Identity Europa in the Pacific Northwest

This article is republished, with permission, from Rose City Antifa.

Unicorn Riot recently released the chat logs of the white nationalist group Identity Europa, which contains almost 250k messages from approximately 900 unique users.

Identity Europa (IE) began in 2016, as a project founded by Nathan Damigo. The focus was on mass-movement building among white, college-age youth, typically framed in terms of white “Identitarianism”, and influenced by European organization Generation Identitaire, or Generation Identity. A significant part of IE’s messaging has focused on shifting away from openly racist rhetoric, and establishing a respectable facade for their organization by claiming that they merely support “pro-white” positions. However, this hasn’t stopped IE organizers or members from planning and engaging in violence, publicly promoting carefully-phrased racist and anti-Semitic talking points, and privately trading in overtly racist memes despite their leaders’ calls for careful optics.

Membership applications arrived in huge numbers after Damigo attacked a counter protester in Berkeley in April of 2017, alongside members of the “Rise Above Movement”. Identity Europa was also deeply involved in planning the fascist and white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, in August of 2017, which resulted in the death of Heather Heyer and injury to 19 others. A leaked internal document instructed IE members to expect “to have a large number of friendly people attend this rally ranging from Alt-Lite, Oath keepers, Proud Boys, and Trumpists to Identitarians, Neo-Confederates, national socialists and other Alt Right groups.”

Rose City Antifa has reported on local IE affiliates in the past. Jacob Ott was a fixture at many local Patriot Prayer events until he was doxxed by Rose City Antifa, and went underground. A group of fascists centered around the remnants of the Portland State University Students for Trump, including Ethan Devries, Cody Bussard, Matt Duffy, Natasha Mazur, Eric Steele, Stephen Johnston, Tylor Phelps, and Liam Wynn also were present at Patriot Prayer events, and had many ties to Identity Europa. This fits in with the stated mission of the group, to recruit white, predominantly male, college students and encourage them to go out and conduct racist propagandizing and political “activism.” As reported by Unicorn Riot, racist, anti-Semitic, and Nazi content is rampant on the server:

Another area where Identity Europa’s basis in fascist and Nazi ideology betrays itself is their attitudes towards Jewish people. While the organization only allows white people to be members, this does not include Jews, who Identity Europa considers to be non-white. Discord user ‘FACINEMA’ asked the group “were you asked if you were of non-semetic heritage during your interview? I was.” CEO Patrick Casey, who used the Discord username Reinhard Wolff, clarified that “Jewish individuals cannot join IE, and we screen for this during the interview process.” A search of Identity Europa’s chat logs shows that members have mentioned the ‘JQ’ or ‘Jewish question’ over 150 times.

Recently, after the initial bad publicity caused by the exposure of members like Damigo, Ott, James Allsup and others, IE has attempted to implement a stricter vetting process. People pursuing membership in the organization must complete two consecutive face-to-face interviews with senior IE members within their geographic region. After their first interview, they gain baseline access to main IE Discord channels, and then once second interview is completed at a later date, they’re granted full access and member privileges within the various IE Discord chats. In the Discord channels, Identity Europa members across the country plan propaganda campaigns for various colleges, regional networking meet-ups, and other activities such as supporting white supremacist GOP politician, Steve King.

Along with other anti-fascists working in the region, Rose City Antifa has identified these members of Identity Europa from the Discord chat logs, and would like to present these white supremacists to their communities.

Jacob Labudda

Pertinent Info

Known as “Jacob” on the Identity Europa Discord Server
Name: Jacob Labudda
Location: Cheney, WA
DOB: 07/13/1997
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5945z archive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IdentitarianWA

Clocking in at 15,807 messages, Jacob Labudda made approximately 150% more posts than the next-most-prolific user in white nationalist group Identity Europa’s “Nice Respectable People Group” logs. Labudda credits the cementing of his white nationalist radicalization to Jared Taylor’s American Renaissance publication, and says that he prefers Identity Europa to Europe’s “Generation Identity” organization because IE is able to be more explicitly racist. By his own telling, Labudda joined Identity Europa in February of 2017. During that academic year, he attended University of Washington and was an active member of UW College Republicans from Fall 2016 through the Spring of 2017, making him a UWCR member when a far-right activist shot an IWW member outside the January 20, 2017 College Republicans event featuring neo-Nazi collaborator Milo Yiannopoulos. Labudda is only one example of a common pattern of far-right radicalization via engagement with local College Republicans (CRs) chapters; the logs clearly show that Identity Europa recognized, and has intentionally orchestrated, connections with right-wing campus organizations as part of their overall recruitment strategy.

Jacob Labudda is pictured hanging out with fellow UW College Republicans Chevy Swanson, Jessie Gamble, Mihai Ciustea, Brendan Jacobsen, and Zach Wyman a month after he joined white nationalist organization Identity Europa

After a year at UW, Labudda transferred to Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA, where he began to regularly put up racist Identity Europa propagada materials on numerous college campuses in the area, including his own. By himself, or with one or two other local IE members, Labudda was responsible for a large percentage of the Identity Europa posters and stickers that appeared on the following campuses over the past two years: Gonzaga University, Washington State University-Spokane, Eastern Washington University, Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, Washington State University, and (when he was still in the area) University of Washington. He also posted frequently in chats with his fellow Identity Europa members about each round of his white nationalist flyering, making fun of the anti-hate events his fellow students held in response, and gloating about his school’s inability to identify him as the culprit.

Jacob Labudda is seen bragging about putting up white supremacist posters on his own campus at Eastern Washington University

Labudda also revealed that his fellow white nationalists within Identity Europa were behind one of the many far-right “false flag” hoaxes constructed to smear local anti-fascists and leftists. This one which popped up in Seattle in early 2017, involved a convoluted plot to claim that leftists consider craft beer to be a white supremacist phenomenon via a coordinated flyer/sticker campaign and painfully awkward fake antifascist blog. These hoaxes generally fool no one aside from adherents of the far-right, who have trained themselves to believe anything that gives license to their bigoted impulses.

Jacob Labudda reveals that the Seattle-area fascists within Identity Europa were behind a “false flag” anti-racist propaganda hoax

In September of 2018, Labudda mentioned in the Discord that he had been featured on the Identity Europa Twitter account but hadn’t been doxxed yet, apparently referring to a June 1, 2018 tweet which showed members of the fascist organization engaging in disingenuous “community outreach” in Spokane, WA. He also specifically mentioned having deactivated his personal Facebook page shortly before attending this “Spokane event,” presumably in order to avoid being doxxed via comparisons of his social media photos and any images of him at that event that might end up on Identity Europa’s social media.

Jacob Labudda is pictured in a tweet by the main Identity Europa Twitter account.

Chad M Jerald Jr.

Pertinent Info

Known as “StevePines -WA” on the Identity Europa Discord Server
Name: Chad M. Jerald Jr.
Hometown: Walla Walla, WA
DOB: 02/28/1996
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chad.j.jerald archive
Instagram: @chadjerald

Chad M Jerald Jr. is a undergraduate Physics major at WSU in Pullman, WA, the alma mater of disgraced white nationalist GOP infiltrator James Allsup, who, according to Jerald, personally recruited him to become a member of Identity Europa based on their friendship within the WSU College Republicans. Discussion in the logs between various Identity Europa members throughout the Pacific Northwest makes it clear that Allsup maintains ongoing relationships with regional College Republicans chapters. Jerald is a currrent member of the WSU College Republicans, and states in the logs that he uses this affiliation as cover to attend white supremacist and fascist gatherings, like this year’s Identity Europa national conference.

Chad Jerald states that he uses his membership in the College Republicans as cover for attending fascist meetups and conferences.

Chad Jerald makes it abundantly clear in the logs that he considers the College Republicans– as a political group– bland and ineffectual, and therefore a fertile ground for recruiting receptive young adults into white nationalist organizations like Identity Europa.

In a series of excerpts fraught with anti-Semitic tropes, Chad Jerald discusses his disdain for College Republicans and his strategy of propagandizing other college students into gradual acceptance of extreme racist ideologies and hate groups.

Chad Jerald and Jacob Labudda discuss the internal politics of UW College Republicans, name-dropping both Chevy Swanson and Jessie Gamble.

Jerald is also a member of Turning Point USA, an organization riddled with scandals over the barely-disguised racism of its membership. In December of 2018, Jerald elected not to meet up with any local Identity Europa members while in Miami at the yearly TPUSA conference, because not all of the TPUSA members he was traveling with were . He did make it clear, though, that at least one other person in his TPUSA traveling party was an Identity Europa member.

