Torch Network

The Torch Network (TN), also known as the Torch Antifa Network, is a decentralised network of far-left political actors in the United States and Canada. TN is a continuation of the older Anti-Racist Action Network (ARA), founded during the 1980s and renamed in 2013.[1][2][nb 1] Most members associated with Torch Antifa adhere to anarchism,[3] but also some Trotskyism and Maoism.[4]

Torch Network
FormationDecember 14, 2013 (2013-12-14)
Type
Location
  • United States and Canada
Websitetorchantifa.org
Formerly called
Anti-Racist Action Network

History

Background
Main article: Anti-Racist Action

The network emerged from Anti-Racist Action, formed in 1987.

2013 onwards: Torch Network-era

In a post on their official website in 2013, Anti-Racist Action published a post by the Torch network announcing its formation, stating: "We are still on the prowl. We will still continue to expose, confront, and act. Fascist beware... we are TORCH."[1] They stated that this was not a disbanding or a schism, but an attempt to deal with the new realities of the digital age and changing tactics.[5] The Torch Network held the 1st Annual Torch Network Conference in 2014 at Chitown Futbol, Chicago.[6] This was attended by South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action (the hosts), Philly Antifa, Central Texas Anti-Racist Action, Milwaukee Antifa, Hoosier Anti-Racist Movement (HARM) and Los Angeles People Against Racist Terror.[6] The event was sponsored by the Chicago May First Anarchist Alliance and Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation. There were two speakers at the event: Matthew Nemiroff Lyons and Michael Staudenmaier.[7] The concept of a "three-way fight" developed by Lyons, an author based in Philadelphia who previously wrote Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort (2000) with Chip Berlet, was drawn upon by Torch activists in understanding the context of their struggle.[8][9] Lyons' thesis is that there is a three-way fight between global capitalism (conservative and liberal democracy), an insurgent right and a revolutionary left and that anti-fascists must oppose the former two, while confronting complexities in the dynamics between the three (warning against both an establishment-left alliance and also a red-brown alliance over issues such as Israel and anti-globalisation).[10]

In the run up to the 2016 United States presidential election and in its aftermath, with the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, there was a further growth in both far-right and far-left groups.[11] This manifested in an explosion of the numbers of antifa groups. A large number of these cells developed outside of The Torch Network; however, some of these groups were officially affiliated, such as Antifa Sacramento.[12]

Antifa Sacramento members were among hundreds of anti-fascists who attacked a rally held by the Traditionalist Worker Party, a neo-Nazi group, in the 2016 Sacramento riot, in which between five and seven people were stabbed and three hospitalised.[13][14] The California Highway Patrol stated that counter-protestors were the instigating party in the confrontation.[14]

Another group founded in 2016 as an official chapter of the Torch Network was the Atlanta Antifascists (a refoundation of the earlier Atlanta ARA).[6] This was founded by Keith Allen Mercer, also known as "Iggy",[15] a long time anarchist activist and member of the Atlanta IWW General Defense Committee, along with Jeremy Galloway and Lily Lago; the group is mainly focused on opposing the public events of the League of the South, a neo-Confederate group.[6]

Awareness of antifa among the general public grew in the aftermath of the "freedom of speech on campus" disputes, particularly at University of California, Berkeley in 2017 as the Berkeley College Republicans twice invited Milo Yiannopoulos to speak at the institution as part of his "Dangerous Faggot Tour". Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA),[16] part of the Torch Network,[12] was one of several groups involved in the 2017 Berkeley protests and clashed with groups such as the Proud Boys.[17][18] Targeting of events associated with the main figurehead of the self-styled "alt-right", Richard B. Spencer by various groups such as Smash Racism DC (unaffiliated with Torch Antifa) also led to a general heightening of violence between the alt-right and antifa groups (including the Torch chapters) across the United States, particularly with Spencer being punched in the head on live television at the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump (this was by an anonymous activist whose identity and affiliations remain unconfirmed), leading to "punch a Nazi" internet memes and according to Bray "catapulted the question of antiracist violence into the national spotlight."[19] One incident associated with this conflict was the mass riots at the Unite the Right Rally in August 2017 at Charlottesville, Virginia between fascists and antifa (including at least one Torch member, a member of the Philly Antifa chapter).[20]

