Alt-right Troll “Spicci” Revealed: John F. Rokes Jr of Keene, New Hampshire

[Content warning: racism, antisemitism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia. We have left quoted slurs intact to reflect their impact]

“Spicci” was one of the worst, if not the worst, of the racist alt-right internet trolls. For years he viciously threatened and harassed people on Twitter, publicizing their personal information with intent to intimidate them. Since he first appeared around 2017 his identity has been unknown. This self-described “most hunted person on Twitter” is supremely confident in his ability to elude those seeking to de-anonymize him. Well, we have bad news for him: we have identified this serial internet harasser and now he can be held accountable for his years of online bullying and intimidation. The true identity of “Spicci” will no longer be a mystery. Read on.

“Spicci” and the Alt-Right Troll Network “The Shed”

Before we delve into who “Spicci” is, let’s talk about what he does. Social media researcher Erin Gallagher described in her Medium article “Visualizing Cyber Harassment” how a group of racist, right-wing Twitter accounts calling themselves “The Shed” used various techniques to “troll” or harass other Twitter accounts who do not agree with their viewpoint. As Gallagher explained, these harassment campaigns can take an enormous toll on the victims:

The people in the crosshairs of a troll campaign sometimes get bombarded with death and rape threats. They may also get bombarded with a flood of notifications that disrupts their social media feeds and device usage for the duration of the bombardment. […] Advising a target “don’t feed the trolls” or disabling notifications is not sufficient in cases where trolling campaigns carry on for weeks or months.

One of the main actors in this group was a person using the moniker “Spicci,” or variations of that name. “Spicci” accounts changed frequently due to the fact that the accounts were often quickly banned for violations of Twitter’s terms of service, but were easily identified by his frequent use of an image of mixed martial arts fighter Gegard Mousasi for a profile picture.

The general aim of this group of Twitter trolls was to sow discord among anyone who opposed their racist, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ+ views and one of their primary means to that end was “doxing” (ie. the publicizing of personal information) journalists and anyone else that they disagreed with. One of the other primary actors in this harassment group, using the alias “Micro” or “Microchip,” put it this way:

I want poeple [sic] to have panic attacks before they post a Tweet, we need them so fearful of ban, they don’t even Tweet.

“Spicci” stated more specifically his harassment plans, writing:

“Spicci” was one of the most repulsive and violent of the racist Twitter trolls, notable for his persistence and the nastiness of his harassment. Furthermore, he garnered a slew of consistent followers that amplified this harassment. “Spicci” also sometimes appeared on neo-Nazi podcasts, like “The Patriarchy Show” hosted by Ian D. Erickson and “Right to Bryden” hosted by failed comedian and neo-Nazi Bryden Proctor.

On one episode of this show with Proctor, “Spicci” discussed his plans to intimidate and harass journalists. As explained on Angry White Men, “Spicci” stated that he was making a database of potential victims. He said:

When they move, when it changes, when they do anything — change their fucking phone number — I will fucking find you and I will update it! … This is what I’m doing now — every single motherfucking one of you. We need to make journalists afraid again.

Although the harassment began with journalists, it didn’t end there.  “Spicci” was a sadistic internet stalker with a broad range of victims and he enjoyed his work.

A Sadistic Internet Stalker

Anyone who crossed “Spicci”‘s path was a potential target. When antifascists identify neo-Nazis, racists and the like, we do so for the good of the public and adhere to ethical standard practices. “Spicci,” however, exposed the personal information of people with intent to hurt, intimidate and coerce. “Spicci” had no ethical restraints. He would publicize the information of his victim and his victim’s family, including minor children. Furthermore, he encouraged his followers to continue the harassment. In one post on Twitter he stated:

I personally prefer doxing the entire extended family of people who cant keep my name out of their [m]outh

I[‘]ll reiterate to anyone who “tries doxing me” that i will dox your entire family and make things bad for you.

“Spicci” maintained a continued presence on Twitter from 2017 to 2021, moving from one handle to another after each account suspension. We have estimated that “Spicci” may have used around two-hundred different Twitter handles during his time on the platform. Many of the screen names were of an explicitly racist, homophobic and/or misogynistic nature, like “@WomenRTrash,” “@RapeIsFunnyAF,” “@jewscuminkidz” and “@JKILoveNiggers” to name a few (a more complete list may be found at the end of this report).