Chad Jerald says that one of his TPUSA friends is also in Identity Europa

Like many far-right activists, Chad Jerald idolizes particularly brutal agents of state enforcement and repression like ICE and Border Patrol. In October of 2018 while discussing details of another upcoming Trump-inspired WSU College Republicans “Border Wall” event on campus, Jerald mentions that “we called into ICE and we’re going to try and get them to come do a show of power”. Jerald also mentions purchasing– and seeking out provocative circumstances to wear– a U.S. Border Patrol hat whose description matches photos found on his public Facebook page.

Chad Jerald idolizes Border Patrol agents

The discord logs show that Chad Jerald also wore his Border Patrol hat when he went on a road trip with fellow Identity Europa fascists to hold a racist banner at various sites in Montana including the Flathead County Courthouse, the Conrad Mansion Museum, Whitefish Depot, Woodland Park, and the Flathead County Veterans Memorial.

Chad Jerald is seen wearing his special Border Patrol hat while holding a racist banner at the Flathead County Veterans Memorial in Kalispell, MT.

Chad Jerald is clearly visible among other Identity Europa fascists in Kalispell, MT.

Also like many current far-right activists, Chad Jerald claims to be a recent convert from leftist and socialist politics into explicit white nationalism. He also states his intentions to turn his girlfriend into a white nationalist.

Chad Jerald is extremely racist.

Chad Jerald makes racist remarks about his classmates of color at WSU to fellow fascists in the Identity Europa Discord logs

Chad Jerald complains that his anthropology professor at WSU is not racist enough for his tastes

Nicholas Williams

Pertinent Info

Known as “OttoVonBismarck” on the Identity Europa Discord Server
Name: Nicholas Williams
Location: Tualatin, OR
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.williams.140
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasdwilliamsatfbla/

Portland-area Identity Europa member Nicholas Williams is currently a senior at Tualatin High School, who plans to major in Petroleum Engineering at a university in Colorado next year. He holds the office of Northwest Territory Region Vice President in Oregon Future Business Leaders of America. In the months before he officialy joined Identity Europa, Williams also frequently participated in the closed Facebook group of the violent far-right organization Patriot Prayer.

Some of the racist messaging Nicholas Williams was exposed to in the closed Patriot Prayer Facebook group before he moved on to join the fascist white nationalist organization Identity Europa

Nicholas Williams participates in a Patriot Prayer Facebook discussion denigrating law students who staged a sit-in to show solidarity with survivors of sexual assault

Nicholas Williams was also apparently oblivious to the clear level of collaboration between the Portland Police and the violent bigots, fascists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis who make up Patriot Prayer. He can be seen imitating the complaints of far-right, fascist-enabling hucksters like Joey Gibson in the screenshots from the Patriot Prayer Facebook group shown here.

Nicholas Williams complains about Patriot Prayer receiving unsatisfactory customer service from Portland Police Bureau during their violent incursions into Portland.

Selections from Williams’ participation in the Identity Europa Discord logs show his continued radicalization and immersion into Identity Europa’s white nationalist and neo-Nazi politics–a process that began for Williams, unsurprisingly, with his exposure to the work of blandly esoteric self-help writer and “intellectual dark web” denizen Jordan Peterson.

Williams mentions turning in an assignment for his IB Biology class which he chose to write about so-called “race realism.”

Nicholas Williams engages in casual sexism in the Identity Europa chat server.

Williams discusses the “JQ” (“Jewish Question”) and pushes IE Executive Director Patrick Casey (aka Discord user “Reinhard Wolff”) to articulate an official stance for the organization.

Williams takes part in a conversation about how IE can further infiltrate the Republican Party and “awaken” their membership to fascist and white “identitarian” views.

Williams discusses instances where his friends have gotten in trouble for racism at school in the Identity Europa Discord chats. One of his fellow fascists suggests that they should use the neo-Nazi dog-whistle slogan “It’s Okay To Be White” as a counterargument

Williams talks about his plans to rip down Black History Month posters at his school with his friends.

Nicholas Williams talks about his mother’s resistance to his racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric

Williams notes that his English teacher is Jewish while complaining that the class discussed gender roles.

