NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a complaint on behalf of a young, biracial man against the Goyim Defense League (GDL), its leadership and GDL members for their campaign to assault, harass and intimidate the Jewish and Black communities of Nashville as part of a roadshow of hate. Claims include violation of the federal Ku Klux Klan Act, assault, battery and malicious harassment.
“Hate, racial and religious intolerance has no place in Tennessee or in this nation. The Goyim Defense League actively sought out marginalized communities to stoke fear and disrupt daily life,” said Scott McCoy, deputy legal director, SPLC. “This lawsuit seeks to hold the members of the GDL accountable for their harmful actions in Nashville. Groups like the GDL must learn a hard lesson: their ideologies and violence have no place in a fair, equitable society.”
“We live in a time where the most brazen extremists can wander the streets and cause harm to vulnerable communities with near impunity. Action must be taken to depower and shut down groups like the Goyim Defense League,” said Ben Raybin, co-counsel, Raybin & Weissman, P.C.
“It is critical in a time when hate is emboldened that we are not intimidated but are instead empowered to seek justice and put an end to terror in our communities,” said Erika Jacobsen White, co-counsel, Joseph Greenwald & Laake.
The GDL is an association of antisemitic white supremacists whose mission, according to statements by their founder, includes “expelling” all Jewish and Black people from the United States. The group’s ideologies overlap significantly with those of other racist, antisemitic groups and neo-Nazi provocateurs who peddle similar “great replacement theory” rhetoric. Members have joined nationwide tours that are roadshows of racist and antisemitic acts of confrontation, provocation, harassment, intimidation and violence used to ramp up recruitment, make money and further their hateful mission to drive Jewish people and people of color out of the U.S. In previous years, dozens of neo-Nazis have met up at these hate tours for the purposes of physically confronting, provoking, harassing, intimidating and/or assaulting people of color, Jewish people and their supporters. They also aim to spread propaganda, using video of their harassment, intimidation and assaults to further harm their victims through livestreams published on the GDL’s online platform and other platforms that cater to extremists.
During GDL’s Nashville tour, which began in mid-July 2024, members marauded through town, waving swastika flags, screaming obscenities and insults in people’s faces and otherwise harassing, abusing and intimidating people they perceived to be of color or Jewish, including a group of young, Black children. In addition, they littered lawns with antisemitic propaganda, disrupted a public meeting and viciously assaulted two young men targeted based on their race and Jewish ancestry.
The SPLC is suing on behalf of one of their many victims. The complaint is available here.
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.