West Coast-based news covering politics and extremism.

The far-right’s free speech-killing stranglehold on much of Oregon claimed another victim this month: Keizer Pride Fair. On May 6, organizers of Keizer’s Pride Fair announced on their website that this year’s celebration would be canceled. They cited both last year’s event—the city’s first—being disrupted by a far-right group and the community’s overall approval of right wing extremism. Last year, a far-right group called “RV Saltshakers'' showed up at the Pride event shouting their anti-Queer beliefs while passing out cards. Read more

Thousands of abortion rights demonstrators marched in response to the recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion signaling the possible end to Roe v. Wade. Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Gilbert, and Prescott all took to the streets to protest the news, which would have devastating effects in Arizona.

“Pro-life is a lie, you don’t care if people die,” chanted hundreds of activists outside the Phoenix State Capitol the night after the draft leak.

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I’m at a deli talking to my sources. There’s a bunch of church ladies at the big table across from us in the outdoor dining area. One’s reading from some book, maybe the Bible. “Lemon,” the admin of the Conejo Valley Antifascists’ Twitter account, looks at them, looks back at me and says something to the effect of ‘Yeah, we get those types a lot out here.’ The church ladies break out into song. He hands me some stickers and a treat to take home for my dog. Most news organizations’ ethics guidelines say small gifts are fine, but I figure I should disclose it here. I don’t think LCRW readers will find me unduly prejudiced towards my sources, however—we’re here to talk about neo-Nazis hanging banners off the 101.

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Another day, another Nazi band trying to have a show in L.A.

Maquahuitl, a Nazi-linked black metal band whose logo has a stylized swastika, is set to play Catch One in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 7th.

For those who aren’t history buffs, “Nazi” was the German acronym for “National Socialist.” But the Nazi metal subgenre Maquahuitl belongs to isn’t always about being white nationalists, per sé. There are Nazi subcultures in parts of the Americas. Metal Archives, which exhaustively documents the genre, says Maquahuitl’s lyrical themes are about “Indigenous Nationalism.” For an example of that, here’s a 2015 post on the band’s frontman’s Facebook page, trying to recruit a new bassist for another project.

Bassist wanted: Nokturnal Warfare/Blood Division. Must have your own gear, must have your own transportation, must be reliable and responsible, and most importantly, you must be of the brown/bronze race. Mixed or pure blood descendant of Ixachitlan.

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