New Skins, Old Wine: A Quick Look Into The Humanity For Peace Rally
In our previous article on the “Rage Against The War Machine” rally, we mentioned the possibility that the new rally, Humanity For Peace, would have similar issues. Sadly, it appears to be worse than initially expected: not only are past organizations and speakers that have been criticized present at this rally, but other groups associated with the rally have a plethora of issues, including a former sponsor being a Nazi-adjacent organization. It spells an ill omen for the trajectory of the rally, and for the anti-war movement.
While we do not have all the info on every speaker, we will be reviewing some of the more problematic facts that we know. For more information in the future, one can keep an eye on Craig Bowden’s new series of articles on the rally, as well as keep track with the Gadfly Podcast, who have been documenting what they find on their Twitter page. Our writer Jeremiah Harding also plans to stream with his co-host Kareem Maize at 9 PM Eastern at the time of writing, looking further into the rally. We hope, in the coming days, that more information will be discovered; for now, the following breakdown is presented.
The Speakers
This section will be short, as the speakers mentioned here were also present at the RATWM rally: Gerald Celente, Nick Brana, and Scott Ritter. As mentioned in our previous article, all have a bias towards Russia in the war, with Scott Ritter specifically stating that he was not anti-war, and that Ukraine should be put down like a rabid dog. Ritter is also a convicted sex offender, who attempted to meet up with what he thought was a 15-year old girl.
Besides that, there is not much to say on the other speakers yet: while certain speakers have questionable ties and ideas, such as the Reverand Doctor Terri L. Strong spreading certain theories on COVID-19 and Libertarian presidential hopeful Mike ter Maat’s questionable and vague policies on the power of the federal government and state government, there has not been enough info yet to determine whether they’re actually anti-war or just supportive of Russia in the war. As more information is discovered, time will tell.
The Sponsors
What has initially caused the most alarm is the revelation that came when looking into the sponsors. Not only do we have organizations supportive of Russia in the war rather than against war in general, but we also have organizations supportive of authoritarian regimes, as well as a Nazi-adjacent org formerly sponsoring the event.
Center for Political Innovation and Black Hammer
We have already spoken about the Center for Political Innovation (CPI) in our previous article, showing that it was supportive of Russian Militarism. What was not mentioned previously is that Caleb Maupin, the de facto head of the CPI, was also a sex pest and abusive, according to former colleagues in the CPI. The pattern of speakers and organizations whose leaders are abusive, including sexually, is worrisome.
This pattern continues with Black Hammer Party, an organization whose leader Augustus Romaine (alias Gazi Kodo) was charged with multiple crimes, including aggravated sodomy (which amounts to rape), aggravated assault, and kidnapping. The group has also been derided as a cult, with former members speaking out about how homeless people were recruited into the organization with promises of income and shelter, and that after they were recruited, they were not allowed to leave. That such groups were allowed into this rally is troublesome, with risks of abuse now having to be a factor in the rally.
U.S. Friends of the Soviet People and Korean Friendship Association
The U.S. Friends of the Soviet People (USFSP) is an organization that claims to “support the people of the former Soviet Union in their struggle for the reestablishment of Soviet Power and Socialism.” It is most likely due to their goal that they are heavily critical of the U.S. This does not make them anti-war, as they have stated direct support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating that “A victory for Russia will be a victory for the international working class!” Again, we have issues of anti-war rallies taking support from organizations that are explicitly not anti-war.
The Korean Friendship Association (KFA) is an organization that explicitly supports the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Its president, Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez, has gone on the record to deny the human rights violations of the DPRK, as well as the presence of concentration camps, both having been documented by the United Nations. Why the Humanity for Peace rally would accept sponsorships from the USFSP or KFA, both supporting an authoritarian nation and the former being pro-Russia and supportive of the war, is baffling.
Archangels of Liberty Church
The Archangels of Liberty Church is an organization with no physical church address, no listed pastor or staff, and only one sermon available on their website which advocates for a form of Christian Nationalism, while their YouTube channel holds three other sermons, all from September 6–12 of 2022. Whether they are an actual church is unclear, as there appears to be no physical proof the church, and they have not been recognized by the IRS as a church, as the Gadfly Podcast found. They had also discovered that the leader of the church is Theodore James Kosin, a member of the Libertarian Party for Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the gear manager for Mike ter Maat’s presidential campaign, who is also known for having participated in many types of stolen valor. If anything, the church seems almost fraudulent, and the acts of its leader does not help with those concerns.
National People’s Vanguard
As of writing, the National People’s Vanguard (NPV) has disassociated with the Humanity for Peace rally, as well as deleting their website, twitter account, instagram account, and privating their telegram channel. Jeremiah Harding, however, was able to archive their website; and since the Humanity for Peace has not announced the disassociation of the organization, it is pertinent to still mention them.
The NPV is, in short, a Nazi-adjacent organization, if not explicitly Neo-Nazi. As shown through their Six Points, the NPV argues for the “ethnic autonomy,” which amounts to a form of ethno-nationalism; total nationalization and state control of all media, in order to combat “the spread of anti-social propaganda;” anti-“decadence” and “degeneracy” which amounts to social conservatism, as seen in their supposed advocating for the “protection of the family;” and national syndicalism, a form of government and economic organism practiced in Mussolini’s Fascist Italy.
It has also been shown by Harding that, in their own telegram channels, they are against certain ideas such as anti-fascism, as well as seeming to be antisemitic and homophobic. Their symbols and ideology also take inspiration from Strasserism, a form of Nazism which adds a greater criticism of capitalism. Whatever the case, as is seen in their beliefs and media, they can be seen as thoroughly Nazi-adjacent. Why on earth, then, did Humanity for Peace accept a sponsorship from a Nazi-adjacent organization?
What’s Next To Come?
Overall, the current course of the Humanity for Peace rally is worrying. It appears that it will repeat the mistakes of the previous RATWM rally. Even then, though, I still have hope, as I wrote last time, that a truly principled anti-war movement can be created. As Bowden mentioned in his first article on Humanity for Peace linked earlier, the leader of the rally, Steve Leeper, is a consistent and principled advocate against war. There are people who take part in these rallies that are anti-war; however, it is imperative that we keep all those involved consistent in their principles, as well as to learn who to associate and to not associate with, so that we do not have abusers and Nazis infiltrate the anti-war movement.
