Antifascism builds a broad coalition in Gainesville
By Madeline Hale, Direct Actions Coordinator, Resist Here
When neo-Nazi Richard Spencer bullied his way into a speaking engagement at the University of Florida in October, the students of UF had been organizing against his original date in September, which Hurricane Irma had forced him to reschedule. They used the extra time wisely
No Nazis at UF was a coalition composed of the faculty and graduate student unions, local chapters of Women’s March, the Industrial Workers of the World, DREAM Defenders, Planned Parenthood, and assorted Antifa groups. They decided collectively to seize the day and planned actions both inside the Performing Arts Center, where Spencer was set to talk, and outside to accommodate the couple thousand people ready to stand up to hate.
I had only known about the actions for a few days before making the decision to go down. Even before Charlottesville, the “normal” for these sorts of counter-protests was far-right violence and I figured the more eyes (and ears, and hands, and trained medics) the better. I drove down from Washington with “antifascist professor” Mike Isaacson, who wrote about the protest for Truthout and Waging Nonviolence. On the way, we discussed the circumstances surrounding this event.
He brought two alarming things to my attention:
- Richard Spencer was not invited to speak. He rented a room and because of free speech laws, UF was not allowed to deny him a forum without a specific threat (turns out there was one).
- The university spent over $500,000 on security that day, much to the dismay of underpaid adjuncts, struggling staff, hungry students, and thousands of people who don’t go to college because they can’t afford it.
Wednesday, the day before the action, was a flurry of activity. There was a morning press conference, a teach-in, direct action trainings, and a spokescouncil with legal training and breakouts for various logistical functions including medics, jail support, food, and communications.
Between the press conference and the spokescouncil, a rumor had spread that there would be a torch march through the mainstreet area of Gainesville. We went to scope it out and get a sense of how law enforcement was planning to behave. Fortunately, the rumor proved untrue, but cops casually hung around almost every street corner, exchanging glances with local punks who stood guard at the tattoo shop and other small businesses along the street and at the park. Luckily, nothing happened.
At the spokescouncil, I met organizers with the Guerrilla Medics, Gainesville’s Street Medic Collective. They had planned a medic space outside the barricades, and they were nervous about the next day. Law enforcement would be maintaining a perimeter around the event where bags were not allowed. Medics would have to either stay outside the area, or sneak supplies in. Bottled water was also prohibited. In Florida.
Luckily, the next day was comfortable and not roasting. Police had widened the perimeter without telling anyone, and we spent the day making random calls about what was or wasn’t allowed in. I got turned away from spaces for wearing a hat, then came back later, still with a hat, and was allowed in. I stuffed my cargo pants with medic supplies and avoided pat-downs all day.
From noon to 2:00 pm, the protest outside had a festival feel, during which the crowd wasn’t explicitly directing their attention towards anything. In that time, I saw a dozen different kinds of law enforcement from campus police to highway patrol and everything in between. I expected to see more far-right attendees, but they were mostly nowhere to be found, or they were drowning in the sea of hundreds of people boldly taking the title “Antifascist.”
As soon as he started speaking, Spencer was interrupted by loud chants of “Black Lives Matter!” and “Nazis Out!”
There were a handful of agitators: a Three Percent militia member, a cartoonish skinhead, some Chad-looking alt-right students, and possible paid actors. The biggest agitator, as always, was the police, who were often ineffective, despite their large numbers. Somehow one suited man got through with a gun. The cartoonish skinhead had a knife. The armed man was discovered not by the police guarding the perimeter but by a sniper on the roof of the performance center.
Between 2:00 and 2:30 pm, the doors opened for people to obtain tickets. Tickets were given at the discretion of Richard Spencer and his handlers and many students were turned away based on the way they looked. Press passes were also given out at Spencer’s discretion, proving that nothing they say has anything to do with free speech.
As soon as he started speaking, Spencer was interrupted by loud chants of “Black Lives Matter!” and “Nazis Out!” He wasn’t able to get a word in, and eventually ended the event early. No Nazis at UF, with concerted escalation, teamwork, and savvy, had an unequivocal success, despite the massive security support for Spencer’s talk.
As an epilogue, I was not present for the attempted murder. As in Charlottesville, the Nazis who organized were unable to process failure. Fortunately, no one was hurt. It is difficult not to credit law enforcement for the positive outcome of the day. Doing so excuses the militarization of police and paves the way for fascism to become a state function rather than the precocious toddler of a movement that it is now. We must remain ever-vigilant and remember that we must rely on each other — not the police — in our battle for an equitable and free society.
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