American Front
American Front (AF) is a far-right organization based in the United States . It was founded in 1987 in San Francisco and is one of the oldest active right-wing extremist groups in the USA.
history
Robert Heick founded the American Front in 1987 based on the British National Front . It was one of the first right-wing extremist skinhead groups in the United States. The American Front and its founder became known throughout America through a television appearance on the talk show Geraldo , during which there was a scuffle between the guests and host Geraldo Rivera had a broken nose. Heck moved to Portland in the 1990s and ran the organization with Thomas Johnson, but left the group a little later. In the late 1980s, it was suggested that industrial musician Boyd Rice might have been a member of the organization, as he was featured on some press photos with the AF lettering. Rice himself claims that he was only friends with Heick and that the photo was taken during a session for a teenage magazine for the American Front.
By 1992, the American Front spread over the entire east coast of the United States. In 1993 James Porazzo took over the management of the group and relocated the headquarters to Harrison, Arkansas . Under his leadership, the group lost influence as there were many disputes within the organization, in particular his leadership position was challenged by supporters of Heick and Johnson. By the beginning of the 21st century, the American Front had few supporters and was on the verge of disintegration.
In 2002, David Lynch took over the management position after Porazzo resigned. A larger group is also based in Florida. Lynch initially concentrated all activities in his hometown of Sacramento , but then began working with skinhead groups and gangs across California. He also co-founded an international skinhead organization called Troops of Tomorrow and a prisoner organization called Prison Skins . The American Front is now based in California , which is where it has the most supporters. The rest of the membership is now spread across Utah , Michigan, and Massachusetts . Today the group has only about 50 followers. On March 2, 2011, David Lynch was shot dead by an unknown perpetrator at his home in Citrus Heights , Sacramento County .
ideology
Heick initially held the " Third Position ", a right-wing extremist position that rejects both communism and capitalism and is looking for a third way. The American Front is openly anti-Semitic and racist . Right -wing extremist skinheads and neo-Nazis were recruited as members from the start . At the beginning they worked closely with the terrorist group The Order .
Under Porazzo there were efforts to work with other radical groups that did not correspond to the political worldview. Porazzo claimed to have worked with the Nation of Islam and the more left-wing extremist groups Earth First and the Animal Liberation Front . But there is no proof of the collaboration. Rather, from the start, the focus was on supporting The Order and working with Tom Metzger's White Aryan Resistance .
With David Lynch's takeover in 2002, the American Front changed its ideological beliefs and abandoned the third position ideology. Lynch saw himself as "Pan-Aryan" and tried to unite the various skinhead groups in the United States through his leadership role in the American Front. For the past few years under his leadership, the AF has continued to provide support to members of The Order currently in custody or to honor dead members of the organization. In addition to The Order, the AF now works with various skinhead groups. In 2005, Stormtroop 16 (the 16 is an abbreviation for AF) was founded, a right-wing rock band.
crime
Numerous criminal acts have been committed, including racially or politically motivated assault, by members and those serving on the American Front. In 1994, a member of the group was arrested in connection with a bombing at a meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Tacoma and sentenced to 11½ years in prison. James Porazzo, the former head of the organization, was sentenced to a year imprisonment along with another member in 1998 after they jointly attacked a member of the Anti-Racist Action. David Lance Gardner received a 105-month prison sentence in 2006 after he and two other members beat up an African-American . One accomplice was sentenced to 57 months and alleged that the act was some sort of ritual of admission to the American Front. Another perpetrator received a reduced sentence after testifying against members of the National Alliance .
Web links
- American Front on the Anti-Defamation League website
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b American Front. (No longer available online.) Anti-Defamation League , archived from the original on March 7, 2011 ; Retrieved March 24, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d American Front: Background. (No longer available online.) Anti-Defamation League , archived from the original on March 5, 2011 ; Retrieved March 24, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d American Front: Leadership. (No longer available online.) Anti-Defamation League , archived from the original on March 6, 2011 ; Retrieved March 24, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ "With Pitty Towards None" from Tangents - Interview. Official Boyd Rice website, accessed March 27, 2011 .
- ↑ Heidi Beirich: American Front Founder David Lynch Shot to Death. Southern Poverty Law Center , March 2, 2011, accessed March 29, 2011 .
- ↑ 'Powerful' white supremacist leader shot dead in his home. Daily Mail , March 4, 2011, accessed March 29, 2011 .
- ↑ David Holthouse: American Front: The Sequel. In: Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center , 2007, accessed March 29, 2011 .
- ^ American Front: Recent Activity. (No longer available online.) Anti-Defamation League , archived from the original on March 9, 2011 ; Retrieved March 24, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ American Front: Criminal Activity. (No longer available online.) Anti-Defamation League , archived from the original on March 6, 2011 ; Retrieved March 27, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
