Charlotesville White Supremacist Rage Agains the Jews
Update:
Just days after Unite the Right'due south 2nd anniversary, white supremacist and Charlottesville attendee James Patrick Reardon Jr., of New Middletown, Ohio, was arrested for allegedly making threats to the Youngstown, Ohio, Jewish customs center. Reardon was charged with telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing for allegedly posting an Instagram video of a human shooting a semi-automatic burglarize with sirens and screams in the background. The video was captioned, "Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family unit Customs shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O'Rearedon." While executing a search warrant at Reardon'southward home, members of the FBI's Violent Crimes Chore Force allegedly seized several weapons, a gas mask, body armor, and dozens of rounds of ammunition along with anti-Semitic and white nationalist propaganda. In a media interview at the Unite the Right rally, Reardon described himself every bit a white nationalist and member of the alt right, and said he wants "a homeland for white people."
In Baronial 2017, hundreds of far-correct extremists descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, ostensibly to protest the removal of a Confederate statue from a local park. Dubbed "Unite the Right," the gathering was the largest and most violent public assembly of white supremacists in decades. It also demonstrated a resurgent and emboldened white supremacist movement.
The violence on the streets of Charlottesville has kindled ii major tracks of white supremacist activity. The kickoff is the rampant dissemination of propaganda designed to promote their views and concenter attention. The other, more than troubling rail is a broader series of violent attacks in the two years since Unite the Correct.
White supremacists accept committed at least 73 murders since Charlottesville, 39 of which were clearly motivated past hateful, racist credo. These numbers include the deadly white supremacist shooting rampages in Parkland, Pittsburgh, Poway and El Paso, the deadliest white supremacist attack in more 50 years. In each of these cities, white supremacist murderers acted on the threat embodied in the chant made famous in Charlottesville: "Jews will not supersede usa! You will not replace us!"
While violence has surged since Charlottesville, it didn't brainstorm there. The bloodshed we see today is office of a four-year resurgence in white supremacist activity and activism, driven in large function by the ascension of the alt right. It'due south part of the emboldened white supremacist culture that led rally organizers to believe Unite the Correct could happen in the get-go place.
The events of August 11 and 12, 2017, are etched in the nation's retentiveness, and the violence and aftermath of those days continue to shape the white supremacist groups and individuals who were on the ground, as they struggle to reinvigorate and reimagine their movement. Nosotros expect that the fallout from Charlottesville will continue to affect these extremists for the foreseeable future.
Who was there?
Unite the Right drew far-right extremists from at least 39 states. The Center on Extremism has identified 330 of the estimated 600 who participated in the event. Most were from the Eastern half of the United States, merely further-flung states like Alaska, Arizona, California and Washington were also represented. Some attendees traveled even further, coming from Canada, Sweden and Due south Africa.
Though the Unite the Right rally was organized by individuals associated with the alt right, and nigh extremists who attended were white supremacists, participants represented approximately 50 different extreme-correct movements, groups and entities.
About every segment of the white supremacist movement was represented that day: Neo-Nazis from the National Socialist Motion (NSM), Vanguard America, and Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP); Klan members from the Rebel Brigade Knights, Global Crusader Knights, Amalgamated White Knights, and Knights Party; racist skinheads from the Hammerskins, Crew 38, and the Blood & Laurels Social Club; neo-Confederates from the League of the Southward (LoS), Identity Dixie, and the Hiwaymen; Christian Identity adherents from Christogenea; Odinists from the Asatru Folk Assembly; and many others.
Also present were a variety of "media" entities, also as armed paramilitary groups connected to the anti-government militia movement. They take since claimed they attended the rally to confront left-wing activists -- not in support of the white supremacists.
Irresolute of the guard
In the two years since Unite the Right, several white supremacist leaders have made dramatic departures from the movement, while others have stepped into new leadership roles.
Elliot Kline, also known equally Eli Mosley, of Pennsylvania, was the outset to pace down. Kline, a key organizer at Charlottesville, briefly led Identity Evropa (August 27- November 27, 2017) later Unite the Correct before teaming up with Richard Spencer to create a new white supremacist arrangement, Functioning Homeland. In February 2018, Kline vanished from the scene later on a New York Times documentary revealed he had lied to his followers about being an Iraq war veteran.[i]
Neo-Nazis Jeff Schoep and Matthew Heimbach who led their groups (NSM and Traditionalist Worker Political party, respectively) equally function of a large cavalcade march into Charlottesville, too appear to have left the movement. Heimbach has been unable to redeem himself in the eyes of his followers since allegations surfaced in March 2018 that he had assaulted his married woman and father-in-law, Matthew Parrott, after they confronted Heimbach nigh his affair with Parrot's wife.[two] Heimbach pleaded guilty in September 2018 to the assault on Parrot, and the Traditionalist Worker Party, which he co-founded with Parrott, shortly dissolved. A brief stint with the NSM lasted just long enough for Heimbach to take function in the group's Nov 2018 rally in Little Rock.
