Unicorn Riot

Last updated

Unicorn Riot
Founders
  • Niko Georgiades
  • Andrew Neef
  • Lorenzo Serna
  • Dan Feidt
  • Christopher Schiano
  • Pat Boyle
  • Ray Weiland
  • et al.
Type Nonprofit organization Journalism
Legal status 501(c)(3)
HeadquartersSt. Paul, Minnesota
Official language
English
Website www.unicornriot.ninja OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, nonprofit, left-wing [1] [2] [3] media collective that originated online in 2015. The group is known for reporting on far-right organizations and sources of racial and economic injustice in the US. The non-hierarchical media organization operates in the US cities of Boston, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia as well as in South Africa. They produce live streams of political rallies and protests [4] and are funded by viewer donation and grants. [5]

Contents

Structure

Unicorn Riot currently has around 10 members, based in Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and South Africa. [6] [4] [7] The media collective is non-hierarchical and makes decisions based on consensus. [8] The organization is frequently described as left-wing. [9] [10]

Unicorn Riot has maintained a channel on livestream.com since May 2015. [8] Besides creating live video of protests, the media collective also engages in investigative journalism, producing web series, video packages, blogs, and podcasts. [4] They have published documents obtained through open records requests, including a copy of the Denver Police Department Crowd Management Manual. [11] They also produce the weekly news show Deprogram. Unicorn Riot releases its content under a Creative Commons license. [12]

History

The founding members of Unicorn Riot met while filming direct actions in support of Tar Sands Blockade and Occupy Wall Street. [13] Some had previously worked for online news outlets and had grown frustrated with news organizations that failed to publish their work. The founders of Unicorn Riot started meeting in Minneapolis in the fall of 2014. Among the founders were Lorenzo Serna, Andrew Neef, Niko Georgiades, Pat Boyle, and Ray Weiland. [4] [6] Unicorn Riot claims to seek to "amplify the voices of people from marginalized communities" and to broadcast and bring context to stories that are not picked up by the mainstream media. [14] Early on, they documented the Ferguson protests following the shooting of Michael Brown. During the next year, Unicorn Riot registered as an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. [4]

Unicorn Riot journalists are often embedded in protests, and film from the front lines. [13] Members of the media collective have been repeatedly targeted for arrest by law enforcement officers [6] and often have their cameras and equipment confiscated. [8] Their press credentials have also been challenged by the police. [13] In 2022, Unicorn Riot was classified as a member of the news media by Minnesota's Fourth District Court as part of Energy Transfer LP v. Greenpeace International. [15]

Activities

Black Lives Matter protests

Unicorn Riot has documented a number of rallies and protests related to the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the November 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, Unicorn Riot maintained a live stream of the occupation of the Minneapolis Police Department's 4th Precinct station. [4] The media collective also documented the protests that took place following the shooting of Philando Castile, including blockages of interstate freeways. [14]

Denver homeless encampments

In Denver, Colorado, Unicorn Riot live streamed the removal of homeless encampments, including an eviction that took place during a blizzard on the morning of December 15, 2015. [6]

Dakota Access Pipeline protests

During the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Unicorn Riot was one of the first media groups to be present when Standing Rock Sioux tribe members set up the Sacred Stone Camp on April 1, 2016. The media collective has maintained a near continuous presence at the pipeline protests. Video from Unicorn Riot showing a crowd of protesters being sprayed with water cannons during sub-zero temperatures was used to contradict police reports that the cannons were only being used to put out fires. [13] Four Unicorn Riot reporters were arrested in September and October 2016. [16] Chris Schiano and Georgiades were arrested on September 13 as they were filming protesters who had locked themselves to equipment being used to construct the pipeline. Reporter Lorenzo Serna was arrested in both North Dakota and Iowa, and reporter Jenn Schreiter was arrested in October while reporting on a lockdown at a DAPL construction site in Iowa. [13]

Unite the Right rally

Unicorn Riot had documented several of the chat rooms in the Discord application prior to the Unite the Right rally in August 2017, which led to violence between alt right groups and counter-protesters, including the death of one person. The group subsequently released this material, which was used to identify the anonymous users on Discord who were involved with violence at the rally. [17] [18]

Documentary film

Unicorn Riot produced a feature-length documentary film about the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline entitled Black Snake Killaz: A #NoDAPL Story. The film was premiered on November 17, 2017 at the Parkway theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and released online free of charge for educational purposes via Unicorn Riot's website on November 18, 2017.

