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Antifa Statement on Police Informant Matthew Gibbons

Antifa England | 25.09.2009 08:17 | Animal Liberation | Anti-racism | Repression | Sheffield

(This statement will be posted on the Antifa England website later today.)



We are releasing this statement in support of the one already issued by the Animal Liberation Central Intelligence Unit (see  https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/09/438057.html) naming Matthew Gibbons of York as a police informant. In clarification, Gibbons has made several attempts over the past couple of years to become involved with Antifa England. When he discovered he could not simply do this by e-mail he appears to have got cold feet. While Gibbons may (or may not) have recruited antifascists locally, he has never been part of the Antifa federation in any way, shape, or form. Nor has there ever been an Antifa England group established in York. In view of Gibbons’ total lack of involvement with us, he has been reduced to simply telling lies to his police handlers. That however, does not make his treachery any the less serious. We doubt that Gibbons’ recent overtures to the fascist English Defence League are any more sincere than his past overtures to Antifa. In conclusion, we are fully satisfied that the Animal Liberation Central Intelligence Unit are correct in naming Gibbons as a police informant and applaud their willingness to make this information public. We advise activists in York and elsewhere to give both Gibbons and his partner Sarah Larking a very wide berth.

Antifa England

Antifa England
- e-mail: www.antifa.org.uk

Additions

url for statement on antifa website

28.09.2009 18:16

 http://www.antifa.org.uk/nucleus3.32/nucleus332/

chequer

Comments

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If I say it does it become true ?

25.09.2009 08:35

We are releasing this statement in support of the one already issued by the North Bexley Wombat Support League naming Antifa England as a sheep worriers

In clarification members of Antifa have made several attempts over the past couple of years to become involved with Sheep. When they discovered they could not simply do this by e-mail they appead to have got cold feet. While Antifa England may (or may not) have recruited Labradors to help them they have never been part of the International Brotherhood of Sheep Worriers in any way, shape, or form. etc etc etc etc

Come By

A bit vague

25.09.2009 09:51

Your evidence seems a bit flimsy. Should Indymedia be a place for publishing gossip?

Tod

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G'Day mate

25.09.2009 10:01

Well the trial by Indymedia seems to be over then. Allegation followed by 'confirmation' from Antifa and the case is proven.

Saves so much time than having to deal with any evidence and such like.

Skippy the bush kangaroo court

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Hey this guy look like a cop!

25.09.2009 10:43

Also,He's wearing an EDL shirt! that seems like evidence enough!

what evidence?
- Homepage: http://Idiot

The evidence has been examined

25.09.2009 11:56

and the pair of Gibbons & Larkin are being rightly exposed. This was not taken lightly, and investigations were carried out to confirm the authenticity of the emails, etc. There is nothing flimsy about it - Matthew Gibbons has spun a web of lies, and the emails confirm that he is willing to sell out to the police everyone he has come into contact with. You do not get harder evidence than that - hardly just gossip now, is it Matthew / Tod?

That Antifa have come out and made a statement lends credibility to the expose of this devious couple. Matthew & Sarah can twist and turn all they like but their own stupidity has caught them out and we can only welcome that they are being ejected from the movements they tried to sell out.

CALIU
mail e-mail: centralaliu@gmail.com

how much evidence is enough evidence?

25.09.2009 12:15

A photo of him in an EDL shirt, emails he's sent to the police and the emails he's recieved back, plus apparently cross the board recognision (if this post turns out to be genuine - we'll see if its on the antifa site later).
also all the stuff his missus has been saying/spreading.
I guess alot of the posts in matt's defense may well be from him, but I'm genuinly suprised by the responce from people.

@

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This is really bad

25.09.2009 12:30

People make some accusations, some other people say they think it's probably true and on the strength of that he's guilty !

The people here claiming to be from Antifa are not speaking for eveybody in Antifa, none of this is proven and at least some of us think this is an attempt to discredit the person involved after a domestic dispute.

I don't like the precident that's been set here and I would be very pissed off if somebody was saying the same about me and Indy had left it up.

Not in my name

hang on...

25.09.2009 12:41

"The people here claiming to be from Antifa are not speaking for eveybody in Antifa"
well if this is posted by an antifa spokesperson, and this goes on the antifa site... then s/he IS speaking for everyone in antifa...


I wonder if you are a troll, matt or just a numpty...

eh?

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"The evidence has been examined and been found to be true"

25.09.2009 12:42

What evidence ?

Examined by who ?

This is just wrong on so many levels.

Supporter of Antifa most of the time

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A troll or Matt ?

25.09.2009 12:54

What are you nuts ?

Well I am Antifa and just because the people who do the website think it's true dont mean others do. The fight against the fash is against all forms of fash actions and declaring somebody a police informer without any evidence that can be seen or giving the person the chance to defend himself is fash behaviour. If you can't see that you need to think about what this situation would mean if it was you being the one on IMC

Not in my name

dont let one numpty discredit these claims

25.09.2009 13:04

ALCIU is a numpty, but matt is a grass.
Don't be fooled by the idiot doing more harm than good with his ego-trip.
This isn't a victory. This wasn't discovered by a crack team of highly trainned activists.
This was discovered through a series of slip-ups and mistakes made by Matt.
Far from being a victory this is a set-back, we need to move on and re-build around these people, as suggested by giving the pair a wide birth.
The lesson here is to get the evidence up and the claims verified before rumours and doubts set in.

anon

"I am antifa"

25.09.2009 13:09

you fail to see that I have seen ample evidence, both first and second hand, and have met matt enough times to know he's dodgy.
Their is no way anyone can securely communicate the evidence over the internet.
As much as I assure you, your never going to be happy.
Think about it, and ask someone who you respect and trust who perhaps lives locally.