In one Twitter post “Spicci” invited a Twitter user to “dox” him, posting a menacing photo of an an AR-15 style rifle and writing, “i live in new york, and this is me.” We concluded that he probably wasn’t actually in New York, however, because this rifle as pictured is not legal in that state. But “Spicci” did like to ensure that people knew he was armed and eager to use his guns against other Twitter users.

In addition to “Spicci”‘s virulent racism and LGBTQ+ hatred, he was also deeply misogynistic and took great pleasure in terrorizing women with threats, often including threats of rape. He frequently made use of the image of the misogynistic incel murderer Elliot Rodger as sick nods of appreciation.

“Spicci” had a very high opinion of himself and his abilities. While it was a certainty that his abusive Twitter accounts would eventually get suspended, it was also a certainty (at least to “Spicci”) that he would reappear and never be caught. “Dox me,” he taunted in one tweet. “i hope you send your best, you[‘]ll fuckin need it.”

Gab: a Place to Speak Freely. Very Freely.

“Spicci” left Twitter in 2021 and moved to the right-wing social media platform Gab in July 2021, but lamented that there were “no niggers kikes or trannys to rag on.” While on Gab, “Spicci” appeared to feel at home among the other racist users and spoke more freely about his personal life. Or perhaps it was his overconfidence that caused him to speak carelessly about himself. Whatever the case, we learned numerous personally identifying details from his Gab timeline.

We have already seen that “Spicci” is a fan of firearms. One photo “Spicci” posted on Gab was that of a PS90 rifle. On another occasion he posted a photo of the same PS-90, but this time topped with Torrey Pines Logic T-10 thermal sight. He also posted a photo of a gun safe filled with rifles, pistols and ammunition that is likely his actual safe.

“Spicci” indicated on Gab that he has a history with drug abuse, stating “i[‘]ve overdosed and died probably 15 times at this point.” He also made several other references to drug usage on Gab. In his Twitter posting history “Spicci” made numerous statements about drug abuse.  In one post on Twitter he wrote, “gonna abuse drugs, alcohol then women in that order.”

“Spicci” has said that he is a father, writing: “i[‘]ve been ready to die for a long time, if i didn[‘]t have a kid i[‘]d already be dead.” Also, he said on Gab he is not married, stating:

i never got married but kicking my son[‘]s mother out was the best decision i[‘]ve ever made. that insufferable cunt [p]ut me thru hell, she never acted like that until she got pregnant either.

This is consistent with another statement he had made on Twitter writing as “Spicasso @NurseBeater” in an unarchived but screen captured tweet where he stated, “i don[‘]t have a wife.”

He is an ice hockey enthusiast.

Numerous posts on Gab indicated that “Spicci” is an avid enthusiast of ice hockey and even plays on a couple of local teams as a goalie. In a post on Gab, he wrote “goalies: we are another breed of machine.”

Posts on Gab indicated he had familiarity with the New England area of the United States. In one post he replied to another Gab user who posted an image of a vehicle’s license plate. The state from which the plate was issued was illegible in the photo, but “Spicci” correctly remarked that the plates were from New Hampshire. Further along, replying to a commenter who remarked “southern NH is bleeding blue,” referring to “red” and “blue” states in regards to Republican and Democratic majority respectively, “Spicci” revealed his knowledge of the area’s roadways by replying, “the 93 corridor and like salem and exeter are, that[‘]s it.”

In another instance, “Spicci” responded to a post by a Gab user called “Daniel Concannon-KeepNHGranite @KeepNHGranite” whose profile bio reads “That White dude up in New Hampshire” with an invitation: “bro i[‘]ll be in manchester friday let me buy you a beer or 15.” Manchester is a city on the Merrimack River in southern New Hampshire.

Finally, he just admitted that he lives in New England, writing, “i live in new england.”

“theyve been trying to find me for a long long time and they never will”

“Spicci” boasted on Gab, “antifa wants to kill me, they[‘]ve been trying to find me for a long long time and they never will…” To be clear, we do not want to kill him. We do, however, want to identify and expose this person because he is a dangerous psychopath. He was still supremely confident in his abilities to elude identification, but perhaps he was getting too confident.

In order to uncover the true identity of “Spicci” we had to discover the earliest appearances of “Spicci.” Examining a collection of old Twitter information we noticed an interesting account using an image of Gegard Mousasi for a profile picture, as “Spicci” usually does. This account, “@AltRightAid,” was found replying to a “Microchip” account, which made this all the more interesting.

