May 1st is known in our circles as May Day. It’s a day to honor the haymarket martyrs and the struggles of workers and anarchists around the world.
In this settler-colonial empire, every year on May 1st, the us government declares “loyalty day” a day to pledge allegiance to the sore on the face of the earth known as the USA.
This year, The regime has shifted from insidious liberal violence to open fascism, the flouting of laws that they profess to believe in, the disappearance and deportation of thousands of our friends and neighbors.
On May first, let us declare our disloyalty to the empire and our solidarity with each other through attack. Let us hold marches, parties, demonstrations. Let us sabotage the colonial regime by any means we see necessary. We will destroy what destroys us.
You may have read our anonymous announcement and invitation last month to map and disable some of Richmond’s 97+ FLOCK surveillance cameras.
We’re thrilled to report that according to email submissions to rrn_submissions@tutamail.com and other observations, over a dozen of these eyesores have been disabled! That’s 10% of Richmond’s devices, costing FLOCK over $26k in damages.
Also! Looks like some good neighbors have been busy logging FLOCK device locations in the open source map at https://deflock.me/. They started the month with only 16 or so mapped, and now there are over 60 marked and ready for disabling. Great work Richmond!
We also read recently that Richmond is in a two year trial period for FLOCK services, at a cost to the public of almost $400k already.
We want that contract dropped!
If FLOCK devices are often down, hard to maintain, or destroyed, they won’t be able to justify renewing this trial period after two years, let alone track us and our friends around Richmond and between cities.
So let’s keep up the pace!
Thank you to those crews already working hard to fight the latest cop invasion into our daily lives. If you still haven’t gone out, here’s a refresh from our last post on how to take these black poles apart quickly and easily, without getting caught:
Have you seen those ugly black poles with small devices and panels on top?
Those are called FLOCK cameras, and they are popping up all around Richmond and all over the country. https://www.flocksafety.com/
These cameras are license plate readers, gunshot detectors, and cameras that are being deployed to “stop crime”- in reality, they amass a huge amount of data that any law enforcement agency in the country has access to effectively surveilling our every action.
HOW TO DISABLE THEM:
Many cameras are mounted on poles which have a convenient seam around 4 foot. The poles are connected by six screws. Once the screws are loosened, the upper part of the pole containing the camera can be lifted off. This is VERY lightweight. Once separated, you can spray paint the lens, smash it, cut it from the pole and toss it in a nearby bush or garbage can, or find another creative way to disable it! They likely have tracking devices built in so disabling them on site is best.
For loosening the bolts- you will want a TT27 bit (a TT25 bit will also work). This is a “security” torx bit, and can be found in major hardware stores for affixing to a screwdriver or a socket wrench.
Tin snips work great for cutting the device cables and metal straps connecting the device to the pole, once it’s down.
If you can’t find a bit, or just CANT WAIT to begin, using a set of pliers (like the kind youd find on a leatherman multi tool) works just fine.
If you’re REALLY in a pinch, we were able to loosen one with just our fingers, though we do not recommend this method.
So! Get a buddy (minimum one to address the device, and another to look out), mask up, leave your phones, wear gloves, and get to work!
Spread the word of your work- send info to rrn_submissions@tutamail.com using a one time use email address like yopmail.com or tempmail.ninja
Seeing the wave of tesla arsons has made us incredibly happy. But we are worried to see that many of these attacks have used molotov’s
-Molotov’s aren’t guaranteed to ignite/explode. There have been many cases where police have recovered intact molotov cocktails from attacks. that is a shitton of forensic evidence that detectives WILL exploit. -Even if the bottle does shatter, the shards of glass still likely contain tons of valuable forensic evidence -Molotov’s are loud and immediately create a big flame, all of which kills the element of surprise needed for arson attacks, which runs the risk of you getting captured or the fire gets extinguished much quicker
ALTERNATIVES: Fire starter cubes, sometimes paired with liquid accelerate in plastic bottles
Fire starter cubes are probably the best way to burn a car. -they are guaranteed to self destruct -they are discreet. By the time the vehicle has been engulfed in flames you will have had ample time to escape -they are widely available, small, lightweight, and incredibly simple to use
Instructions: We haven’t tested if a singular small cube is sufficient, but we recommend using at least a pack/bundle of them per vehicle. Placing them on top of a front tire is the best for both electric and gas vehicles. Placing them under the vehicle next to the tire could also be a good option as the flame is even more hidden, but we haven’t tested it ( if you do it this way it would probably be smart to also incorporate a plastic bottle of accelerate to ensure the flames are high and and strong enough)
Whatever design you use, you must test it beforehand and guarantee that every part of the device will be destroyed in a timely manner.
