Breaking the Skins

Josh Fiedler (Kevin Scanlon photos)

Arizona skinheads are nothing new to Suzy Buchanan. The Cole murder that is discussed in this article was one that Suzy covered relentlessly while living there. She has now teamed up with the Southern Poverty Law Center and is on a well deserved fast track. In her latest report, she proves why I enjoy her writing so much and why I like to think of her as a friend.

TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Breaking the Skins
Matt Browning spent years in undercover work targeting violent racists. The Arizona Skinhead scene has yet to recover.
by Susy Buchanan



PHOENIX, Ariz. -- On March 24, 2003, neo-Nazi Skinhead leader Josh Fiedler sat regally on a sofa in the living room of his suburban Phoenix home.
Fiedler's Skinhead followers sprawled on the floor at his feet fondling pistols and slurping bottles of St. Pauli Girl while their charismatic führer unwrapped a series of rather redundant birthday gifts -- pair after pair of Dickies workpants in black, red and khaki.

Fiedler's former girlfriend, Jessica Nelson, gazed up at him longingly. Once a Skinhead matriarch, Nelson got strung out on meth while Fiedler was in prison and had only recently been allowed to rejoin the crew.

Sean Gaines, Fiedler's intoxicated second-in-command whose rap sheet included a felony conviction for bashing a Latino man in the head with a tree branch, tried to give Fiedler his pistol.

Fiedler reached for it on instinct, paused, and then snapped his hand away as if he had been burned, laughing uproariously. The terms of Fiedler's parole mentioned something about avoiding firearms, and he wasn't ready to go back to prison yet.

Skinhead activity in the Phoenix area was on an upward spiral, as dramatically evidenced by a high-profile murder five months earlier, and Fiedler was one of the scene's rising stars, holding press conferences for television cameras, posing for the cover of the local alternative weekly and clearly delighting in his role as a celebrity Skinhead. He seemed to genuinely believe he was untouchable.

Fiedler joked with his crew that day about this being the first birthday he could remember that he wasn't celebrating behind bars.

One man was determined to make it his last.

Starsky and Hutch

"Do I know you?" a confused Josh Fiedler asked, squinting into the face of the detective cuffing him in front of his home several months later.

"Yeah, you do, you moron," responded Matt Browning, a Mesa detective who spent 10 years off and on working Arizona's white power circles -- and two years in an intensive undercover period that broke two major murder cases. Overall, Browning's work has wreaked havoc on Arizona's Skinhead scene.

Fiedler's arrest came more than a year after he led a home invasion of a family whom he robbed of jewelry, guns and two pounds of marijuana. It was a typically brutal Skinhead affair -- a disabled child was duct-taped to a chair while Fiedler and a cohort ransacked the home. Fiedler wore a ski mask, but he forgot to cover up a telltale tattoo on his neck and a piercing between his eyes showed through the mask. When police working the case contacted Browning, he knew right away who the culprit was -- the tattoo and piercing removed all doubt. As a result, Fiedler was arrested, tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Browning's remarkable ability to insinuate himself into a particularly ugly and vicious segment of society has helped pull a number of suspected violent criminals off the street -- including eight accused murderers. His is an uncommon profession wrought with stress and danger. But Browning makes it look easy.

"There are very few detectives that take an interest in something, develop a passion for it and focus all their energy on it. Not many detectives are willing to invest the personal time," says Browning's sergeant Mike Ivey. "He's really a lightning rod for this stuff in this area."

And a successful one at that. Out of the original 37 members and associates of Fiedler and his Skinhead crew that Browning collected intelligence on, 18 have been sentenced to prison, are in custody awaiting trial, or have been released after spending time in jail.

Of that group, seven were indicted on charges of capital murder. These were investigations that consumed Browning for more than two years, drawing him deeper into the violent world of Skinheads than he'd ever gone before.

Although Browning took satisfaction in the arrests, the toll undercover work has taken on him -- and still does -- is evident.

Phone calls and meetings with Skinheads inevitably disrupt weekends and holidays.

The gun he carries with him constantly is a burden he yearns to put down.

One of his young sons sleeps with a kitchen knife under his pillow, terrified that his father's work may somehow harm him.

The gruesome details of the cases he works etch themselves into his brain, as does the knowledge that for every skin he puts in jail there will be another to take his place.

His is a lonely road.

Charlie Fuller, founder of the 360-member Undercover Law Enforcement Officers Association and a former ATF agent for 23 years, estimates that only 2% of all law enforcement officers are involved in undercover operations, which he says are an invaluable tool but also the most dangerous part of police work. "Those guys go into very stressful situations on a daily basis," Fuller says. "People think it's like Starsky and Hutch. But it's nothing like that at all."


Joining the Underworld
Now a muscular 6-foot, 4-inches with giant hands and steel blue eyes he uses to punctuate his sentences, Browning grew up in Phoenix playing football in high school and dreaming of becoming a forest ranger or a cop. He joined the Mesa Police Department 15 years ago, and it was through his work on the gang squad that he began to take an interest in political extremists.

As the only white member of an otherwise all-Hispanic squad working Latino street gangs, Browning had grown tired of being the guy who got to stay with the car. In 1996, of his own volition, Browning began looking into violent white supremacists.

"Initially, I was interested in the freemen and constitutionalists [parts of the militia movement that peaked in the mid-1990s]," Browning recalls. "As I started working the militia angle, I found out that a lot of the militia groups had Klan ties. So I joined the Klan." It was surprisingly easy.

"You know that stupid little Klan passport, that card you get from [Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard] Thom Robb? That got me all over the place. People look at that and they don't question it."