Gab

In October 2018, Unicorn Riot discovered that on Gab, individual users on the platform led by alt-right figure Brittany Pettibone organized on the video game chat and voice room platform Discord and that some of the discussions centered on antisemitism and achieving "ethno-nationalism." [19]

Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement (IE/AIM)

In March 2019, Unicorn Riot leaked more than 770,000 Discord messages from Identity Evropa's (IE) national server called "Nice Respectable People Group" as well as that of Nicholas J. Fuentes' America First, James Allsup's The Nationalist Review, and the group's Slack server. The leaks revealed that Identity Evropa was attempting an entryist campaign into the Republican Party such as one member meeting with Billy Ciancaglini (party candidate for the Mayor of Philadelphia), sympathizing with Representative Steve King of Iowa and others seeking to join College Republican clubs. [20] Several members were doxed, and the group was rebranded American Identity Movement (AIM), as part of a public relations effort to avoid scrutiny. [21]

Shutdown of brown coal infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Unicorn Riot livestreamed the "Ende Gelände" direct action protests in Germany, whose aim is to shut down brown coal fossil fuel infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia. Ende Gelände (roughly translated to "Here no further") achieved this by entering the brown coal pit mine and blocking the brown coal transport railroad track. [22]

Murder of George Floyd

After the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, Unicorn Riot began doing a series of live streams on Twitter and YouTube of the protest and riot in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. [23] Unicorn Riot has had a history of working in the Twin Cities and covering police brutality and other violence. [24]

Patriot Front

The Guardian reported on 28 January 2022 that more than 400 gigabytes of private Patriot Front chat logs on RocketChat had been obtained and published by Unicorn Riot. [25] The logs reveal efforts to expand membership, with the founder Thomas Rousseau writing "We are absolutely desperate for new people. We've been in the 220's to 230's membership rut for nearly a full year". The group can be seen attempting to inflate its numbers and importance, outlining plans to create fake social media accounts pretending to be bystanders to marches, and posting deceptive material on Twitter, Reddit and 4chan, as well as direct messaging traditional media outlets and rejoicing when it is mentioned in the news. The leaders frequently scold members for not participating in events. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Socialist Movement (United States)</span> American Neo-Nazi organization (1974-)

The National Socialist Movement (NSM) is a far-right, Neo-Nazi, white supremacist hate based organization based in the United States. It is a part of the Nationalist Front. The party claimed to be the "largest and most active" National Socialist organization in the United States. It is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anonymous (hacker group)</span> Decentralized hacktivist group

Anonymous is a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective and movement primarily known for its various cyberattacks against several governments, government institutions and government agencies, corporations and the Church of Scientology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard B. Spencer</span> American white supremacist (born 1978)

Richard Bertrand Spencer is an American former magazine editor, public speaker and activist who rose to prominence as a neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. Spencer was a prominent advocate of the alt-right movement. He advocated for the reconstitution of the European Union into a white racial empire, which he believed will replace the diverse European ethnic identities with one homogeneous "White identity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proud Boys</span> North American neo-fascist organization

The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditionalist Worker Party</span> Defunct neo-Nazi and white nationalist American political party

The Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) was a far-right neo-Nazi political party active in the United States between 2013 and 2018, affiliated with the broader "alt-right" movement that became active within the U.S. during the 2010s. It was considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center's list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discord</span> Online communication software

Discord is an instant messaging and VoIP social platform which allows communication through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, and media and files. Communication can be private or take place in virtual communities called "servers". A server is a collection of persistent chat rooms and voice channels which can be accessed via invite links. Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Linux, and in web browsers. As of 2021, the service has over 350 million registered users and over 150 million monthly active users. It is primarily used by gamers, although the share of users interested in other topics is growing. As of September 2023, Discord is the 35th most visited website in the world with 23.42% of its traffic coming from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakota Access Pipeline protests</span> 2016–17 series of protests in the United States

