2 accused anarchist vandals arraigned

Two people charged with participating in an anti-gentrification vandalism rampage Monday night in North Philadelphia were arraigned late Tuesday night to be released on $5,000 unsecured bail each, according to court records.

The records do not indicate whether Geoffrey Suchocki, 45, of Doylestown, or Patricia Monahan, 28, of Rhawnhurst, had attorneys. Attempts to reach Suchocki and Monahan on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Each is charged with causing a catastrophe, criminal mischief, and related counts for allegedly helping to cause more than $100,000 in damage to new buildings and high-end cars over a three-block radius on the 1500 block of North Second Street.

Police said dozens of vandals, some believed to be associated with an anarchist group called Summer of Rage, smashed glass, spray-painted messages on buildings, and attacked cars around 9:15 p.m.

Some of that damage was still visible Wednesday: A BMW on Second Street near Jefferson still had a hole in a driver's-side window. A block away, on North Palethorp Street, a black Mercedes-Benz still sat parked with broken windows. Workers were fixing damage to several homes.

Monday was May 1, often called May Day, a traditional rallying day for anticapitalist and anarchist groups.

Police provided no new details about the group accused of initiating the vandalism. A fund-raising web page, set up to assist the legal defense of those arrested, had a photo of a banner the group allegedly carried that night, which read: "Gentrification is death, revolt is life."

The page's organizer was listed as the Philadelphia Anti-Repression Fund. Attempts to reach people involved with the group were unsuccessful.

Police said Wednesday morning that no one else had been charged but that the investigation was continuing. Carrie Adamowski, an FBI spokeswoman, said that the agency had offered its assistance but that Philadelphia police were leading the investigation.