Williams repeats common neo-Nazi talking points about Jewish people owning the media.

Bogdan Gerasimyuk

Pertinent Info

Known as “cos/sin-WA” on the Identity Europa Discord Server
Name: Bogdan Gerasimyuk
see previous doxx here
DOB: 03/08/1994
Address: 2600 T St Apt 77, Vancouver, WA
Email: TAN9ENT@protonmail.com
Employment: Securitas (Vancouver), 7700 NE Parkway Drive Vancouver WA 98662; Phone: 360-604-5556
Washington State Security Guard License # 112699
Vehicle: Dark green Chevy 4-door sedan - WA AVH3143

Gerasimyuk is in the Identity Europa server, but not very active. He was much more active in the CCC Discord server, and with the PDX Stormers, both of which have been reported on substantially by Rose City Antifa in the past. Posts from the CCC Discord made it clear that Gerasimyuk had a relationship with Identity Europa, but his presence in that group’s own member server now makes that relationship confirmed.

While full information about Gerasimyuk can be found on Rose City Antifa’s article about him in connection with his PDX Stormer activity, a few particular instances of evidence for his racist and neo-Nazi beliefs are reproduced here.

(Top) Gerasimyuk retweets neo-Nazi politician Paul Nehlen, and (Bottom) tweets the English translation of the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil”.

Two of Gerasimyuk’s Twitter accounts.

Leaked internal chats reveal Matthew Blais (aka “Not Alois Brunner”) and Bogdan Gerasimyuk (aka “ChuckShoomer”) in coordination with other neo-Nazis such as Jimmy Marr prior to Joey Gibson’s rally. It also gives a glimpse of the glee Gerasimyuk felt at being able to openly yell racial slurs while among Joey Gibson’s racist followers.

Gerasimyuk wore a “parteiadler” Nazi pin to Patriot Prayer’s April 29, 2017 rally, when he attended with other PDX Stormers. Other attendees made him remove it because it made Gibson’s event look bad, but the PDX Stormers were allowed to stay.

Bogdan Gerasimyuk is seen marching with fellow PDX Stormer neo-Nazi “Germany,” and their faithful far-right Patriot Prayer allies Haley Adams, Concetta Adams, Kathryn Townsend, Amy Williams, and Ryan Kerr

(Top) Excerpts from the CCC logs show Bogdan Gerasimyuk and Matthew Blais informing other participants regarding Identity Europa’s plans for Joey Gibson’s hate rally. (Middle) Jimmy Marr calls for his fellow neo-Nazis in the CCC Discord to help him display an anti-Semitic banner over the freeway in Portland. Gerasimyuk initially volunteers, but later (Bottom) bails out on the plan.

Members of the CCC chat hold an anti-Semitic banner over I-205 in SE Portland during Joey Gibson’s June 4, 2017 hate rally downtown.

Gerasimyuk is seen with fellow fascists Cody Bussard, Thorsson Snyder, and Allen Pucket; as well as with failed Oregon Congressional candidate Joey Nations, failed Washington Senate candidate and disgraced Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, Proud Boys hate group member Donovon Flippo, and violent Patriot Prayer videographer Kerry Hudson.

Gerasimyuk is seen in the background of a selfie taken by neo-Nazi Jake Von Ott on August 6, 2017, while at Joey Gibson’s Patriot Prayer hate rally. Also visible are white nationalist hate preacher Allen Pucket, hate preacher Arcadio Pena, hate preacher and domestic abuser Quincy Franklin, hate preacher Blake Sheely, as well as neo-Nazis Mike Dorsey, Thorsson Snyder, and Jarl Rockhill.

Further Reading

Also check out these other articles written by anti-fascists, identifying IE members in their communities.

• Patrick Casey, executive director of IE, by Antifa Seven Hills
• Justin Wayne Peek, Georgia coordinator for IE, by Atlanta Antifa
• Derek Martin Magill, IE member, by WANaziWatch
• Jay Harrison, IE member, by Eugene Antifa
• Erica Joy Alduino, IE member, by Asheville Anti-Racism
• Benjamin Mass, IE accountant, by Antifash Gordon

Also of interest may be the #IdentifyEvropa hashtag on twitter.

If you have information on Identity Europa or any racist or fascist organizing in your area, contact Rose City Antifa at fight_them_back@riseup.net.