Popular Front (right-wing extremist organization)

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Algiz rune on Popular Front flag

Popular Front (also known as Popular Front International ) was a right-wing extremist organization from the United States that started as a street gang of right-wing extremist skinheads in 1994 and disbanded in 2012. She described herself as an international organization for people of European descent. In the media, the organization was referred to as a neo-Nazi organization and a racist skinhead group. The Anti-Defamation League has been observing the group since its inception in 1994 and sees it as a rapidly growing organization from the white power scene . The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) runs the group as a so-called "hate group".

history

Popular Front originated in the Oregon State Penitentiary in 1994 and was founded by Randall Krager , an Oregon right-wing extremist skinhead , and three other inmates. The first members came from similar local groups in the northwestern United States or were involved in the White Aryan Resistance . The organization is now represented in several countries and on three continents. The so-called "chapters" originated in Spain , Portugal , Germany , Australia , Canada and the United Kingdom . Supporter chapters were created in Croatia , Italy , Switzerland , and New Zealand .

In the United States, chapters existed in Oregon , Massachusetts , Arizona , California , New York , Pennsylvania , North Carolina , South Carolina , Washington , Illinois , Missouri , Florida , Wisconsin , Nebraska , Michigan , Oklahoma, and Virginia .

On December 10, 2009, History aired an episode of the Gangland television series dealing with the Popular Front.

organization

Like a rocker club, the Popular Front was divided into various hierarchically organized chapters, each of which was run independently. A trial period of at least one year was required to be accepted into the group. During this time, the Probationary member had to do various minor services for the chapter and prove himself in the group. According to the television series Gangland , some chapters also included crimes with a racist background. A shoelace code should also be used within the group. White shoelaces stood for “white power” and red shoelaces were a sign of assault. Strangers were also prohibited from using symbols and codes of the Popular Front without being a member themselves. The Popular Front held various festivities, including several rock-against-communism festivals in the year, where right-wing rock bands and speakers from the international right-wing extremist scene performed. Memorial days were also held for fallen or imprisoned members.

Althing of the Popular Front 2008

An annual event was the Althing in St. Louis , Missouri . The event was held at the Samuel Weaver Memorial Hall clubhouse. This is named after the son of Randy Weaver , who was shot dead by federal agents in 1992.

resolution

In 2012, the official dissolution was announced and websites and entries in social networks were deleted.

ideology

According to its website, the organization opposed National Socialism and White Supremacy , but wanted to defend its own race and the Popular Front family. These claims contrasted with various press reports and the ADL, which saw the group as a racist and anti-Semitic organization. According to research by the ADL, the Popular Front was one of the most active hate groups on the west coast of the United States, closely connected to the White Power movement.

One of the goals of the Popular Front was the establishment of a semi-autonomous small state for whites in the Pacific Northwest . This so-called " Northwest Territorial Imperative " is also pursued by the Aryan Nations , whose founder Richard Butler is considered to be the author. The Popular Front claimed that it had already acquired a large amount of land in Oregon and other locations.

According to their website, they also wanted to build a European-American civic center on this piece of land. This should serve as the national headquarters. A school, a library, a museum and a rehabilitation facility were to be connected to this center. In addition, agriculture should be practiced.

crime

Although the Popular Front externally opposed violence, some members of the group were implicated in various politically motivated crimes.

  • On June 1, 2003, Kurtis Monschke, leader of a probationary chapter, received a life sentence. He and three other perpetrators killed a mentally disturbed African American homeless man in Tacoma , Washington. During the trial, the Popular Front distanced itself from the act and called for the death penalty .
  • In November 2007, the 22-year-old racist Gabriel Laskey was sentenced to six months in prison, six months in curfew and five years probation for throwing stones decorated with swastikas through windows of the Beth Israel Temple in Eugene , Oregon while he was together with other people a service was held in the synagogue . In April 2007, his brother Jacob Laskey, a leader of the group, pleaded guilty to planning violent acts. He was found guilty of several acts, including conspiracy, a bomb threat against a courthouse, intimidation of witnesses to a murder and illegal possession of weapons. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
  • Another member of the group, who was also part of the American Front , fired ten shots at the synagogue. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Music scene

The band Intimidation One , which among other things released records with English-language cover versions of the German band Landser , came from the environment of the Popular Front.

Web links

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ a b Gangland, Season 6: Skinhead Assault, 2009
  2. ↑ a b Volksfront International (July 21, 2009), Volksfront International ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. VF . Retrieved July 21, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.volksfrontinternational.com
  3. ^ "Museum attack illuminates extremists" ELAINE SILVESTRINI, KRISTA KLAUS. Tampa Tribune . Tampa, Fla .: Jun 12, 2009. pg. 9
  4. ^ "Campaign aims to stop gang recruiting" Rebecca Nolan The Register - Guard . Eugene, Or .: Sep 30, 2005. pg. D.1
  5. ↑ "Hate crimes: Racist violence on rise; Experts say people lashing out, election backlash linked to surge" JOHN P. KELLY. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass .: Jan 24, 2009. pg. 3
  6. ↑ a b c Violent neo-Nazi skinhead froup Volksfront growing in prominence on West Coast and internationally ( Memento of the original from August 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Anti-Defamation League press release. Retrieved September 26, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adl.org
  7. ↑ Heidi Beirich and Mark Potok (2007), Two Faces of Volksfront ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved September 26, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.splcenter.org
  8. ↑ a b c d "Popular Front." Extremist Groups: Information for Students. Gael. 2006. Online: HighBeam Research ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) 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. (Preview). April 14, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.highbeam.com
  9. ↑ Philip Dawdy (December 12, 2001), The flickering torch of racism ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) 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. . Willamette Week . Retrieved September 26, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wweek.com
  10. ↑ Active US Hate Groups in 2005 ( Memento from May 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved September 26, 2007 (web archive)
  11. ↑ [1]
  12. ↑ Recent Activities Popular Front Extremism in America 2005 ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . ADL VF Recent Activities July 20, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adl.org
  13. ↑ SPLC Volksfront Althing ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) 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. . SPLC VF Althing July 20, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.splcenter.org
  14. ↑ a b Volksfront International (July 21, 2009), Volksfront International About campaign ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) 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. VF . Retrieved July 21, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.volksfrontinternational.com
  15. ↑ Volksfront - Ideology 2009 ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . ADL Popular Front Ideology July 20, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adl.org
  16. ^ Popular Front Report . Prison_Offenders. 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  17. ↑ a b c Popular Front Report (PDF; 504 kB) Anti-Defamation League. 2007. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. 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. Retrieved January 16, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adl.org
  18. ↑ FBI - OREGON WHITE SUPREMACIST SENTENCED FOR ATTACK ON SYNAGOGUE; US Department of Justice Press Release; November 14, 2007 http://portland.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2007/supremacistattack111407.htm ( Memento from December 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  19. ↑ FBI - WHITE SUPREMACIST SENTENCED TO 11 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTACK ON SYNAGOGUE IN OREGON; US Department of Justice Press Release; April 3, 2007 http://portland.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2007/synagogueattack040307.htm ( Memento from May 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive )