- White Aryan Resistance
-
WAR's logo, with the slogan "Let them hate... As long as they fear!" The slogan is a quote from Roman emperor Caligula.
White Aryan Resistance (WAR) is a neo-Nazi white separatist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger. Part of the American far right, it is based in Warsaw, Indiana and is incorporated as a business.
It holds views that are self-described as racist, as seen in its website sections "Racist Jokes" and "Racist Videos," and in the tagline for its newspaper The Insurgent: "the most racist newspaper on earth." WAR uses the slogan White Revolution is the Only Solution.
Contents
History
Founded in the early 1980s by Tom Metzger, the group quickly expanded offering racist literature and starting the Aryan Youth Movement headed by Tom's son, John Metzger. The group, which also attracted many white power skinheads, was originally known as the White American Political Association or WAPA, but was changed briefly to the White American Resistance; later "American" was changed to "Aryan". By the late 1980s, Tom Metzger began Race and Reason, a Public-access television cable TV show, airing WAR propaganda and interviewing other neo-Nazis.[1] The show caused much controversy, and its guests included anti-abortion speakers, Holocaust deniers and pro-segregation lawyers.[1] WAR members gained attention through appearances on talk shows throughout the 1980s.[2][3]
On November 13, 1988, three white supremacists who were members of East Side White Pride, which allegedly had ties to WAR, beat to death Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian man who came to the United States to attend college.[4] In October 1990, the Southern Poverty Law Center won a civil case on behalf of the deceased's family against Tom and John Metzger, for a total of US$12.5 million. The jury awarded the figure based on: Kyle Brewster- $500,000, Ken Mieske-$500,000, John Metzger-$1,000,000, WAR-$3,000,000, Tom Metzger-$5,000,000, and the jury awarded $2.5 million for Melegeta's unrealized future earnings, and pain and suffering.[5] The SPLC did not charge for their work, and the Seraw family did not share any money won with the SPLC. The Metzgers did not have millions of dollars, so the Seraw family only received assets from the Metzger's $125,000 house and a few thousand dollars.[6] The Metzgers declared bankruptcy, but WAR continued to operate.[7] WAR continued to publish a newspaper despite the verdict. Metzger launched a website in 1997 and had an Internet radio program.[8] The cost of trial, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars[9] was absorbed by the SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League.[10]
WAR has been associated with dangerous individuals throughout its existence.[11] WAR was mentioned in the press when it was revealed that a member threatened Rhode Island video stores which carried Jungle Fever.[12] In 1994, Richard Campos, a WAR sympathizer, was convicted of racially motivated bombing plots. Calls were made stating that the bombings were perpetrated by an organization called the Aryan Liberation Front, of which Campos was the only member.[13][14][15] In early 1995, Campos was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.[16]
See also
- Neo-Nazi groups of the United States
- Antisemitism in the United States
- Racism in the United States
- List of white nationalist organizations
Notes
- ^ a b Turner, Wallace (October 7, 1986). "Extremist Finds Cable TV is Forum for Right-wing Views". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5071EFC38550C748CDDA90994DE484D81. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Geraldo Rivera's Nose Broken In Scuffle on His Talk Show". New York Times. November 4, 1988. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB071FFB3B5C0C778CDDA80994D0484D81. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Trash TV," Newsweek, November 14, 1988
- ^ "Lawyer makes racists pay". USA Today. October 24, 1990. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/56028630.html?dids=56028630:56028630&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Oct+24%2C+1990&author=&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=02.A&desc=Lawyer+makes+racists+pay. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ London, Robb (October 26, 1990). "Sending a $12.5 Million Message to a Hate Group". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30613FD34540C758EDDA90994D8494D81. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ Associated Press (December 25, 1990). "Assets of White Supremacist Are Target of Legal Maneuver". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30614F63E550C768EDDAB0994D8494D81. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Klan Chapters Held Liable in Church Fire; Jury Awards $37.8 Million in Damages," Washington Post July 25, 1998
- ^ "HBO: 'Hate.com' Exposes Bigotry", Daily News (New York), October 13, 2000
- ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993, p. 116
- ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993, p. 277
- ^ Reinhold, Robert (July 17, 1993). "Authorities Cite Links of Plotters To Hate Groups". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00616FB355E0C748DDDAE0894DB494D81. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ "'Jungle Fever' Brings Threats To Rhode Island Video Stores". New York Times. January 11, 1992. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DE1139F932A25752C0A964958260. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Man Convicted Of 2 Bombings Tied to Racism". New York Times. August 31, 1994. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F15FB3D5C0C728FDDA10894DC494D81. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ^ Press Archive File—Article on “Aryan Liberation Front” dated Thursday, October 14, 1993:
- ^ Southern Poverty Law Center report “The Godfathers” about the recruiting of skinheads by various white supremacist groups:
- ^ Southern Poverty Law Center report “The Godfathers” about the recruiting of skinheads by various white supremacist groups:
References
- Morris Dees. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard, (February 23, 1993) ISBN 0-679-40614-X (280 pages)
- Elinor Langer. A Hundred Little Hitlers: The Death of a Black Man, the Trial of a White Racist, and the Rise of the Neo-Nazi Movement in America. New York: Henry Holt, 2003. ISBN 0-8050-5098-1
External links
Categories:- Neo-Nazi organizations in the United States
- White supremacist groups in the United States
- Antisemitism in the United States
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