Browning also joined a series of neo-Nazi groups: Aryan Nations, National Alliance, Volksfront, and the World Church of the Creator.

In 1997, he was transferred from gangs to Mesa's intelligence unit.

"When I became intel, I devoted almost all my time to working these guys. If there was a meeting, I'd be there. When the National Alliance started in Phoenix, I was their No. 4 guy, and it got to where they wanted me to run the East Valley chapter." Browning declined the invitation.

He used an alias and told his targets that he was a business owner infuriated because Hispanics had stolen all of his equipment. Neither his story nor his identity was questioned. Not once.

"At that time, they were so hard up for people they didn't check anything out," Browning says. "Now, I would probably backstop everything. Now, they are sending people to polygraph school to check the new people coming in."

Browning admits he made a few mistakes along the way, like the time he brought Mexican beer to a white-power barbecue. "I'd been born and raised in Arizona, so I was thinking I would just get a case of Corona. I even got the little limes. That was bad," he says, shaking his head with wry amusement. "They saw it and looked at me and I said, 'You know what? I'll be right back.' I went and bought some Heineken."

'Welcome Back'

Browning worked fugitives for the FBI from 2000 until 2002, but kept up his contacts as best he could, using the story that a friend of his had been killed in a car crash in Idaho, where he had gone to take care of the widow and children.

When his stint with the FBI was up, Browning decided to call Jerry Harbin, leader of the Phoenix unit of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, and try to reenter the scene. His timing was perfect. Harbin invited him to an Alliance meeting in Phoenix attended by a cast of characters that would make the unflappable Browning more nervous than any other situation in his 15-year career.

On a smoldering day in August 2002, Browning pulled into the lot of the La Quinta Inn in Phoenix. He knew he was in the right place -- parked nearby were a jacked-up Chevy Blazer with 44-inch mud tires, a primer-grey station wagon converted into a 4-by-4, and several other vehicles spray-painted with crude Iron Crosses.

Browning stepped out of his truck and walked across the lot to the spot where Harbin stood conversing with a half-dozen burly, tattooed Skinheads.

"Welcome back," Harbin said warmly as he embraced Browning.

After some perfunctory small talk, the group strode through the lobby doors, past slack-jawed receptionists, and on to a conference room set up with 50 or so chairs. Browning was lucky to get one of the last seats near the back. He took a moment to glance around the room, which quickly filled to standing room only with the most hard-core Skinheads he had ever seen.

Nerves set in.

"These were real skins, real violent people. They were bragging about beating people down," Browning recalls. Unlike armchair neo-Nazis who talk trash about other races but rarely take action, "these were guys who actually went on hunting trips. They actually would go and hunt and find their victims and beat the crap out of them."

Browning called his surveillance back-up team. He asked them to move in closer in case things went bad.

Murder 101

After a while, Jerry Harbin, clad in flip-flops and khaki shorts, took his place behind a podium draped with a National Alliance flag. He began the meeting by asking the participants to introduce themselves.

The Skinheads were all members of Josh Fiedler's Unit 88, and the names they rattled off would come to be very familiar to Browning over the next two years: Chris Whitley, Sammy Compton, Justin LaRue, Patrick Bearup and others Browning would eventually help put behind bars.

Harbin welcomed the skins with open arms. "Unit 88, we're glad you're here. You are the Skinhead arm of the National Alliance. You are the enforcer arm of the National Alliance," he told them.

"I don't have any problems with your tattoos, but if you go out and do things, cover up your tattoos so nobody can see them," Harbin cautioned. Harbin's Phoenix unit was preparing to host the new Alliance chairman, Erich Gliebe, at a summit, and Harbin wanted Unit 88, which would be acting as security for the event, to make a favorable impression.

Harbin, an avid thespian, seemed to channel Hitler as he launched into an inspired rant, waving his arms and throwing out German words as he spoke of sacrificing a pig on a hilltop as part of an Odinist ritual. He told the crowd of his efforts to promote the movement while working as a respiratory technician at Phoenix Children's Hospital, talking to the young children he encountered there about racist variants of Odinism and handing out tiny Thor's hammer pendants.

Browning's eyes swept the room as Harbin spoke, memorizing faces, taking note of allegiances and tattoos, the most blatant of which belonged to the young Skinhead seated directly in front of him, Chris Whitley, who had the word "CRACKER" inked on the back of his shaven head.

After the meeting, Harbin announced that William Worley, the Alliance's sergeant-at-arms -- a cage fighter who was also a convicted sex offender -- would be teaching a class on close-quarters combat for anyone interested.

Nearly all the Skinheads stayed.

Two months later, three of those Skinheads -- Whitley, Compton and LaRue -- allegedly would put their training to use. The brutality of that night still haunts Browning, whose work eventually helped piece together what happened.


Trouble at River City
It was on Oct. 16, 2002, that Cole Bailey Jr, a slight, white 20-year-old stopped by the River City pool hall in North Phoenix to drop off an employment application. After filling it out, he headed back into the street to wait for a taxi.

As Bailey came and went, according to witness statements and police reports, a group of Skinheads, including Unit 88 members Sammy Compton, Chris Whitley and Justin LaRue, had been inside playing pool and drinking while two of their girlfriends, Cassandra Woods and Kelly Coffman, looked on.

Soon enough, there was trouble -- bad trouble. Woods accused a young woman in the bar of flirting with Compton, her boyfriend. The two women began to fight.

When a bouncer stepped in, Compton, Whitley and others joined in the brawl, breaking a pool cue over the bouncer's back, knocking him to the ground and kicking him.

A female bartender was kicked in the head until the blood vessels in her eyes burst.

