The Transformative Action and Abolition Symposium, titled “Bad Trouble” and organized by the school’s Antifa-aligned Prison Abolition Club, is scheduled to run from April 13 to April 15.
Lewis and Clark College, a private institution in Portland, Oregon, is hosting an Antifa-affiliated anarchist symposium aimed at teaching individuals how to organize violent direct actions and avoid prosecution in order to effectively fight back against the US government.
The Transformative Action and Abolition Symposium, titled "Bad Trouble" and organized by the school's Antifa-aligned Prison Abolition Club, is scheduled to run from April 13 to April 15. Antifa is a US-designated terrorist organization.
https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/2042279257410343107?s=20
Journalist Andy Ngo first highlighted the event in a post on X, describing it as "Antifa terrorism and radicalization training." He noted that attendees are explicitly directed to "wear a mask" and that one session involves reading claims of responsibility from anarchist blogs while learning how to help "comrades" evade arrest. Ngo, senior editor at The Post Millennial, tagged Education Secretary Linda McMahon and US Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, noting that the college receives some federal funding.
The event flyer features radical imagery such as a burning police vehicle with smashed windows, a gas can, flames, bolt cutters, and barbed wire. It asks attendees to "wear a mask please," a common tactic used by Antifa militants to evade detection at events.
The overview of the symposium poses the following questions: "How can we critically evaluate the efficacy of our direct action decisions and strategies?" "How does neoliberal co-optation and monopolization of organizing and resistance affect direct action?" "How can we fight back against it?" "What can we learn from risk takers who have come before us?" "How can we gain risk assessment skills?" "What place does violent direct action have in social justice organizing?"
Event panels include a Queer Activist Roundtable; Anarchist Communique Readings, where individuals will read and analyze Antifa blog posts that have issued claims of responsibility for attacks committed and how to gain inspiration from them; and Grab Your Comrades Back Training, which teaches how to interfere with lawful police arrests in order to de-arrest their targeted comrades.
The Pacific Northwest, which encompasses Portland, has historically served as a hub for anarchist activism and Antifa terrorism. Radical leftists have a long history of coordinating violent direct actions against their political opponents and causes they oppose, frequently using extreme violence to suppress the civil rights of their adversaries.
Lewis and Clark College did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
