Situation Report: Antifa escalates with reported firebombing at defense contractor facility

An anarchist group calling itself “Anarchist Cells for Abolitionist Fire” issued a communique declaring responsibility for what they say was the successful firebombing of a fleet of vans on the grounds of a Pratt Whitney engine production facility in Orange County, California.

The communique was first published at Abolitionist Media Works (AMW), which publishes announcements from various anarchist groups around the world. Portland journalist and long time Antifa researcher Andy Ngo noted the news on social media. Local and national media have so far not reported on the incident.

The communique claims the attack was perpetrated in response to Pratt-Whitney’s role as a division of Raytheon, a U.S. defense contract with ties to the Israeli defense industry. The communique authors blame Raytheon both for supporting the Israeli defense industry, but also U.S. policing efforts saying:

As we approach the one year anniversary of the burning of the 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis following the police lynching of George Floyd, we can’t forget the role that arms dealers such as Raytheon play in the militarization of law enforcement. Raytheon supplies police departments across the country with surveillance technology and training software. We know that all liberation is tied together, and that the Israeli settler state is enlivened by the same racism and colonial ambitions that the United States is embodied by. The same multinational corporations arming the IDF to crush Palestinian resistance are also arming law enforcement agencies in the US to brutalize Black and Brown communities.

This attack comes after a broad outpouring of support for Palestinian resistance from within Antifa circles, including calls to target companies doing business with Israel, as the Center reported on May 13^th, warning:

Local law enforcement with strong Antifa networks in their areas of operation should be prepared to raise security around perceived Israeli or Jewish facilities or around companies known to do business with the state of Israel as a result of these ongoing developments.

The attack on the fleet of vehicles falls within a growing modus operandi of attacks against parked vehicles both in the United States and abroad. In March, federal ICE and CBP vehicles were vandalized outside a Philadelphia parking garage.  In April, a New York police officer’s unmarked car was set on fire. In May, multiple police vehicles were reportedly vandalized inside an Oakland Police Precinct.

Similar incidents have occurred overseas, with a German autonomist cell firebombing a vehicle they claimed was an unmarked police vehicle, followed by a communique which declared “all cops are targets.” In April, a Greek anarchist group firebombed a vehicle belonging to a telecommunications company accused of being involved in surveillance and cooperation with law enforcement according to the “WannabeWonk” Sub-Stack publication, which covers anarchist extremist groups in the Mediterranean among other issues.

The group reportedly targeting Pratt-Whitney gives the name “Anarchist Cells for Abolitionist Fire” calls to mind a number of European-based Anarchist groups, most notably the Greek Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei, best known for targeting luxury car dealerships with fire-bombings before moving on to mail bombs and other attacks.

Antifa and other anarchist groups may continue escalate in both frequency and technique following the intense rioting over the summer of 2020. On April 30^th, Individuals identified as Antifa issued a video threat to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, after Wheeler came out against participants in the nightly rioting.