DISQUS

The Michigan Messenger: White nationalist Web sites fired-up with/self-censoring conversation about alleged Obama assassination plot

  • Unlawn · 1 year ago
    Gartrell Outside Rightist-Activist Pale

    As the Democratic National Convention opened in Denver, an anonymous
    poster to the Skinhead Website posted that "there is nothing wrong with marijuana.
    I smoke, I just haven't been caught." The post was deleted, with the warning that
    "it is unwise to post messages condoning drug-use." The following day, Tharin
    Gartrell was arrested in Denver at a traffic-stop and was "under investigation"
    for drug and gun violations. Officials claimed "suspicion" that he was, also,
    involved in a plot to kill Barack Obama. Two of Gartrell's associates were later
    picked up, one of which, Nathan Johnson, was described as a "meth-addict" and
    the other, Shawn Adolf, was said to have been wearing a "Swastika ring." The
    news-media immediately linked "racists," "murderers" and "drugs" all together.

    The arrests came just days after Martin Williams, the Skinhead-organizer of
    the "All-American America" protest at Pioneer Monument Park in Denver, was
    arrested for "parole-violation" for setting up the event. The speech by Richard
    Barrett was cancelled in protest of what The Nationalist Movement called "egregious
    violation of the First Amendment." Williams had obtained a rally-permit from
    Denver, which, according to Daniel Williams, Martin's brother, had triggered a
    barrage of background-checks and intimidation of pro-majority activists in the area.
    Tyler Hansen denounced what he termed the "plague" upon freedom. Gartrell
    was wearing ear-rings. Both ear-rings and drug-use are strict no-nos under rules
    posted for pro-majority activists over Nationalist and Skinhead websites.

    "Barcelona-TV"-correspondent Richard Schweid, who had planned to cover
    the Pioneer Monument Park protest, asked why the event did not proceed, in order
    to dramatize the Williams-arrest. Organizers noted that, during their protest at
    the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta, they had three lawyers lined up,
    Richard Barrett, Jimmy Venable and H. G. McBrayer, with three additional lawyers
    in reserve, Jane Plaginos, Jeffrey Sliz and Sam Dickson. When their spokesman
    was arrested for delivering a speech outside the Convention, he was released,
    without even being charged. Georgia-Governor Joe Frank Harris called out the
    National Guard to protect the Nationalists. Barrett said that since the "dynamics
    were different" in Denver, Nationalists decided to boycott the Convention.

    The point overlooked by the news-media was that, although some pro-majority
    activists may involve themselves in drug or weapons offenses, the practice is
    strictly condemned. In fact, those violating such prohibitions are disciplined
    and, even, drubbed out. Rob Collins, who took part in the 1994 "Favors for None"
    protest at the Colorado State Capitol, was later arrested for marijuana-possession
    and, then, excluded from further demonstrations. When organizers confronted Rob
    Buck about drug-use, Buck, who later died of a drug-overdose, was excluded, as
    was Jacob Yarbrough, for making death-threats. Keith Ashton, an ex-con in possession
    of weapons, was, also, given his walking-papers. However, Nationalists consistently
    litigate in behalf of gun-rights and free-speech.

    According to Anthony Szach, Skinheads "must be strong and resist drugs." Richie
    Rose, a former drug-user, credits becoming a Skinhead with getting off drugs. Rose
    called drugs "pathetic and stupid." Meanwhile, phone-calls to the Skinhead-hotline
    leveled assassination threats, such as "we gonna kill you, you [deleted] [deleted],"
    but there has been no Bush-Administration response. Shortly after the Gartrell-arrest,
    a poster over "YouTube", nicknamed "PogoPirat", posted on the
    Skinhead-channel that he was going to "ram a bullet down your neck." Skinheads
    kept the message up, however, to spotlight the "double-standard" of news-media-reporting
    and government-response. "They're trying to acquaint rightists to crime and
    free-speech to illegality. It's bogus," said Barrett.

    Police said that the three drug-abusers were "linked" to Aryan Nations, a cult
    which went out of business years ago, when Richard Butler, its octogenarian
    honcho, was sued and bankrupted, for a shooting-spree by his followers, and died.
    Buford Furrow, a Butler-follower, once went on a shooting-spree and received a
    life-sentence. Jason Hamilton, another Butler-associate, went on a shooting-spree
    and, then, killed himself. Hal Turner, a Butler-devotee, maintained a website calling
    for assassination, but folded, claiming "no support." August Kreis, a recipient of
    welfare and Social-Security, who had aspired to "carry on" before being booted
    by Butler, posted a low-ranked website, appealing for killings with "guns, knives,
    bullets and bombs," but conceded that he was "lone."

    http://www.skinheadz.com/docs/instruct/2008/082...
    Copyright 2008 Skinheadz
  • More News · 1 year ago