Armed neo-Nazis assault Antifa in Morristown after anti-immigrant rally;
Nazis lie, press distorts, and cops arrest 3 antifascists

July 29, 2007

Wherever neo-Nazis go, injustice follows. Morristown on Saturday was no different.

After the July 28, 2007 anti-immigrant rally in Morristown, NJ, two neo-Nazis attacked antifascists behind town hall. The neo-Nazis, 40-year old Frederick K. Williams ("Erick_K_W" on Stormfront) and Annette Williams of North Bergen, NJ, jumped from their pick-up truck armed with baseball bats and knives and assaulted pro-immigrant counter-protesters.

After taunting the anti-racist activists who had outed them earlier at the rally itself, Williams and his wife stopped their truck, exited the vehicle and pulled a knife on the activists. He lunged at them but was quickly disarmed and his knife fell to the pavement. A local resident saw the fight between the older couple and the younger activists and joined in to
support the neo-Nazis, shouting obscenities and dragging one activist who had just been standing there to the ground. Williams then pulled out a baseball bat from the rear bed of his pick up truck and began attacking the anti-racists with it.

By this point, more antifas began rushing to the scene. Williams got back in his truck and tried to flee, but not before other activists blocked his Ford pick up from leaving. Moments later, police rushed in, found Williams' weapon in the back of his pickup and confiscated it.

Staying true to their fear of authority figures, the Williams' story quickly changed, telling police they were the victims of an unprovoked assault, but other witnesses at the scene and a video of the attack prove otherwise.

After initially handcuffing the bat-wielding Frederick Williams and detaining his wife Annette, police then decided to take his word for it and rounded up several anti-racists who were detained several blocks away from the incident. Although they had the bat, the knife and other evidence of the actual assault right in their hands, no action was taken by police against Frederick Williams. They then let Williams choose which activists he wanted to be arrested.

Frederick Williams suffered no more than a few scrapes and bruised ego, and his wife Annette a bloody lip, while one of those arrested was beaten with a baseball bat and sustained injuries to his knee and leg. Again: the neo-Nazis were not arrested by the police.

The New York Times erroneously printed an article using the police report, based entirely on Williams' story of the event in direct contradiction to the statements of other witnesses and the evidence found on the scene.

Where police reported ten activists targeted in the assault, less than four were involved, and no mention was made in the article of Williams' possession of the weapons.

The charges against the activists reflected this: one was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, yet fingerprint analysis will clearly show that the items were wielded by none other than Frederick Williams. Other charges include simple assault, disorderly conduct, improper behavior and causing bodily injury. Bails were set ridiculously high, one with a $5,000 bail with 10% bond, and two of $2500 cash bail without bond - all for non-indictable offenses (NJ's equivalent of a misdemeanor).

Police themselves obstructed the release of the activists, first saying that they would be released without charges, then that they would have charges but be released on their own recognizance, then informing the arrestees supporters of the bail amounts eight hours after the initial arrests while not stating any of the charges against them.

All of the activists were bailed out within three hours of being transferred to the Morris County Jail through the efforts of devoted friends and the support of a strong, dedicated, broad-based and growing movement committed to standing up in the face of racist attacks, harassment and lies. Their spirits are high and they are confident that they will win in court.

The organizers of the anti-immigrant rally, including Mt. Olive blogger Robb Pearson and the mayor of Morristown, Donald Cresitello, publicly distanced themselves from charges of racism but seemed to have no problem with the two dozen or so openly neo-Nazi rally participants at the event, including Williams. Mayor Cresitello at one point even stopped his prepared speech to launch a tirade against "Communists and Marxists."

Throughout the rally, antifascists made their presence known in sight and sound of the racist rally, calling out and exposing the neo-Nazis present. At one point during the day, after anti-racists identified and called out several neo-Nazi boneheads in the crowd near town hall, the boneheads walked over to confront the protesters only to be swarmed. A tense but non-violent face off ended with the boneheads realizing they were out of their league. One ran into the local Kings' supermarket to hide, while others made a hasty retreat to their car, and drove off.

Perhaps to make up for his less-than-glorious battle for the purity of the white race, Williams began posting to white supremacist website Stormfront begging for money and support from other white supremacists, claiming that antifas dragged him and his wife from his truck and seriously injured them. Nothing could be further from the truth, a pathetic cover-up by a neo-Nazi who picked the wrong day to try and start his own racial holy war on the streets of Morristown.

But now, the neo-Nazis have gone even further, sending anonymous threats to activists and college students who were not even at the counter-rally and had only reposted already public calls to action. They have even begun targeting family members of the arrestees. Several of these threats have already been received from anonymous email addresses.

Neo-Nazis have also begun posting photos of other activists online and calling - not for them to be outed to the public, as anti-racists have done for Nazis - but to be singled out for assault and perhaps worse.

This only shows exactly what follows when neo-Nazis are allowed to take the streets or organize unopposed: brutal and cowardly assaults on unarmed protesters who stand up to their hate.

The neo-Nazis' actions, their organizing, and their rallies will continue to be disrupted and shut down in the months to come.

There is already a treasure trove of information on specific and active white power organizers, including the participants of Saturday's assault, and any move or further assault by them will lead us right back to the source. They will be exposed, they will lose their jobs, and they may face years behind bars like white supremacist Matt Hale if any harm comes to the activists, their friends or loved ones. Neo-Nazis will not be allowed to take one step in their communities and towns without being vilified, exposed to the light and put in their place at every turn.

After shutting down the World Church of the Creator, after forcing the National Alliance off the streets, after countering the National Socialist Movement at every turn and exposing every tiny white power faction trying to mainstream itself for what they are, they will not pass. Further organizing by neo-Nazis in the mainstream will only bring down the movements they try to infiltrate, ruining the careers of any public figure or politician who flirts with fascism. Further organizing out of the closet as white power organizations will be dealt a swift defeat.

Never again means never again.

Contact: morristownantifa (at) riseup.net