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Just like other political movements, fascists hold political events indoors. But they rarely have their own spaces, and they often have difficulty finding a venue that will host the event. If they do, and word gets out, it’s typical for community members who oppose it to run a short campaign to get it cancelled; this is called a “shutdown.”

This guide explains how a shutdown works and how to deal with issues that may come up in the process.

The Different Kinds of Venues

Since these events inevitably cause problems for the venues, the fascist promoters choose them carefully.

The most virulent groups, like Nazi skinheads, will often hold gatherings on private property controlled by members or sympathizers, making them invulnerable to direct pressure. But if mainstream groups make a big enough stink, local government can make life difficult for them. For example, officials may require, and then refuse, amplified noise permits, and law enforcement might be pressured to scrutinize attendees heading there—or just shut the event down for any number of code violations.

Other event spaces are run by political sympathizers. Since they usually know what they’re getting into, these are also difficult to shut down. The most effective pressure tactic—for both these and other commercial venues—is to threaten to hit them in the wallet. Since they’re ultimately businesses, they’re vulnerable to a loss of customers through threats of boycotts, protests, negative media—and of course bad Yelp reviews. If past venues have closed after the fallout from shutdown campaigns, it’s very effective to call attention to this. The same holds true if the owners refuse to cancel because of “free speech.” The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the government cannot interfere with protected speech. But neither private citizens nor businesses have an obligation to let fascists use their property, and opponents also have a First Amendment right to push venues to cancel these events.

Sometimes fascist promoters have a personal connection to a space that is unrelated to politics, such as being a congregant at a church. Or they may have previously held events there that went off without a hitch, either political or not, which makes a new booking more likely.

Failing spaces and notoriously greedy owners are intentionally targeted. Music venues are a common example. The promise of a heavy drinking crowd of 50 or 100, who could potentially bring in a few thousand dollars, may discourage a venue from googling the band. Churches, whose congregations may not be large enough to keep the lights on, sometimes make up the difference by renting their space out on nights when there are no services.

Sometimes a space is simply ignorant of problems regarding the booking or of politics in general, or they simply don’t bother to look into who the speakers or bands are. It’s not uncommon for them to be aghast when informed, and if they don’t cancel immediately, venues with this perspective generally are more receptive to pressure. Who wants to get involved in a mess that they have no stake in?

Fascist promoters often disguise or downplay an event’s politics, and venues may take them at their word. Sometimes the promoters will simply lie, claiming it is something (or someone) else. For example, Holocaust Denier David Irving’s talks have been booked as simply a historian’s presentation on World War Two.

Finally, fascist promoters may try to glom onto a space that has booked non-problematic versions of related politics. In one example, an antisemite who cloaked their politics in anti-zionism booked an event at a venue that had previously held non-problematic Palestinian activist events.

Difficulty Rated by Political Views

While all actors on the Far Right are related ideologically, the sad truth is that some of them are more vulnerable to shutdown calls than others.

For example, Islamophobic speakers are very difficult. It was often impossible until Trump began to promote Islamophobia, after which venues decided that speakers whose positions were identical to the president’s did not present a problem. And after years of conspiracy theories about “antifa,” venue owners who believe in them may dismiss all pressure, believing the protesters are using the term “Nazi” to apply to any conservative—something that actual neo-Nazis eagerly hide behind.

In general, the easiest events to get shut down are those by explicit White Supremacists, although even that is not a guarantee. Holocaust Deniers are next. After that are more general antisemitic conspiracy theorists, and then groups like the Proud Boys, who may not adhere to these explicit ideologies but are well-known for violence. Those who espouse other types of politics follow distantly, including anti-LGBTQ+ views, misogynists, and xenophobes, all of which are mainstream among Trump supporters. Obviously, these kinds of speakers are most likely to be cancelled if the people who run the space have left-leaning sensibilities—or at least hate fascists. And it may surprise you who does!

Approaching the Venue

Before you do anything, create a dossier. Don’t explain their views in detail, just use the most explicit and incriminating evidence you can find. Most effective is information regarding arrests that comes from law enforcement and the FBI. This is followed by material from monitoring groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and, last, coverage by mainstream journalists. If the material is from the SPLC, people will immediately say the event is by a “recognized hate group.” (This will be the case even if it’s not technically true and they were merely reported on without being labeled as such. Regardless of what you write, these subtleties will—and probably should—be lost on readers.)

If such mainstream reporting doesn’t exist, then screenshots or the group’s own materials (websites, video, social media) are the next best thing. If the venue does not cancel and needs pressure, these can be used as part of the information that will later be put online.

Timing can be a delicate issue. The most principled approach—although one that doesn’t always work in your favor—is to contact the venue’s owners in private and first give them a chance to cancel the event. But first, this assumes they will act in good faith, and second, it is generally dependent on them having been duped. That, of course, may not be the case at all, and they may play dumb. Regardless of the situation, be sure to carefully document all interactions. It’s not uncommon for them later to lie by claiming you didn’t first give them a chance to cancel the event themselves.

See below for two case studies which illustrate issues that may arise.

Different Responses

There are a variety of initial responses you might receive. The best-case scenario is getting an “Oh hell no!” (often in those exact words!), followed by an immediate cancellation and the venue thanking you for alerting them.

