An attorney who has been part of the Occupy movement since the beginning and who has close ties to a number of international far left causes was arrested this past weekend and charged with assaulting a police officer, inciting a riot and other serious offenses.
I’ve uncovered Penley’s connections to domestic terror groups Earth Liberation Front & Animal Liberation Front, Anonymous, the IMF protests in Prague, the WTO protests in Seattle, and the anti-consumerist movement. He was involved in Occupy Wall Street from the beginning. Mr. Penley had a busy weekend, too.
Later, during an “after party” at the Sixth Street Community Center, the police were again assaulted while arresting Alexander Penley, a 41-year-old resident of the Upper West Side. He also was charged with several crimes, including inciting to riot, criminal possession of a weapon and assault.
Penley, along with 30-year-old Nicholas Thommen, was arrested around 10 p.m. after what witnesses described as a violent scuffle between the two men and police officers. They are charged with a litany of offenses, including assaulting a police officer, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, and inciting a riot.
Penley has been quoted in stories about Occupy Wall Street in The Guardian and USA Today, and appeared on the local Manhattan television show Let Them Talk in October.
An NYPD spokesman said that officers received a report around 9 p.m. that a “disorderly group” had gathered in front of the Starbucks at Lafayette and Astor Place. A video transmission detailing that an officer needed assistance followed, and police found “individuals hitting the window of the establishment.” When a sergeant attempted to intervene and make an arrest, “the crowd became unruly,” and he was allegedly struck with a metal pipe by two men.
The officer sustained minor injuries to his hands and knees, and was taken to a local hospital before being released. The two men fled.
Around an hour later, police received a report that the two men in question were in front of the Sixth Street Community Center.
The Daily News adds…
Penley, who lives on the upper West Side, was charged 20 years ago with a entering a restricted area at a military facility in Boise, Idaho, the source said.
He also has arrests for marijuana possession with intent to distribute in Utah, for burglary, trespassing and vandalism in California and for failure to show up in court on a resisting arrest charge in Oregon.
A quick Google search would give the impression that Penley is a mild mannered appearing lawyer who deals with immigration issues through his law firm Penley Global Law. However, a much rougher looking Penley was interviewed on the Let Them Talk show a few months ago. There, Penley discussed being a lawyer for the activist group Anonymous, which has been part of Occupy Wall Street.
However, Penley has also had an online handle called RevAlEsq, and that name reveals a good deal of information not readily found under Alex Penley’s real name. For example, as RevAlEsq, Penley had an account on social media site Tribes. In his bio, he wrote…
Currently based in Brooklyn, I am concerned with the state of the world. At this moment some of my people are in prison or on their way there. The person I was closest to in NY was just murdered by the Mexican government- BRAD WILL PRESENTE!. I was not so long ago severely f*d over by the closest friend I ever had in a more complex and severe way than I ever felt possible who feels fantastic about becoming a user/abuser and developed a too cool to care attitude on life. As my life moves ever forward I am gaining a new sense of involvement to stand up against injustice and, more importantly, for responsible community based equality. For me this means being vegan, standing strong with Antifa, and keeping the free flow of communication going. Having been involved with groups in many different countries- making international solidarity a reality. La rivolta continua!
Penley’s Tribes profile reveals interests such as veganism, animal rights, dumpster diving and ‘voluntary human extinction’.
In his Tribes profile, Penley mentions Brad Will as one of his closest friends. From Wikipedia…
Bradley Roland Will (1970-2006) was an American activist, videographer and amateur journalist affiliated with Indymedia. On October 27, 2006 during a labor dispute in the Mexican city of Oaxaca,[1][2] Will suffered two gunshot wounds that resulted in his death.
Here’s audio of Al Penley speaking at Will’s memorial, wherein an angry and emotional Penley — with a bizarre British accent, apparently from being out of the country — describes working with Brad Will at anti-globalization movements and in the Pacific Northwest on ALF / ELF.
Wikipedia also mentions that Will became a cause celebre on the celebrity left…
An open letter written “to honor the memory” of Will and support “the Oaxacan people’s efforts to establish a popular government that recognizes local traditions and values,” was signed by numerous academics and activists, including Noam Chomsky, David Graeber, Naomi Klein, Michael Moore, Arundhati Roy, Starhawk, and Howard Zinn.
Also under the RevAlEsq name, Penley has a YouTube channel of what seem to be videos Penley shot on his cell phone. Here’s the channel.
For months, Breitbart.com has been reporting that the Occupy movement was founded by the radical left and consists of violent extremists. Alexander Penley would appear to be the living embodiment of that truth.