Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Content Note: white supremacy, fascism, Nazism, racism, homelessness, anti-Semitism. Some of the links go to more direct content. Please read and click with caution.

If a Nazi lives in your neighborhood, would you want to know? We are loosely defining a Nazi as self-affiliated white supremacist whose actions promote fascism.

If that person is actively engaged in pro-Nazi activity and spreading propaganda versus simply stewing on their festering beliefs, would you want to know? What would you do?

For the people of a modest Pittsburgh adjacent suburb called Millvale, that question seems to be yes. At least according to a group of about 40 people who organized a march in Millvale on Sunday, September 9, 2024, to let the community know – there is a self-described fascist whom some believe is a Nazi in your midst.

Find the dossier about this individual at https://pghfashwatch.noblogs.org/brandon-cahall/

How Do We Know?

He’s many things – racist, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, fascist. He’s clearly a white supremacist. These folx claim he’s an actual Nazi. So they did something about it.

On his Gab profile, his bio reads

I thought I wanted to be a “Libertarian” in our once God-blessed nation that would remain my Homeland, but the “Communists” made me a “Fascist.”

Let’s take a step back and look at some of the reasons why they identify him as a Nazi.

• His social media on sites like Gab and Telegram, he self-identifies as a fascist and ‘pro-white activist.’
• He was documented as an active participant in a ‘White Lives Matter’ rally in Michigan to grow white supremacy activism.
• He went undercover and passed out anti-Semitic propaganda at pro-Palestine action in Pittsburgh, October 2023. Taking advantage of the situation to trick people into reading his propaganda.
• He creates and produces large quantities of propaganda that he distributes nationally to supply white supremacists around the country.
• He vets and works on recruitment for ‘White Lives Matter’ online and in real time.
• He’s organized actions in Pittsburgh ranging from short appearances with banners and flags while throwing Nazi salutes and videorecording for distribution nationwide. They also visited a local encampment of homeless folx and bragged on their social media that they only distributed items to white residents.

I will not link to these sites. I have screenshots and have read them myself.

Here is a quote from a post about the action where they only distributed items to white homeless folx. That’s blunt.

WLM PA activists partnered with Patriot Front Network 16 for a heartrending community outreach this past weekend. We delivered over 40 bags of food and several cases of water to one of Pittsburgh’s most expansive homeless encampments, meeting numerous White men, women, and families who have tragically slipped through the cracks of an anti-White system that has left them behind. Our conversation with a pregnant young woman, living in a tent by the river, was particularly poignant as thousands of new housing units are being built across the city for the thousands of new foreign undocumented illegals who are granted priority. Witnessing such a stark disparity between the needs of our own people and the focus of our society is both heart-wrenching and enraging.T

The time is NOW.

Get Active TODAY!

You can read more about his actions at the dossier.

There’s an alleged Nazi living in Millvale, trying to recruit like minded people in the region. But no, he’s not so much living as hiding in Millvale, earning a living as a landlord while promoting a social strategy of annihilation.

Yes, he’s free to have beliefs.

No, he is not free to act on them. He does not get a free speech zone to be a Nazi in Pittsburgh. His thoughts are his to resist; his actions and words, well that resistance is on us. We can choose to hold him accountable. Or we choose to let the hate fester. Free speech doesn’t mean free from consequences.

What are the consequences of holding Nazi beliefs in Pittsburgh?

On Saturday, September 9, 2024 a group of about 40 neighbors went to Millvale to march, distributing information about the alleged Nazi in their midst. It was a peaceful march, they had a marching band. They wove in and out of businesses, knocked on the doors of neighbors.

They did go to Brandon Cahall’s home to reach out to neighbors. Participants described this as “a well-received, positive action” that empowers neighbors and residents to make a decision now that they know. It is unclear if Cahall was home at the time. His car was noted to be parked outside.

This action was about education, handing out leaflets and direct conversations. It was about raising awareness, but it was not about telling Millvale residents or anyone what to do.

“Anti-fascism is everyone’s responsibility,” said one participant. Still, the participants acknowledge that everyone has different capacity and resources to respond. Imposing a solution is about controlling people, not empowering them. Reminding people of their agency to resist white supremacy and Nazi actions is a key anti-fascist tactic.

Who is this alleged Nazi?

Anti-fascist researchers volunteers carefully compiled a dossier (LINK) after word circulated that a white supremacist was distributing literature at pro-Palestinian events. He was potentially recruiting.

So they investigated, determined his identity, and tracked his actions.

