SC Police Chiefs Association, US Secret Service representative, others receive counter-riot briefing in June
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA, June 13, 2024 — Kyle Shideler, director and senior analyst for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy, delivered a counterriot briefing to the S.C. Police Chiefs Association (SCPCA) at the U.S. Secret Service South Carolina field-office headquarters facility in Columbia, June 5, 2024.
The primary focus of the half-day presentation was Antifa, its history, organizational structure, and threats posed by Antifa and affiliated organizations to metropolitan areas like those targeted nationwide in recent years.
“The SCPCA thoroughly enjoyed having Kyle Shideler with the Center for Security Policy speak to us at our bimonthly chiefs meeting in Columbia,” said John ‘J.J.’ Jones, executive director of the SCPCA and executive director of the S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Association. “Kyle’s presentation to the SCPCA was spot-on and the presentation he shared with our chiefs will help prepare them should they encounter anarchist extremist or fascist groups.”
The briefing was preceded by introductory remarks from Jones; U.S. Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge for S.C. Brad Leopard; Clinton (S.C.) Chief of Police Sonny Ledda; and Col. Bill Connor, a retired U.S. Army Infantry officer and founding partner of National Defense Consultants (NDC).
NDC arranged the June 5 briefing following two days of similar briefings for the Richland County (S.C.) Sheriff’s Department in December.
Like December, the June briefing began with the history and ideology of Anti-Fascist Action (Antifa) from its original founding in 1930s Weimar Germany to its ties to 1970s terrorist groups such as the Red Army Faction and the Weather Underground.
Also covered was the leadership and organization of Antifa and regional Antifa networks, with an emphasis on the group’s non-hierarchical leadership and tactics during rioting similar to that which was experienced in numerous U.S. cities like Columbia in late May 2020.
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