I think that this whole episode was triggered by what happened two weeks ago, when
Beback was challenged by Lar and Cla68 at "Views of LaRouche." He is clearly afraid of them, and since most cowards are bullies, he took it out on every newbie account he could find. Yesterday, he graduated to banning or harassing IP number editors.
Beback is struggling to keep the legacy of Chip Berlet alive. SlimVirgin used to do the heavy lifting in that department, but she seems to have developed other interests.