In the early hours of May 19th, 2023, heavily-armed agents raided the home of two Pittsburgh community members, Brian “Peppy” DiPippa and Krystal DiPippa. Nearly a month and a half later, they were both federally indicted, and on June 30th, they surrendered to the court. Krystal, who was released on probation the same day, faces charges of (1) conspiracy and (2) obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. Peppy was detained and has remained imprisoned at the time of this writing (March 2024). He faces charges of (1) conspiracy, (2) obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, and (3) use of explosive to commit a federal felony. Peppy is incarcerated at a facility that does not provide any outdoor space whatsoever.
Because of the complicated nature of federal sentencing guidelines, we can’t know what the actual legal consequences are for these charges. Since our friends are being charged with conspiracy as co-defendants, they could face equal amounts of prison time in a range that could very well go beyond 10 years. We’ve been told that if convicted, Krystal’s sentence will probably be lower than Peppy’s.
The case against Peppy and Krystal (US v. DiPippa et al.) arose out of an April 18, 2023, demonstration against a University of Pittsburgh-sanctioned event promoting hatred toward transgender people and communities, featuring notorious transphobes Brad Polumbo and Michael Knowles on the question “should transgenderism be regulated by law?” The government alleges that in the protests outside the event, a “civil disorder” occurred, when one commercially available firework and two homemade “smoke bombs” were discharged. This “civil disorder” forms the context in which Krystal and Pep are charged. Click here for more specifics on the timeline and legal situation.
Analysis
The federal government’s targeting of Krystal and Peppy is political, plain and simple.
Even before the April 18th protest, FBI agents secretly followed our friends and used tactics straight out of the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) playbook to manufacture justification for the May 19th raid. Amongst other stalking schemes, federal agents performed a warrantless search of Peppy and Krystal’s garbage, in which they allegedly found a discarded pamphlet about the movement to Stop Cop City. Direct from the government’s search warrant affidavit: “the “Defend the Atlanta Forest” movement has been active since approximately April 2021 and involves protesters unlawfully occupying a wooded area of land where the city plans to build a police training facility.” In the unwarranted trash search, federal agencies allegedly found “a printed zine… discussing anarchist ideology.” It is important to note that in the affidavit for a search warrant, the FBI described their following of Peppy and Krystal beginning a week before the April 18th protest – that is, a week before any allegation of any law being broken. The FBI’s use of a Stop Cop City pamphlet to justify an aggressive raid on alleged Pittsburgh political activists draws a direct line from the federal crackdown on Atlanta-area organizers to the government’s national strategy of repression.
In its prosecution, the feds have continued trying to criminalize alleged political beliefs, retaliate for alleged participation in the April 18th protest, and intimidate others from protesting and/or supporting the rights and existence of transgender people. During court proceedings, the prosecution has continued to dramatize the political dimension of the case, and the judge cited these arguments in his Novemeber ruling to keep Peppy in pre-trial imprisonment with no possibility of bail. Specific criminal wrongdoing played a minimal role at that hearing: rather than dwelling on the state’s circumstantial evidence, the prosecution castigated Peppy for “a strongly held belief system that embraces anarchism” and for feeling “a sense of community, among anarchists.” The judge cited “sentiments supporting anarchism” as a key component to justify continued detention.
This political focus, which was already evident in the state’s earlier written filings and their use of the problematic acronym “AGAAVE” (anti-government and anti-authority violent extremist), continues a legacy of repression against perceived dissidents while showing anxiety about the strength of their evidence of criminal wrongdoing in this particular case.