A number of public intellectuals have supported the aims of The Torch Network and other antifa groups. Perhaps the most notable is Mark Bray of Dartmouth College an Ivy League institution in New Hampshire, who authored Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook (2017), which featured an extensive supportive history of the movement in the United States and beyond, mostly focusing on the legacy of Anti-Racist Action. Bray has been referred to as "The Antifa Academic".[21] Another, focusing instead on covering the "alt-right" enemies of Antifa groups in general is Shane Burley, who co-authored Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (2017) with Matthew Lyons.[22]

Tom Keenan, associated with Philly Antifa (which has attended Annual Torch Network Conferences as an official chapter) was charged in 2018 for leading an assault on group of United States Marine Corps reservists at the periphery of a far right rally.[20] Portland has continued to be an epicentre for violent political clashes between anti-racists including Rose City Antifa and right-wing groups such as Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. As well as this, a recorded assault incident in 2019, involving the conservative journalist and social media personality Andy Ngo, which he blamed on Rose City Antifa, gained significant attention.[23][24]

Organization

Chapters

On their official website, The Torch Network lists nine current official chapters as being part of its network. The chapters are autonomous, under devolved local leadership and each chapter agrees to abide by the "five principles" of Torch Antifa.[11] These nine chapters are Antifa Sacramento, Western North Carolina Antifa, Rocky Mountain Antifa (based in Denver, Colorado), Rose City Antifa (based in Portland, Oregon), Atlanta Antifascists, Pacific Northwest Antifascist Workers Collective (based in Oregon and Washington), Antifa Seven Hills (based in Richmond, Virginia), Central Texas Anti-Racist Action and Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA).[12]

In recent times, there has been an emerging crossover between these groups and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) General Defense Committee[25] (this includes ARA founder Kieran Knutson[26] and other anti-fascist activists including Josh Dukes, also known as "Hex",[25] who was shot in the stomach at a protest against Milo Yiannopoulos at Seattle in 2017).[27]

Conferences

Since 2014, representatives of all of the chapters who are able to travel to the area meet at the Annual Torch Network Conference, usually held on Labour Day in September.[6] The location of the Annual Conference rotates between different chapters. The conference is usually held over two days, on the first day it is a private event, only directly affiliated or closely trusted groups are allowed to attend. On the second day, a semi-public, more open conference is held where various people who identify as anti-fascists are permitted to attend.

Edition Year Dates Location Chapters Bands
1 2014 12–15 September Chitown Futbol, Chicago South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action, Philly Antifa, Central Texas Anti-Racist Action, Milwaukee Antifa, Hoosier Anti-Racist Movement (HARM), Los Angeles People Against Racist Terror.[6] Matthew Nemiroff Lyons and Michael Staudenmaier were speakers. Chicago May First Anarchist Alliance and Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation (as "sponsors").[28] Mandatory Abortions, Appalachian Terror Unit, Wartorn, Wrathcobra, Krang, La Armada and Arid[29]
2 2015 7–8 November The Rotunda, Philadelphia Philly Antifa, South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action, Los Angeles People Against Racist Terror, NYC Antifa (as "observers"), Rocky Mountain Antifa and the Antifa International Collective (from Quebéc) Soul Glo, Fuck S.S., Autocracy East, Christopher Walking, Novatore and Leisure Muffin[30]
3 2016 11–12 November Denver Rocky Mountain Antifa, Philly Antifa, WNC Antifa, Los Angeles People Against Racist Terror and South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action[31]
5 2018 1–2 September Richmond, Virginia Antifa Seven Hills[32]

See also

Notes
  1. In a post by Torch on ARA's website AntiRacistAction.org in 2013, The Torch Network stated: "We are still on the prowl. We will still continue to expose, confront, and act. Fascist beware... we are TORCH." Explaining that the change wasn't a result of "a fracture or schism coming from internal strife", Torch stated that the change was instead based on tactics and confronting the internet age. Under the new name, the network continued to uphold ARA's original "Points of Unity" and South Side Chicago ARA hosted the first Conference under The Torch Network name in 2014, with the other ARA chapters.

