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The R-Cell Brief History: the R-Cell Is a Radical Left-Wing Splinter Cell of The

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The R-Cell Brief History: the R-Cell Is a Radical Left-Wing Splinter Cell of The The R-cell Brief History: The R-cell is a radical left-wing splinter cell of the Occupy Movement, also known as Occupy Wall Street (OWS). R-cell is a small, secret cell that was conceived by its creator, Sophie Ricci, an anarcho- communist who until early 2012 was an avid organizer and promoter in OWS. During the Fall 2011 protests in Zuccotti Park, Ricci was known for her charismatic personality and soaring rhetoric. Many OWS anarchists called her the female Luigi Galleani (after the famous turn of the 20th century Italian anarchist) due to her Italian heritage and captivating speeches against Wall Street tyrants and corporate oppressors. In February 2012, OWS General Assembly (OWS’ decision making body) failed to reach a consensus on the creation of an anarchist caucus, a move that would have given anarchists within OWS a status akin to other disenfranchised groups. Subsequently, many anarchists (including Ricci), who believed they were the driving force behind OWS, quit in disgust leaving the organization without some of its most dedicated members. After OWS’ public rejection of the anarchist caucus, Ricci vowed to spur a revolution where OWS had failed, by utilizing Galleani’s violent tactics known as propaganda of the deed. Ricci immersed herself in Galleani’s writings and speeches and began to quietly recruit like-minded individuals to her cause during the remainder of 2012. By early 2013, five others joined the R-cell, with the belief that they could achieve a greater good for humanity by bringing about a permanent end to American capitalism. Beliefs: OWS claims to be a leaderless resistance movement that believes the 99% have suffered a mass injustice at the hands of a greedy and corrupt 1%. They claim to use non-violent methods of protests, but they respect that other groups may want to employ a “diversity of tactics,” suggesting their willingness to tolerate militancy so as to not kill the movement. A survey conducted in October 2011 revealed that 30% of protestors in Zuccotti Park supported the use of violence to achieve OWS’ mission; 58% of Chicago Occupy protestors felt the same way. However, the R-cell has drifted further left from the OWS mainstream and even beyond those who may support vandalism or fighting back against the police. The R-cell has adopted an ideology of insurrectionary anarchism, which is a radical revolutionary idea that advocates permanent class conflict by using small, informal affinity groups to commit acts of violence. The R-cell views Luigi Galleani as its inspiration. During the Red Scare of 1919-1920 Galleani’s group conducted a series of assassination and bombing attempts, culminating in the September 16, 1920 bombing of Wall Street, which killed 38 people and injured 143 more. The R-cell believes that force is the only means to end capitalism and bring about a more just economic system where collective society owns the means of production. Once overthrown, R-cell members believe that 21st century information technologies such as the Internet and social media will enable direct democracy, reshaping the global political economy to a degree that was inconceivable to previous generations of anarchists. The R-cell believes real freedom can only be attained through the personal autonomy of a participatory economics and social equality. Group Structure: The R-cell adheres to the anti-globalist organizing philosophy of horizontalism. There is no leader but rather a shared distribution of power. Decisions are made by consensus, which can slow the decision- making process, but the end result is a group of individuals who are fully committed to courses of action once they are decided upon. While consensus rules the group, Ricci has emerged as the de facto leader; the members were originally drawn to join due to her charismatic appeal and convincing rhetoric. Ricci has helped them believe that modern communications technologies will help establish a new world order that is more fair and just than the one they are currently living in. While some members were not originally comfortable with violence, Ricci has persuaded them that momentary demonstrations of rage are necessary to undermine the legitimacy of the current corporate slave state, and in the end they will be viewed as revolutionary heroes much like George Washington and the American founding fathers. Leadership and Membership: The R-cell consists of six members: Sophie Ricci (de facto leader); Mark Aiken, a former enlisted Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) specialist who is ardently devoted to Ricci; Laurie Martinez, a nurse at Regional Radiology Clinic who joined OWS after her late husband lost his job; Arnie Smith, an undergraduate student studying linguistics at NYU; Paul Ramano, an unemployed former taxi driver; and the most recent recruit whom Martinez convinced to join the R-cell, John Livingston, a Radiation Safety Officer also at Regional Radiology. They have weekly meetings at private residences where they read anarchist literature and discuss the tactics available to them. Ricci usually organizes the sessions by text message, but she recently abandoned that practice for fear of discovery after research into the FBI’s FISA program. Utilizing the knowledge of the ex-military member, the group has employed basic operational security tactics, such as keeping their meetings and research confidential even from other OWS members, and spending less time in predictable locations where they could be recognized together. Resources: The R-cell is rich in dedication, creativity and has several members with post-graduate education, but they are comparatively low on financial resources. However, Martinez and Livingston’s hospital employment provides them cover to purchase medically related equipment that could prove useful in an attack. Additionally, before leaving OWS, Ricci was a member of their finance committee and managed to embezzle $8500 of the group’s funds. .
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