Joshua Mello

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[originally published November 2, 2021, 9:14AM Eastern]

Meet Josh Mello, violent homophobe and owner of K’s Kustom’s in Warwick, RI!

Mugshot

Mello is an organizer with CORR, showing up to their demonstrations and food drives, making homophobic/transphobic speeches, and getting arrested for becoming violent at a middle school.

CORR, short for “Citizens Organized to Restore Rights,” is a far-right “patriot” movement with terrible graphic design sense that does “security” for other far-right groups, such as Super Happy Fun America. Their pet issues are COVID denialism and supporting police brutality.

We threaded a bit on CORR and their founder, alleged domestic abuser David Steinhof, last week:

Mello is all in on the COVID denialism! Here he is protesting the vaccine mandates in RI on Oct. 1, wearing the shirt he never changes and his favorite midlife crisis hat.

Mello is also incredibly homophobic and transphobic, calling lessons about LGBTQ perspectives/experiences “predatory” and a form of “gender war,” and schools that are supportive of their queer students “criminals.”

With those attitudes, it’s no wonder he’s teaming up with Super Happy Fun America, who have been pulling violent queerphobic bullshit in the area for years. Here’s @thatcaseyquin on their Straight Pride Parade.

Last month, Mello got so enraged that he got into a violent altercation at a middle school, where he was arrested and found to be in possession of 3 knives. Here he is appropriating BLM rhetoric about it.

Outraged at not being allowed to endanger schoolchildren, Mello did what he does best: Blame queer people. Here he is giving a statement about this altercation at a RI public input session at Harry Kizirian Elementary in Providence, in his midlife crisis hat and his CORR shirt.

In this impassioned speech, he blamed his violent behavior at a middle school on changing gender roles in families and “the schools indoctrinating our children with poison.” By poison we can safely assume he means the LGBTQ+ movement’s struggle for equality.

You can join him at his arraignment on 11/16/2021 at 9 a.m. at the 3rd Division district court in RI.

This isn’t the first time Mello has gotten in trouble for violence. In 2011, he was charged with 4th degree arson by the Kent County Court in RI.

And it happened just a month after his birthday. What a way to turn 35, buddy.

Explains the midlife crisis hat, though.

All this would be bad enough if Mello were just a lone kook throwing violent tantrums at middle schools, but in hooking up with CORR and SHFA—formerly “Resist Marxism”—he’s found some awful kindred spirits.

Here’s @DavidNeiwert on SHFA’s earlier incarnation’s history of violent tantrums, including in Mello’s home state of Rhode Island.

Since CORR didn’t exist yet, SHFA’s/Resist Marxism’s main partner organization for that rally was the now-infamous Proud Boys, who at the time were still pretending to be a drinking club. Here’s more on the Proud Boys from @AndyBCampbell.

We are sure Mello will fit right in with the SHFA losers and their constant lashing out about “gender madness,” or whatever hateful bile they’re spouting that actually makes queer people sound extra cool

If you want to DEFEND gender madness, OPPOSE anti-Semitic dogwhistles like “Cultural Marxism,” and DEFEAT local fascist groups like SHFA and CORR, turn out for Boston Solidarity Against Hate’s counterprotest to the above event in Boston Common at 11:30 a.m. on 11/7! http://bit.ly/MaskUpNOv7

As for Mello, well, don’t do your Christmas shopping at K’s Kustom’s Ride-On Toy Vehicles in Warwick.

Yes, that’s right: The guy that sets fires and blames his violence in front of children on the gays runs a toy repair shop.

You couldn’t make these people up.