At one point, Whitley ripped off his shirt and screamed out his name and prison identification number. "Does anybody want a piece of me?" he roared.

Eventually, the bouncers got control of the skins and tossed them out of the pool hall. A few feet away, Cole Bailey was waiting for his ride.

Compton, jacked up on beer and adrenaline, goose-stepped around the parking lot yelling, "White power! White pride!" Bailey couldn't help but look.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Compton bellowed.

"Nothing, I'm just waiting for a cab," Bailey replied.

Compton allegedly slammed Bailey between the eyes with a pair of brass knuckles. Bailey's glasses went flying and he crumpled to the ground. He struggled up and tried to run. But within seconds, the pack of Skinheads was on him.

They kicked him repeatedly, yelling, "Beat the nigger," as their steel-toed boots crushed his jaw, nose and eye sockets into the pavement.

The Skinheads fled. By the time a pool hall bouncer got to Bailey's side, the boy was so badly beaten that the man couldn't tell what race he was. Soon, Cole Bailey was dead.

Breaking the Bailey Case

Skinheads had been relatively quiet in the area for years, and nobody in law enforcement outside Matt Browning had taken much of an interest in them.

But that October night, everything changed.

"The secret and key to working Skinheads is gathering intelligence, knowing who they are, what they drive, where they live and who they associate with," Browning says. The information Browning had been gathering was about to pay off.

Within hours of the Cole Bailey murder, Browning got a call from the Phoenix Police Department. "They asked me if I knew Chris Whitley and I said I did," Browning recalls. Whitley was "CRACKER," the Skinhead that Browning had sat behind at the National Alliance meeting in August.

That wasn't all he knew. Browning had met with Harbin just three days before the murder, and the Alliance leader had asked him to take over the Unit 88 crew. "Harbin told me I was to run the Skinheads through Whitley and Fiedler," Browning remembers.

"The Phoenix detectives asked me who are these guys, and I start giving them names. Then they asked me where I thought these guys might be," Browning says. "At this point, I could really think like a Skinhead: If I killed a person in North Phoenix, where would I go?"

He gave them the name and address of the home of a Skinhead in Apache Junction, far enough away, he reasoned, for them to feel safe. "Sure enough, after we caught one of the suspects and interviewed him, that's where they went. At that point, people started paying attention to what I had to say."

All three fugitives were eventually arrested. Browning played a central part in the investigation, but he can't talk about his role publicly until the charges are resolved in court. Whitley, Compton and LaRue could face the death penalty if they are convicted at trial later this year.

The Cole Bailey case and its incredible brutality riveted the Phoenix area as details unfolded in local news accounts. But it turned out that this wasn't the only murder case that went back to Josh Fiedler's Unit 88.


Clockwise from top left: Chris Whitley, Josh Fiedler, Sean Gaines, Jessica Nelson, Patrick Bearup and Jason Larue



Butchers at Work
Browning first heard stories about a body in the desert in June 2002, but it would be a year before he located the remains -- little more than a jawbone by then -- and several more months after that until he could make any arrests.

Browning can't talk about the details of this case, either, as it has yet to go to trial. But police records largely compiled by Browning spell out the authorities' allegations.

In early 2002, these records say, Jessica Nelson, Josh Fiedler's former girlfriend, was living with friends of Fiedler's while he was away in prison. They were Cecilia and Bruce Mathes and Bruce's brother, Mark.

In February 2002, eight months before the Cole Bailey murder, Nelson allegedly decided that Mark Mathes had stolen money from her purse. She called Sean Gaines and asked him to take care of the situation.

Gaines assembled a crew, including long-time Skinhead Patrick Bearup and a new initiate, or "freshcut," Jeremy Johnson. Police say the three reached the home that Jessica shared with Mathes around 10 at night, armed with a baseball bat, a shotgun and a large knife.

In a prearranged setup, Mathes and Nelson were sitting in the backyard smoking, drinking beer and playing with their cats when the Skinheads rolled up. They quickly surrounded Mathes, according to the police account.

"You fucked up," Gaines said, pointing the 12-gauge at Mathes' head.

Gaines allegedly ordered Johnson to "take his legs out" with the baseball bat. Johnson swung at Mathes' knees, ankles and back. Nelson jumped in and punched him in the face. With Mathes on the ground, police say, Gaines smashed his head with the butt of the shotgun until Mathes' screaming finally stopped.

Bearup dragged Mathes to the car Johnson had borrowed from his girlfriend and heaved him into the trunk. With Mathes moaning behind them, police say, Johnson and Gaines drove the car more than an hour north, to a remote area known as Swastika Mine. Bearup and Nelson followed in a separate car.

When they reached the mine, they stopped near an embankment. Johnson opened the trunk to find Mathes staring at him, gurgling from his injuries as he tried to speak.

Bearup and Nelson ripped the clothes from his body, police say. They used bolt cutters to cut off one of his fingers when they couldn't easily slide a ring Nelson fancied from his finger. Mathes screamed, but Gaines again silenced him with the butt of his shotgun. Then Gaines allegedly shot Mathes twice in the face. His lifeless body was thrown into a ravine.

It wasn't long before some of the Skinheads had bragged about the crime to friends. Jeremy Johnson -- who eventually confessed to police and agree to cooperate in the capital murder trial of his comrades -- told his girlfriend, Elizabeth Hall, what had happened that night. After all, it was her car he'd borrowed to transport the body.

Several months later, when Hall was no longer Johnson's girlfriend, she went to the police with her story. Quantities of Mathes' blood were recovered from her trunk.

Browning worked the case until the suspects' arrest in September 2003. He is expected to testify at their upcoming trial.

