Accused bomb maker revealed to have founded popular Antifa website, court documents show

The creator of the Antifa website "It’s Going Down" has been revealed after being arrested in connection to a planned attack at the University of Pittsburgh where the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles was speaking.

According to AntifaWatch, two residents of Pittsburgh were federally indicted in June in connection with their alleged actions in April.

The indictment charged married couple Brian, 40, and Krystal, 41, Dipippa with felony conspiracy, civil disorder, and use of an explosive to commit a federal felony.

The federal investigation into the pair began when an anonymous tip was given to university police that anarchists were planning to attack the event. The tip reportedly stated that the group met at the Big Idea Bookstore, a store in Pittsburgh that displays anarcho-communist and Antifa fliers, flags, and symbols.

A person from within the group, "Des," said that the event would not happen, and shared information on incendiary devices. The FBI began monitoring the store, and observed Brian Depippa coming and leaving the bookstore on a black and red motorcycle.

During the April event, Brian Dipippa was seen ducking behind his wife, lit a large explosive, and threw it into a group of officers. The officers sustained injuries, including possible concussions, bruises, hearing loss, and burns.

Police tracked the couple leaving the event using video recordings, witnessing the couple get onto a black and red motorcycle, while additional video from a Pittsburgh bus showed the license plate, which was revealed to be registered to Dipippa.

The FBI also found that Dipippa set off an Explosive Trace Detection at TSA airport checkpoints, with highly explosive RDX being detected.

When the FBI went through Dipippa’s trash, they discovered "Stop Cop City" fliers, an extremist group that has launched attacks against Atlanta police in an attempt to halt the construction of a public training facility, with over 60 people being charged with domestic terrorism, as well as a typed letter addressed to "Des."

The FBI obtained a search warrant for the Dipippa residence, taking four laptops, four cell phones, 10 thumb drives, fireworks, the clothing worn during the April attack, as well as other items.

The Dipippa indictment was publicly announced on June 30, with an announcement on Kolektiva, an Antifa Mastodon instance, or server, issuing an announcement the following day.

The announcement stated that during the raid, an unencrypted copy of Kolektiva’s database was taken by the FBI.

Krystal Dipippa was released pre-trial with an unsecured appearance bond of $10,000. Brian Dipippa remains in custody.

In a motion filed on October 3 by government prosecutors, they argued that Dipippa was an "anarchist who wants to harm police officers," adding that "His actions on April 18, 2023 were not the result of a momentary lapse in judgment by a young man. Defendant Brian DiPippa is 41, not 21. He is all about anarchy and harming law enforcement officers. His residence displays the flag of anarchy. He espouses and celebrates the hurting and/or killing of law enforcement officers."

Federal prosecutors included in its motion a journal from Brian Dipippa’s phone titled "Who I am," in which he writes that "I hold a deeply heartfelt appreciation for the criminal illegal Destructive Arts, so naturally I was led to anarchism."

"I burn my whiteness off with a black-bloc suit, phoenixing into ancestral warriors from all races and genders," another section states.

"I riot regularly to remind myself that I still got it, and because this country I was born in offers no peace, not least of which is my mental state, but most of which is it’s insane violence towards black, brown, indigenous, queer people and every and all combination of that. It’s one of the few places I experience community."

"Kneecaps, groin, throat and eyes — we get happy when cops keel over and die."

Another section stated, "I am a comedian who has made websites that aren’t funny, mostly serious-*ss political ones like idg, kolektiva, couple more, can’t say shh. I werk for the movement now, y’all made me a hundredaire. Never dols out to Soros, all though this bio is supposed to be about me, but see that’s how that sh*t happens, hence the rioting."

AntifaWatch notes, the depth of Dipippa's involvement beyond IGD's creation isn't entirely clear. IGD has been continuing to push out content while he has been in jail, meaning a number of other people are involved in writing for and administrating the site."

In December, It’s Going Down was suspended from Twitter, with the account being brought to Musk’s attention in November of 2022 for inciting violence and sharing extremist propaganda on the platform.

It’s Going Down has pushed for violence, published the claim of responsibility for the militants who attempted to derail trains and were later convicted, and instructions on how to dispose of evidence after riots.

The account was also kicked off of Facebook in 2020 as part of a crackdown on pages that promote violence.

Dipippa’s motion for pre-trial release focuses on having employment lined up, having connections to the community, having turned over his firearms to a gun store, and having a third-party custodian to stay with upon release.

Letters from DEI coach Nancy Kahn and Riseup Networks’ Brian Knauss were used to highlight connections to the community.

Riseup Networks has confirmed that Dipippa will have employment if he is released. Riseup is an anarcho-communist email service that is heavily encrypted, and is currently in an invite-only state. Riseup reportedly confirmed that some of Dipippa’s employment would be through NewDay.Host, a business registered in California to Dipippa.