SmashBy Opportunities & Research

Some opportunities to consider:

  • Infrastructural overload during SXSW amplifies the effects of even minor disruptions. A well placed march, blockade, or even a couch dumped at some vital intersection can quickly cascade in shutting down the flows of capital. Such actions can take place near or far beyond the downtown corridor: I-35 is one of the top 10 logistical bottlenecks in the country; a few years ago, protesters shut down the Lamar bridge during ACL weekend; north and southeast Austin are the economic hubs for logistics operations, consisting of warehouses, data centers, and corporate campuses.

 

  • The heavy concentration of police attention on the central city opens up possibilities for bold action further outside the city core. Whether these actions are taken by small groups of committed comrades or publicly organized demonstrations, there is an opportunity to diversify our political activity beyond the trap of downtown. The outer rings of the city are full of opportunities: Amazon warehouses, tech company campuses like Apple, Google, & Oracle, and military contractors or researchers like BAE systems and the JJ Pickle Research Campus.

 

  • There are many events at SXSW worthy of confrontation or disruption, especially connected to any ongoing struggles across the globe. Such actions can be logistically more difficult and riskier due to the heavy security and surveillance downtown. This year’s conference features: days of military innovation events at Capital House Factory, a range of civic governance themed meetups featuring mayors & politicians from across the country, and discussions on AI, real estate, rare earth mineral mining, and more.

 

SXSW Specific opportunities

Capital Factory House, an expo/conference gathering together venture capitalists, weapons contractors & military officers, and tech companies, will run from March 7-11 . Capital Factory is based out of the Omni hotel at 701 Brazos St, and is also one of the hosts of the Army Applications Lab, a project of the US Army Future Command.

On March 9th, military officers and green capitalists will be gathering at a conference to greenwash imperialism at a 2-3 PM panel titled “The Intersection of Defense-tech and cleantech: Texas’s defense innovation ecosystem and cleantech potential.”

 

Military

US Army Future Command

The US Army Future Command is a branch of the Army focused on its modernization and anticipating future threats. Its projects include developing software & AI, robotic combat vehicles, targeting systems, new artillery & weapons.

Places the Command is reported to have space:

  • the 9th floor of the UT System building on 210 W 7th St
  • the JJ Pickle Federal Building (300 E. 8th St)
  • in the Capital Factory, based out of Omni hotel at 701 Brazos St (Army Applications Lab)
  • at the Center for Electromechanics at the JJ Pickle Research Campus, off North Burnet & West Braker Lane
    • The Applied Research Lab, which is accessible off Burnet Rd, also hosts military research. As does the West Pickle Research Building, at 3925 W Braker Lane.
  • the Robotics Lab at the Anna Hiss Gym at UT, 2501 Wichita St
  • the software factory at Austin Community College downtown
  • in the Dell campus in Round Rock, 501 Dell Way (hosting the Resource Operations Center)

Given UT’s extensive entanglement with the military, one may pick any UT system institution as a target for pressure or disruption.

 

Military Recruiting Centers

Marine, Army, & Navy recruiting centers can be found at the following locations around the city:

  • 2025 Guadalupe St, inside the Dobie
  • 9900 S I-35
  • 2525 W Anderson Ln, #125
  • 13729 Research Blvd
  • 2000 S I35 frontage road, round rock

 

Military Contractors

While Austin has a relatively low density of military contractors compared to nearby cities like San Antonio, there are a few examples beyond the city core.

  • The Tech Ridge Center, a corporate campus in North Austin which hosts companies like BAE Systems, Dell, Apple, Infosys, and more, all of which have roles in enabling war and genocide around the world. Read this reportback on an action there which analyzes the police response and potential for further activity in this area, labelled the “Tech Core of Genocide.”
    • BAE Systems: 825 E Howard Ln
    • Dell: 319 E Parmer Ln
    • Apple: 13011 McCallen Pass
  • Northrop Grumman—7745 Chevy Chase Dr #100
  • Collins Aerospace–2005 Technology Way, San Marcos (listed as “United Technologies Aerospace Systems” on maps)

 

 

ICE & Borders

Trailboss Vehicle Facility: 112 McNutt Rd, Hutto, TX

the JJ Pickle Federal Building (300 E. 8th St), which serves as one of the main operation & detention sites for ICE in Austin.

An unmarked DHS/ICE facility in Pflugerville at 20200 Algreg St.

 

Tech Reactionaries
  • Oracle: 2300 Oracle Way
    • Oracle has been a major driver in AI technology, with backing from the Trump administration and tech reactionaries. Oracle’s co-founder and chairman, Larry Ellison, supports Trump and CEO Safra Catz was on his presidential transition team in 2016.
  • Cicero Institute: 2112 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX 78705
    • Cicero Institute is a neo-conservative think tank founded by tech bro reactionary Joe Lonsdale. They have been a major force behind the push for criminalization of homelessness, austerity, and attacks on socially progressive ideas (queer & trans existence, reproductive autonomy, anti-racism)
  • NVIDIA: 11001 Lakeline Blvd Suite #100 Bldg. 2, Austin, TX 78717
    • one of the major companies pushing AI currently
  • University of Austin: in the Scarbrough Building at 522 Congress Avenue
    • University of Austin is a reactionary, unaccredited college co-founded by Joe Lonsdale, serving as a hub of right wing propaganda and training under the guise of “free speech.”
Elon Musk & friends
  • Tesla Gigafactory: 1 Tesla Rd
  • Tesla Showrooms
    • 500 St Elmo Road
    • 2323 Ridgepoint Dr
    • 11601 Century Oaks Terrace Suite 123 (in the Domain)
  • Boring Bodega: 865 FM 1209 Bastrop, TX
  • Starlink: 858 FM 1209 Bastrop, TX

