UK: Veteran Antifa Organizer Revealed to be Journalist Working for Vice Media

January 8, 2020 in News by RBN Staff

 

via: Russia Insider

The fact that a Vice journalist is helping manufacture the very news he is meant to report on brings the platforms ethics and integrity into question. It also shows why conflicts between nationalists and communist groups are always filtered into ridiculous narratives that flagrantly disregard the truth and lead to real world consequences. 

Eric Striker (National Justice)

A virulent London-based anarchist has been revealed to be James D. Poulter (not to be confused with the motivational speaker), according to multiple sources who have confirmed his identity to National Justice.

Poulter’s targets for slander, harassment and violence include trade unionists, nationalists and a family that was subjected to torment by Poulter’s gang through the “direct action” Solidarity Federations of South London and Brighton, as well as their extremist website, Libcom.org . A dig query of the DNS shows that Libcom’s domain is registered to the address of the Freedom Press anarchist bookstore in the East End of London, and Poulter is the designated administrator.

Libcom itself hosts a number of incendiary materials, such as works by Luigi Galleani instructing readers to blow up houses of worship and murder people, or more contemporary calls to terrorism against right-wing speech, which has earned the site criticism in some Marxist circles.

Most shocking of all, Poulter is also a freelance journalist who has written 25 articles for Vice UK, and appeared in a number of other mainstream liberal publications like The Guardian.

Support Russia Insider – Go Ad-Free!

“Jimmer” 

Poulter, whose nickname is “Jimmer,” is a veteran of England’s anarchist scene, active since at least 2002. He received a Masters degree at City University in finance journalism. Poulter supported a number of pro-social causes like the anti-war movement and worker’s rights, but a former associate told us that around 2012-13 he began to redirect “SolFed” groups away from attacking the 1% and onto attacking comrades and dissidents, which has made him a lot of enemies across the political spectrum.

One of the most bizarre episodes of harassment was Poulter’s role in the crusade against Rail, Maritime and Transport Worker’s Union (RMT) organizer Steve Hedley, an avowed socialist. Poulter, under pressure from “crazies,” allowed frivolous accusations of harassment, misogyny and domestic abuse to be lobbed at trade unionists like Hedley from his Libcom perch. In 2015 this campaign culminated in violent attacks by Clapton Ultras, an “antifa” hooligan organization Poulter is close to, on men that belonged to the RMT at a soccer game.

Even members inside Poulter’s immediate circle were subjected to this type of abuse. All it would take would be an accusation of “racism” or “misogyny.” often motivated by personal vendettas or slight ideological differences, to get Poulter to leverage his veteran status and media connections to betray his friends and best activists.

The same source told us that Poulter’s motives are purely cynical, not ideological. When identity politics became more fashionable than working class organizing, he made a conscious decision to protect his high in-group social status and surround himself with very young women (Poulter is in his mid to late 30s) that were driving the campaigns to destroy men in their groups.

Support Russia Insider – Go Ad-Free!

Aside from Hedley and the RMT, George Galloway, Rania Khalek, Chris Williamson, Ben Norton, Max Blumenthal, Aaron Bastani, and a multitude of other high profile socialist and anti-war organizers have been obsessively targeted by boycotts, smears and even physical attacks provoked by libcom over the years.

Poulter – who controls the libcom twitter account (@libcomorg) – has also been a party in terror campaigns against right-wing figures, big and small. One family victimized by attacks from London AFA (antifa) and Poulter’s libcom told us that their social media campaign was responsible for having them fired from their jobs, inundated them with death threats, and intimidated them into having to move after they begun fearing for their children’s safety.

The British government, which drags to court people who teach their pugs to salute or use the wrong pronouns, shows no interest in stopping this mayhem. Part of this is thanks to the foothold individual anarchists have gotten in elite liberal media, who hide their crimes from the public.

Poulter at Vice UK 

Poulter’s work at Vice UK is especially ironic in light of his anger towards political activists he disagrees with for engaging in journalism.  His work at the publication consists largely of themes familiar with anyone who has read an anarchist blog, like an interview glorying “beating the shit of racist boneheads.”

What’s more egregious is Poulter’s work in a multi-part series covering hooligan violence. In one case, his editor Simon Childs put him on a beat covering a low level war between “antifa” football gangs and nationalist fans. He is intimately and personally involved with one of the groups he reported on, the Clapton Ultras, which means the “reporter” was a personally interested political player in the news he was writing. During a debate on the political efficacy of anarchists participating in soccer brawls on the urban75 forums, Poulter adamantly defended the left-wing hooligans and referred to them as “we” and “us.”

The fact that a Vice journalist is helping manufacture the very news he is meant to report on brings the platforms ethics and integrity into question. It also shows why conflicts between nationalists and communist groups are always filtered into ridiculous narratives that flagrantly disregard the truth and lead to real world consequences.

Anarchists with a penchant for violence, using credentials provided by companies like Vice, are able to concern troll their enemies into prison cells while protecting their own criminals or even themselves.

We requested comment from Vice UK domestic editor Simon Childs, who co-authored many of Poulters articles and received an automated message saying he was on vacation. We will update this story if he chooses to respond.

We also reached to Poulter for comment through his personal website, but have yet to receive an answer.