Category: Black Bloc

The University of California at Berkeley probably will not be the last American college to experience mayhem at the hands of “black bloc” militants.

In the weeks since President Trump took office, such activists have mounted destructive protests not just on Berkeley’s campus but in the streets of Portland, Ore., and Washington D.C. Although the target of their Berkeley action, the right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, has been sidelined as a result of controversy over his remarks about pederasty, other similarly incendiary “alt-right” leaders, such as the white supremacist Richard B. Spencer, remain on the college speaking circuit.

The “black bloc” label, attached to those who broke windows and set fires at Berkeley, refers not to a specific organization but to a specific tactic that involves wearing black clothing to blend in with other activists, shielding one’s identity behind bandannas or masks, and causing disruption to get a point across.

Lacy MacAuley, a member of the D.C. Antifascist Coalition, has been a public face for such militants. In January, for example, she was a spokeswoman for DisruptJ20, the group that organized Inauguration Day protests, without permits, at which black-bloc activist destroyed property in downtown Washington and skirmished with the police. On a national level, she has provided media representation for anarchist and leftist activists for about 12 years.

In February, The Chronicle asked Ms. MacAuley about this month’s chaos at Berkeley and the likelihood that other campuses will see similar activity. Following is an edited and condensed transcript of that interview.

Continue reading Resistance, #Anarchism, and the #BlackBloc: An Interview with Lacy MacAuley