By searching Twitter replies to “@AltRightAid” we discovered the account that used the handle “@AltRightAid” had previously used another handle: “@Vampergaze.”

Searching for other uses of the username “Vampergaze” across the internet brought up several instances. One was a 2013 post on an arborist forum website in which a user called “Vampergaze” asked a question about chainsaws. Later in the the thread, this user from New Hampshire also mentioned that he possessed an SKS rifle. Knowing that “Spicci” is a firearms enthusiast, we took note.

We found an earlier instance of the username “Vampergaze” on a Nov 13, 2009 drugs-forum.com post in which the user posted,  “I had afirst [sic] time experience last night, he said it was thoroughly enjoyed. I am 185 pounds, 5 ‘ 10″, and is no stranger to try ptamines. I have been doing LSD and Mushrooms consistantly, [sic] …” Knowing “Spicci”‘s self-described history with drug usage, this was a notable find. Furthermore, this post revealed some physical characteristics (a height of 5-10 and weight of 185 pounds in 2009).

We also found “Vampergaze” on an obscure social media site called fubar.com. The profile states that he joined in 2007, that he is 37 years old now and that he was born on January 30th. While we didn’t yet have the information to confirm these items at this point, it became useful later in our investigation.

Another instance we found was on a motorcycle forum in 2015 on which the user “Vampergaze,” also from New Hampshire, was trying to sell a ’99 ZX7R. In this post he stated he was in the process of purchasing a house. This bit of information would also become useful later in our investigation.

Interestingly, in that post “vampergaze” linked out to a Photobucket account where, presumably, a photo of this motorcycle for sale was stored. Unfortunately, this account and photo no longer exist, but the account name, “CarrionVulture,” visible in the link, provided us with another clue.

We found the username “CarrionVulture” used on a mixed martial arts forum in 2017. In the forum “CarrionVulture” stated that he wanted “to make a documentary of sorts about new england fighters.” We concluded that “CarrionVulture” was the same person as “Vampergaze.”

Another post on that same forum provided us with another clue. “CarrionVulture” posted a screenshot of a Twitter post in which he commented on a tweet by MMA journalist Simon Head. “CarrionVulture”‘s Twitter account was named “@KangEzekiel” and used a photo of MMA fighter Gegard Mousasi, like “Spicci” is known to do. Things were falling into into interesting places. Our next step was to examine this “@KangEzekiel” Twitter account.

The Twitter account “@KangEzekiel” turned out to be suspended and no longer active. Furthermore, no tweets were archived at web.archive.org. However, when we searched Twitter for mentions of that handle we were able to get an idea of the nature of the tweets coming from this account. While some of the posts had to do with the topic of mixed martial arts, there were also many responses that indicated “@KangEzekiel” was engaged in racist, trollish behavior, much like “Spicci.” Also, going through the history we saw that “@KangEzekiel” had previously changed handles some one point, going by the name “@CuckToddMSNBC.” Could it be that this account was the “proto-Spicci?”

Although the Twitter accounts associated with these handles were not fully archived by the Wayback Machine, further research uncovered posts by these accounts that were archived as replies under other accounts. We found “Carrion Vulture @vampergaze” had replied to a January 25, 2015 Twitter post by “@LizardMafia.”

We also found the “@AltRightAid” account writing as “@CuckToddMSNBC” in a post about the far-right media streamer Tim Gionet, popularly known as “Baked Alaska.”

We concluded that “Vampergaze,” “CarrionVulture,” “KangEzekiel, “AltRightAid” and “CuckToddMSNBC” were all the same person from New Hampshire.

As a final piece of confirmation, we found a current Skype messenger account named “Spicci” with a Skype name “vampergaze_1” and using a profile image of MMA fighter Gegard Mousasi. We concluded the operator of this account was the same person who operated the previous accounts in question.

“Spicci” Revealed

Finding the identity of “Vampergaze” was the next step in our investigation. We found a Myspace account with the username “Vampergaze,” which was a restricted profile, so we couldn’t look beyond the main page, but we could see the name on the profile page was “John Rokes.”