References

Footnotes
  1. "Introducing The Torch Network: An Antifascist Network". Anti-Racist Action. Retrieved on 20 March 2018.
  2. Bray 2017, p. 113
  3. Mullen 2020, p. 327
  4. Bray 2017, p. 71
  5. "New Anti-Fascist Network Formed – Introducing Torch Antifascist Network". Philly Antifa. Retrieved on 20 March 2018.
  6. Bray, Mark (2017). Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook. Melville House. ISBN 1612197043 p.113.
  7. "2014 Torch Conference a Success". Torch Antifa. Retrieved on 20 March 2018.
  8. Torch Antifa (10 September 2018). "Resources".
  9. Brighton Antifascists (10 June 2020). "Exclusive interview with the amazing Rose City Antifa".
  10. "INSURGENT SUPREMACIST: AN INTERVIEW WITH MATTHEW N. LYONS ON ANTIFASCISM, ANTI-IMPERIALISM, AND THE FUTURE OF ORGANIZING". Anti-Fascist News. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  11. Knouff 1993, p. 88
  12. "Chapters". Torch Antifa. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  13. "Bee history: Five stabbed in Capitol Park melee". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved on 20 March 2013.
  14. "Neo-Nazis didn't start the violence at state Capitol, police say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 20 March 2013.
  15. Bray 2017, p. 114
  16. "No Fascists on Campus: Shut Down Milo at UC Berkeley". Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA). Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  17. Bray 2017, p. 104
  18. Ainsworth 2019, p. 157
  19. Bray 2017, p. 168
  20. "Philly Antifa Activist Tom Keenan Charged in Assault on Marines". PhillyMag. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  21. "The Antifa Academic". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  22. "Fascism Today". AK Press. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  23. "The assault on conservative journalist Andy Ngo, explained". Vox. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  24. Press, DON THOMPSON Associated (2020-06-05). "Portland conservative writer suing 'antifa' for injuries". KATU. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  25. Bray 2017, p. 117
  26. Bray 2017, p. 118
  27. "'I refuse to be like them': why the man shot while protesting Milo Yiannopoulos doesn't want revenge". The Guardian. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  28. "2014 Torch Antifa Conference a Success". Torch Antifa. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  29. "1st Annual Torch Network Conference". Torch Antifa. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  30. "Reportback from 2nd Annual TORCH Anti-Fascist Conference". Philly Antifa. Retrieved on 20 March 2018.
  31. "Report back from 3rd Annual TORCH Antifa Conference". It's Going Down. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  32. "2018 Torch Network Conference". Antifa Seven Hills. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  33. Focused Arrows (10 September 2010). "Groups That Inspired the Birth of RASH NYC".

Bibliography
  • Ainsworth, Scott H (2019). Political Groups, Parties, and Organizations that Shaped America: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1440851971.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bray, Mark (2017). Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook. Melville House. ISBN 978-1612197043.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Doyle, Eamon (2018). Antifa and the Radical Left. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1534503847.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Duncombe, Stephen (2011). White Riot: Punk Rock and the Politics of Race. Verso Books. ISBN 978-1844677993.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Knouff, Matthew (2019). An Outsider's Guide to Antifa - Volume II. Luxlu. ISBN 978-1387388523.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mullen, Bill (2020). The US Antifascism Reader. Verso Books. ISBN 978-1788733526.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Vysotsky, Stanislav (2020). American Antifa: The Tactics, Culture, and Practice of Militant Antifascism. Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-0367210601.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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