On March 25th, 2017, white supremacists from throughout the region will be assembling at the Joppatowne Memorial VFW Post 5838 for a St Patrick’s Day gathering. The event is in its eleventh year of operation and was recently announced on both Twitter and hate site keystone2001united.wordpress.com. The event is coordinated by far-right record label Label 56 and operated out of the Baltimore area.
In light of the recent election of Donald Trump and the subsequent emboldening of white nationalists, the potential for this event to draw large numbers of militant members of white supremacists to recruit, network, and organize is significant. The Ku Klux Klan, and specifically the East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire7, have been distributing flyers locally in Ellicott City, Towson, and Bel Air, and as far away as North Carolina8. The Mid-Atlantic General Defense Committee is monitoring developments in Maryland and working with at-risk communities to defend against these threats as they emerge.
In 2015, Steve Smith5 Republican county committeeman for Luzerne County PA and co-founder of Keystone State Skinheads (known as Keystone United since 2009) attended the event.6
The guest list also included Matthew Heimbach3, founder of the controversial White Student Union at Towson State and its successor the Traditionalist Youth Network who made a speech which according to Keystone Skinheads’ website4 urged “that the time has come for white people of all religions to stand up together to fight that which intends to destroy us and our culture”.
According to the Anti-Defamation League1, Label 56 is a company “based in Linthicum, Maryland, that distributes racist skinhead music CDs, videos, and merchandise. It has Web site links on the home pages of several Northeastern skinhead groups, including the Maryland Skinheads, the Keystone State Skinheads[KSS], American Thule Society, and the Vinlanders Social Club.” An article from the anti-fascist research group One People’s Project further indicates2 that “Label 56 is the music outlet for a violent neo-Nazi gang called Maryland State “Skinheads” (MDS). MDS head Jason Tankersley, while more involved with their Mixed Martial Arts arm has some organizational input over Label 56 as well.”
Maryland State Skinheads, Keystone State Skinheads and Supreme White Alliance members are regular features at the annual event, but it has reach beyond local racist skinhead groups.
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General Defense Committee
Baltimore.gdc.research@gmail.com
One People’s Project
Contact: PO Box 42817 Philadelphia, PA 19101 (267)970-5889 antifa@onepeoplesproject.com
References:
1) http://archive.adl.org/racist_skinheads/states/maryland.html
2) http://onepeoplesproject.com/index.php/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=1037%3Asikh-temple-shooter-was-a-damn-hammerskin&catid=29%3Aantifa-news&Itemid=14
3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_Youth_Network
4) https://keystone2001united.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/9th-annual-mds-show-review/
5) https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/04/27/co-founder-pennsylvania-skinhead-group-wins-re-election-county-committee-seat
6) https://keystone2001united.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/mds-8th-annual-st-pattys-day-show-2/
7) http://www.eastcoastknightsofthetrueinvisibleempire.com/
8) http://wncn.com/2015/12/23/kkk-fliers-dropped-off-in-nc-neighborhoods-police-looking-for-culprits/
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