Hate Group's Violent Actions in OC and Beyond Exposed in ProPublica Feature

When a group of young white men showed up to Huntington Beach for a pro-Trump rally in March, they brought a big "Defend America" banner with them. Four symbols painted on it showed a roll call of their enemies: communists, prescription drug abuse, antifa and ISIS (even though militant Kurds proudly wave antifa flags after advancing against the Islamic State, go figure!). Not content with simply exercising free speech, the DIY Division (as the group was then known) got in a little bash at the beach when the rally later turned into the melee, including an unprovoked assault on then-Weekly intern Frank John Tristan.

Re-branded as the "Rise Above Movement" (RAM), the Southern California-based hate group traveled to rallies in Berkeley and Charlottesville to export its violent street fighting while law enforcement barely seems to care. But thanks to a brilliant, lengthy ProPublica profile by a trio of amazing journalists—A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Darwin BondGraham—RAM is in a spotlight they may not want.

Read more on my latest OC Weekly Navel Gazing Blog post:

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/assault-of-weekly-reporters-makes-national-database-8506254