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National Alliance (United States)

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National Alliance
LeaderWill Williams[1]
FounderWilliam Luther Pierce
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Headquarters
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
ReligionCosmotheism
Colours  Black   White   Red
Flag

Variant flag[2]
Website
National Alliance
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The National Alliance was a white supremacist,[3][4][5][6] neo-Nazi[3] political organization founded by William Luther Pierce in 1974 and based in Mill Point, West Virginia. Membership in 2002 was estimated at 2,500 with an annual income of $1 million.[7] Membership declined after Pierce's death in 2002, and after a split in its ranks in 2005, became largely defunct.[3][8]

History

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National Alliance members protesting outside the Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C. in 2001, alleging Israeli complicity in the 9/11 attacks.
National Alliance member with a Nazi flag at a rally in Washington, D.C., August 2002

The National Alliance was reorganized from an earlier group called the National Youth Alliance (NYA), which in turn was formed out of the remains of the youth wing of Governor George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign. The NYA broke into factions as a result of infighting, and William Luther Pierce, a former physics associate-professor and author of the white supremacist novels The Turner Diaries and Hunter, gained control of the largest remnant and relaunched it as the National Alliance in 1974.[9]

William Pierce was arrested in 1995 on charges of assaulting a female staff member on the grounds of the Mill Point headquarters.[10] Twenty years later, Will Williams was also arrested for assault of a female staff member while serving as chairman of the National Alliance.[11]

The Order was an offshoot of the National Alliance and modeled themselves after a similar group depicted in The Turner Diaries. Timothy McVeigh was in possession of a copy of The Turner Diaries at the time of his arrest following the Oklahoma City Bombing.[12] McVeigh bought copies of the book (published by the National Alliance), sold them at gun shows, and otherwise distributed them.[13]

In 1997, two National Alliance members were charged with committing bank robberies in Florida and Connecticut.[14] One of them admitted to channeling funds from the robberies to the National Alliance. He was charged with attempting to detonate a series of pipe bombs in order to divert attention from a future robbery.[15]

German fugitive Hendrik Moebus was captured near the National Alliance compound, at which he is believed to been hiding, in August 2000. [16]

Following Pierce's death from cancer in 2002, the Alliance's board of directors appointed Erich Gliebe to succeed him as chairman of the organization.[17] A series of power struggles began almost immediately, with high-ranking members either resigning or being fired. A boycott of the National Alliance's Resistance Records label resulted in a steep drop-off in generated funds.[18]

In April 2005, prominent Alliance member Kevin Alfred Strom, then editor of National Vanguard magazine, issued a declaration calling for Gliebe to step down;[19] the Alliance's executive committee and most of its unit coordinators supported the action. Gliebe refused, claiming that the Alliance operated under the "Leadership Principle" and stating that he would not yield to any coup. Strom formed a new group called National Vanguard.[20] In January 2008, Strom pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in exchange for the other charges to be dropped.[21][22][23] He was sentenced to 23 months in prison on April 23, 2008.[22][24][23] Strom told the court before being sentenced that he was "not a pedophile" and was "in fact the precise opposite of what has been characterized in this case",[22] saying he had been "unwillingly" possessing 10 images of child pornography and that those came from an online forum he had visited which had been "flooded with spam", which included "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children that he deleted. The judge of the case responded: "Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you're saying you're innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me."[24]

Shortly after the attempted coup by Strom, Gliebe resigned as chairman of the Alliance and briefly appointed Shaun Walker as his successor. However, following Walker's arrest in June 2006, Gliebe again assumed leadership of the organization.[25][26] By that year, paid membership for the Alliance had declined to fewer than 800 and the paid staff was down to only ten people.[27] By 2012, the Alliance reportedly consisted of fewer than 100 members, with no paid staff other than Gliebe.[28][29] The following year, it was revealed that the Alliance's property in Mill Point, West Virginia, had been put up for sale. The end of the National Alliance as a "membership organization" was confirmed by Gliebe in September 2013.[30]

Will Williams offshoot

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In 2014, Will Williams became head of an organization which calls itself the National Alliance (NA).[31] However, a rival faction disputes the claim that this group is maintaining continuity with the original Alliance which was founded by Pierce.[32] The Williams led NA has since been embroiled in several legal issues.

In 2015, an accountant was hired to audit the NA's books by Williams. According to a lawsuit which was filed by a former Baltimore attorney against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), there was a confrontation between the accountant and Williams. The lawsuit further claims that after the accountant left the NA headquarters he released documents that he had scanned to the SPLC.[33]

In December 2015, Williams was arrested and charged with battery after he allegedly hit and strangled a female employee on the grounds of the Mill Point compound.[34] He was convicted, briefly incarcerated, and placed on probation. He appealed the sentence and the appellate court affirmed the conviction.[35]

Williams was banned from the NA compound in West Virginia pursuant to a court order stemming from his 2015 arrest.[36]

In 2018, NA filed an $850,000 claim against the estate of John McLaughlin, a former NA director who had filed suit against the organization. The purpose of this legal action was for McLaughlin's "tortious breach of fidiciary duties." The claim was denied by the Circuit Court of Piatt County, Illinois.[37]

Williams claims that the National Alliance "(is) back. We are definitely back".[38] He also said in a letter to a newspaper sent from Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee (allegedly the NA's headquarters) that "(The National Alliance does) not appreciate being called 'haters' or being associated with some 'hate movement'."[39]

Murder of a British MP

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Thomas Mair, later to be convicted of murdering the British Labour Party politician Jo Cox, was connected to the National Alliance.[40]

Business

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Before the death of Pierce, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation called the National Alliance the best-financed and best-organized white nationalist organization of its kind in the United States. In 2002, the National Alliance was estimated to have 2,500 members, with an annual income of $1 million.[7]