We found the email “vampergaze@gmail.com” was associated with a  2019 data leak from People Data Labs, a data enrichment company. This data set revealed the following:

{“a”:”boston, massachusetts, united states”,”e”:[“vampergaze@gmail.com”],”liid”:”john-rokes-jr-491a0137″,”linkedin”:”https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rokes-jr-491a0137″,”n”:”john rokes”}

We earlier found “Vampergaze” on an obscure social media site called fubar.com, which stated that the user is now 37 years old and was born on January 30. While the age is a couple of years off, we conjecture Rokes lied about his birth year, since he would have been just shy of 20 years old when signing up. But “Vampergaze”‘s birthday matches that of John F. Rokes Jr.

As we learned from Rokes’ post on the arborist forum as “Vampergaze,” he owned an SKS rifle. We also know that “Spicci” has a sizeable firearms collection.

Rokes has a history with recreational drug use, as indicated by his post on the drug forum website. So does “Spicci,” according to many of his admissions of drug abuse. Also, noted earlier, Rokes as “Vampergaze” claimed to be 5-10 tall and weight 185 pounds. In the screen-captured tweet pictured below “Spicci” claimed similar stats (5’9″, 195).

And like “Spicci,” John F. Rokes Jr is unmarried and has a son. We did not find a Facebook page for John F. Rokes Jr, but examining the Facebook profiles of his family members and their circles led us to the Facebook profile of the woman with whom he had a relationship and a child with. We are not naming her or the child because, unlike “Spicci,” we don’t expose uninvolved persons or children.

 

In the tweet pictured below “Spicci” referenced his son’s birthday, which matches the birthday of John F. Rokes Jr’s real-life son. This tweet is not archived, but we would not link to it anyway to preserve the privacy of the child.

“Spicci” even posted a photo of his hockey pads on Gab, which match the coloration of the pads shown in the team photo.

To top it off, “Spicci” posted a photo on Gab of a blue bench in what was presumably a locker room on October 26, 2021. “John Rokes” played as a goalie in a hockey game at Keene Ice on that day, as we can see on the nighthawkhockey.com website in the archived games section. Furthermore, the benches in the locker room of Keene Ice are blue. It’s no coincidence. “Spicci” and John F. Rokes Jr are the same person.

Knowing what John F Rokes Jr. looks like, we were able to go back and confirm a photo posted by a Twitter user in reply to the “@AltRightAid” account. Since the tweets by “@AltRightAid” account were not visible we had to read between the lines to figure the context, but it appeared that “@AltRightAid” had posted the photo himself at some point.

In light of these facts, there is only one conclusion: the sociopathic alt-right internet harasser that has eluded identification for years is none other than John Fitzpatrick Rokes Jr. of Keene, New Hampshire.

Earlier in this piece we noted an appearance of Rokes as “Vampergaze” in a 2015 forum post stating that he was in the process of buying a house. In 2016 he purchased a house that was previously owned by his great-grandmother. This is verifiable by public records. This house is also at the address of record for his professional licenses.

Rokes is currently licensed in the adjacent state of Vermont as a special electrician (license number: ES-02461 (7C)) and TQP-fire alarm certified (license number: T1-02461). His contact information listed on his licenses are publicly available and maintained by the state of Vermont.

Lies and Alibis

A couple of claims Rokes made as “Spicci” we could not verify. For one, “Spicci” claimed that he survived “a gunshot and cancer.”  We could not verify this, but John F. Rokes Jr’s mother died from cancer in 2005. In a forum thread, seemingly apropos of nothing, Rokes claimed he was “bullied” in high school  about his mother having cancer. Whatever the case, cancer is not an excuse for becoming a racist, serial cyber-stalker.

Another time Rokes as “Spicci” claimed that he was “not allowed” to get a passport because he never signed up for the draft because he “enlisted.” We found no evidence showing that John F. Rokes Jr had ever served in any branch of the armed services. We were not able to verify his selective service status with the information we had.

An Inglorious End for “Spicci”

Like all bullies, John F. Rokes Jr‘s mouth is bigger than his courage. Hiding behind the persona of “Spicci,” he harassed and threatened scores of people thinking that his true identity would never be discovered. He promoted racist, neo-Nazi ideology and violence against persons of color, LGBTQ+ persons, Jewish people, journalists and anyone he politically disagreed with. He threatened women with rape and abuse. He exposed the personal information of innocent people and their families and encouraged his followers to harass his victims. He isn’t a mastermind; he’s just a sociopathic, drug abusing, gun crazy, woman hating racist in New Hampshire who no longer has “Spicci” to hide behind.

A special thanks goes to Karma161 and other anonymous comrades for their contributions to this piece.