I am antifa and sparticus and someone who knows these things....

this is sparta

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Conflicting evidence

25.09.2009 13:12

I unlike a lot of people commenting here have seen what is being described as "the evidence". It's none of the sort, emails that could have been written by anybody and at any time and a few messages from a pissed off girl.

There has certainly been a mole at work in York AR but I doubt its him and he is probably being set up to distract attention. The Antifa lot know fuck all and could do with keeping their noses out until they do.

Allen

The evidence has been presented

25.09.2009 13:12

To the naysayers - are you saying that CALIU, Antifa and other groups have not investigated? That respected groups and individuals have not looked into this?

Are you saying the emails have been faked? If so, why would anyone do any of this?

Are you saying that the picture of Matthew Gibbons in an EDL t-shirt, which was lifted from his own facebook site is not genuine?

Are you saying that Sarah has not been ringing up other activists with a long litany of hysterical claims (Matt being stabbed, Matt having committed suicide, and so on) and threatening set the fascist on other activists?

What proof would you consider as enough? Me'thinks that none would ever satisfy you because you are nothing more than trolls with your own disruptive agendas.

This stuff is not being put out lightly, but because an investigation has occured and Gibbons & Larkin have been found very wanting.

Matthew & co, we challenge you to answer the above questions. Put up or shut up. Ultimately however, it does not matter what the trolls think - Matthew and Sarah have been exposed as the mendacious grasses they are, and those who are more than just keyboard trolls will now know not to work or trust them again. That is what matters.

trolls / Matthew in denial

Well then

25.09.2009 13:18

So what was the reason for the EDL shirt? Don't remember getting one. There is no doubt about where the e-mails came from.

This whole episode stinks to high heaven. At least some people have been responsible enough to look into what happened and deal with it.

Mr McTroll

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Makes me feel uneasy

25.09.2009 13:20

I'm not happy with the way this has been dealt with right from when these allegations started. A few individuals decide that they are the ones who get to decide the innocence or guilt of others ?

That's the sort of world I've been fighting against for as long as I've been an adult.

Not involved

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Grass

25.09.2009 13:27

The grass that was working in York informing about animal rights work was not this Gibbons person, we know who it was and they are no longer involved with us.

Ellen - York

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@ "Ellen - York"

25.09.2009 13:30

... nice try matt

matthew gibbons

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Monty Pythons Flying Investigation Unit

25.09.2009 13:34

I've never read so much bollocks dressed up as an investigation in my life. A couple of emails that could have been written by anybody and a photo - Jesus !

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition

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Monty Pythons Flying Investigation Unit

25.09.2009 13:35

I've never read so much bollocks dressed up as an investigation in my life. A couple of emails that could have been written by anybody and a photo - Jesus !

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition

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Want to see the evidence ?

25.09.2009 16:03

There will be a public meeting on Saturday at the Sumac centre where the evidence will be available for all that want to see it. Starts off about 7.

Involved person

Good to see

25.09.2009 22:53

Antifa putting their supporting animal liberationists :-)

veg@n

Trolling

25.09.2009 23:27

Gibbons trolling of this and other Indymedia threads really is quite pathetic - Not quite as pathetic as his posts on this Fash forum though:

 http://www.nwn-forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2166

Nazi Hunter

"Their is no way anyone can securely communicate the evidence over the internet.

30.09.2009 22:58

re: "Their is no way anyone can securely communicate the evidence over the internet."

I assume you mean there is no way to "sign" your Indymedia posts in such a way that it can be proven to be from you? Well, in fact it can, using some kind of digital signing process such as that provided by PGP  http://www.gnupg.org  http://www.pgp.com

However, this is quite technical and tricky unless you are a computer whizkid, which is why Indymedia needs to have this kind of thing built-in (hint, hint) so it becomes invisible to the average user.

I think some people are missing the point about concerns over the legitimacy of these claims. They aren't attacking the posters personally, it is just an inherent risk of an anonymous medium. I could easily post some fake emails and fake information about any genuine Antifa person claiming they are a grass or whatever.

In this case though it seems that the photo of Gibbons in his EDL uniform is the "smoking gun" that marks it as a genuine expose. But without that piece it is something that is easily faked (though it is amazing what can be photoshopped, so even that isn't 100%). Unless someone with a well-known real identity or a consistently posting pseudonymous identity is prepared to sign evidence, it could be anything from any anonymous person.

If I speak to someone I know and respect who confirms these reports, I will believe it. If I hear something from anonymous people on the internet, I have to treat it with caution, since I have no way of distinguishing genuine information from trolling or snitch-jacketing.

anon

antifa

04.01.2010 13:43

Trying to form a group in my area im just between leeds and york any takers?
steve

steve scum
mail e-mail: swellblelly@hotmail.co.uk

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