Iron Front of NC

Uncovered: Identities and tactics behind the neo-Nazi “Rope Culture” web server Part II: Examination of the magazine's publication decisions, its odious commenters, and the platforms that promoted it

Yesterday we published the first of 3 articles that investigate the exposed web server for the neo-Nazi magazine Rope Culture. Today we've just published the second part, which analyzes the published articles, reader comments, and web traffic data.

Here's a photo of my friend and colleague, Jorge Bautista, getting shot in the face with a flashbang grenade. The ICE Agent is so afraid of Jorge (who was posing no threat) that he has wet himself. Please share this photo. Everyone needs to know what cowards ICE agents are.

Collage of photos of Jacob "Jake" Kovats aka Reverend Sleaze of A Killing Tradition. The collage includes an AKT instagram pic of Kovats as Reverend Sleaze and shows tattoos that match other photos taken from Facebook. As Reverend Sleaze, Kovats wears a black hood with eyes cut out and a loose pointed top in the style of Klan hoods. In one picture from Facebook, we can see that Kovats has a small Nazi SS bolts tattoo.

Collection of Nazi iconography, including the bolts tattoo Kovats has. Source: Tazmania Legal Aid

4/ Other hooded AKT member is "Reverend Sleaze"=Jacob Kovats of Orlando, Fl. Maybe someone knows if he is officially w/VSC, Hammerskins, etc; we don't. One can guess from his Nazi tattoos that he's fine with the sieg heils at his shows. On social media, Kovats has bn "Frankie Malma" & "Karen Rage."

image shows group of people posing outside in front of a wooden fence with a "dixie republic" sign. Some are dressed in traditional bonehead gear--boots/laces/braces. The group holds two flags: one is a red flag with a swastika on it and the other is the Vinlander Social Club flag. The image is annotated with the words, "be antifascist."

image shows a lone loser (F22/VSC dork) standing in front of the confederate monument in Person County, NC. The dork holds a flag with a swastika on it and the image, taken from the VSC telegram channel, says "support your local vinlanders." Ultimate loser picture.

3/ Not to go too far into the weeds today, but for those unaware, Vinlanders Social Club/Firm 22 is a white power "brotherhood"/gang of national socialists. They're neo-Nazi boneheads, for the most part, with tattoos, swastikas, and sieg heils to show for it. The green flag represents their club.

collage of images connecting Shaun Morris to his A Killing Tradition persona and membership in Vinlanders Social Club. One picture is a group of VSC members doing a Hitler salutes. Their faces are covered by Nazi Totenkopf images. Shaun Morris is in the middle, and his shin and ankle tattoos are visible. Other images are from Facebook and AKT shows, and have matching arm tattoos.

collage of two images; the first is from A Killing Tradition's instagram and the second shows the same image as the banner for Shaun Morris's X account.

2/ Lead AKT vocalist "Bobby Butcher" = Vinlanders Social Club member Shaun Morris of Lakeland, Florida. Photos from his band and from family members on Facebook easily confirm these connections, and his banner image is from an AKT Instagram post.

collage of two images: image 1 is A Killing Tradition's band logo with the words "be antifascist" written over it and image 2 is a picture of the band. Three of the band members are wearing ridiculous masks/head-coverings, one of which resembles a black Klan hood. From left to right, the band members are listed as Greg Weaver, Cyndi Wilhelm, Jacob Kovats, and Shaun Morris.

image shows two men outside, apparently having been practicing boxing as one of them is wearing gloves. The man in the foreground has his face digitally covered with a nazi totenkopf image. He is holding a Vinlanders Social Club "Probate" patch up for the camera. The man behind him wears a "support your local vinlanders" shirt that has nazi ss bolts in their signature green on it. The bottom of the image had been stamped with one of the VSC logos which has been crossed out. The image is further annotated, "be antifascist" and the person in the foreground is labeled as "shaun morris aka 'bobby butcher'."

1/ For no particular reason whatsoever here in NC, we'd like to highlight a couple members of A Killing Tradition, based in central Florida. Self-described as a "Shock Rock Supergroup," their shows draw crowds teeming with national socialists, racist boneheads, and other white power gang members.

Protect Democracy - Protect Democracy is hiring an IT Specialist! Protect Democracy seeks an IT Specialist to join our growing team. In this role, you’ll support and improve upon the technology infrastructure that safeguards and enables our high-impact work defendin

JOB ALERT: We're hiring an IT Specialist to support and improve upon the tech infrastructure and internal systems that safeguard and enable our high-impact work defending democracy.
🔵 Remote (U.S.-based)
🔵 $112K–$125K + great benefits
🔵 Apply or share with your network by 11/3

This is, in fact, a threat to the poor and to anti-trumpers that is intended to make us give up in hopes that we will be able to feed our families. #communities and #organizers it is time to show up for each other and keep our communities fed!! #fdt #snap

AG Letitia James has created a portal for submitting photos of ICE agents for investigation, this is of course in addition to House Democrats’ “Master ICE Tracker” website.

Day 3 of federal trial over NC voting law probes role of election integrity groups The role of voter integrity groups in shaping same-day voter laws was explored on Day 3 of a federal trial in Winston-Salem.