Appendix: List of Known “Spicci” Twitter Handles

@9picwaffe

@an0nRaV

@an0nym0usc41m

@AnonCalmsClam

@anonca1msdaddy

@anonrav

@anonymousc41m

@AnonymousSpicci

@anoon_ofa

@arabprince_uwu

@autistx5

@backtorehabigo

@baldbritney2008

@BetaOrbiters

@betaorbitersftw

@BetaOrbitingBri

@Biggaybribri

@billbronson88

@blaqueiq

@bloggerboxing2

@breastmiikshake

@buzzfeedsteve

@c_4_1_m

@c41_the_apach3

@C41mIsAPedo

@Casualrapist

@CoonmunityLeadr

@CuckToddMSNBC

@cumeticwarfare

@DiarrheaCumBomb

@diggy1984niggy

@dogkvetcher

@Dogkvtcher

@dougspinelli

@drinkbleachfgts

@eatlyefgts

@egirlsaremen

@exoticmanmeat

@Fanofyugetits

@Findjasonjones

@FindomPatrol

@Floydisadeadnig

@FloydRapeweatha

@FoamyDiarrhea

@Gas_the_nogs

@GIFWarNow

@GodReportSquad

@GoyimGoneWild

@Gwriht

@h0m0spicky

@hahaniggers

@HaHaNiggerz

@HangTheNogs

@HannibalSpictre

@hateminorities

@Heinzkvetchup

@hereforbigtits

@highenergygy

@HuffpoHelpDesk

@huffpoop

@HugeCosbyFan

@HugeDVFan

@HungLikeANog

@IDinduSheit

@ihatejournalist

@ihatenogs

@IloveSlaveLabor

@ImGayPlzNoBan

@Itsmespicci

@jackdorseystop

@JackFanBoiii

@jackiesoldaccnt

@jackrapeskids

@jacksfanboii

@JasonHurricane

@Jewcidhurricane

@jewscuminkidz

@JKILoveNiggers

@journoarrester

@KangEzekiel

@KangTalibKweli

@KanyeKilled2pac

@KarmaAteMyDoge

@kickcoomsockets

@KikeEichenfagot

@KingOfRape

@kingofthenogs

@Klukluxkanye

@kurteichenfaggot

@ldrofanonymous

@lovetogetbanned

@lukeobriensdad

@lukeobrlen

@MadOnline34

@MalcolmSex2

@MeGiveUFreeHIV

@melgibsonfan8

@MikeCoomberg

@mikesuccbery

@MikeSuicidebery

@mmmThiccLatinas

@MoAISpickawi

@Mother3Forever

@mrdonut69smen

@MrDonutIsGhey

@mrdonutsucks

@MrDonutSucksDik

@MsHorakova

@negrodamus

@NegroidsGotMe

@NoCollusionLMAO

@notmespick1

@NotMeSpicky

@notmespicky1

@notspickyagain

@nursebeater

@OpThunderdome

@OuterPartisan

@OutrunMyBull3ts

@pamelaval

@partialpervert

@PassionatePoops

@patrolallslags

@Paypigpatrol

@pewdiepiehole

@pleasenobullyme

@postthemtiddies

@rabbibattalion

@RapeIsAHoax

@RapeIsASport

@RapeIsFunnyAF

@rapeisntreal

@rawchickenshits

@Realrapeg0d

@RealRapeGod

@RealRapistLOL

@Realtimgraf

@reformedbigot

@respecterofbobs

@RespectTheWamen

@SadiqKhunt

@SakkarineLives

@SeanNigKing

@slagsec

@spambullyblock

@speedin88

@spiccireborn

@spiccithegreat

@spiccleback

@spicghetti

@spickawi

@spickleberg

@spicleangelo

@spicwaffe

@Stabbyrapist

@StillCantStopMe

@TalibHasAIDS

@TALlBKWELI

@talibkewlivi

@talibkweliisgay

@talibkweliiv

@TalibKweliSucks

@Tallbkweli

@theecyberbully

@the_ironic_uwu

@TheShedIsScary

@ThisAppSucksBad

@thotlivesm4tter

@ToughTubesteak

@TrapsAreHomos

@trayvonsdeadlol

@TrySuicidePlz

@welnarapeskids

@WeTheSPLC

@williamhwelna

@womanabuser

@womanrespecting

@WomenNeedBeatin

@WomenRTrash

@yesimsexist

@youranonbossx