The Dakota Access Pipeline Protests, also known by the hashtag #NoDAPL, were a series of grassroots Native American protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in the northern United States that began in April 2016. Protests ended on February 23, 2017 when National Guard and law enforcement officers evicted the last remaining protesters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity Evropa</span> Neo-Nazi group in the United States

Identity Evropa was an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist organization established in March 2016. It was rebranded as the American Identity Movement in March 2019. In November 2020, the group disbanded. Leaders and members of Identity Evropa, such as former leader Elliot Kline, praised Nazi Germany and pushed for what they described as the "Nazification of America".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unite the Right rally</span> 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia

The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11–12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and far-right militias. Some groups chanted racist and antisemitic slogans and carried weapons, Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols, the Valknut, Confederate battle flags, Deus vult crosses, flags, and other symbols of various past and present antisemitic and anti-Islamic groups. The organizers' stated goals included the unification of the American white nationalist movement and opposing the proposed removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee from Charlottesville's former Lee Park. The rally sparked a national debate over Confederate iconography, racial violence, and white supremacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antifa (United States)</span> Anti-fascist political activist movement

Antifa is a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement in the United States. It consists of a highly decentralized array of autonomous groups that use nonviolent direct action, incivility, and violence to achieve their aims. Antifa political activism includes non-violent methods like involving poster and flyer campaigns, mutual aid, speeches, protest marches, and community organizing. Some who identify as antifa also use tactics involving digital activism, doxing, harassment, physical violence, and property damage. Members of antifa aim to combat far-right extremists, including neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Free Speech Rally</span> Rally in Boston in 2017

The Boston Free Speech Rally took place at the Boston Common on August 19, 2017. The organizers and participants were characterized as adherents of the alt-lite, a loosely organized right-wing political movement. Around 50 people attended the rally, and they were met by tens of thousands of counterprotesters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriot Prayer</span> American far-right political group

Patriot Prayer is a US far-right group founded by Joey Gibson in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburban city in the Portland metropolitan area. Since 2016, the group has organized several dozen pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies held in liberal cities in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Often met with large numbers of counter-protesters, attendees have repeatedly clashed with left-wing groups in the Portland area. Far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, have attended the rallies organized by Patriot Prayer, as well as white nationalists, sparking controversy and violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriot Front</span> American white nationalist group

Patriot Front is an American white nationalist and neo-fascist hate group. Part of the broader alt-right movement, the group split off from the neo-Nazi organization Vanguard America in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally in 2017. Patriot Front's aesthetic combines traditional Americana with fascist symbolism. Internal communications within the group indicated it had approximately 200 members as of late 2021. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the group generated 82% of reported incidents in 2021 involving distribution of racist, antisemitic, and other hateful propaganda in the United States, comprising 3,992 incidents, in every continental state.

The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is a militant alt-right Southern California-based street fighting group which has variously been described as "a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists", white nationalists, white supremacists, and far-right persons. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), it "is inspired by identitarian movements in Europe and it is trying to bring their philosophies and violent tactics to the United States." Its members are primarily located in the areas of Orange County and San Diego, and are variously numbered at 20 to 50. Individual RAM members are also members of other organizations, such as the self-described Identitarian Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement, the "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys, and the neo-Nazi skinhead Hammerskin Nation, according to Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA).

Elliott Kline, also known as Eli Mosley, is an American neo-Nazi and military impostor. He is the former leader of Identity Evropa, and was a prominent organizer in the alt-right movement between 2017 and 2018. He was also a key figure behind the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was one of several neo-Nazi rallies that Kline helped organize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests</span> 2020–2023 police brutality protests

The George Floyd protests were a series of police brutality protests that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of international reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, during an arrest. Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis Police Department officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds as three other officers looked on and prevented passers-by from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22+1⁄2 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boogaloo movement</span> American far-right extremist movement

The boogaloo movement, whose adherents are often referred to as boogaloo boys or boogaloo bois, is a loosely organized far-right anti-government extremist movement in the United States. It has also been described as a militia. Adherents say they are preparing for, or seek to incite, a second American Civil War or second American Revolution which they call "the boogaloo" or "the boog".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Distributed Denial of Secrets</span> Whistleblowing organization

Distributed Denial of Secrets, abbreviated DDoSecrets, is a non-profit whistleblower site founded in 2018 for news leaks. The site is a frequent source for other news outlets and has worked on investigations including Cyprus Confidential with other media organisations. In December 2023, the organisation said it had published over 100 million files from 59 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States racial unrest (2020–present)</span> Mass civil unrest driven by police brutality

A wave of civil unrest in the United States, initially triggered by the murder of George Floyd during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, 2020, led to protests and riots against systemic racism in the United States, such as in the form of police violence and other forms of violence. Since then, numerous other incidents of police brutality have drawn continued attention and unrest in various parts of the country.

