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Alt-Left Targets Ajit Pai

Members of violent protest groups organize events in FCC chairman's neighborhood

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai / Getty Images
May 15, 2017

Members of the alt-left with a history of participating in violent protests are targeting the neighborhood of the Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai.

The organizers, connected to DisruptJ20 and Code Pink, said they are "taking the fight to Pai's front door," leaving leaflets on the doors in Pai's neighborhood last weekend to protest changes to the Obama administration net neutrality policy.

On Sunday, the activists will again target Pai's neighborhood, this time with a "vigil to save the Internet."

"Join us this Sunday for a #SaveTheInternet #NetNeutrality vigil outside of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's house," a Facebook event organized by "Protect Our Internet" reads.

"THIS IS A COMPLETELY LEGAL ACTION. PROTECTED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT," the invitation notes.

The organizers, who are connected to PopularResistance.org, which features several members of the antifascist (antifa) campaign, said the vigil would be a family friendly event and "perfect" to celebrate Mother's Day outside of Pai's door.

"We will stand on the sidewalk outside of his house," the invitation read. "Bring signs, slogans—bring your mom, your kids, your friends and family!"

"This is a perfect Sunday Mother's Day action to expose #PaiLies and continue the fight for an open, accessible internet," it said.

Members of the alt-left were behind the first leaflet campaign at Pai's doorstep. "Have you seen this man?" the leaflets read, with a photo of Pai.

The campaign is an attempt to intimidate and embarrass Pai for his plans to reverse the Obama administration's net neutrality rules, which gave the government more regulatory power over internet service providers.

Kevin Zeese is a PopularResistance.org contributor, who several years ago organized a blockade of former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler's house to demand net neutrality rules, which the Obama administration later adopted.

PopularResistance.org is a network of leftist activists in the D.C. area who have been involved in violent protests with the antifa, DisruptJ20, and Code Pink.

The invite list on social media for both events in Pai's neighborhood feature several members of these protest groups, including Lacy MacAuley, the spokesperson for DisruptJ20, who was invited to the invent.

DisruptJ20 violently disrupted President Donald Trump's inauguration, with the "explicit goal" of preventing Trump supporters from peacefully attending the day's festivities.

Members of the "well-organized" group were "armed with hammers and crowbars" at the inauguration protest. Storefront windows were smashed and a limousine, which was owned by a Muslim immigrant, was set on fire. Over 271 protesters were arrested and 6 police officers were injured.

DisruptJ20 activists were also revealed on an undercover video released by Project Veritas to be planning to attack the "DeploraBall" inauguration party with butyric acid, which led to the arrest of one of the group's activists for conspiracy to commit assault.

MacAuley said vandalizing a Bank of America and Starbucks on Inauguration Day would make a "strong stand against" capitalism.

"I think that all of Washington, D.C., feels that way, even if they wouldn't express it in something that results in a limo getting burned," she told the Washington Post, as spokesperson for DisruptJ20.

Another activist who was listed as attending the protest in Pai's neighborhood is Dylan Eugene Petrohilos, using the pseudonym "Dylan Posi." Petrohilos previously worked for the liberal groups Think Progress and Center for American Progress and was arrested for jumping on the back of a police car and kicking out the rear window while protesting the Republican National Convention in Minnesota in 2008.

Police found a can of spray paint and a white plastic bag authorities believed contained feces in his backpack. Petrohilos said it was a candy bar.

Another individual interested in attending the Pai protest is Sergei Kostin, a "professional activist," according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Kostin is a former member of the Occupy movement and punched a traditional marriage advocate during a protest outside the Supreme Court in 2013.

Kostin is also an organizer for Code Pink and DisruptJ20 and planned the LGBT dance party outside of Vice President Mike Pence’s home in January.

Eleanor Goldfield, another organizer for DisruptJ20, was also listed as going to the event, and Tighe Barry, who was one of the Code Pink activists arrested for disrupting the confirmation hearings of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, was invited.

Also invited was Gael Murphy, who leads Code Pink in D.C. In 2004, Murphy disrupted a Senate hearing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and later was among a group of more than 1,700 protesters arrested at the Republican National Convention in New York City.

The list also included Alli McCracken, who also helped organize DisruptJ20 and is Code Pink's national director.

Published under: FCC