by Andrew Kerr
One of the suspects charged with assault for allegedly attacking two Marines in Philadelphia in November has ties with Washington D.C.’s radical Antifa leader Joseph “Jose” Alcoff, who’s advocated for violence and for the overthrow of the government.
Thomas Keenan, 33, was charged in November with aggravated assault after allegedly partaking in a mob attack against two Marines who were mistaken for being participants in a right-wing rally. Keenan has been called “leader” of the Antifa contingent in Philadelphia area, according to Philadelphia Magazine.
In 2011, Keenan and Alcoff were arrested and charged with rioting in New Jersey after a street fight broke out between neo-Nazis and members of the Anti-Racist Action organization.
The Marines, Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres, testified in December that a group of 10 to 12 Antifa members called them “Nazis” and “white supremacists” and attacked them on the street despite their denials that they had no association with the right-wing group demonstrating nearby.
During the attack, Godinez said he shouted “I’m Mexican” at the mob, which allegedly led the attackers to call him a “spic” and “wetback.”
Alcoff, 36, has made significant efforts to separate his true identity from his fanatical personas, “Chepe” and “Jose Martin,” which he uses to lead Antifa groups and promote radical communist rhetoric, The Daily Caller News Foundation revealed Tuesday night. As Alcoff, he advocates for reforms of predatory loans before members of Congress as payday campaign manager for the progressive group Americans for Financial Reform (AFR).
When speaking as Chepe and through his Twitter handle @sabokitty, Alcoff has called for the killing of the rich and encourages using violence to bring “a world without capitalism, without private property … that is socialist and communist.”
Alcoff is also an organizer of Smash Racism DC, the Antifa group responsible for mobbing Fox News host and DCNF co-founder Tucker Carlson’s house in November and for chasing Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz from a D.C. restaurant in September.
AFR obscured references to Alcoff on its website after TheDCNF exposed Alcoff’s radical personas. The progressive nonprofit modified references to “Jose Alcoff” in at least seven press releases to “Jose A” sometime before noon local time Wednesday, but reversed the changes less than 30 minutes after TheDCNF asked why it scrubbed communist radical’s last name from its press releases.
AFR did not respond to multiple requests for comment asking if it was aware of Alcoff’s extreme and violent rhetoric or if it planned on taking any action in regards to the radical’s statements.
TheDCNF linked Keenan to the 2011 charge through public records matching his full name, age and residences.
– – –
Andrew Kerr is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Andrew on Twitter. Contact Andrew securely at [email protected].
Background Photo “Antifa” by cantfightthetendies. CC BY 2.0.
