Let's clarify, there's no "Antifa in Portland" organization. There's a lot of groups who identify as Antifa in the City of Portland, Oregon, and a lot of groups who don't but are labelled Antifa anyway. Anyone can claim to be Antifa. Antifa is short for Anti-Fascist, and refers to an activist stance rather than a specific organization.
Yes he was identified as a problem in November 2020. A thread on the @RebellionBaby Twitter account on Nov 26, 2020 covers John Sullivan. Here's the beginning.
We have reason to believe that a likely infiltrator/agent provocateur by the name of John Sullivan, or “Activist John,” is attempting to insert himself in the Seattle protest community.
John has been kicked from the #SaltLakeCity and #Portland protest scenes due to alarming behaviors including grifting/profiteering, self-promotion/clout chasing, sabotage of community actions, threats of violence, and — maybe most disturbingly — ties to the far-right.
In short — John’s brother, James, is the co-founder of a pro-Trump org called “Civilized Awakening,” and has strong ties to Proud Boys — even having spoken at a Proud Boy rally. The brothers’ polarized political stances conveniently bolster the other's public personas.
In that thread they share a "document from a PDX comrade" (PDX being the airport code for Portland International Airport and a common abbreviation for Portland, Oregon) dated Nov 23rd, 2020 entitled "Anonymous Tip #1 From PDX. John Sullivan: Naive Organizer or Agent Provocateur?" which contains the quote.
After seeing a lot of posts about John Sullivan, AKA Activist John, I felt compelled to write up my personal experience and observations as well as share some of the research I found to help make better sense of the situation for the good and safety of our community and work.
If you don't have the time to read the whole piece, here's the big takeaway:
***While it's easy, and generally more fair, to believe he is a naive narcissist, clout chaser, and inept organizer, it might not be an accurate analysis. A narc for the Feds might not bee an accurate assessment either. It's more likely that John is an agent provocateur, putting protesting communities in danger.***
The document goes on to make their case.
@RebellionBaby had a long update thread on Jan 14th, 2021. Here's the beginning.
John Sullivan / “#ActivistJohn” / "#JaydenX" Update
Our first thread about John was intended to help protect leftist protest communities from his harmful behavior. Since John’s little stunt at the Capitol during the DC #Insurrection, we have more to talk about.
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General Updates:
Shortly after our 11/26 thread, Seattle protesters made it clear that John is not welcome at our actions or in our online spaces. He later changed his main account names from “Activist X” and “Activist John” to “Activist Jayden” and “Jayden X.”
