Telegram Video Allegedly Captures Patriot Front Members Defacing George Floyd Mural in Philadelphia
An Exclusive
By Gary Glennell Toms
From The G-Man has obtained a video that was published on Telegram, a free and open source, cross-platform, cloud-based instant messaging software. According to its website, “Telegram allows you to send messages, photos, videos and files of any type (doc, zip, mp3, etc), as well as create groups for up to 200,000 people or channels for broadcasting to unlimited audiences.”
The video allegedly shows members of Patriot Front, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “a white nationalist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the deadly ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia,” defacing the George Floyd tribute mural in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The video switches from news clips of Philadelphia residents denouncing the desecration to the alleged members destroying the mural and placing the Patriot Front logo.
“This is nothing more than a propaganda tool that’s being used by the organization,” said an anonymous source who submitted the video to From The G-Man. “Too much focus is being placed on the Proud Boys and other groups. In my honest opinion, the Patriot Front posses the greatest threat to this country because it’s a very sophisticated operation with some very professional and tech-savvy people behind it.” The source also noted that the defacing of the mural was only the beginning and that the group is likely to get “bolder and bolder” in its effort to inflame racial tensions and cause social unrest in the U.S. “The Patriot Front is extremely dangerous, and people shouldn’t dismiss them. They’ve grown, and I believe it’s because they’ve slipped under the radar. How? They’re not the Proud Boys – they’re not front and center or causing mayhem at riots, protests, etc. They’re an offshoot of Vanguard America, which became defunct due to the Charlottesville lawsuit. The plaintiffs are cheering as though it was some great defeat for the white supremacist movement, when, in my humble opinion, the suit did the opposite. It forced many of those groups to go underground, which makes it even harder to track them. The Patriot Front is a good example.”
Recently, the Patriot Front allegedly defaced the George Floyd statue in Brooklyn, New York. In response, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the following statement.
“New York’s new monument to George Floyd, which was unveiled in Brooklyn just this past weekend, on Juneteenth, is more than just a memorial for a father, a son, and a friend — it’s a testament to the grief, anger, and righteous energy that his murder sparked, in our state and across the country. It’s a beacon for all who believe progress is possible, and in our ability to make it happen.
“That’s why reports today that the statue was defaced by a white supremacist hate group are so devastating. This act of cowardice is not just an attack on the Black community, and it’s not just an attack on the basic human decency George Floyd and his family deserve – it’s an attack on all New Yorkers, and the values our state stands for.
“I am directing the New York State Police Hates Crimes Task Force to offer their assistance in the investigation of this incident.
“And to the group of neo-Nazis who did this, I want to be absolutely clear: get the hell out of our state.”