Don’t smash windows if you’re going to burn something because it is loud and increases the risk of leaving dna. Be careful not to touch anything at the scene of the crime
Exercise abundant caution obtaining and handling materials. The no trace project (notrace.how) has great resources for avoiding surveillance and mitigating forensic evidence.
Stay anonymous, get home safe, and go torch the ever loving shit out of every part of this miserable society.
– Anarchists Against Electric Vehicles, Electricity, and Vehicles
At the end of March, some entered the construction site of the data center hypercampus east of Atlanta, Georgia and burned 4 construction vehicles. This was done to oppose data centers that quickly exhaust the limited water supply of the region. This is another example of the country’s tendencies to externalize the costs of their relentless wealth hoarding to southeastern United States. They have chosen the south as an area of sacifice, that is, a place to deposit the most unpleasant industries and their waste. For them, our home is barely available within such parameters, as it can still be used as a landfill. Thus, the people who acted insist that those who try to steal our water, air and land must at least endure loss and embarrassment on their way to hell.
This specific data center has aimed at facilitating AI connection for local companies. AI not only use more water than other computer processes, but is quickly becoming a way for the state to increase its intrusion in our personal life. And more and more are used by police and state forces to monitor those who oppose them. The people who burned these machines do not believe that our thoughts and movements should be used for profit or incarceration.
If you are interested in taking similar steps against such opponents, there are many opportunities. Atlanta Region is one of the locations with the highest activity of the data center developers, but they appear across the country. Companies owned by these centers often are not based in regions in which construction happens. No matter where you are, you are likely to be able to identify a project, facility or corporate office associated with data centers. There are many opportunities to take action. Some neighbors in Atlanta were successful with traditional organizing approaches. However, when politicians inevitably sell you out, we hope that this action reminds you of alternatives.
Here are some tips that may guide you to identify potential targets. Driving in search of construction sites can produce good results. Notifications of public hearings for rezoning and new constructions can also be helpful. Comparing the logos and the name of the corporation on signs outside the construction via Tor Browser on Tails will also help narrow it down. Check that your research is done safely on tails before acting; there are many methods and techniques that others have developed to limit the state’s ability to stop you.
The Dirty South is a counter-info site that focuses on anti-colonial and anti-authoritarian action in the geographic southeast of the so-called U.S. In service of this, we accept and repost communiques, reportbacks, analysis, research, calls to action, art, events, and publications, as well as mainstream news articles about unclaimed attacks.
Who is this resource for?
This resource is for those interested in rupturing the settler-colonial project—those fighting it, those seeking inspiration, and those craving to learn and share new ways of struggle. We especially want to provide a platform for struggles in the geographic southeast of turtle island—the region that carries the historical baggage of the “South”. This area roughly refers to occupied lands south of the appalachian foothills of so-called northern kentucky, west of the so-called atlantic ocean, east of the so-called mississippi river, north of the so-called gulf (so-called florida and louisiana) and so-called texas.
Why we think this is worthwhile:
The counter-info site Scenes from the Atlanta Forest, which published actions, educational resources, discourse, and calls to action relating to the struggle against Cop City in so-called atlanta from 2021-2024, was an important resource for our region (and for the anarchist movement more broadly). The decision of the Scenes admins to end the project this past November left anarchist and anti-authoritarian militants without a regionally-specific platform to anonymously share communiques and other information. We feel called to step up and fill this role.
The “South” often has the reputation of being a particularly reactionary, fascistic, and hostile place. But the brutality of this region has always been always been matched by the fierceness of those fighting against the social order from below. We seek to ground contemporary insurrectionary struggles in legacies of Black and Indigenous resistance and attack: the countless wars fought by Indigenous peoples against colonial expansion; the maroon communities which provided avenues of escape, survival, attack, and revenge against the plantation system; the slave rebellions that brought to life the darkest nightmares of the slaveholding class; the labor strikes and class warfare carried out by the most downtrodden workers; the riots and liberatory struggles of the sixties; and more recent prison riots and uprisings against the carceral system. An unbroken lineage of resistance carries us into the present moment and our struggle to stem the tide of fascism, and to thwart the intensifying efforts of the forces of domination to stamp out any possiblity of a free life.