WFDD reports: The role of voter integrity groups in shaping same-day voter laws was explored on Day 3 of a federal trial in Winston-Salem.

www.wunc.org/2025-10-22/d...

from a livestream taken in Little Village today

a video of the young man's arrest shows him backing up, following commands, while having a weapon drawn on him. He's then surrounded, thrown to the ground, jumped on, and detained. shared with permission.

Rule 7: Leave the door open for defectors How Serbia’s pro-democracy forces harnessed backlash →

Leverage public outrage and demands for accountability. Give defectors a place to land. Do not play the blame game or say “I told you so.” Harness their disillusionment to grow the movement. Create space for disclosure. Give those who benefit from the regime space to defect or discreetly share their experiences. Channel the outrage of defectors. Welcome others – including voters who put the autocrat in office – and help them find a role to play.

Lesson Learned: Serbia’s pro-democracy forces were able to regain traction when they opened the door to bringing newcomers into the fold. By identifying a mutual rallying cry against the government’s endemic corruption, those looking to restore democracy have harnessed a renewed movement toward greater government accountability — challenging the entrenched rule of President Aleksandar Vučić.

NEW: Over the past year, Serbia’s renewed pro-democracy mobilization has rattled the ruling party and revealed President Vučić’s vulnerabilities. Here’s how the country’s pro-democracy forces have regained traction: https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/leave-the-door-open-for-defectors

Today, the White House Press Secretary told the country that this ridiculous damn ballroom is “the president’s main priority”…not reopening the government, not lowering the cost of groceries, not lowering the cost of housing, not lowering the cost of healthcare….building a ballroom

This is disgusting. @ the organizers of this event if you see this dm us! We can send peacekeepers your way for the next event! #asheville #nokings #nokingsevent

Good morning everyone! If you do anything this weekend, do this:  Be intentional about what you do, who you support, and how you move this weekend. #IFNC cannot wait to see people at a #NoKingsProtest near you! If you cannot attend, there are plenty of ways to get involved! 1/2

J.D. Vance Dismisses Kicking Millions Off Medicaid: 'Minutiae” Vice President J.D. Vance said the reconciliation bill kicking millions off Medicaid is “minutiae" compared to securing ICE deportation funding.

"They'll get over it" - Mitch McConnell 

"Everybody dies" - Joni Ernst

"Minutiae" - JD Vance

MAGA politicians have zero empathy for the plight of ordinary Americans who depend on these programs.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

We need volunteers for No Kings tomorrow to hand out flyers with the comment information so that we can help others urge the NC GOP to back down on their gerrymandering scheme.

Please email brenda@indivisibleavl.org if you can help!

This is, by the way, a huge sign that Bluesky has the juice. And would be a great time for the team to make sure they’re focused on rock-solid moderation and enabling developers to have a good base for building. Journalists always use these accounts to justify still being on X/Twitter.

this story 💔

as a reminder: bluesky (the app) has a broad set of user interactions controls.

beyond blocking and block lists, we have features to control who can reply, mention, and quote-post accounts

they're probably also looking to hoover up a whole bunch of "loose lips" skeets they can use to launch targeted harassment and/or prosecutions, but ofc tuning in at the last possible minute before 10/18 with .social accounts bc they're a bunch of rank amateur knuckleheads top to bottom

Charlotte! Tomorrow, Saturday, Oct 18th, we make history at First Ward Park for the #NoKings Rally!⁠
We will rally at 10 am with Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen and march at 10:35 am through Uptown.⁠ #NCPol

they're getting on this website because they're running out of gas and understand that the juiciest segment of libs now exist on a platform that isn't owned by one of their oligarch allies. when faced with increasing uncertainty of their own power, all they understand is theatrics and the spectacle.

Forget bullying, shunning WORKS

The text from the image is: **KNOW YOUR PROTEST RIGHTS:** 1. You don't need a **permit** to protest in streets or on sidewalks if you're not obstructing traffic or access to buildings. 2. You have the **right to photograph** anything in plain view, including police. 3. If stopped by the police, **ask if you're free to go**. If yes, calmly walk away. 4. If arrested, **ask for a lawyer immediately**. Don't sign, say or agree to anything without a lawyer present. There is also a "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" logo and the **ACLU** logo at the bottom.

If you’re attending this weekend’s #NoKings protest, make sure you Know Your Rights! The @aclu.org has this handy guide and graphics. https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

NY Republican Congressman Nick LaLota, who voted to expel George Santos 👇

They can't rule if we don't bow. No Kings. No Thrones. No Silence. Bring your voice, and bring your energy tomorrow. Come protest with us - SWIPE TO FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU!
#NoKings #NoKingsNC #NoKingsRaleigh #NoKingsGreenville #NoKingsCharlotte #PeoplePowerNC #WeTheMany #October18th #FDT

North Carolinians deserve fair representation. We are already one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Urge the NC GOP to back down on this antidemocratic proposal to silence voters.

www.ncleg.gov/requestforco...

#northcarolina #ncpolitics #redistricting #politics

ACTION ALERT: The NCGA has acted contrary to the interests of the public by creating district maps that favor partisan objectives. Tell your legislators to vote against more gerrymandered maps via the NCGA Public Comment Portal at the following link: www.ncleg.gov/requestforco....