White Supremacist Groups/Gangs
Source:
The
Florida Gang Investigators Association.
Reproduced here with permission.
Introduction
"White Supremacist groups emerged early-on in the history of United
States. They usually operated clandestinely, in an attempt to avoid the
attention of law enforcement and the media. Historically, these groups
relied primarily on word-of-mouth notoriety to intimidate their intended
targets. Their numbers were sporadic until recently. Now there is
unprecedented growth in the number of and membership in, white supremacist
groups.
Only about 25,000 Americans are hardcore ideological activists for the white
supremacist movement, a tiny fraction of the white population. They are
organized into approximately 300 different organizations. No two groups are
exactly alike. They ranging from seemingly innocuous religious sects or tax
protesters to openly militant, even violent, neo-Nazi skinheads and Ku Klux
Klan Klaverns. The basic underpinnings of these organizations is they are
rooted in religion, which is combined with a paramilitary, survivalists, or
anarchists operational approach. Currently, Klan groups are on the decline
while more Hitler-inspired groups, like the National Alliance and the Church
of the Creator, are growing in numbers and influence. Swastikas and Uzis are
replacing hoods and crosses.
Some 150,000 to 200,000 people subscribe to racist publications, attend
their marches and rallies, and donate money. Approximately 100 hatelines are
in operation, with recorded messages that propagandize the caller with
hate-motivated speeches and publicize upcoming meetings and rallies. Because
of their increasingly sophisticated use of the media and electronic
technology, there are 150 independent racist radio and television shows that
air weekly and reach hundreds of thousands of sympathizers.
In the 1960s, the Ku Klux Klan was the most infamous hate groups with an
estimated 40,000 members in 1965. But by the end of the 1970s, the majority
of white supremacists belonged to organizations other than the Klan. They
had evolved from loosely structured fraternal organizations into highly
developed paramilitary groups with extensive survivalist training camps
often funded by proceeds from counterfeit money and bank and armored car
robberies. In the 1990s, they have transformed themselves from a violent
vanguard into a sophisticated political movement with a significant
constituency.
The Aryan Nations in Idaho has been one of the umbrella organizations
seeking to unite various Klan and neo-Nazi groups.
In 1979, founder Richard Butler convened the first Aryan Nations World
Congress on his property and attracted Klan and neo-Nazi leaders from the
US, Canada and Europe, who gathered to exchange ideas and strategies.
There are at least 26 different Ku Klux Klan groups in the United States.
The largest and fastest-growing is the Knights of the KKK, headquartered in
Harrison, Arkansas under the leadership of Thom Robb. The Knights recently
held rallies in Wisconsin, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee,
Arkansas and Mississippi. Robb's Knights were the first group to recruit
Skinheads into their ranks and he has been quick to put promising young
leaders like Shawn Slater in Colorado into the national spotlight. It is the
most Nazi-esque of the Klans, maintaining strong ties to Richard Butler's
Aryan Nations in Idaho.
Robb's group, originally founded by David Duke in the 1970s, has moved
into national Klan leadership because of the dissolution of the Invisible
Empire Knights of the KKK in 1993.
The Holocaust-denial movement is the clearest expression of the
anti-Semitic nature of white supremacy. Various institutions within the
white supremacist movement are revising the history of Nazi Germany,
claiming that the Holocaust against the Jews either did not happen or was
greatly exaggerated.
The most sophisticated of these institutions is the Institute for
Historical Review (IHR) in California. Founded by longtime racist and
anti-Semite Willis Carto, the IHR offers hatred with an intellectual gloss.
Many of the distinctions between various Klan and neo-Nazi groups have
dissolved. The membership is extremely fluid; members flow in and out
because of internal squabbles and leadership battles. Cross-memberships,
in-depth leadership summit meetings, and the use of common periodicals are
frequent, indicating considerable organizational cohesion.
Here are just a few groups that are active: Church Of The Creator; 14
Word Press; Aryan Nations (Church Of Jesus Christ Christian); Mountain
Church; The Identity Church Movement; Aryan Preservation Society; Carolinian
Lords of The Caucasus; Knights Of The Ku Klux Klan; Posse Comitatus
("power of the county); Volksfront; The Covenant Sword, Arm Of The
Lord; Christian Patriots Defense League; Skinheads; The Order; National
Association For The Advancement Of White People; White Aryan Resistance
(WAR); Christian National Socialist; Neo Supreme White Power.
These groups will not hesitate to use bombs, murder, arson, and assault
to accomplish their goals and objectives.
Philosophy
White Supremacy is an ideology that believes the United States government
is controlled by a conspiratorial cabal of non-whites or Jews or a
combination of both. They advocate changing this "Zionist Occupation
Government (ZOG)" through terror or violence, but also are becoming
more politically active in order to influence the mainstream politics. They
tell their followers that crime and welfare abuse by African Americans,
immigration by Mexicans and Asians, or a fictional Jewish conspiracy are
responsible for a decline in the status of white people. They accuse civil
rights organizations of "hating white people" and brand whites who
do not support them as race traitors or self-haters.
Although the Ku Klux Klan is the most notorious, hate groups come in many
forms. For example, they organize as religious cults, most predominantly the
Christian Identity model which asserts that (1) white people are the
original Lost Tribes of Israel; (2) Jews are descendants of Satan; and (3)
African Americans and other people of color are pre-Adamic, or beasts
created by God before He created Adam, the first white man. Christian
Identity followers feel they can attack and murder Jews and people of color
without contradicting their religious convictions because they have been
told by their leaders that people of color and Jews have no souls.
Another significant religious cult is the Church of the Creator, founded
in 1973. Its members believe they are engaged in a racial holy war (RAHOWA)
between the "pure" Aryan race and the "mud races."
Adherents are frequently in the headlines for their violence. In 1993,
members were arrested by the FBI as part of the Fourth Reich Skinheads who
attempted to bomb a church in Los Angeles and assassinate LA’s Rodney
King. Members have also been arrested in numerous murders, violent assaults,
and bank robberies across the nation. They believe that they can precipitate
the race war by provoking a violent response with attacks upon Jews and
people of color.
Most white supremacists in America believe that the United States is a
"Christian" nation, with a special relationship between religion
and the rule of law. Because racists give themselves divine permission from
God to hate, they often don't see that their actions are driven by hate;
they claim to "just love God and the white race." If they are
religious, they distort Biblical passages to justify their bigotry.
Each group is working to create a society totally dominated by whites by
excluding and denying the rights of non-whites and Jews. The movement's
links are global.
Symbols / Identifiers
Left: Celtic Cross was originally the symbol for the Celts of
ancient Ireland and Scotland. The Celtic cross has been adopted by many
American white supremacist groups. This identifier incorporates the white
supremacist slogan "White pride world wide."
Middle: Ku Klux Klan blood drop. The drop is one of the KKK’s
best-known symbols. For Klan members, the drop represents the blood that
Jesus Christ shed on the cross as a sacrifice for the white race.
Right: Aryan Nations. This symbol is used by the neo-Nazi Aryan
Nations, based in Haden Lake, Idaho. Bryan Nations is one of the nation’s
most established extremist groups.
Left & Middle: Nazi swastika, adopted in 1935 as the official
emblem of German’s Nazi Party. The swastika is widely used by neo-Nazi,
Skinhead, and other white supremacist groups. Dozens of variation of the
swastika are common.
Right: A Nazi symbol signifying the Schutzstaffel (SS), the elite
military arm of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. One of the SS missions was
supervision of the death camp network.