In 2004, Harry Robert McCorkill of New Brunswick, Canada, attempted to will his entire estate (valued at almost $250,000) to the National Alliance upon his death. However, in 2014, the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick invalidated his will on the ground that the National Alliance was a criminal organization which was formed and existed for the purposes of spreading hate speech and inciting violence against non-whites.[41]

Media

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Resistance Records

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In the past, the organization ran a white power record label which was called Resistance Records. In 2002, it released the video game Ethnic Cleansing, an action which was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League.[42]

Cosmotheist Church

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The spiritual aspect of the National Alliance's ideology is espoused by the Cosmotheist Community Church.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Triumph of the Will: Will Williams and the National Alliance". Southern Poverty Law Center. December 17, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - Flags of Extremism - Part 2 (n)". www.loeser.us.
  3. ^ a b c "National Alliance For Law Enforcement". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved August 31, 2017.Hilliard, Robert L.; Michael C. Keith (1999). Waves of Rancor: Tuning into the Radical Right. M. E. Sharpe. p. 165. ISBN 978-0765601315.
  4. ^ Quarles, Chester A. (1999). The Ku Klux Klan and Related American Racialist and Antisemitic Organizations: A History and Analysis. McFarland. p. 146. ISBN 978-0786406470.
  5. ^ Richie, Warren (December 20, 2011). "Failed Martin Luther King Day parade bomber gets 32-year sentence". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "Bomb suspect tied to supremacist group". Boston Globe. March 10, 2011. Archived from the original on September 9, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "William Pierce: A Political History". Southern Poverty Law Center. Winter 1999. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  8. ^ Darby, Seward (March 31, 2021). "The father, the son and the racist spirit: being raised by a white supremacist". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "Beyond A Dead Man's Deeds: The National Alliance After William Pierce" (PDF). Newcomm.org. Chicago: CNC: Center for New Community. 2002. Archived from the original on March 11, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "NEO-NAZI CHARGED WITH HITTING, THREATENING STAFFER". scholar.lib.vt.edu.
  11. ^ "National Alliance chairman arrested at Mill Point". Pocahontas Times. December 23, 2015.
  12. ^ Loewy, Tom. "Speak up in the face of fascism". Galesburg Register Mail.
  13. ^ Ludlow, Lynn (May 6, 2001). "Timothy McVeigh, an American patsy".
  14. ^ "Far-Right Organization Sets Up in Sacramento, ADL Reports / Report on extremism cites growth in recruits, violence". September 24, 1998.
  15. ^ "Extremist returns to face charge". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "Marshals nab German neo-Nazi fugitive - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "Death of a Führer". Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2002. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  18. ^ Nyden, Paul (July 22, 2012). "Report calls Hillsboro-based National Alliance irrelevant". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  19. ^ "A Time for Leadership". www.nationalvanguard.org. April 22, 2005. Archived from the original on November 13, 2005. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  20. ^ "White Supremacist Busted on Child-Porn Charge". ABC News. January 4, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  21. ^ "Strom pleads guilty to child porn". C-VILLE Weekly. January 15, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  22. ^ a b c Tasha, Kates (April 21, 2008). "White nationalist sentenced in child porn case". Charlottesville Daily Progress. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  23. ^ a b "Strom Sentenced". nbc29. April 21, 2008. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Provence, Lisa (April 21, 2008). "'I am not a pedophile': Strom gets 23 months". The Hook. Charlottesville. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  25. ^ "White-separatists get prison time for "hate crimes"". The Salt Lake Tribune. August 14, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  26. ^ "Neo-Nazi National Alliance leader indicted in civil rights conspiracy". Southern Poverty Law Center. June 9, 2006. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  27. ^ "Neo-Nazi National Alliance Experiences Troubled Times". Southern Poverty Law Center. December 2003. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  28. ^ Terry, Don (January 31, 2013). "Struggling National Alliance Takes Another Hit as Key Member Quits". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  29. ^ "Natallnews.net". Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  30. ^ Potok, Mark (September 25, 2013). "In a Near-Final Collapse, the Neo-Nazi National Alliance Ends Membership". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  31. ^ The Kansas City Star (subscription required)
  32. ^ "Triumph of the Will: Will Williams and the National Alliance". Southern Poverty Law Center. December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  33. ^ Kunzelman, Michael (November 14, 2019). "Judge tosses lawsuit over article tying Baltimore lawyer to neo-Nazis". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  34. ^ "National Alliance chairman arrested at Mill Point". Pocahontas Times. Local stories. December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  35. ^ State of West Virginia vs William White Williams (State of West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals 2020) ("For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the circuit court's order"), Text.
  36. ^ Beck, Erin (December 22, 2015). "Chairman of hate group arrested twice in Pocahontas County". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  37. ^ "Nat'l All. v. McLaughlin (In re Estate of McLaughlin), 2020 IL App (4th) 200002 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com.
  38. ^ Hosenbell, Alex; Simon, Evan; Levine, Mike (October 6, 2020). "'My life as a hater': The dire warning from a white power leader's son". ABC News. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  39. ^ Williams, William White (January 28, 2018). "National Alliance responds to Sullivan's column". The Gazette. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  40. ^ "Hatewatch: Alleged killer of British MP was a longtime supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance". Southern Poverty Law Centre. June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  41. ^ "McCorkill v. Streed, Executor of the Estate of Harry Robert McCorkill (aka McCorkell), Deceased, 2014 NBQB 148 (CanLII)". www.canlii.org.
  42. ^ Left, Sarah (February 21, 2002). "White supremacists create racist computer games". The Guardian.

Further reading

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