Benefit held for anti-racist Tinley Park 5

A fundraising benefit was held Sept. 14 at the Turnerdome in north Philadelphia for the Tinley Park 5, anti-racist activists who are currently imprisoned for alleged participation in shutting down a neo-Nazi gathering of the Illinois European Heritage Association in May.

The IEHA, associated with fascist and white supremacist groups including Stormfront, the Knights Party and the so-called “Nationalist Socialist Movement,” was holding an “economic summit” at a restaurant in a Chicago suburb. The IEHA is part of the Pioneer Little Europe (PLE) movement which seeks to establish white supremacist enclaves throughout the U.S.

Eighteen white anti-racists, allegedly with weapons in hand, confronted the IEHA members. Ten people were reportedly injured. The confrontation took place on May 19, one day prior to the 15,000-person protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Chicago. While the Chicago police and the Department of Homeland Security were busy wiretapping and arresting anti-NATO activists, they let neofascists, who openly promote the extermination of people of color and Jewish people, meet publicly.

The anti-racist activists are supported by the Hoosiers Anti-Racist Movement. Five who were captured by the police on May 19 include brothers Jason W. Sutherland, Cody L. Sutherland and Dylan J. Sutherland, along with Alex R. Stuck and John S. Tucker. While 13 others allegedly escaped and are still being sought by police, the five are still locked in prison, held for $900,000 bail combined.

The Philadelphia benefit, billed as an anti-fascist “Show of Unity,” included performances by Erik Petersen from Mischief Brew, Corporate Hearts, The Adults, Mean Streets, Dying and Autocracy East. Organizations including HARM, One People’s Project, Anti-Racist Action, Philly Antifa, Food Not Bombs, Wooden Shoe Books, Free The Streets and the Philly Jail Support Collective participated with information tables. All proceeds went to support the TP5 legal costs. For more information on the TP5, Go to tinyurl.com/88a5rkw.