<i>Sines v. Kessler</i> Civil rights lawsuit decided in 2021

Sines v. Kessler was a civil lawsuit against various organizers, promoters, and participants in the Unite the Right rally, a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017. The trial began in October 2021, and on November 23, the jury reached a mixed verdict in which they found various defendants liable on claims of civil conspiracy and race-based harassment or violence. They also found James A. Fields, Jr., the perpetrator of the car attack against counterprotesters at the rally, liable for assault and battery and intentional infliction of harm. Altogether, the jury awarded the plaintiffs more than $25 million in punitive and compensatory damages, though this was later reduced by the judge to $2.35 million.

References

  1. ↑ Coaston, Jane (August 6, 2018). "One year after Charlottesville, the alt-right is gathering again — outside the White House". Vox. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. ↑ "How Unicorn Riot covers the alt-right without giving them a platform". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Leaked Chats Show White Supremacists Plans of Running Over Counter Protestors in Charlottesville". The Urban Twist. August 29, 2017. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nelson, Cody (May 5, 2016). "The media, the protest movement and Unicorn Riot". MPR News. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  5. ↑ "About". Unicorn Riot. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Sterling, Anna (June 2, 2016). "Why Are The Police Targeting This Group Of Journalists?". Fusion. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  7. ↑ "South Africa Under Lockdown as COVID–19 Spreads". Unicorn Riot. March 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Walker, Chris (February 10, 2016). "Guerrilla Video Journalists Unicorn Riot Focus on Homelessness and the Police". Westword. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  9. ↑ Gabbatt, Adam (July 1, 2020). "Unicorn Riot: the tiny media outlet on the frontlines of US protests". The Guardian . Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  10. ↑ Briggs, Ryan; Marin, Max (June 16, 2020). "PPD captain who handled Columbus statue protests has been removed from his post". WHYY . Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Denver Police Department Crowd Management Manual". KGNU Community Radio. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  12. ↑ Rietmulder, Michael (December 3, 2015). "Indie news group Unicorn Riot brings Jamar Clark protest to your laptop". City Pages. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, Alleen (November 27, 2016). "Arrests of Journalists at Standing Rock Test the Boundaries of the First Amendment". The Intercept. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Unicorn Riot a new force in covering protests". MPR News. July 14, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  15. ↑ Klein, Joseph R. (December 16, 2022). "Energy Transfer LP v. Greenpeace International, Court File No. 27-CV-22-9790" (PDF). State of Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Court. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ Funes, Yessenia (October 17, 2016). "Charges Dropped Against Amy Goodman for Covering DAPL". ColorLines. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  17. ↑ Tiku, Nitasha (August 27, 2017). "Violent Alt-Right Chats Could Be Key to Charlottesville Lawsuits". Wired . Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  18. ↑ Flynn, Meagan (August 7, 2018). "Subpoena for app called 'Discord' could unmask identities of Charlottesville white supremacists". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Gab Users Coordinate Hate in Private Chat Server". Unicorn Riot. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Neo-Nazi Hipsters Identity Evropa Exposed In Discord Chat Leak". Unicorn Riot. March 6, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  21. ↑ Staff (March 12, 2019). "White Nationalist Group Identity Evropa Rebrands Following Private Chat Leaks, Launches 'American Identity Movement'". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Direct Action Shuts Down Coal Infrastructure in Germany". Unicorn Riot. June 21, 2019. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  23. ↑ Shelbourne, Talis (May 27, 2020). "Protests Fill the Streets of Minneapolis In Response to George Floyd's Death In Police Custody". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  24. ↑ "The media, the protest movement and Unicorn Riot". MPR News. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  25. 1 2 Olmos, Sergio (January 28, 2022). "'We are desperate for new people': inside a hate group's leaked online chats". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.