By Bobby Gramsci-Sands

PUEBLO: An avowed white supremacist was arrested November 1 for planning to bomb a synagogue in Pueblo, CO. Richard Holzer, a 27 year old from Pueblo, Colorado was arraigned in Federal court on Monday, November 4th for one count of attempting to obstruct religious exercise by force using explosives and fire, a federal hate crime. He was arrested the previous Friday, in Pueblo, while taking possession of fake explosives, provided by undercover agents. His intended target was Temple Emanuel, one of the oldest synagogues in the state of Colorado. ADL’s Center on Extremism has tracked the online rhetoric of Holzer since May 2016 and has repeatedly shared information with law enforcement, citing concerns he might be a danger to public safety. Holzer repeatedly has expressed his desire for “racial holy war” and his hatred of Jewish people.

That last piece of information, in addition to the testimonials of multiple Pueblo residents (including former co-workers) about the now detained, self-proclaimed white supremacist, are important to understanding how our communities need to understand and respond to these threats together without a reliance on the enforcers of a system that has been built to oppress. Richard Holzer is an oppressor and upholder of genocidal ideology. This entire country is oppressive and an upholder of genocidal ideology. The police are unreliable because the majority of them think like Richaed Holzer.

He has been created by a system that promotes what he stands for, but in a way that is more palatable or unrecognized by people not being directly oppressed. The key to stopping the influence of these active terrorists in our communities is militant organization and willingness to combat them in the streets, at the workplace, and in their neighborhoods. Revolutionaries must organize ourselves to actively engage the communities we serve and live in to recognize the threats that the enemy government lets walk amongst the people. The government will not take action against the Holzers among us because Holzer is as American as apple pie.

“The oppressor must be hounded until his doom.” Huey Newton said this nearly 50 years ago. It’s time that we begin to make these words reality and make revolution to drive the Holzers, Dylann Roofs, Timothy McVeighs, and countless other fascists of old and new type into their graves.