Occupy Con-Artist appears on FOX's Hannity show

8/19/2013

A man named Christopher Phillips appeared on Sean Hannity's FOX News show Monday night, promoting Occupy and a Million Muslim March he's apparently involved in (scheduled for this upcoming 9/11 in Washington DC). I would like to give you all a little background on this man, why he has been shunned by the Occupy movement nationwide, and why anyone planning to go to this March should be wary of Mr. Phillips.

After being told to leave Occupy Buffalo, Phillips helped a Facebook based group named "Liberate Buffalo" to evict the Occupy group. He launched an online campaign against the OB, went to local city politicians (e.g. Councilmember Richard Fontana) who were known to be against Occupy, and spoke to radio and newspaper reporters about alleged violations of various city ordinances and codes, on top of unaccountability concerning the group finances. As a result, there was an animosity within City Hall ranks towards Occupy Buffalo, a fact that contributed to the group getting booted from Niagara Square.

Christopher Phillips has created over 100 "Occupy" Facebook pages which he uses to collect money in the guise of supporting the movement, but all the money really just goes into his pockets.

Read Occupy Buffalo's official statement on Mr. Phillips:

For example, Phillips created a donation page for an Occupy Community Center and then embezzled all the funds! He is perpetually homeless, and stayed with Occupy Lockport (DeniseInBuffalo) creator’s home. He took their offered money, stole from them and then when they called him out, called them traitors. Chris got his ex-girlfriend (Christina Cooke) kicked out of her own apartment because he trashed it, along with most of her belongings.

Phillips was kicked out of the Occupy Storefront in New York by Gene Wagner for lying and trying to hack their facebook page. (See screenshot below for more information)

Phillips claimed he couldn’t show up at the event he created for "Occupy Goldman Sachs" because of his helping out with Occupy Sandy, but he was actually vacationing in Asheville, North Carolina.

He has stolen money from activists like Richard Lynch (aka Angry Pacifist), and swiped equipment from the Occupy Trinity encampment in New York City.

This man does not represent the Occupy movement, and should not be trusted.

It's important to fully vet anyone claiming to represent the Occupy movement. Too often, the mainstream media focuses on Occupy "organizers" who have been fully co-opted or are known con-artists. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

See also:
http://jennapope.com/2012/10/19/occupy-goldman-sachs/ (look in comments section)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Buffalo

Christopher Phillips

UPDATE:

Mugshot via http://wncmugshots.com/christopher-phillips

Booking Date: 2-27-2013 // County: Buncombe // Location: 60 COURT PLAZA, ASHEVILLE NC - WNC - BUNCOMBE COUNTY JAIL - NC
ARRESTS // Age: 31 // REMAND TO CUSTODY OF SHERIFF

See also the comments section of http://blogs.thenewstribe.com/blog/66554/occupy-your-rights-ows-occupy-buffalo-eviction/
You'll notice Chris using two of his aliases (Occupy WNY and George Dewey) arguing with the other Occupy Buffalo activists. Here are some select quotes:

"Well that's a blatant lie about Christina Cooke [Phillips' former girlfriend]. No one at OB knew her or had seen her before until she was arrested... Please stop with your continuous lying, those who are OB know the truth about you, Chris."

"No one at Occupy Buffalo knew Christina Cooke or had seen her before until she was arrested at Lafayette Square. After her arrest she began occasionally showing up at OB general assemblies. The 10 people who got arrested during the OB raid as well as anyone else who has been occupying can confirm that. Chris Phillips aka "Occupy WNY" is a disgruntled OB occupier who on many occasions unsuccessfully tried to sabotage the movement here in Buffalo. One attempt was not informing the group that he was going to pitch tents at Lafayette Square and declare to the news "Occupy Buffalo was expanding." He was disassociated from OB after that stunt because he was aware of the stipulations in the agreement with the City and knew that the move could jeopardize that agreement. I hope this clears things up for you. Any questions feel free to contact me."

19 Comments

Wobbly Jim

8/19/2013 03:02:55 pm

Sounds a lot like Adam Santo down our way. He weaseled his way into a treasury role and walked off with over $200 from Occupy Allentown (PA) that he refuses to return, claimed over Facebook to have turned us into the police for building a "illegal and dangerous" device, and deleted our Facebook resources entirely. Prior to this, he was adamant that we engage in violent direct action.

It seems as if there was one of these guys (or gals) at every occupation. Makes you wonder, eh? Could just be a coincidence of group dynamics, but they really are a threat, considering that they generally seemed to all be skilled at knowing when to jump in front of the camera at the right times. All of these types had egos the size of a bus.

Adam Santo has refused to mediate the conflict (we've tried 3 times via various occupy related groups) although he admits what he did and still insists on being involved in the local community. He still has a few supporters, most of whom want to "give him another chance."

Yes, give the unrepentant lying snitch thief a fourth or fifth chance. That's some real occupy solidarity. I thought "an injury to one is an injury to all"?