Brandon Cahall is a 52 year old white cisgender man born and raised in Pittsburgh, currently living in Millvale. He is a self-described fascist, according to his Gab profile. Brandon is a leader of the White Lives Matter (WLM) PA chapter, and an active member of the Goyim Defense League (GDL).

Brandon is a very active organizer. In the past year alone, he has organized rallies at the Hot Metal Bridge and Station Square in Pittsburgh. He has also traveled from Pittsburgh to Sunbury, PA; Scranton, PA; Indiana, PA; North Olmstead, OH; and Howell, MI to help network white supremacists across the rust belt region and encourage them to get off the internet and into the streets

These actions are small, and most of them happen pretty quickly. The ones in Pittsburgh lasted only around 15 minutes. It is easy to laugh at how few of his fellow believers he can turn out. It is easy to write them off as cowards when they wave their flags and do their 15 minute photo op and run away. Brandon’s goal is to build the white supremacist community in PA and surrounding states to the point that they can turn out numbers and they don’t have to tuck their tails and run after 15 minutes.

Brandon’s activism is geared towards getting those quick clips of fascists looking “hard” so that he can post about it online and encourage other white supremacists to step out of the shadows and join him. For every video he puts out, he can say, “I marched down the street proudly declaring my white supremacy, and nobody stopped me. You can, too.”

How does an everyday Pittsburgh neighbor respond?

Years ago, I learned from an anti-extremist researcher that one of the emerging tactics of Christian Dominionists (Christo-fascists) was to use video (now live-streaming) to document their ‘successful’ actions, also using the footage to fund raise and suggest a high level of impact. Three people showing up with extreme views, baiting the crowd get a lot of Kodak moments. This was true of anti-LGBTQ religious extremists. It is true of trans excluding radical feminists (TERF’s) who gathered in Pittsburgh recently for a livestreaming event guised as a rally.

And both of those groups have that in common with white supremacists. As well as the common ground of finding refuge in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh is not a town sympathetic to Nazis. Many of us have family elders who fought in WWII, including my German-American ancestors. Many of us remember the horror as the Tree of Life massacre unfolded a few years ago. There’s something inherently fundamentally tolerant about a City like Pittsburgh, filled with ethnic neighborhoods some three or four or more generations, others newly arrived in recent years.

Still, Pittsburgh struggles mightily with racial injustice. Even so alleged Nazis require swift and immediate action to prevent them from developing a stronghold. The point of these actions is to make the alleged Nazi uncomfortable, unable to hide any longer and thus unable to use these low key cowardly tactics to build a following.

Can both of these things be true at the same time? The Two Pittsburgh’s theory suggests so.

You want to grow a base of activated Nazis in Pittsburgh? You need to do it in the light of day, to own your hatred and violence. You don’t get to pass yourself off as just another yinzer.

Where two or more are gathered

Brandon wants to eradicate people. The protesters want to educate people. There are many next steps people can take, solo or with others. They can work with the protesters or community groups. The goal is to remind the folks of Millvale and Pittsburgh that we have agency to rid our communities of active Nazis. We have agency to keep our communities and neighbors safe. I’m loathe to start making suggestions on what to do because it requires each of us stepping into that gray area of “what can I do?” and doing it.

“Just asking that question is an action” says one anti-fascist I interviewed.

I read through far too much horrible content to see for myself that the allegations have merit. You can read the dossier to make up your own mind.

So I chose to write a blog post describing and documenting his actions. There will possibly be retaliation to silence me. I’ve dealt with that for 20 years. I’m not inviting it, but describing one possible outcome of exposing a Nazi. It is possible that they will retaliate against those who went to Millvale or are perceived to be participants. That’s one reason why people wear masks.

This is not a flash in the pan moment. There will be ongoing work with the community of Millvale and Pittsburgh. If you want to take actions, I will share with you other steps that neighbors have taken as concrete examples.

• Documenting activity with as much detail as possible, sharing with the public facing contractors
• Showing up for future actions
• Talk with your neighbors, friends, coworkers, and others about the realities that Nazis are among us.
• Post fliers/stickers that make it clear Nazis and their values are not welcome in Pittsburgh
• Create your own flier/stickers
• Confronting Nazis and speaking your mind about their actions if you feel safe doing so
• If you see Nazi/white supremacy propaganda posted in the community (stickers, fliers, etc), take it down or cover it up.

That being shared, I’m not going to tell you what to do. I do recommend you click on the dossier to read the case for yourself. And here is the link to report activity that you personally observe.

There’s an alleged Nazi living in Millvale.

Now you know.

What will you do?