 

Police
  • APD East Substation: 812 Springdale Rd.
    • This station is particularly important for the policing of the East side. This is also the site of APD’s forensics lab. As such, they may be extra defensive of this spot.
  • APD North Substation: 12425 Lamplight Village Ave
  • APD South Substation: 404 Ralph Ablanedo Dr
  • APD Evidence: 4708 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX 78721
  • Austin Police Association Building: 5817 Wilcab Rd #7, Austin, TX 78721
    • The Austin Police Association is APD’s police union, which has advanced a lot of reactionary copaganda and had involvement in campaigns such as the push to recriminalize camping. Note–Their website lists their board of directors meetings: https://www.austinpolice.com/
  • APD Recruitment Center: 1520 Rutherford Ln #3, Austin, TX 78754
  • Ken Casaday, President of the Austin Police Association: [See Here For Info]
    • See details about previous actions people took against Ken Casaday: https://austinautonomedia.noblogs.org/apa-president-scared/
  • APD TechniCenter: 4201 Ed Bluestein Blvd, Austin, TX 78721
    • Data & surveillance center
  • UT Police Department: 2201 Robert Dedman Dr, Austin, TX 78712
  • DPS Police Officer’s Association Building: 5821 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78752
  • DPS HQ: 5805 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78752.
    • This facility is also home to the Austin Regional Intelligence Center, a partnership between 19 law enforcement agencies with an emphasis on surveillance and intelligence sharing. Also known as a fusion center. ARIC was recently exposed by BlueLeaks for fostering a network of community intelligence operations, police informants, racist surveillance, and surveillance of protestors. See some of the recent Austin Chronicle articles on the subject: https://www.austinchronicle.com/aric-blueleonsaks/
Fascists
  • RIP Coffee & Garage at 4201 S. Congress Avenue
    • reported to be a venue run by/frequented by Nazi skinheads. They have events from March 14-16, featuring the band MOD, whose singer is reported to be a Nazi and works at the venue.
Prisons
  • Texas Correctional Industries Showroom: 8801 S 1st St #100, Austin, TX 78748
    • A facility that displays products for sale that were produced by prison labor.
  • Texas Department of Criminal Justice:
    • Central Administration: 209 West 14th Street, Suite 500
    • Pardons & Paroles Board: 8610 Shoal Creek Blvd, Austin, TX 78757
    • TDCJ building, including Victim Services: 8712 Shoal Creek Blvd, Austin, TX 78757
    • Region IV District Parole Offices:
      • 2101 E Ben White Blvd B, Austin, TX 78741
      • 1616 Headway Circle, 1st Floor, Austin, TX 78754
    • Travis State Jail: 8101 FM 969, Austin, TX 78724
Logistics Infrastructure

SouthEast Austin in particular (Burleson Road, St Elmo St, and Oltorf, around highway 71) is home to many warehouses and logistics facilities.

  • Amazon Warehouses (Based off google maps results):
    • Corner of Burleson Rd & Montopolis Dr: https://goo.gl/maps/XVPdKL1UEtu1ZgTg9
    • Fulfillment Center at 2093 Rutland Dr, Austin, TX 78758
    • Fulfillment Center at 2000 E Pecan St, Pflugerville, TX 78660
    • Amazon DAU1: 4616 W Howard Ln, Austin, TX 78728
    • Amazon DAU7: 3150 Chisholm Trail, Round Rock, TX 78681
    • 1328 Sunbright Blvd, Buda, TX 78610
    • Whole Foods Distribution Center: 840 Interchange Blvd, Austin, TX 78721
Anti-Homeless Forces
  • Matt Mackowiak: [See Here For Info]
    • A tireless advocate for the criminalization and misery of unhoused people, Mackowiak has made it his personal mission as president of the Travis County Republican Party to disappear and displace as many poor Austin residents as possible.
  • Save Austin Now HQ/GOP Office: 807 Brazos St
    • A reactionary political coalition headed by Matt Mackowiak. SAN is responsible for the push to reinstate the camping ban, and has been sponsoring other efforts to increase police militarization & criminalization of the poor.
  • Sweeps Contractors:
    • Relief Enterprise–The main contractor for sweeps conducted by the City of Austin.
      • Main Office: 6448 US-290 East, Suite E11, Austin, TX 78723
      • Potential Vehicle Lot: 13802 Turbine Dr, Austin, TX 78728 (in the same lot as Mastercast Inc. Stucco & Masonry Supply)

Austin Autonomedia is hosting the call and other resources for Smash By Smash West. We are not the organizers of the conference–please direct inquiries to the contact information given in this call. You are welcome to submit information about events, research reports relevant to the conference, or reportbacks from actions to us at austinautonomedia@autistici.org