Andrew Anglin
Andrew Anglin | |
|---|---|
 Anglin in 2013 | |
| Born | July 27, 1984 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Linworth Alternative Program Kilbourne High School (1999–2003) Columbus State Community College (2003) Ohio State University (2004) |
| Occupation | Editor of The Daily Stormer |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Known for | The Daily Stormer |
| Movement | |
| Part of a series on |
| Antisemitism |
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 Category |
Andrew Barret Anglin (born July 27, 1984)[1] is an American neo-Nazi, conspiracy theorist, and editor of the website The Daily Stormer.[2] Through this website, Anglin uses elements of Nazism combined with Internet memes originating from 4chan to promote white supremacy, fascism, and antisemitic conspiracy theories such as Holocaust denial to a young audience.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Anglin was born in 1984, and grew up in Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.[4][5][2] According to both Anglin and his childhood classmates, he was liberal as a youth.[6][2] He attended the Linworth Alternative Program and the Worthington Kilbourne High School from 1999 to 2003, where he was remembered as a JNCOs-wearing dreadlocked atheist vegan who often wore a hoodie with a "fuck racism" patch.[7][2] His friends in high school report that his behavior changed during his sophomore year at Linworth, where he exhibited self-harming behavior, and began promoting conspiracy theories.[2] After high school, Anglin took classes at Columbus State Community College in 2003, and studied English at Ohio State University for one quarter in 2004.[2][7]
Career
[edit]In 2006, Anglin launched a conspiracy theory website, Outlaw Journalism, which he claims was modeled after the works of Alex Jones and Hunter S. Thompson, whom Anglin admired.[2]
According to Anglin, he left the United States in 2007 and moved to Asia, which he described as an "awesome" experience where he developed "affinity for the Asian races".[8] In 2008, after posting on Outlaw Journalism that the only way for humanity to survive was to return to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, Anglin began traveling around Southeast Asia, eventually ending up in Davao City. In 2011, he spent several weeks with a Tboli village in southern Mindanao, where he initially intended to stay permanently, selling some of his possessions to raise money for a dowry to marry two local Muslim women.[2] In 2012, Anglin wrote that he found the locals to be "a civilized, non-aggressive and industrious people" but he eventually came to consider them too "primitive", became lonely and only wanted to associate with members of his own race, and "By the Grace of God, I found Adolf Hitler."[7]
In 2012, Anglin launched another website, Adventure Quest 2012, which discussed conspiracy theories such as the existence of reptilian humanoids. He described the aim of the site as seeking to "mend the wounds produced by modern society ... and [help] the reader transcend these physical bonds and reach total ascendancy. To mend these wounds, the world must learn to embrace diversity and color".[7] Later in 2012, he launched his first neo-Nazi website, Total Fascism.[6] Feeling that Total Fascism was not appealing to a younger demographic and had articles that were too long, Anglin launched The Daily Stormer on July 4, 2013, with shorter articles and a more provocative style.[6]
Legal issues
[edit]SPLC lawsuit
[edit]In April 2017, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Tanya Gersh, accusing Anglin of instigating an anti-Semitic harassment campaign against Gersh, a Whitefish, Montana, real estate agent.[9][10] In July 2019, a judge issued a $14 million default judgment against Anglin, who is in hiding and has refused to appear in court.[11][12][13] On November 9, 2022, a warrant was issued for Anglin's arrest for ignoring the judgment against him.[14]
Dean Obeidallah
[edit]In August 2017, radio presenter Dean Obeidallah sued The Daily Stormer in an Ohio federal court. Anglin had published fake images which purported to show Obeidallah, who is Muslim, celebrating the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. The lawsuits cleared a longstanding hurdle in March 2018, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch declared that there was sufficient evidence of Anglin being domiciled in Ohio despite living abroad.[15] In July, the court found in Obeidallah's favor, with neither Anglin nor his representatives present in court.[16]
Sines v. Kessler
[edit]In October 2017, Anglin was named as a defendant in a case brought by nine Charlottesville residents following the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. Anglin was named alongside Robert "Azzmador" Ray as responsible for The Daily Stormer website, as well as Moonbase Holdings.[17] A default judgement was entered against Anglin who did not participate in the trial.[18]
American University student
[edit]In May 2018, Taylor Dumpson, the first black student body president at American University, sued Anglin for organizing a racist and sexist trolling campaign against her.[19] She alleges that Anglin had posted her name and picture, as well as links to her Facebook page and the Twitter account of the university's student government, and urged his readers to "troll storm" her, which resulted in many hate-filled and racist online messages directed at her. Although Dumpson and Anglin have not reached a settlement, she settled in December 2018 with one of the people who harassed her, a man from Eugene, