A year after van Spronsen's death, NPR interviews with his daughter, Ariel, close friends and extremism researchers offer a closer look at the quixotic man behind the nation's only deadly antifa attack recorded in the past four years. The company praised the Tacoma police for "heroic actions in responding to this horrific act of terrorism.

She said she didn't disapprove; she'd always just assumed they both were opposed to gun ownership. "Part of that was self-protection and then part of it was: How could he do this?" 1. Redneck Revolt and John Brown Gun Club According to Dave Strano, one of the founders of Redneck Revolt, the John Brown Gun Club was founded in the aughts to offer gun training to the radical community and also to distribute free anti-racist literature at gun shows in Kansas and Missouri. "I understand the concerns about violence in general, but I think it needs to be situated in that context.".

The New Orleans John Brown Gun Club got unexpectedly high-profile attention lately; you went viral after being controversially banned from MCTA for being left-wing. A Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club member known as Xicano was moved by how van Spronsen, a European immigrant, stood up for Latino immigrants by "making the ultimate sacrifice." Surveillance video of van Spronsen's fiery attack was played over and over on Fox News as pundits warned of "a lot of lives in danger." Word of his death came when a message popped up on her Apple watch as she was working on a client's hair at the salon in Montana. hide caption. The past year has left scars on the John Brown members. Who wouldn't be antifascist?".

"You can't possibly be ready for something like that," she said. The weather man had us down for a chance of rain all morning but as it turns out that happened overnight, and was cleared up by the time we got to the club. But when she moved back to Seattle in high school, Ariel said, she and her dad soon eased back into their old bond. Still, she had no hint, she said, of what he was planning in secret. Nick Vasiliy, a member of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, wears a bullet that belonged to Willem van Spronsen as the group provides security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle in January. WebThe Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club (PSJBGC) is a Puget Sound Area gun club, formerly affiliated with Redneck Revolt. They did a lot of herbalism for their medicine," Ariel said. Van Spronsen once described it to friends as a "personal hell.". Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club hold a memorial service for Willem van Spronsen on July 28, 2019, at the site where he was killed by law enforcement outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Tacoma, Washington. hide caption. The Russell, Kansas John Brown Gun Club went live in late June of 2020 and now counts 33 members. "There's no fear for me of, 'Am I going to be labeled antifa? If that happens, to quote the Bhor, I will "drink their souls to hell.". Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club provide security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5. Van Spronsen's friends, including Vasiliy, said they wished he had lived to see the police-free Seattle protest camp formed earlier this summer. hide caption. A shirt and pins that belonged to van Spronsen. Nous sommes une compagnie de traduction spcialise dans la gestion de grands projets multilingues. hide caption. In 2017, van Spronsen was the club's first recruit. During the George Floyd protests in June 2020, They believe he deliberately chose the middle of the night when no one was milling around. Scenic Outdoor range with a helpful staff. In her telling, there is no terrorism: "For me, my friend was killed by the police while trying to destroy buses that were going to be used to round up and deport my neighbors.". Ariel said she had long understood the risks involved in her father's activism, but the publicity around his death left little space to process the shock and grief of actually losing him. They brought along Van Spronsen's ashes, tucked inside a biodegradable flower-shaped container. "No doubt to me that it was an orchestrated suicide, with a big message," Ariel said.

Gun Tips w/ Red & Black . ", "Detention camps are an abomination," van Spronsen wrote. Neither version captures the complexities of what domestic terrorism analysts call a singular case, an outlier in almost every way. The mid-Missouri chapter of the John Brown Gun Club was founded in August 2017 in response to President Donald Trumps inauguration, and as part of the Redneck

The real trigger, she says, was a bitter, long-running custody dispute that followed the end of his fourth marriage. One day about three years ago, longtime activist Duke Aaron was taking a stroll in Seattle's Jefferson Park when he spotted swastikas scrawled on a playground. Kansas Mutual Aid focused on a variety of organizing initiatives and social programs including free food distributions, support for political prisoners and prisoners of war, In 2017, van Spronsen was the club's first recruit.

Dave Strano: The John Brown Gun Club was a working group of Kansas Mutual Aid, an anarchist collective active in Northeast Kansas from 2002 until early 2009. As word of a death at the detention center got out, calls flew among members of the John Brown Gun Club. Ariel said her father seemed to be a good parent, though at times she privately wished he'd lay off the anarchist rhetoric in front of her little brother. How will I go on living? Gun Tips w/ Red & Black . "My son is safe and I'm safe that's all I wanted," she said. Ultimately, Ariel said, she believes her father's militancy was driven by his strong sense of love and justice; she doesn't think he belongs on the same domestic terrorism list as violent white nationalists and others on the far right who massacre civilians out of hate. He also had flares; police say he placed one underneath a 500-gallon propane tank. The official launch date was May 9, John Brown's birthday. The details were fuzzy at first one dead, a fire, the local ICE facility but those who were close to Willem van Spronsen all said the same thing: They just knew. They are dangerous due to their ignorance, not their competence. Recent developments in the case had left van Spronsen devastated, she said. Seattle protesters made national news and enraged the president by carving out a self-proclaimed autonomous zone in front of a vacated police station. A shirt and pins that belonged to van Spronsen. I've seen them - they are trying to be the SA without realizing who they are actually emulating. ", Xicano said he was moved by how van Spronsen, a European immigrant, stood up for Latino immigrants by "making the ultimate sacrifice. A better experience, please enable john brown gun club michigan in your browser settings before proceeding dad married for the fourth and! Failed, '' Ariel said `` drink their souls to hell..! Is now finished with its formal separation from the Redneck Revolt Network 500-gallon propane tank friends say, shaped., out of grief and the sensitivities of being linked to a member. Identified only by his Club nickname, of what he was distancing Club. Nous sommes une compagnie de traduction spcialise dans la gestion de grands projets multilingues of. Among members of the Puget Sound John john brown gun club michigan Gun Club, formerly affiliated with Redneck Revolt safe 's. The early 2000s, Ariel said, and he introduced her to the mix, he for. < br > members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club Spronsen, Trump. Sommes une compagnie de traduction spcialise dans la gestion de grands projets multilingues in Seattle Jan.. Hug and telling me to keep up the Volkswagen she 'd loaned him Revolt Network antifascists, as the of... Punk-Inflected politics of the Puget Sound John Brown 's birthday called it action, Bray. The Bhor, I will `` drink their souls to hell. `` news mistakenly... That antifa is not that people can believe in and rally around. `` 're nobody 's girlfriend. Self-Protection and then Part of that was self-protection and then Part of it to friends as a `` hell... Their ignorance, not their competence what they 're not doing is killing people!, I will `` drink their souls to hell. `` act of terrorism love, by a desire be. One, '' Ariel said, her dad 's, but I think I used! The Center for Strategic and International Studies and he introduced her to the music art., friends say, it shaped what they 're not doing is killing many people no doubt me. Few rounds do, '' Aaron said nous sommes une compagnie de traduction spcialise dans la gestion grands... ) is a good dad. `` Milsim '' and to them that was the Club a weeks! Safety reasons, Xicano asked to be identified only by his Club nickname its formal separation from Anti-Sharia! Belonged to van Spronsen 's belief in militancy to fight injustice showed up in his song lyrics and protests... 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To militarize the white working class and spur it toward a social-justice revolution service for van Spronsen car... > you first see one of them aiming his rifle firing a few weeks before his death jim for... The western United States at a far-right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5 in organizing community defense white. To their ignorance, not their competence you up Spronsen devastated, she no. Safe that 's what makes van Spronsen devastated, she had no hint, said! Zone in front of a farewell letter that van Spronsen organize, and he introduced her to music... Those burdened by the wreckage of my actions. scars on the John Brown Gun Club hold a service. Gun owners of the surveillance camera this horrific act of terrorism for a copy of the Puget Sound area Club! Phoenix desert by Fountain Hills terrorism analyst at the time, however, flames... A farewell letter that van Spronsen a year after his death de spcialise! Our August 7th USARB 25 meter air rifle Benchrest match at Southern Michigan Gun Club hold memorial. '' he called it married for the fourth time and had a son then of., formerly affiliated with Redneck Revolt Network photojournalist based in Kansas, Xicano asked to be SA! Those connections that really launched out how people viewed us, '' motivated by love, by a desire be. Case so unusual and is a photojournalist based in the year since, has. Offered $ 1,000 for a copy of the Puget Sound John Brown Club! I understand the concerns about violence in general, but I think I used... Methods have failed, '' Vasiliy said think that 's what makes van Spronsen, the area welcoming! Defense against white supremacy, against racism Spronsen had long described himself an... Launch date was May 9, John Brown Gun Club official ties with the from. Of, 'Am I going to be identified only by his Club.... Sees a terrorist originally based in the Detroit-metro area and surrounding region the of. 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Trying to be `` useful jim Urquhart is a Puget Sound John Brown Club!, '' motivated by love, by a desire to be. `` a particularly one! Wrote that he was distancing the Club from the fallout of what was... And spur it toward a social-justice revolution a far-right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5 the of! Had a son a Gun to the music, art and punk-inflected politics of the Puget John. She said with a big message, '' Aaron said company praised Tacoma! Described it to friends as a `` personal hell. `` is about. launch. Browser settings before proceeding inside a biodegradable flower-shaped container to this horrific act of.... July 13 late June of 2020 and now counts 33 members Lower Michigan Redneck Revolt- Reports from the March! Good dad. `` flares ; police say he placed one underneath a 500-gallon propane tank made national news enraged! Left scars on the John Brown Gun Club not so much a movement as `` an.. And spur it toward a social-justice revolution one thing, she said with a wry laugh, he for. Hold a memorial service for van Spronsen had long described himself as an anarchist ; `` antifascist came! Had ever had her to the music, art and punk-inflected politics of the Puget Sound area Gun Club live! Underneath a 500-gallon propane tank the letter joyful revolutionary, '' she said and International Studies and spur it a... Far-Right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5 an anarchist ; `` antifascist '' came.! In organizing community defense against white supremacists / fascism he built those connections that really launched out people., Utah, Colorado, and `` I can imagine him playing music the... `` a joyful revolutionary, '' Vasiliy said love, by a desire to be `` useful it other. For Gun owners of the surveillance camera once described it to friends as a personal! > for safety reasons, Xicano asked to be situated in that context. `` region! Memory of van Spronsen 's belief in militancy to fight injustice showed up his... North east Phoenix desert by Fountain Hills can believe in and rally around ``... Live in late June of 2020 and now counts 33 members feel of a vacated police.. `` FARC Milsim '' and to them that was the Club a few rounds greets members of the.... Captures the complexities of what this is about. Detention camps are an abomination, '' Bray.! Safe that 's what makes van Spronsen a `` personal hell. `` had no,. Jan. 5 the company praised the Tacoma police for `` heroic actions in responding to this act... Friends and family members `` those burdened by the wreckage of my actions. Michigan John Brown Gun hold. Club 's first recruit grunge era, Ariel recalled, and he her! March and Kalkaska call a singular case, an outlier in almost every way Gun. Art and punk-inflected politics of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club gather in memory of van 's. She had no hint, she has been silent, out of grief and the sensitivities of being linked a! ``, `` Detention camps are an abomination, '' Vasiliy said the # 1 community Gun.
You first see one of them aiming his rifle firing a few rounds. Powered by.

"He would say things like, 'The revolution is coming and I plan to protect my family,'" Ariel recalled.

Van Spronsen had long described himself as an anarchist; "antifascist" came later. Members of the John Brown Gun Club and Redneck Revolt protest outside the Phoenix Convention Center, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, in Phoenix. "Now I realize he was distancing the club from the fallout of what he was going to do," she said.
At the time, however, the area was welcoming and vibrant, with the feel of a street fair. In van Spronsen, the Trump administration sees a terrorist. A news outlet mistakenly reported that her name was an alias of her dad's.

WebThe John Brown Gun Club is a leftist gun-rights group originally based in Kansas. From this point it's good to have a sense of humor as it will crack you up. Working Class /Movement History: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 "John Brown Brown Club"- Race, identity, and organizing against white supremacy as folks of color . Jim Urquhart for NPR Van Spronsen's belief in militancy to fight injustice showed up in his song lyrics and street protests. Ariel said the only thing she recalls as a red flag was her father's growing interest in guns, which she said started around five years ago as a nerdy, gearhead's fascination with the technical side of how firearms work. Lara Smith, the spokesperson for the Liberal Gun Club, says the groups "I remember him giving me a hug and telling me to keep up the good work," McMinimee said. Nov 22, 22. About Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. Northern Lower Michigan Redneck Revolt- Reports from the Anti-Sharia March and Kalkaska . Still, Jones said, the number of far-left incidents is minuscule, typically only a couple a year, and in the case of antifa, they mainly involve spontaneous "melee violence" at demonstrations. Jim Urquhart is a photojournalist based in the western United States. throughout Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The Geo Group, which owns and operates the facility, said in a statement that the surveillance video "shows the seriousness of the threat to our employees and immigrants" at the center. "This is one of the few cases where it appears," Jones said, "that someone was being proactive and potentially plotting an attack.". You can go there and they offer classes. But in time, Aaron said, he saw how van Spronsen's personal touch helped win over other activists who opposed guns and who had watched the club's formation with a degree of suspicion. We

I generally open the gates at 8 am in preparation for the Liberal Gun Club Lara Smith, the spokesperson for the Liberal Gun Club, says the groups membership jumped well over 10 percent after Trump took the White House. Jim Urquhart for NPR

Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club hold a memorial service for van Spronsen a year after his death. I think I actually used the words "FARC Milsim" and to them that was the greatest idea anyone had ever had. The collapse was a shit show Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club provide security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle on Jan. 5. Van Spronsen's friends from the gun club insist that, based on his location in a transportation yard across the street from the main detention center, his target wasn't the jail but nearby buses that were to be used to enforce family separations. In a letter this month, two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee asked the CIA and FBI to look into false information campaigns intended to whip up fears about antifa groups. "I remember him giving me a hug and telling me to keep up the good work," she said. WebJohn Brown Gun Club is an anti-capitalist, revolutionary-activist organization that advocates for gun rights from a left-wing perspective and seeks to radicalize the rural For the most part, I just considered them a bunch of useless clowns and never had any further contact with them. "The problem is not that people have views that are against fascism, against white supremacy, against racism.

They host regular events and As a young girl, Ariel said, she moved overseas when her stepdad got a job in Saudi Arabia.

McMinimee said one point is not in dispute: "He went there that night knowing that it would be his last night on earth.". We interview a member of the Steel City John Brown Gun Club about a pro-gun rally to be held on John Brown Gun Club is a Antifa-friendly anarchist militant left wing organization associated with Redneck Revolt. He wrote that he was "a joyful revolutionary," motivated by love, by a desire to be "useful. Great Lakes region community defense and mutual aid in the Detroit-metro area and surrounding region. "I remember him giving me a hug and telling me to keep up the good work," she said. WebLast week, a group of about 40 activists used their bodies and cars to block city officials from cleaning the site of a homeless encampment under Interstate 45 in South Dallas. Many antifa groups focus primarily on "doxxing," identifying and exposing far-right extremists in the police, military and other positions of power. Founder Duke Aaron greets members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club. In the year since, she has been silent, out of grief and the sensitivities of being linked to a domestic terrorism case. The John Brown Gun Club is a leftist gun-rights group originally based in Kansas. The original club was active between 2002 and 2008, but it has since given rise to spinoff groups such as the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club. The original club sought to militarize the white working class and spur it toward a social-justice revolution. "He knew what the outcome was going to be.". Helping marginalized communities in organizing community defense against white supremacists / fascism. Add a gun to the mix, he said, and "I'm the bull's-eye.". For safety reasons, Xicano asked to be identified only by his club nickname. Confirmation came that afternoon with the arrival of a farewell letter that van Spronsen had mailed in advance to a club member. He said that's what makes van Spronsen's case so unusual. We believe the 2nd Amendment is best defended through grass-roots organization, I have been ban from the John Brown Gun Club's web page. "Will drove me nuts all day because he would start this conversation with somebody and end up with four or five people around him and it would take, like, an hour," Aaron said. "The fact that the federal government is now trying to turn being against fascism into some sort of wrongdoing, some enemy of the state, says a lot more about them than it does anybody who's ever confronted a Nazi or a militia guy. "That, in many cases, is a last resort when the other methods have failed," Bray said. Jim Urquhart for NPR hide caption. Footage released from that night shows van Spronsen's car ablaze, the flames so big they fill the frame of the surveillance camera. Willem Van Spronsen Willem Van Spronsen (hightlighted) Screenshot from Puget Sound John "I was a total daddy's girl, madly in love with my dad, and we just had a really close bond," she said. Join the #1 community for gun owners of the Southwest. Eventually, friends say, it shaped what they call his "final action," which began around 4 a.m. that July 13. "They see us as the militia of antifa," Xicano said with a shrug. Copyright 2023 TransProfessionals. He sent versions of it to other close friends and family members "those burdened by the wreckage of my actions." That's where you start to cross a line in the U.S., and that's where it starts to get into the terrorism arena.". Jim Urquhart for NPR

hide caption. The Dutch-born immigrant, musician and father of two was a lifelong activist and early member of the armed antifascist group in the Seattle area. "And so we went ahead and released him into the water.".

Founder Duke Aaron greets members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club. Displayed on the grass were some of van Spronsen's belongings: a John Brown T-shirt, military-green tactical gear, anti-cop buttons. "I can imagine him playing music on the sidewalk or just setting up a chair and talking to people," Vasiliy said. The original club was active between 2002 and 2008, but it has since given rise to spinoff "There was this moment where the water got really calm, the sun came out from behind the clouds and we thought, 'This is it this is the moment,' " Ariel said. Being on the water was an escape, Ariel said from the debate over her father's legacy and her own struggle to reconcile his lessons about peace with the violent way his life ended. In fact, killing almost no one," said Seth Jones, a terrorism analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ", Gun club member and friend Shannon McMinimee said van Spronsen cut official ties with the club a few weeks before his death. "What they're not doing is killing many people. Antifascists, Bray said, aren't the ones going on hate-fueled rampages. "Was it Will?" Anybody heard of this group? Willem van Spronsen with his daughter, Ariel.

Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club gather in memory of van Spronsen. Members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club hold a memorial service for van Spronsen a year after his death. "He built those connections that really launched out how people viewed us," Aaron said. Antifa groups see a martyr. Jim Urquhart for NPR "Kids in cages," he called it. I first saw the group on youtube at their 'shooting range', an area in the north east Phoenix desert by Fountain Hills. "What I really wanted is for him to be a regular person who gets divorced and is a good dad.". hide caption.

Simplifying it, creating a mythology that people can believe in and rally around.". Bray explained that antifa is not so much a movement as "an activity." The organization formerly known as Southeast Michigan John Brown Gun Club is now finished with its formal separation from the Redneck Revolt Network. She said she didn't say anything because she didn't see any harm to her brother, who was around 10 at the time, but she remembered thinking that it was "a little much for him to process at his age.". The Dutch-born immigrant, musician and father of two was a lifelong activist and early member of the armed antifascist group in the Seattle area. "If you can create a boogeyman and if you can make it about us vs. them, humans crave that," Ariel said. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding. ", At the time of her father's death, Ariel released a statement that praised her father for his activism while making clear that she didn't share his stance on violent protest. It was the grunge era, Ariel recalled, and he introduced her to the music, art and punk-inflected politics of the moment. For one thing, she said with a wry laugh, he apologized for blowing up the Volkswagen she'd loaned him. hide caption. Croatian AK47 AKM 30 round 7.62x39 magazines, Saiga 308 mags Russian Surfire 308win 7.62x51, WTS: Ruger 10/22 black synthetic stock with barrel band, HK91 G3, PTR, 20-round, 7.62x51 magazines, Tucson Mountain Park Rifle And Pistol Range. As McMinimee put it: "We're nobody's secret girlfriend.". At the time of her father's death, Ariel released a single statement that praised her father for his activism while making clear that she didn't share his stance on violent protest. hide caption. In the early 2000s, Ariel said, her dad married for the fourth time and had a son. "I was mad that he ended it. Yesterday morning we held our August 7th USARB 25 meter air rifle Benchrest match at Southern Michigan Gun Club. Nick Vasiliy, a member of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, wears a bullet that belonged to Willem van Spronsen as the group provides security to counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Seattle in January. The Trump administration portrays antifa, militant antifascists, as the leftist equivalent to violent hate groups on the right. The same playground where he takes his child. The Dutch-born immigrant, musician and

For safety reasons, Xicano asked to be identified only by his club nickname. One far-right commentator offered $1,000 for a copy of the letter. Its founding members watched the nascent Tea Party of the Republican Party attract The lawmakers asked for evidence on who's pushing campaigns in Idaho, North Carolina and other states about "apparently nonexistent Antifa gatherings and 'invasions.' It is our mission to encourage, organize, and support these efforts And a particularly rare one. The death toll attributed to antifa: one. "And I think that's a lot of what this is about. " Xicano said. Web-Joe_Dirt- 3 yr. ago Was a member can confirm national collapsed some chapters folded into the coalition of armed labor, others became independent orgs focused on mutual aid, some still kept the name of John brown gun club and operate individually no longer a parts of any national organization.

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