To Hunt the Hunters

What gets to Browning is that no matter how many Skinheads he sends to jail, the problem seems to remain constant. He describes it as a never-ending circle.

"You have your main core group that you are working, you work them and all of a sudden, pow! You get them on charges and they go to prison. Because of the way the prison system works, they go in, become educated, become more versed in combating law enforcement, their beliefs become stronger. They come out and it's really still for a while and then it starts building up and building up and then your circle starts over again. Your core group is back out, just stronger, wiser and more and more violent than before."

After spending much of the last decade working undercover in white power groups, Browning has mixed emotions. "If I had to do this all over again, I wouldn't," he says in a moment of frustration.

But it's hard to believe him. Minutes later, Browning is talking with excitement about a project he started last year, the Skinhead Intelligence Network (SIN), a tri-state network composed of 60 law enforcement officers from Arizona, Nevada and Utah who meet on a regular basis to trade information on Skinheads. Browning hopes in the future to hold training seminars and take SIN national.

He wants to testify before Congress one day and lobby for stronger hate crime laws that would call for mandatory sentencing for those convicted of crimes committed because of the race, orientation or religion of the victim.

He says law enforcement needs to take Skinheads more seriously and look into using racketeering laws to take down entire organizations, as he had hoped to do in the Cole Bailey case.

"We started looking at RICO [the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act], but before we could use RICO on them, the NA guys got into a pissing match and pretty much destroyed the National Alliance before we could do it."

As he talks, his excitement and passion for his work is genuine, and the weight seems to lift from his shoulders. The stress, frustration and constant threat of violence that come with the job are things he is quite willing to shake off once he focuses back on his work. Browning seems to relish the challenge of beating Skinheads at their own game without ever really playing it, and he's full of advice, not discouragement, for those considering following a similar path.

"I think the most important thing to remember if you want to go undercover is do a lot of research," Browning says. "You can't go into a Skinhead meeting and say hey, I like your suspenders [the Skinhead term is braces]. They'll kick you out. Just like they will if you go into a Skinhead meeting wearing patrol-issued boots."

Learning to recognize things like white power tattoos is important, he says. And it's critical to earn the trust and respect of your targets -- just like it's important to choose the right targets.

"Skinheads are extremely easy to work once you get into it. There's that courting time, and you have to know who the players are and if the group you are getting into is worth the effort," Browning says. "Are they just a bunch of beer-drinking guys who wear a swazi [swastika] shirt now and then or are they the ones who are actually going out there and doing boot parties?"

Browning sits back and smiles.

"I want the boot party guys. I want to party with them. I want the guys who go on hunting trips and kill Mexican nationals and dump their bodies. That's who I want to go after."



Intelligence Report
Spring 2006

HURT ME - I LOVE IT!

Masochistic is, perhaps, the best way to describe the neo-Nazi’s in the 21st Century. Recent events over the course of the past year are quite convincing that many of those on the racist right suffer from a pervasive and debilitating problem and nothing better explains that malady than Masochistic Personality Disorder.

Imagine donning a uniform or costume that when publicly worn enrages onlookers often to the point of violent reactions. Consider, if you will, the life of someone who hates others vehemently and openly, promotes an ideology that to most is incomprehensible, and lives in a continuous state of fear.

Being a neo-Nazi is a hard-knock life. Most people go through life engaging in a job or career that is either rewarding or fulfilling, and sometimes both. As long as our work is up to par and our work ethic acceptable we have little fear of being fired or ousted. We come home after work to our family, friends and neighbors and try to experience many of life’s little pleasures. Generally speaking, we lead satisfying lives in the overall realm of things.

A neo-Nazi, on the other hand, does not know such peace. In the workplace the fear of exposure is a constant. Whereas most of us engage in daily conversations that may lead us into areas of disagreement with our co-workers or boss, we usually have little fear over the effect that might have on our employment. But the neo-Nazi dares not express his true thoughts or opinions lest he be relinquished from his position quickly and without remorse.

Throughout the Nazi movement, time and again, you hear the worries of those who use screen – names and refuse to disclose personal information for fear of reprisals. Yet, when looking at the situation over long periods of time it becomes more and more evident that this type of “fear” is almost pleasurable to the Nazi. Should he lose his station or position he is quick to play the victim and fails to see the rationale behind his banishment. The loss of one’s job because of unacceptable personal actions becomes a badge of honor.

This same faulty logic or behavior carries through into virtually every area of the Nazi’s life. Consider, for example, Ken Matthews in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ken is a neo-Nazi and heads up the local unit of the National Socialist Movement. He had been living in Grand Rapids unnoticed by his neighbors as just another guy. When it became known that he is a Nazi and that he invited other Nazi’s to Grand Rapids, a demonstration was held outside of his house and his neighbors were absolutely outraged to find that such a human being lived in their midst. Yet, Ken will now be content to hang with a small contingent of other outcasts and commisserate over his mistreatment. This is dysfunctional at best and pathological at worst.

To further their masochistic yearnings, the neo-Nazi’s subject themselves to many things that can only be characterized as demeaning.

When viewing some pictures of some of the more recent rallies held by the NSM and their commrades, I was struck by thoughts of what it must be like to stand in a city where you are not welcome, wave swastikas in the faces of others knowing that the reaction is going to be negative in the extreme, face hundreds who protest your very existence, attempt to speak over the boos and catcalls and rejection from the onlookers, fail to have your message heard, be called hideous names, know that there are some in the crowd who want your blood, require police protection from those opposed, have objects thrown at you, and be personna non gratis wherever you go.

Sane people never experience such things. Even during the most heated of debates or the advancing of one’s own politcal views, we rarely ever witness the type or the scope of rejection that is directed at neo Nazi’s.

To be certain, there are those within our communities and neighborhoods who, perhaps, are bigoted and maybe harbor racist views. Yet, they don’t march down our streets waving swastika banners. They don’t adorn the entrances of our government buildings with their brown shirts and combat boots. They don’t screech at the top of their lungs about the evils of the Jews and the dangers of race-mixing. And they don’t talk about the Day of the Rope or how the United States must be ethnically cleansed.

It would appear that those who do engage in this behavior are not only gluttons for punishment, but derive some sort of perverse pleasure out of being the recipients of some pretty strong negativity. Masochistic? I am beginning to think so. What else could possibly explain it? Setting aside the thirst for attention that belongs to the Bill White’s and the Hal Linder’s of the “movement,” there still remains a large contingent who just can’t seem to get enough of being slapped around and beaten both physically and emotionally. They thrive on it – they live for it – and they just keep coming back for more.

Bill Sweats the Small Stuff

Photo courtesy of AP


Bill White, sweating profusely, complained that the NSM was taken to a dirt field and searched. He bemoaned the fact that their shined boots and spiffy "uniforms" got all dusty. Personally, I think a dirt field was just where they belonged.

Contrary to Bill's estimate of 160 NSM members, it is reported that approximately 80 took to the State Capitol steps in Lansing and that there were 500+ counter demonstrators. All in all, things went about as anticipated with 11 arrests of protestors mostly for not moving fast enough or getting too close to the Nazi zone.

Of course, we will hear an entirely different take from Bill as he just has to have the drama.

In Your Face Action - Ya Gotta Love It!

Graphic from Direct Action.net

I just love the graphic!!! Now, I have to tell ya that the guys in Lansing are my heroes today. They are doing it just right. They found the house of the head Nazi in Grand Rapids - the one who invited the rest of the Nazi's to that community. You see, he nestled in quietly among the good folks there and they had no idea what was operating in their neighborhood - and that would have been okay if he hadn't decided that this was a good place to bring their message of hate.

When they found the Nazi's abode, they went up and down the streets alerting the neighbors to the fact that Nazism was alive and well and sending out invitations in their own backyard. Informational flyers were handed out and some pictures were taken. There was NO violence, but Bill White had an up-close and personal experience again.

This is the information for those in the area:


NOT WANTED

- RACISM IN OUR COMMUNITY

NAME: Ken Mathews

ADDRESS: 41 Grove St NE

Grand Rapids, MI 49505-4914

PHONE: 616-451-9194

Ken Mathews is the southwest unit leader of the white supremacist Neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement.

Last summer on July 9th, 2005, Ken and a handful of Neo-Nazi boneheads distributed racist literature in the Tamarack St and Webster St vicinity of Grand Rapids.

This Saturday (April 22nd), Neo-Nazis will be holding a rally on the grounds of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing to celebrate the birthday of Adolf Hitler.

Ken has invited over a hundred Neo-Nazis to use Grand Rapids as a staging point for the rally. Neo-Nazis will begin arriving in Grand Rapids this Friday.

The period around April 20th (Adolf Hitler’s birthday) is a significant date for Neo-Nazis and has historically marked stepped up violent activity by white supremacists. The day coincides with recent American tragedies including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Ruby Ridge standoff, and the Columbine high school shootings.

Neo-Nazis have placed reservations (#176180 – rooms blocked off under Ken Mathews) for this Friday and Saturday night at the Motel 6 at 777 3 Mile Rd at the corner of Alpine Ave (616-784-9375).

If you object to having dozens of Neo-Nazis gathering in your community, we encourage you to contact the Accor reservation center at 800-221-4542 and the Motel 6 reservation center at 800-466-8356 and let them know your concerns. Contact Ken Mathews directly to let him know that his issues are not popularly welcomed in this community.

If you have more information about racist activity in the area, please contact Michigan Anti-Fascists at 313-795-9910 or email

Don't Fence Me In

The ailing and aging Bill White was dealt a substantial blow today in a Lansing court. As the leader of the National Socialist Movement had his motion for an injunction against the City of Lansing was heard, he hoped that no fences would be erected to protect the citizens against the Nazi craziness that is brewing there. However, Judge Manderfield saw the situation differently and permitted the City to take whatever steps they deemed necessary to corral the animals and insure the public safety. Kudos to Judge Manderfield.

It has been obvious to those following the National Socialist Movement and Bill White that Mr. White has been suffering some sort of physical decline over the last couple of months. While the nature of the malady is not yet clear, it is almost certain that should White's failing health continue to worsen the National Socialist Movement will be looking for another mouthpiece.

As events continue to unfold in Lansing, we are heartened by the resolve of those opposing the Nazi's to insure that any message of hate they intend to attack that fair city with will go unheard and be met with great resistance.

Bill...Lansing...Nazi's...

Bill White's claim on a recent TV interview that the National Socialist Movement's membership numbers in the thousands and that they are going to put 200 Nazi's on the steps of the Lansing, Michigan's State Capitol is nothing more than sheer folly. One thing that I noticed, however, is that there wasn't any discussion about the Nazi's moving their venue to the Diversity Rally that is being staged about a mile away.

We all know that Bill White lies and lives in a land that rivals Oz for fantasy. In two of his most recent articles he absolutely defies any rationale or logic and his recent claims on WOODTV just show you how utterly delusional he is.

I speak a little about his recent actions and about the upcoming Lansing event. I am particularly concerned that the police would even consider letting them demonstrate at the Diversity Rally in Lansing. You can hear the audio here:

BACKLASH

It is not even remotely feasible to me that law-enforcement could ever condone or defend allowing a group of neo-Nazi's near a venue that is meant to be one that is safe and filled with those embracing diversity and providing a security zone to those who feel threatened by the very presence of such people.