Schoep, who had allowable the NSM since 1994, came under fire in March 2019 after James Hart Stern, a black civil rights activist, claimed Schoep, apparently exhausted by ongoing Charlottesville-related lawsuits, gave Stern legal ownership of the NSM.[3] In a March half-dozen, 2019, press release, Schoep denied Stern'south claims, but announced his retirement and his successor, Burt Colucci of Florida.
While these leaders faltered, other Unite the Correct participants have stepped into the leadership void. Many were bolstered past internal debates over the best way to promote the white supremacist crusade and were seeking new means to maintain momentum while fugitive the kind of fallout they experienced after Charlottesville.
Thomas Ryan Rousseau benefitted from having evaded the spotlight in Charlottesville.
Rousseau, who now leads Patriot Front end, a Texas-based alt right group that now has members all over the state, led an assemblage of Vanguard America members at Unite the Right. After the rally, images showed James Fields – who has since been convicted of murdering counter-protester Heather Heyer -- standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Vanguard America, and carrying a shield begetting the group's fascist symbol. Only Rousseau largely escaped the public attention and shaming, because the spotlight vicious on Dillion Hopper, VA's national leader, who ironically didn't fifty-fifty attend UTR.
Afterward that Baronial, Rousseau, who already controlled the grouping's Discord servers and website, seized the moment, merely rather than taking over the troubled Vanguard America, he created Patriot Front. The motion allowed those now associated with Patriot Forepart to distance themselves from Charlottesville, Vanguard America and any association with James Fields.
Others who attended Unite the Right every bit rank-and-file members and now lead various groups include: Patrick Casey, who attended every bit a member of Identity Evropa now leads the American Identity Motion; John Kopko, who attended every bit a Confederate Hammerskin now leads a racist skinhead crew dubbed "United Skinhead Nation"; and Colton Williams, who attended every bit a member of the Traditionalist Worker Party now leads The Legion of St Ambrose.
Lingering repercussions
It'south very easy to observe images from Unite the Correct, which has proved problematic in numerous ways for participants who hoped to remain anonymous.
In the two years that take passed since Unite the Correct, many rally participants have experienced a host of repercussions, including imprisonment, job loss, de-platforming - or banning users who violate their terms of service - on social media platforms, travel bans and rejection by friends and family unit.
As more information almost the rally emerges, more participants are identified. Over the terminal few months, previously unidentified UTR rally-goers were exposed when rally images were paired with information obtained from Discord conversation logs. Those logs were released in March 2019 by Unicorn Anarchism, an independent media organization.
One of the newly exposed individuals, active duty Marine lance corporal Logan Yard. Piercy, was spotted in images taken at Unite the Right. Piercy, whom the Marine Corps discharged in May 2019, reportedly used Discord to post his anti-Semitic and racist views. He also posted images of himself and comments indicating he attended Unite the Correct.[i]
The Marine Corps has discharged at to the lowest degree two other active duty Marines connected to Unite the Correct. In July 2018, Lance Corporal Vasillios George Pistolis, who had been stationed at Campsite Lejeune, Northward Carolina, was demoted to Private and separated from the Corps for his alleged connections to neo-Nazi groups such equally the Traditionalist Worker Party and Atomwaffen Division.[2] Pistolis denied attending Unite the Right simply was caught on camera participating in violence that day.[iii] Sergeant Michael Joseph Chesny of Havelock, N Carolina, received a general administrative belch from the Marine Corps in April 2018 for his ties to the white supremacist movement. Chesny allegedly used the online pseudonym "Tyrone" to assist with the organizing and planning of the "Unite the Right" rally.[iv]
In addition to these armed forces discharges, other Charlottesville participants have lost jobs in everything from food service to aerospace research.
