www.splcenter.org
Sitemap | Contact | Search | Employment
 
  Subscribe to SPLC news:
  Intelligence Project History  
  Intelligence Report  
  Hate Groups Map  
  Hate Incidents  
  Law Enforcement Training  
Hate Map
Hate Map

  White Space
Racist Social Networking Site is Back
By Susy Buchanan
 
 
New Saxon banner

Read the Hatewatch Blog

Sporting his trademark star-spangled necktie, Jason "J.T." Ready is familiar to Phoenix, Ariz., residents, law enforcement officers and journalists as a City Council gadfly and oft-quoted member of the anti-immigration Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

Online, though, Ready is better known to the nearly 2,000 registered users of New Saxon, a newly popular white-supremacist social networking website, as "Viking Son." His self-created New Saxon profile displays photographs of Ready wearing a kilt, donning a bulletproof vest, and scouring the desert for "illegals" through a pair of binoculars. Ready lists his "turn-ons" as "a woman who loves our Race, Kultur, Heritage, History and Future," identifies the racist fantasy novel The Turner Diaries as his favorite book, and describes himself as a big fan of neo-Nazi teen pop duo Prussian Blue.

Ready's "Viking Son" profile is typical fare on New Saxon. The racist MySpace knock-off has rapidly gained popularity in white supremacist circles since its inception last year, even as the fledgling online community has weathered power struggles and accusations of embezzlement and treachery.

New Saxon poll questionStaying Connected
New Saxon isn't the first attempt to launch a white supremacist alternative to MySpace, a massive mainstream social networking website that says it strictly prohibits racist content.

In 2005, Dylan Wheeler, the webmaster for the Portland, Ore.-based racist skinhead group Volksfront, created Folkcom.com, short for Folk Community. Folkcom quickly gained around 2,000 members, but was shut down in late 2005 amidst allegations that administrators monitored private messages between members.

Folkcom's fleeting success made clear the demand for a white supremacist social networking website, and in May 2006 New Saxon was registered as a website by 42-year-old Todd Findley, a longtime Florida-based white supremacist and alleged con artist.

"NewSaxon.com realizes the need of white folk to have a place on the net to call our own so we set up an online community," the site informed potential members. Findley offered "the ability to stay connected with family, old friends and meet new people through our online discussion forums, real-time chat rooms, groups, and classifieds section."

Slickly packaged with many of the same user-friendly features as MySpace — and none of the content restrictions — New Saxon attracts neo-Nazis and other white supremacists from the United States, Australia, Canada, and several European countries.

One registered user, "Deviltrigger," identifies himself as a 21-year-old white male and writes, "I fight for my race and don't stand down to some fuckiin [sic] jungle bunnies and jews." Another user, "SilverStateSkins" lists his "turn-offs" as "Niggers, Spics, Gooks, Kikes, Interracial Relationships, Fakes, Backstabbers, SHARPs" (that last refers to the anti-racist Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice). A profile posted by "SiegOderTod" features a photo of a housecat wearing a tiny red swastika armband and raising one paw in a sieg heil salute.

New Saxon poll questionNSM Takes Over
This April, Findley was arrested in Florida and charged with three counts of grand theft and one count of scheming to defraud. The charges stemmed from Findley's solicitation of funds for what he called the European American Heritage Foundation, which purported to offer white nationalists the opportunity to construct an "all-white" residential community in Florida, starting with $2,500 down payments. At least 11 families signed contracts with Findley, who was indicted for bilking these investors out of $27,500.

Shortly after he was arrested, Findley, apparently desperate for cash, put New Saxon up for sale. The National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization, quickly snatched it up for the reported bargain-basement price of $5,000.

NSM leaders then placed New Saxon under the care of NSM webmaster Eric Adams. The former imperial wizard of the Southern White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Adams also oversaw other NSM-controlled sites such as nukeisrael.com.

Adams' tenure running New Saxon proved to be short-lived. On May 30, he blocked access to the site and posted this cryptic message: "Unless the HQ contacts me, He knows who he is, and if he wishes to continue he will contact me to regain access to New Saxon."

