Kirk D. Lyons, a lawyer who was married at the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations compound by hatemeister Richard Butler, was elected at the SCV's August convention as a representative of the "Army of Northern Virginia Department" — one of the SCV'S three geographic divisions.

Lyons' ascension to the 13-man national executive council came despite a lengthy personal history of racist activities that includes past membership in the neo-Nazi National Alliance.

At the same convention, a pastor whose defense of American slavery has made headlines around the South in recent months was appointed "chaplain-in-chief" of the 105-year-old SCV. The SCV'S current "commander-in-chief" says he has "no problem whatsoever" with the appointment of Pastor John Weaver.

Weaver, whose new post puts him on the ruling executive council with Lyons, was widely criticized for a tract he wrote saying "many ... African slaves blessed the Lord for allowing them to be enslaved and sent to America."

Most major supermarket chains last year stopped carrying barbecue sauces sold by Maurice Bessinger because Bessinger also sold the Weaver booklet on slavery.

The rise of Lyons and Weaver appears to reflect an ongoing radicalization of the SCV, a group interested in Civil War remembrance that in the past has generally avoided political stands that could be interpreted as racist.

Lyons' lengthy extremist history is detailed extensively in an earlier issue of the Intelligence Report ("In the Lyons Den," Issue No. 99, Summer 2000).