Imprisonment
While some have lost their jobs, more than a dozen Unite the Right attendees accept been convicted and sentenced for crimes related to violence committed during the rally. James Alex Fields, Jr. of Ohio received the most significant judgement: ii life sentences plus 419 years, for deliberately driving his car into a crowd of protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens more.[v]
Also sentenced to substantial time in prison: iii of four men found guilty of "malicious wounding" for their roles in the parking deck assault of an African American man during Unite the Right. Daniel Patrick Borden of Ohio was sentenced to iii years and 10 months, Jacob Scott Goodwin of Arkansas received an viii-yr sentence, and Alex Michael Ramos of Georgia received half dozen years. A fourth man, Tyler Watkins Davis, is scheduled for sentencing after this month (Baronial 27).[vi]
Meanwhile, Klan leader Richard Wilson Preston of Maryland was sentenced to four years in prison for discharging a firearm during the rally.[vii] Several other rally participants received lesser sentences for Unite the Correct related charges such as conspiracy to riot and misdemeanor assault.[8][nine][x]
Civil Suits
In improver to criminal cases, Unite the Right organizers have been dogged by civil lawsuits at both the state and federal levels, accusing them of conspiring to plan the rally and promote the violence that occurred in Charlottesville. As the lawsuits inch slowly forward, the defendants have been forced to find lawyers willing to represent them -- and cobble together funds to pay for their defense. This is no piece of cake job, equally crowdfunding sites and e-payment processors reacted to Unite the Right by redoubling efforts to foreclose extremists' admission to their services.
In some cases, the lawsuits take directly curbed white supremacists' public activity. During a May 28, 2019, podcast hosted by Jean-François Gariépy, a French-Canadian alt right YouTuber, Richard Spencer explained why he would not be speaking at the June 2019 Nationalist Solutions Conference; "This lawsuit that I'm facing is but totally detrimental to what I'1000 doing. I don't want to get into some public event where I could be blamed if something goes wrong." He went on to say, "If we can simply be sued if anyone on the other side gets hurt, we can't do anything publicly. This [lawsuit] needs to be answered. I'1000 only non prepare to do something right now and if I do, it is going to be on my own terms."[xi]
Michael Colina and his grouping, League of the South, are likewise eager for the lawsuits to stop. In a June 2019 vk.com post Loma wrote, "I want us to have a new League building in Alabama..." "...But because of pending lawsuits, nosotros are non going to be moving frontwards officially with fundraising at this fourth dimension."
Burdensome bans
Lawsuits are not the only irritant affecting white supremacists since Unite the Right. In the wake of the rally, some have been hit with a diversity of travel bans, which has in turn suppressed international and domestic collaboration. Several months later Unite the Right (November 2017), Richard Spencer was reportedly banned from entering 26 countries in Europe.[xii] 2 of his AltRight.com associates, Christoffer Dulny, editor and main of Nordic Alt-Right, and Artkos Media CEO Daniel Friberg, both Swedish white nationalists, were banned from returning to the United states of america after attention the rally in Charlottesville.[xiii] And in July 2018, Spencer was refused entry into Europe while en road to Sweden to speak at an alt right conference organized by Dulny.[xiv]
White supremacists have also been banned from domestic locations. Christopher Cantwell of New Hampshire, who pleaded guilty to 2 counts of misdemeanor assault and battery for using tear gas in Charlottesville, was banned from returning to the Commonwealth of Virginia for v years.[xv] 10 torch march participants, including Spencer, a Academy of Virginia alumnus, were banned from the University of Virginia campus for four years.[xvi] Equally part of a legal settlement to a lawsuit filed by Georgetown University Police force Center, some of the participating groups have agreed not to return to Charlottesville as part of any future armed protests in the city.[xvii]
Not all white supremacists take been affected by the travel bans. Since attention Unite the Right, South African white supremacist Simon Roche has continued to build his relationship with his American counterparts. In January 2019, Tennessee-based League of the Southward member Richard Hamblen, who also attended Unite the Right, traveled to Due south Africa to meet with Roche and other Suidlanders. And in June 2019, Roche returned to the U.S. to speak at the "Nationalist Solutions Symposium," a white supremacist conference co-hosted past the Council of Conservative Citizens and the American Liberty Political party, a party that promotes white nationalism.
Criminal Activity Post-Charlottesville
In the two years since Unite the Right, a number of Charlottesville rally goers have committed crimes motivated past white supremacist ideology.