The second is “holy shit, let me get back to you about this by the end of the day.” This is usually because they need to (quite understandably) look at the dossier you’ve given them, or have a manager approve it. But remember that, just because the first person you talked to was sympathetic, there’s no guarantee that management is.

The third reply, “we have to talk about this,” can be very hard to distinguish from being stonewalled. If you have enough lead time, it’s good to decide on a deadline for a public campaign. Don’t telegraph your plans, but do tell them, “I’d really like to hear back from you by X.”

Last, you might receive some variation of “We don’t care.” But likewise, you may want to make sure this is coming from the higher-ups directly, who might have a different opinion from an employee who answered the phone—especially after they are informed of potential media attention and a boycott.

Shut It Down!

If it becomes clear that the venue isn’t going to cancel, it’s time for a shutdown call! This involves putting the dossier and information up on social media, and, ideally, on a static website. Include the venue’s contact information, and give clear instructions regarding what you are asking supporters to do (call, email, flyer an event, post on social media, etc). At this point, or shortly thereafter, you’ll also want to tell the venue about what your plans are if they refuse to cancel. Actions might include holding a demonstration, asking others who have already booked future performances to cancel, or calling for a boycott.

A note of caution here: the venue owners may claim they are being threatened with violence. This may or may not be true. So be very careful in your public statements to avoid any language that could be interpreted as advocating violence. If threats are made by others, make it clear this is not what you are calling for—and this is doubly true if the event is at a religious institution. Again, be sure to document all interactions with the venue owner, including recording any verbal discussions, where this is legal. (Note that the laws governing this vary state by state.)

Last, if there is continued resistance from the venue, one of the best pressure tactics is to attract mainstream attention. Too often these fights remain limited in visibility; the only people who know about them are either in an (often already drama-filled) music scene or are part of a small pool of activists. It’s easy to forget how the larger society has a lot less exposure to, and tolerance for, neo-Nazism and Holocaust Denial—as opposed to certain niche cultural or political milieus, where one runs across these things.

Venues act differently when it becomes clear that others are watching. Even if they don’t change their position immediately, in most cases outside attention quickly changes aggressive and confrontational attitudes—even if the attitude is just replaced by a pose of victimhood. In an ideal situation, you are already in contact with local reporters, and fascist events make good copy.

If there is no cancellation forthcoming, organizations that represent targeted groups—often Jews, Muslims, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ people—may get involved. If elected officials join in, all the better. Few spaces want this kind of trouble, and this amount of attention makes them fold much quicker than a phone blitz.

In one extreme case, a music venue was blockaded. Using this tactic could result in a variety of outcomes, depending on factors like how pugnacious attendees are likely to be. (I recommend, in the strongest possible terms, against attempting this at Nazi skinhead shows.) But this tactic has been used successfully.

Last, if the event does go ahead, make sure to make good on any boycott threats. If you are successful in hurting the revenue of the venue, or closing it entirely, this will be an excellent story to tell the next venue that doesn’t want to cancel a fascist event. Because, unfortunately, there will always be a next time.

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Case Study I

A shutdown at a church just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, illustrates many of the problems that may arise. Local activists discovered that a fascist group had rented the space, and, with a limited amount of time before the event, approached the church by email and phone, asking them to cancel the event. The pastor wanted to, but there was only a small window before the event, and the limited time made it difficult for him to look at the evidence before discussing it with his board of directors, who had the power to cancel it. In turn, they had their own objections, such as wanting more evidence, having a commitment to free speech (which apparently included renting to fascists), being fooled by the use of code words, and fearing a lawsuit over breach of contract. This then created mounting anger from those in the community who wanted to see the event cancelled. So while the church did so in the end, bad feelings and a lot of energy all around could have been prevented by approaching the church earlier, and perhaps by doing it in-person.

The role of the specific ideology of the group who were booked was also revealing. Their antisemitism did not raise an immediate objection, but their hatred of LGBTQ+ people was very important. It turned out that the church was making efforts to recruit congregants from these identities. So apparently the cancellation was driven by self-interest; they did not want to alienate existing LGBTQ+ parishioners or damage their outreach efforts. It’s worth doing research to see where a venue is most vulnerable and then emphasizing that weak point when you approach them.

Case Study II

However, giving a venue too much advance notice can backfire, such as when a fascist Holocaust Denier spoke at the Brooklyn Commons, a left-wing space in New York City. The space’s owner intentionally portrayed herself as sympathetic to local activists, many of whom she knew, who had reached out to her. But she was actually stonewalling them to stymie an attempt by them to plan any actions beforehand. Her true intentions only became clear a day or two before the event, but the delay allowed her time to rally her supporters and concoct various falsehoods. This made it all the more difficult to organize a demonstration—although one was hastily put together—and to scramble to refute her spin.

One activist with experience in shutdowns suggested that the best time to approach a venue is three or four days before the event. Longer than that allows time for the fascist promoter to find a backup venue, while a shorter time allows the venue to stall or say they didn’t have enough time to understand the situation. But if you’re sure the venue will cancel—for example, if open neo-Nazis have booked it—calling for a shutdown only one or two days in advance will make it more difficult for the fascists to rebook.