According to allegations subsequently posted online by NSM leaders, Adams hijacked New Saxon after the NSM leaders discovered he was allegedly embezzling funds from credit card and PayPal accounts used by NSM members and supporters, including customers of NSM88 Records, the neo-Nazi group's hate-rock music company.

"Unfortunately we can not blame this problem on the jews, I wish it were so, our natural enemies are usually the culprits, but not this time," wrote NSM Commander Jeff Schoep. "The truth of the matter is, an ex-NSM member, who was part of our webteam, was caught in some very dishonorable dealings."

Somehow, NSM wrested control of New Saxon back from Adams and by mid-June the site was functioning normally again, with new features such as a "White Power Trivia Quiz." (One of its 10 questions reads, "Hitler's famous book was?" The multiple-choice answers are: Of Mice and Men, Mein Kampf, Grapes of Wrath and Die Jew Die.)

New Saxon also contains an extensive photo gallery of white supremacist tattoos, sieg-heiling children and skinheads posing in front of swastika flags. There's a music section where Johnny Rebel's "Nigger Hating Me" is the most requested song, and weekly user polls posing questions such as: "Someone says 'Adolf Hitler was a jew.' You do what?" The options include: "Show them a Doc Marten dental plan" (a reference to the brand of boots skinheads often use to kick enemies' faces) and, "Say 'Fuck Off' and flip the finger."

The New Saxon online community is subdivided into social groups devoted to various interests. For example, members of the "Noble Maidens & Mummy" group discuss parenting tips and arts and crafts to instill in their children "a moral code that will bring forth the new dawn for white pride."

With a founder indicted on grand theft charges and his successor ousted for alleged embezzlement, New Saxon's claim to the moral high ground seems as dubious as its long-term prospects. For now, though, it's the new hot spot in the virtual village of online hate.

 
 
 
  Subscribe to the Intelligence Report  
 
 
  Advanced Search: Intelligence Report  
 
 
The Latvian Connection
Issue 127 | Fall 2007
 
EDITORIAL
Margins to the Mainstream
THE LATVIAN CONNECTION
West Coast Anti-Gay Movement on the March
THE RAVENING WOLF
Catholic-Hating Organization Reemerges
REBIRTH OF A NATION
Black Supremacist Cult Rises Again
MEMPHIS SEWAGE
In Tennessee, a Racist Radio Host Thrives
In His Own Words
THE OH-REALLY FACTOR
Fox 'Expert' Decries Bogus Lesbian Gangs
THE BIG LIE
Criminal Cases Exploited to Attack Blacks
ARMED IN ALABAMA
Militiamen Arrested With Grenade Arsenal
Armados en Alabama
THE SECRET
Brother of Neo-Nazi Leader Speaks Out
DOGFIGHT
Southern Heritage Group Split Again
WHITE SPACE
Racist Social Networking Site is Back
THE PIED PIPER
Skinhead Recruiter Faces Accusations
PUBLIC ENEMY
Utah Racist Charged in Officer’s Murder
BRIEFS
Amid Talk of Black ‘Savages,’ An Exception
Wife Accuses Georgia Judge of Neo-Nazism
Nativist Video Depicts Apparent Shooting
Un video nativista describe un supuesto tiroteo fronterizo
Would-Be Clinic Bomber Gets 40 Years
Terrorist, '14 Words' Author, Dies in Prison
Second Minuteman Group in Bitter Split
Un segundo grupo de milicianos (minutemen) se separa en medio de acusaciones
Duke Supporter Elected to Louisiana GOP
Navy Extremist Disciplined, Reassigned
The Blotter: Updates on Extremism and the Law
Overheard: Quotes From the Right
Snapshot: Vanguard News Network Arrest
INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS
Polish Neo-Nazi Arrested With Plans
British Arrest Animal Rights Activists
Russian Skins Attack Rights Campaigners
Europe Outlaws Race Hate Incitement
MEDIA ON THE RIGHT
Film Delves Into Neo-Nazi Family
LEGAL BRIEF
When Are Threats Protected Speech?
THE LAST WORD
Hate Site Lauds Hitler’s 'Greatness'