the star witness against Beta Cuck For Life, despite not witnessing any of the events in question. Axtell is a fixture at far-right events, though his bark is certainly worse than his bite.
  
• James Harris: a participant at recent Seaside, Oregon flag waves. Harris often openly carries both a handgun and a long knife.

Alan Swinney may also make an appearance. Swinney made headlines last year when he leaked violent fantasies found in Proud Boy chat logs to Huffington Post. Even the Proud Boys didn’t buy his feeble denials, and he was subsequently kicked from the group for this betrayal. None of this has stopped Swinney from continuing to dream of extreme violence against those he perceives as enemies. His latest attempt at armed insurrection involves a training camp set up somewhere in the wilderness of Oregon or Washington.

For anyone who’s tracked Portland’s far-right scene over the years, all of this feels mind-numbingly familiar. Unfortunately, this time Adams may also have the backing of a nascent militia movement. Her crew seems to have fallen in with the Texas-based National Militia.

THE NATIONAL MILITIA

The National Militia is an extremely recent attempt at coordination between Patriot movements across America. The first known mention of this organization occurred on July 26th in response to an inflammatory Andy Ngo video. The next day, Twitter account @GameLivePD urged those who agree with him that “[Leftists] are the enemy, they are NOT Americans” to email him about membership. “We are like nothing you’ve ever seen,” he boasts.

@GameLivePD claims a law enforcement background: specifically as a “direct action war fighter SWAT/SRT instructor and firearms tactics instructor.” Although he claims that the National Militia does not discriminate based on skin color, @GameLivePD makes no secret of his racist beliefs. His reaction to the recent Lebanon explosion was to remark that “these shit holes all look the same.” This account also recently posted a fake picture of Trayvon Martin and called the murdered youth a “little hood rat criminal thug.” No wonder Haley Adams and her crew like him.

The National Militia founder makes no secret of his desire to enact violence against what he sees as an insurrectionary threat against America. He believes that the so-called Left will soon attempt to assassinate Trump and urges violence against Democratic politicians in retaliation. According to @GameLivePD, a November Trump defeat obligates Patriots to start a “hot civil war,” and has pledged his support to Donald Trump in this hoped-for conflict.

This group is very new and does not seem to have much buy-in at present. Although @GameLivePD has a robust following–over 10K–the actual National Militia account has only 185 followers. A GoFundMe campaign that seeks to raise $1000 for patches and uniforms has attracted a mere six donors for a total of $175.

A MATTER OF TIME

How much of this is fantasy, and how much true threat?

Guns do not a militia make, and Adams’ assorted henchmen have historically been far more interested in posturing for social media than actual violence. Even they seem to recognize the time is not yet right for an outright attack on Portland’s protest community. In a voice chat, one of Adams’ crew declared himself “ready to start killing these motherfuckers” but observed that “the country’s not ready for that yet.” For now, he thinks the group should rely on “pranks” instead.

And yet, Portland cannot sleep on these threats. The past few months have brought rising rates of far-right fantasies crossing over into gruesome local reality. Several trucks have attempted to run protesters over at Portland events, luckily so far without success. The most recent would-be truck murderer got out of his vehicle and brandished a gun at protesters before stumbling off into the darkness. 

Most recently, on August 8th, an ex-SEAL attempted to murder protesters with homemade explosives. Only his ineptitude at bomb-making prevented severe injuries and death.

Police inaction on all these incidents have sent a clear message to would-be far-right murderers: it’s open season to anyone who wants to cross over from LARPing into real life violence.

We know they have the guns. We know they have the desire. The only question is, when? The question is often quiet, but for the people of Portland it is simply always there.

If you venture downtown this afternoon, be cautious and cognizant of the danger.