Michigan has been plagued with problems of racist groups and neo-Nazi activities for quite some time now and I know for a fact that there are many good people there working dilligently to make that area a Nazi-free zone.

April 19th and 20th are significant dates to those on the racist right and are generally times that we must watch and be vigilant because of the activities that certain groups like to engage in. It is incumbent upon all law-enforcement agencies to be alert and cognizant of the potential for violence.

Question

I would like some feedback on something that I have been thinking about and it concerns a lot of you who frequently post here.

For the last few weeks I have been considering what goes on here. There have been some absolutely great and insightful discussions on this blog - and that is a very good thing. Regardless of which side of the political or philosophical spectrum you call home, many of you have been involved in some really deep and thought provoking conversations. We do, however, have a problem.

I understand that these threads often take a totally different path than the initial post intends - and I have no problem with that as long as everyone observes a modicum of civility and the discussion is beneficial or productive. What I DO have a problem with is the incessant interruption of thoughtful posts by those who merely want to disrupt. I find it disheartening to have to wade through post after post of silliness or ridiculous banter to get to the one you want to answer. So...I have to ask the question, "what should be done?"

These blogs don't give you a lot of options so this is what we have to choose from:

1) Leave everything the way it is - we'll just wade around the fray.
2) Moderate posts - I really HATE this. I don't like having my posts moderated or screened and I doubt that many of you do either.
3)Make each of you who are regular contributers members of the blog and only members can post - this has drawbacks in that new people can't post.
4) Have no comment section - Now, you all know I don't want this.

I would like your feedback and promise to consider each and every comment.

Nikki

The Nikki & Tony Show

Together again, Tony and I had to call this the "WTF Show." So much has transpired over the last few weeks - and all of it bizarre.

From updates to Hal Turner and his threats and violence, to Bill White and his huge ego and blatant lies, - and now, Alex Linder, pornography, smut and people jumping ship we're still scratching our heads and trying to make some sense out of these so-called "leaders."

THE NIKKI & TONY SHOW

The Truth - Know It Bill!

Now, we have all heard the joke about Pinnochio and Snow White where she begs him to "Lie, Pinnochio, Lie!" But, all kidding aside, no Snow White has to encourage Bill White to do so. He just does it - with great gusto!

After he hung up on Tony Willow last night, we were pretty sure she would tell us what she had on her mind - and this one catches Bill right square in the middle of yet another whopper!

Hey NSM! Aren't you embarrassed enough?




The Truth – Know It Bill

By Tony Willow

Yeah I know, yet another story about Bill White lying, but this one is too good to pass up. Especially since I “called” him on it.

This whole thing started when Bill White decided to send a letter to the Michigan State News reporter Ken Osborne correcting him in regards to this article found here:

THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

In his letter Bill White stated the following:

April 10, 2006

Hello Mr. Osborne:

I read your article “Nazi rally prompts counter gathering”, based on our conversation today.

One note:

Elizabeth O’Brien of the Lansing Coalition Against Nazis was one of those arrested in Toledo for picking up horse feces and flinging them at a woman whose political views she disagreed with.

Given that I witnessed her doing this, and there are photos of her doing this on the internet, I would say it is a pertinent fact that should be mentioned along with future mentions of her arrest.

Bill White
National Socialist Movement

Now the second I read this I literally laughed out loud. How in the world can Bill White expect to get away with this lie? He most surely DID NOT SEE THIS HAPPEN. But I decided to get it from the horse’s mouth so to speak. (No pun intended) So on Monday night I called his radio show NSM presents. After having my calls dropped left and right I finally got through. Here is a rough transcript of what took place. (I recorded it on my digital recorder and since I was typing during some of it a few words might be a bit off, good thing too cause there is a chance this will never be put up in the archives.)

Tony: It’s Tony from Texas

Bill: How are you doing Tony from Texas?

Tony: I’m sorry?

Bill: How are you doing?

Tony: I’m doing pretty good, um, I got a question for you about the Michigan State News.

Bill: Ok.

Tony: The article you sent to…

Bill: Yes.

Tony: …Mr. Osborn. Um, you put on there that you witnessed somebody throwing Horse feces at her?

Bill: Well yeah, as a fact they were doing it as I was speaking…

Tony: But on your thing you said you said you witnessed it.

Bill: Well yeah, I could see it across the, ah, across the little park in front of us.

Tony: Ok, so you actually saw her throwing it.

Bill: Oh yeah, I saw these guys throwing it. There were 5 or 6 of them and what they did is ah, Molly Nolan came out and she had this big banner that said ah, welcome, ah, NSM and KKK racist Toledo loves you. And there was this group and we could see them through some trees and bushes across this park but we could get a pretty good view of it and they started picking up horse feces and slinging them at Molly and a few other people who came to her defense so what happened was the police took photos of these guys and they forced Molly Nolan and other supporters out of the area and we were trying to figure out who was on who’s side we were, and we could see it. The fighting and the slinging and so forth it took us a second to realize they were attacking supporters in there but ah we saw this and what happened was about 15 to 20 minutes later the police photographed all the people involved waited for the situation to defuse and came into the crowd and arrested them. And they all said, well what did we do, we didn’t do anything. Well they didn’t do it right then they did it about 15 minutes before they were arrested. And this is really common, common to anti racist to make these bogus claims. Uh, these anti-racist will come out and this is…is this Tony Willow from Texas while I’m thinking about it?

Tony: Ah, Yes it is.

Bill: Yeah that’s what I thought, Hal we can cut her off the air and I’ll go back to the rest of our supporters.

It’s very common for these anti-racists they’ll go they’ll commit crimes and then the police will photograph them committing crimes and then they get arrested 15 minutes later there not committing a crime at that specific moment and then they say we were being non-violent why were we arrested? Well you were arrested because you broke the law 15 minutes ago it just happens they arrest you 15 minutes later. You know, there’s no ah, rule that says they have to arrest you at the moment you break the law they can arrest you a couple of minutes afterwards. And that’s the kind of fraud these anti-racists perpetrate but really, were wasting time with messing with Tony Willow. Ah Hal let’s take another caller. Caller, your probably going to be our last one I know were getting close on time here. Umm…

Hal: No, No other callers, no other callers Bill.

Bill: Oh I thought we had at least two other beeps there. Alright folks then with having Tony Willow on lets get into anti-racist news.

Damn! Bitch slap averted. But he once again proved us right. He lies. What’s really funny is the fact he let his mouth run before his brain before figuring out who I was and then having me cut off.

But alas no. Bill for all of his bark has no bite in him whatsoever. But what’s even more hilarious is the fact that earlier on in the show he played a tape of a phone call he made to Montana Human Rights Network Research Director Christine Kaufmann. Once she hung up on him he said he sent her “running in terror”. What can be said of him hanging up on me?

If he would have let me speak I would have said the following:

The truth is best served true Bill. There is no way you could have seen what had happened unless you’re suffering from early Alzheimer’s or something. On December 10, 2005 broadcast of the Vonbluven’s show titled “After Rally Report” (which can be found in their archives) you were told of the incident by Michael Blevins the host of the show. How can you now say you saw this happen?

Here is a transcript of that show:

Von: I don’t know if you heard this or not but an Aryan Nations was out somewhere she got pelted with horse manure that got…

Bill: Where did this happen in Toledo?

Von: Yes

Bill: Where at in Toledo?

Von: Ah, I guess she was in the ah, in the ah, commie section. Or she got corralled there.

Bill: She had a big sign, there was a lot of our supporters tried to rally in the public area and the communist attacked them. Ah, I don’t know about horse manure.

Von: Well they have pictures, they have pictures of it Bill. Bill: Alright, I don’t know about it all. I’m telling you is this, there was a fight over there. There was a couple of people who came with a big sign that said ah, Nazis and KKK welcome to Toledo, racist Toledo supports you. It was huge and ah, the commies attacked them ah, in the public area. And this is why we wanted separate public areas for our supporters and for our detractors and the police didn’t accommodate it and they ended up with ah at least 5 arrests from what I can tell so far.

Now how in the world can Bill get out of this one? He can’t. A liar is a liar is a liar. Actually, he just broke one of his own rules. For folks who don’t know. Bill White decided to come up with “rules” for members of the National Socialist Movement regarding handling the media. In those rules he states:

5) Miscellany;

a) Do not ever lie to the media. The media will catch you. This does not mean the media needs the whole truth. You can decline to mention things, and you can “spin” things, meaning, make things that one group is describing as negative sound positive. If you are caught making a mistake, you admit to the mistake immediately and correct it. If you do not know the answer, it’s ok to say that you don’t know but you will refer the question to someone else or that you will look it up and get back to the person.

So what kind of “spin” can Bill White dish out? None. This is exactly why I called the show and specifically asked him if he actually saw her throwing horse feces. This is just another lie that will never be corrected nor addressed by Bill White, per his track record AND against his own rules.

Note to Bill:

The mainstream media may not take the time to fully research things but we sure do and have no problem letting the media know about your lies, which of course is what we always do and will continue to do. Sorry if that makes you so upset that you have to hang up on me. Now who is the coward “running in terror”? Take a very long look in the mirror.

Desperate Moves

I really think Bill White has lost his edge - either that, or he is getting bored with all of this and not being as attentive as he was at the beginning. That's pretty typical for Bill.

When Jeff Kart of the Bay City Times wrote a great article about Floyd Cochran's visit there, Bill just had to take the opportunity to at least look like he was doing something. That might not have been the best thing for him to do, as he pretty well slid into what could be a real legal quagmire for him. Below is his letter to Kart - and my response to Bill.

Mr Kart:

First, I'm not going to lie to you: Your article on Floyd Cochran was just badly written. Your quotes and statements were not properly contextualized, names of people and groups were not properly introduced, and your writing was really not of a quality appropriate for a mainstream printed newspaper.

Mr. White – when you have the journalistic degrees and licesnses of Mr. Kart, and others of the mainstream media, then your criticisms might be a little more credible. At this juncture, however, you have neither. All that you can currently claim is a one-man internet zine replete with lies and self-agrandizing spins.

That said, its no surprise you "forgot" to mention Mr Cochran's continuing criminal activity as a member of the One People's Project and other anti-racist groups.

Since Mr. Cochran has never engaged in any criminal activity as a member of One People’s Project or Citizens Against Hate – which I am certain falls into that “other anti-racist” group. I hope he files a law-suit as soon as he returns home from his speaking engagement. Further, I will encourage him to do just that. Additionally, should he choose to see you in court, I will happily provide Mr. Cochran and his counsel with all the damning evidence they need as to your lies and convoluted reportings on others, as well as your character.

The One People's Project was the group that distributed literature in Toledo, Ohio, calling for violence against the police prior to the October 15, 2005 riot. This explicit call for violence against the police was endorsed by Mr Cochran and others, and according to CNN and other news sources -- as well as what I personally witnesses -- Mr Cochran's organization was involved in handing out weapons to blacks and ordering them to attack police during the rioting.

One People’s Project was not present in Toledo the day in question any more than Citizens Against Hate was. In initial reports from your camp, Mark Martin attempted to make similar accusations against us. The truth of the matter is, you were wishing that you could make that case. However, in your own zealousness to create and incite violence you admitted publicly to the violation of the court injunction that was issued by sending “your people” into areas that were off limits. Additionally, your own voice told us, publicly, that you had wanted to incite violence among the protestors.

This is not the only crime the One People's Project and Mr Cochran have been linked to. As just one example, Erica Hardwick, an activist with the One People's Project who has personally physically attacked me, is currently in prison for more than half a dozen crimes, ranging from assaulting police officers to breaking and entering to petty theft and obstructing justice.

Mr. White, your attempts at making your enemies appear as criminals are almost laughable when we look at where these accusations are coming from. The criminal history of the racist right far supercedes any criminal activity engaged in by anti-racists. The trail of blood and violence that has left its’ mark on the landscape of this country and has been perpetrated by racists and hate-group members is quite well documented, and I can assure you that you do not want to go there.

The One People's Project publishes the home addresses of white activists, and their members have attempted murder and other crimes against white activists as well.

Again, I sincerely hope that not only Mr. Cochran, but the administrator at One People’s Project take you to court where you would be forced to “proove” these libelous claims.

Far from abandoning "hate", criminality and violence, Floyd Cochran has embraced it with all his heart. His speeches are merely an attempt to add respectability to a movement that is fundamentally anti-social, Jewish and obsessed with terrorism.

Spin-doctoring used to be your forte, Mr. White. Obviously, you have lost your edge. Perhaps that comes from your association with the many mentally deficient individuals in the NSM. To even entertain the thought that Jeff Kart would give any credence to your objections begs the question of your mental accuity but, to claim that this “movement,” as you call it lacks respectabiltiy calls into question your waning ability to engage in rational thought.

The anti-racist movement is neither anti-social, Jewish, or obsessed with terrorism – and you know it. Your attempts at painting it as such are just patently ridiculous with no basis in fact. If this is some sort of “performance” to show your goon squad how it should be done then I would suggest the goon squad find another mouthpiece because the one they currently have has just demonstrated how absolutely damaging he is to their own “movement.” And should the parties mentioned decide to take their legal course of action, I would strongly suggest that they dump you like yesterday’s garbage.

The one thing that speaks volumes in all of this is that Mr. Cochran has done and is doing a great job in getting our message out there. This is evident in the desperation of your message to Mr. Kart. In your attempts to discredit it becomes evident that you gave little thought to the possible ramifications of the bogus and libelous claims that you have made. That generally happens when experiencing the discomfort of knowing that the truth is winning.

New Promo

Please take a few moments to view the latest Citizens Against Hate promotional video. This was done by Tony Willow - and is one of the best so far, in my opinion. Let us know what you think.

OUR HANDS

Backlash

After all of the lies and distortions posted recently by Bill White we decided that he needed to be brought up short and dealt with. The newest edition of "Backlash" not only takes him to task - but presents a few of my thoughts on the latest "Declaration of War" made by Hal Turner.

TO BACKLASH

Our latest addition to the audio files is "Issues & Answers." In the first episode I discuss the Confederate Flag and the hate behind it.

TO ISSUES & ANSWERS

Bogus Bill

Yesterday evening, Floyd Cochran spoke at the Holocaust Museum to a very welcoming crowd. In usual no class, Nazi fashion, two men chose to attempt to disrupt the event by asking a very anti-Semetic question. They were quickly removed by the police.

As Floyd continues on his speaking tour, August Kreis of Arayn Nations is becoming more and more agitated and updated the all-call on his website today - it reads:

"I'm asking all Aryan Nations members and Pro-White militias to pay this clown a visit the evening of April 6th. Let's show this retarded buffoon that we are alive and well in MI. Aryan Nations will present an award to the kinsman that walks up to and get's his picture taken with this bozo. We want to send a STRONG message to all these pieces of shit that work against our race that "they" are always within our grasp! Don't forget that this meeting is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and you may be surprised to find out just how many of our people will be attending IN PLAIN CLOTHES. The Cockroach has lied and stated that he has already met Pastor Wickstrom but after Thursday, we'll see! By the way, we've heard that they'll be all kinds of security, local, state and even the FBI...cool, maybe they'll learn a thing or two!
I also suggest having a Unit at MBS Airport and keeping a watch for him there. He's got to arrive and depart from Bay City and my offer of "getting your picture" taken with this bozo is not just offered at the meeting. If you can catch Cockroach coming or going that would be just fine also. - August Kreis; Aryan Nations National Director"

We'll keep a light on for ya, August.

*************************************************




You know, I just don't understand the mindset of a Bill White who just pulls bullshit out of his hat and throws it out there as if it is the truth. At the end of the Matt Hale trial, Bill White posted the address, and telephone number of Tony Evola - the federal informant who got the good on and testified against Matt Hale. The problem was, it was the WRONG Tony Evola. Consequently, an innocent family was harassed and terrified and had to have police officers parked outside their house for days.

Not too long after that, White did the same thing with Roh from Citizens Against Hate. Another innocent family became the victim of his lunacy. Now he has done the same thing with one of our colleagues, Floyd Cochran. Yesterday he posted information on his website referencing a Floyd Cochran living in Mount Joy, PA. It's the wrong Cochran.

Floyd Cochran has NEVER lived in Mount Joy, the birthday, address, and telephone number are all bogus. So what kind of jollies does this flakey fake get out of putting innocent people in the line of fire? One of these days this kind of shit is going to come back and bite him squarely in the ass. I just hope no one gets hurt in the process.