We typically prefer that actions speak for themselves, but perhaps a few words are due. In the face of renewed genocide and mass deportations, all that is left is what must be done. Taking up the task of disruption, sabotage, and attack is not something we do lightly. The people of Gaza have repeatedly called for mass student escalation. We’ve witnessed targeted deportations of politicized students, workers, and teachers with legal status; a wave of student protests repressed and occupations torn down, and paltry concessions rescinded by university admin.
We ask: what did a protest of over 500 students last spring at the Stallions accomplish? We stood and chanted as fellow students at UT were teargassed. Last week, the Party for Socialism and Liberation hosted a small protest of barely a few dozen. Then everyone went home. Held on the square, this event made front cover of the University Star alongside an opinion piece by the Star’s editorial board advocating “proper avenues” of “political expression.” They even dared to invoke the expelled San Marcos 10 in an effort to downplay a little graffiti. Why? The university can better control every aspect of the narrative if we allow them to dictate proper political expression.
Our detractors have labeled us vandals, criminals, outside agitators, domestic terrorists, radicals/extremists. Though these titles are certainly an honor, we remain your humble neighbors, colleagues, & classmates. Living in the heart of US imperialism necessitates actions that disrupt business as usual. We do not fear political repression, but instead a return to normalcy.
Some students have bemoaned the defacing of their “beautiful” campus. Fuck you lol. This university is complicit in funding Israeli genocide and actively collaborating with ICE against the will of its student population. It was already an extension of an active warzone; our political act simply reminded people of that. It is students who make this campus beautiful, because it is our campus.
Others pointed out the inconvenienced sanitation workers forced to take such art down. For the first time, students recognized the existence and working conditions of underpaid, primarily immigrant workers who lack union representation on this campus. But rather than lay those concerns at the feet of a, frankly overpaid, administration whose campus is expanding unsustainably, these students prefer to weaponize said workers against a political movement. How often has the student body taken it upon themselves to guarantee the survival of these workers or their families?
UPD has claimed all its efforts are being concentrated on unveiling us while sexual harassment, assault, hazing, and homophobic and racist violence are still mainstays at this University. Perhaps it would be best if they concentrated on those, if they weren’t so often guilty of excesses of violence themselves.
Another point of interest was the overwhelming discussions held in the wake of our graffiti. Through Reddit, Instagram, and classrooms debates were held, photographs taken, interviews conducted, and statements released. The University Star would have you believe otherwise, that “many students have already ceased conversations surrounding it.” A boldface lie in an attempt to downplay an event the paper references in 3 different articles this week.
Our beloved University President, Kelly Damphouse, even took to the battlements of his own Instagram post responding to the flurry of negative comments he received from Texas State students, and liking messages such as “we stand with you Kelly.” Seems his public outreach coordinator needs to run some trainings with him, feeling the need to respond to each and every negative comment with hundreds of likes.
Funny thing that few people recall about Kelly: his doctorate is in counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, and studying resistance movements. What that means, dear reader, is that the president of our university has a degree in stifling unrest. His position befits the degree as he has spoken wearily of anti-war student activists of the 60’s and compared them to today’s protests around Palestine. A fed for a president who needs to lay off the ‘gram lest he make a fool of himself. We are happy to report that the vast majority of student body responses on social media that we witnessed were positive 🙂
Finally, we come to the particular questions and answered that spurred this communique. Why did we do it? Should you do it? How? Was it easy?
We did it because it was a step, a small one, towards escalation. Graffiti carries a certain transgressive and sensationalist appeal that gets people talking. However, this was by no means a performative action designed only to create commotion. IT is part of a sustained national attempt to attack institutions responsible and hold them accountable. In the spirit of the Merrimack 4, we think it important to bring the war home. As parades, marches, protests, and community events have their place in revolutionary change, so too does direct action, disruption, and clandestine activity.
With minimal planning, some spray paint, and committed friends we reveal ways to strike back. It was easy. “stay tuned” and “you can do it too” were not just slogans but calls to action. Be bold. Be creative. Have fun, because it is fun to revolt. It’s the University’s responsibility to divest from genocide and keep ICE out. We can bleed their pockets. Material damages is money they cannot spend elsewhere. We take risks because we can, and once you realize it’s possible so can you.