Identifier is for the National Socialist White People’s
Party (NSWPP) a neo-Nazi supremacy group with roots in Germany. D.A.P. is
for "German Workers Party."
|

War Skins. Used by Skinhead followers of the neo-Nazi
group White Aryan Resistance (WAR).
|
Formal symbol of
Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. |

Skinhead identifier that show that show the Skins are
international (USA/UK)
|

Aryan Nation tattoos.
Click on image. |

Skinhead tattoo.
Click on image. |
Enemies / Rivals and Allies
These groups and their members have similar profiles. They have strong
feelings of white ethnicity and are often members of the biker subculture.
These groups tend to be allies of each other, and their enemies are
generally non-whites, members of the Jewish faith, the government, and
authority figures.
Propensity for Disruptive Behavior
White Supremacy groups pose a potentially dangerous dilemma. Their hate
orientation and racial rhetoric combined with deep religious beliefs can
cause serious disruption/violence anywhere, as they seek to promote their
divisive dogma within our vulnerable multi-cultural, multi-ethnic,
multi-racial environment.
The Corrections arena must be acutely are of the potential these groups
have of coming together and exploding into a major disturbance—especially
in these times of increased inmate numbers and longer sentences served.
In 1983 Posse Comitatus member murdered two federal marshals in North
Dakota.
The Order commits a 1983 bank robbery in Seattle, WA.
In 1983 and 1984, The Order, a far right revolutionary organization,
committed a series of violent crimes—murder, bombings, and armed robbery.
In 1986 ten members of The Order were convicted for various crimes
including killings and bombings.
In 1986 FBI probe found a Church Of The Identity group stockpiling
weapons and plotting to finance a paramilitary base by robbing an armored
car in Nevada.
The most violent wing of the white supremacist movement is the growing
neo-Nazi skinhead movement, of which there are about 3,500 members in the
United States. They openly worship Hitler and many young people, with ages
from 13 to 25, are inducted into their ranks after committing a hate crime
as part of the gang initiation. Their youthful appearance is rapidly
changing the face of hate. Girls are rapidly rising into skinhead
leadership. Not all skinheads are Nazis, and a movement of skinheads in
opposition to the Nazi model has asserted itself in recent years.
Skinhead groups have developed their own leadership and appeal, distinct
from adult Klan and neo-Nazi groups. Skinheads have committed over 25
murders in the last four years and have expanded into 40 states.
Skinheads are the "urban guerrillas" of the hate movement. More
seasoned adults have abandoned open violence to sanitize their public
images. Such adults recruit and encourage young people to commit criminal
activities, just as older drug dealers use young kids to push drugs.
Unfortunately, this means that hate crimes committed by juveniles are often
seen as mere pranks, not the serious assaults on liberty and freedom that
they really are. This tactic also frequently allows the adult leaders to
escape punishment. For example, the FBI learned of the assassination plots
planned by the Fourth Reich Skinheads by monitoring the phone lines of Tom
Metzger, leader of White Aryan Resistance in California.
Skinheads have firmly established themselves in six to eight national
organizations, rather than simply as appendages of adult groups.
All of these groups and their members are fanatical in their racist
beliefs. Fanaticism combined with religious beliefs poured over violence and
explosives produces a very dangerous product—use extreme caution."
Source:
The
Florida Gang Investigators Association, with permission.
Back to
Kinds and Names of Gangs |
Appendix | Home Page
|