Taylor Michael Wilson of Missouri was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison afterward pleading guilty to a terrorism accuse for his armed takeover of an Amtrak train as information technology passed through rural Nebraska. This took place just two months after attending the Unite the Right rally. During their investigation the FBI searched Wilson'due south home and reportedly found numerous firearms, Nazi propaganda, body armor, ammunition and pressure plates that tin be used to brand explosive devices.[xviii]
In October 2017, Unite the Correct attendees Tyler Eugene Tenbrink and Colton Gene Fears, both of Texas, were arrested in Gainesville, Florida, on charges of attempted homicide, for their roles in an altercation with counter-protesters following Richard Spencer'southward speech at the University of Florida. Tenbrink, who fired a handgun at counter-protesters during the atmospherics, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison afterwards pleading no contest to charges of aggravated attack and possession of a firearm by a felon.[xix] Colton Fears, who served as Tenbrink's getaway driver, was sentenced to v years in prison after pleading guilty to the charge of accessory after the fact to attempted outset caste murder.[xx]
In Nov 2018, another notable Unite the Right alumnus, Washington D.C. resident Jeffrey Raphiel Clark Jr., was charged with illegal transportation of a firearm beyond state lines, possession of an illegal loftier-chapters magazine and unlawful utilise of a controlled substance. According to the FBI and Clark's relatives, Jeffrey and his younger brother, Edward William Clark, who likewise attended Unite the Correct, were agile white supremacists who advocated for a race war between whites and non-whites. Jeffrey, an online associate of alleged Tree of Life synagogue attacker Robert Bowers, came to the attention of authorities afterwards family members contacted police enforcement out of concern that Clark might become fierce later his younger blood brother, Edward, killed himself the aforementioned solar day as the Tree of Life attack. Concluding month (July 23, 2019), Clark pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of firearms by a person who is an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Clark is scheduled to be sentenced on September thirteen.[xxi]
Ii individuals continued to Unite the Right are facing hate offense charges. In December 2018, Travis David Condor of Pennsylvania, who attended the Charlottesville rally, was one of viii individuals arrested for allegedly assaulting and shouting racial slurs at a blackness man in Lynnwood, Washington. Another human, Brandon Troy Higgs of Maryland, was found guilty in January 2020 of attempted voluntary manslaughter, start-caste assault, hate crimes and weapon charges. Higgs' case stemmed from a December 2018 altercation with 2 construction workers which started with racial slurs and ended with one worker existence shot.[xxii][xxiii] Higgs, using the screen name "Americana-Doc," allegedly made hundreds of posts in a Discord chat room focused on planning Unite the Correct.[xxiv]
Nearly attendees remain agile today
The vast majority of the white supremacist groups and individuals who attended Unite the Right remain agile today. Our analysis indicates that while there does not appear to exist a desire to reprise the events in Charlottesville, virtually of the attendees consider that weekend a significant and unifying moment for the movement.
The League of the S went so far as to create an honorary patch for their members who attended Charlottesville. Brian T. Conley, a racist skinhead from North Carolina who rallied shirtless while sporting a large swastika emblazed on his chest, at present has a commemorative tattoo that reads "CVILLE WRECKING CREW."
In dissimilarity, alt right leaders Patrick Casey and Thomas Rousseau have distanced their rebranded groups from the violence of that twenty-four hours, focusing instead on propaganda and recruitment tactics designed to limit the risk of individual exposure, negative media coverage, arrests and public backlash. In 2019, these two groups are responsible for more than than a dozen unannounced flash demonstrations and over 1,000 propaganda distributions in 45 states.
Patrick Fiddling, who traveled from California to participate in Unite the Right, has been much less concerned with optics. In 2018, he made an anti-Semitic campaign run for Dianne Feinstein's U.S. Senate seat, and post-obit his burdensome defeat, launched a nationwide "Name the Jew" tour, bringing anti-Semitic propaganda to cities across the country. In early 2019, Little registered as a presidential candidate with the Republican Party only dropped out of the race in May claiming in a YouTube video: "At this point it'southward just about waking people up to who'due south really in accuse and merely letting them know that the Jews run stuff. It doesn't matter who nosotros put into office."[i]
Some other political hopeful, James Orien Allsup went unchallenged in his quietly successful 2018 campaign to become a Whitman County (Washington) Republican Precinct Committee Officer. In January 2019, after learning of Allsup'south ties to the alt right, the local GOP denounced Allsup and voted unanimously to strip him of the powers held by commission officers, although local law allows him to keep his title.[ii] Since Charlottesville, Allsup has spoken at several white supremacist conferences, including the May 2019 American Renaissance conference. He is also a YouTube personality and a frequent podcaster.
A number of other Unite the Correct attendees have turned to podcasting as a relatively private way to amplify their message. Some examples include: Mike "Enoch" Peinovich, Jesse Dunstan (aka Sven/7th Son), and Alex McNabb, all of whom who host TRS (TheRightStuff). Former TWP members Tony Hovator and Matthew Parrott host "The Foundry" and Robert Warren Ray (aka Azzmador), a Texas-based Daily Stormer contributor, hosts "The Krypto Report." Notably, Ray and Will Zachary Smith, a Daily Stormer accomplice, are both fugitives from justice in the commonwealth of Virginia, stemming from their action in Charlottesville. Both men were indicted in June 2018 on felony charges for maliciously releasing gas on August 11, 2017, the night of the torch march.
Two years after hundreds of white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, that weekend's terrible events go along to shape and influence participants – and to reflect across a nation still coming to terms with that shocking brandish of violence and hate.
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Source: https://www.adl.org/blog/two-years-ago-they-marched-in-charlottesville-where-are-they-now
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