Stormy

8/19/2013 05:42:58 pm

Yup, all Occupy groups had people just like this! In Asheville, NC(where I participated), which funnily enough is mentioned above, there were multiple people who fit this description to a "t". They came in with the loudest voices, overtook the GA, stole treasury funds, started lies and social media infighting, and finally broke off into opposition groups with the primary goal of attacking those who continued to work and organize under the Occupy name.
Wobbly Jim says it makes him wonder, but I don't wonder about those that I came in contact with....

Brendan Hunt link

8/19/2013 07:24:23 pm

yes wobbly and stormy, I think we've all had similar experiences unfortunately. I should also add that this chris Phillips guy uses several online aliases on facebook including "George dewey" and "mary simmons"

Natalie Parker

8/19/2013 09:19:29 pm

I can't say anything about the other claims, as I cannot find any evidence to verify them. However I would like to take a moment and share something about Occupy Buffalo.

The original agreement with the city, which was never notarized, was between several representatives of Occupy Buffalo. Chris was one of them. However, this agreement that they signed kept all the activity in Buffalo pinned to one place. Hence a great amount of activity where people wanted to hold Occupy movements were being held back leaving Occupy Buffalo as head hancho and anyone having to do other occupy work to go through them. This was causing problems and people felt like they were getting screwed over by this agreement with City Hall. Chris attempted to get Occupy Buffalo to rescind this agreement once it was discovered that not only was it not notarized, but that certain people were resisting change because they wanted to remain in control over it all.

Eventually he went to the media, and City hall in an attempt to get the other Occupy groups freedom to move assemble etc. This appeared to culminate in an argument of Occupy Buffalo would need to move if this agreement was broken. As you can see there were far more people involved in this than just Chris, there were groups wanting freedom from a piece of paper signed by a handful of people
from early in the Occupation. And as one of the signers of said document he was listening to their wants.

The action to oust Chris was taken by vote by a small representation of people. Some of which who originally signed the paper and who at least in part did not want to lose control to Occupy Buffalo. If he was such a problem there would have been more to find more dirt to dig up before this event played out. But I didn't find anything more substantial before, and I haven't since. I say all these things, because I have read up extensively on the event in question, including the testimonies of people in the organization at the time. Knowing what happened in Occupy Buffalo makes me question how you paint his character. If you have more evidence other than a couple of accusations I would be interested in knowing what they are... In closing here are Chris Phillips own words on this particular subject. In response to the announcement made that day by Occupy Buffalo.

"To this moment, I am still in disbelief at this madness. I will hit on every single major issue with ferocity, and leave nothing out, because this is important, and not one of the people crucifying me has attempted anything peaceful with me even remotely. I began working with OB at the very beginning, at the October 8th GA and first march to Lafayette Square. I slept there almost every night, and I organized a number of events using the Direct Action/GA process. I loved the work I was doing, despite it all fraying my nerves dramatically, straining relations when people got negative. I never once in 3 months attacked a single person physically. I may have raised my voice, I may have cursed, but I am human, and we are all prone to imperfect communication. On most occasions, though, I was respectful to everyone, productive in my work, and inclusive in my approach. The agreement with the City. I signed out of solidarity, as a member of a unit, in the hopes that it would benefit us. Inspections began the next day. Further analysis revealed that only Albert Brown's signature was verified by a notary, not one of us was fully identified officially. It was all a photo op. Our signatures are novelties. No one can produce a copy of that agreement that has all of our signatures fully identified and notarized because it does not exist. Making Albert Brown the only fully official signature on a document that effectively limits the rest of Western New York to occupy their neighborhoods, and especially without OB support....obviously. The end result has OB penned up like dogs, chained by Brown's undemocratic solo signature to abide by City Hall's wishes. Nothing about this revolutionary. Freedom of speech and assembly is to be demanded everywhere! Not just in Niagara Square! The name of the group IS Occupy BUFFALO, NOT Occupy Niagara Square. Remember? That means you actually start occupying Buffalo. What authority does any "governing body" have to tell me I should have my sleeping location debated ad nauseum? Really? Is not to force me to have my sleeping bag location debated to engage in the same sort of control matrix the 1% has us wrapped up in? Especially when I express publicly many times a desire for expansion, peace, awareness, and solidarity. Watch the damn interviews. As the days pass, and OB denies association, I am forced to withdrawal. At the beginning I was doing it out of love for OB, but as they dropped the solidarity ball and judged me unnecessarily, I was forced to do it out of love for the greater global Occupy movement. As for attacking anyone physically, the only contact ever made with anyone was with Heron, and it was nothing b

8/19/2013 09:21:40 pm

and it was nothing but a very light tap. I have multiple witnesses and I defended myself as he lunged at me. I defended myself, and never struck him. Only defended myself. He has no blood loss to speak of, no scar, no bruise. This is all fact. I am not a perfect person, but I am no monster. I ask only that my months of personal sacrifice be respected and not destroyed, that my accomplishments be weighed against whatever argument is presented. I feel it what entirely unnecessary and immature to enter my dwelling and place all of my belongings out in the open, especially after I spent three months protecting the goods and resources of Occupy Buffalo. I feel it was painfully NONstrategic to stand down from solidarity with OUR action (I did not move alone, but with the aid of many OB occupiers) as you could have doubled the size of your occupation and made a show of people power to City Hall. Flex a little muscle and face a removal? Why are you so scared of removal? When all the other ones get removed for taking the real stands? When thousands get jailed for peacefully protesting? When to be removed would put a shot of adrenaline right into the arm of the movement. Myself and the people associating with OWNY consistently express a desire for renewed unity and kinship. We stand with you on issues of peace, on issues of financial inequality, on issues of health care and homelessness. Why would you abandon PEOPLE (not a single person) who are standing up to fight for these things right alongside you? Isn't everywhere important to express these truths? For all of our humanity, for all of our media/government prefabricated division, I can still see through the veil of illusions to the goodness within all of it, and I wish nothing but continued growth and brotherhood between all parties involved.

Chris Phillips

8/24/2015 10:17:39 pm

Thank you for standing up to play devil's advocate here, Natalie. This article is nothing but a politically-motivated character assassination. Wish I'd seen this sooner.

Lars

9/19/2015 03:51:46 pm

Typical of Chris Phillips to defend himself under the guise of someone else. His character is always in question because he consistently uses others for his own advancement. Everything is for show and to try and draw attention to himself. The repeated theft , domestic abuse and squabbling as soon as things don't go his way is simply the cycle of lies he perpetuates.

8/19/2013 09:44:35 pm

Chris in his own words: "As for attacking anyone physically, the only contact ever made with anyone was with Heron, and it was nothing but a very light tap. I have multiple witnesses and I defended myself as he lunged at me. I defended myself, and never struck him. Only defended myself. He has no blood loss to speak of, no scar, no bruise. This is all fact." He contradicts himself several times in this statement alone.

Bob

8/21/2013 11:39:34 am

This is Chris Phillips writing.. .I am from occupyBuffalo... there is no Natalie Parker here.. .it is a made-up name.. .

todd stefansky

8/20/2013 02:41:33 pm

chris phillips was a great brother to me at occupy trinity in nyc. i have nothing but good things to say about how he conducted himself there.

8/20/2013 03:02:22 pm

"Todd" the email address you used to register this comment was ricfl10137@aol.com. when i googled that, i came up with a link to an Asheville, NC website. same place where chris phillips likes to hang out. here is yet ANOTHER link to folks on facebook who have been screwed by chris phillips www.facebook.com/occupystorefront/posts/401902313196589 i hope you do some research on your own about this man and you'll see why he has garnered such a negative reputation

DC Organizer

8/21/2013 02:34:39 am

Thank you!!!

We are having some very serious issues here in Dc with the action Chris is organizing here on 9/11. It is suppose to be a Drone march, but it is appearing looking like Drone activists are being tricked into becoming crushed between, Feds, Muslim haters, Angry 'Murica Bikers, and Breitbots.

Protecting the safety of the AMAZING drone activists here in DC is critical.

Here is a link to a blog from my friend linking ALL of this together. I am the author of the paste detailing the chaos of the planned 9/11 Drone March.

We don't know if this is Big Ego or sabotage, but the results are the same.

So here's to Isolate & Contain.
Support #SecurityCulture and <3 <3 <3

http://whosestreets.tumblr.com/post/58830851668/disturbing-patterns-regarding-global-marches-organized

BeenThereSeenThat

8/21/2013 09:40:15 am

No it's not ego. (Well, maybe a lillte.) Chris Phillips has a long history of planning or infiltrating events, most of which never come off. He was outed as an agent provocateur by Occupy Buffalo. He organized, what he promised to be a great event, a die-in in front of the local army recruiter. But on the big day, Chris was no where to be found . He had already left town after word had spread that he had hit his girlfriend. Off to look for other occupations to infiltrate no doubt. And judging by this page, he certainly did.

AngryAnarchist

8/22/2013 02:11:52 pm

You really should have left me on the side of the road chris. Im in ohio im hitching to colorado. If I find you im shitting on you the same way you did on me and so many other people. You are a piece of shit who uses good people to get drug money. At least Im honest about wanting to get high i dont pay for it in community center money or homeless help money. Just wait, you think im bad online. I almost hit a great man in the face with a brick for you. I hope you have been workin out because I will have a million muslims stomp you the fuck out when they find out you are a user and a poser.

Christina Cooke

8/13/2015 06:03:44 pm

It's funny that people say I wasn't at Occupy Buffalo. How the hell did I document it then!?!?

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Occupy Con-Artist appears on FOX's Hannity show

Leave a Reply.

Past Articles: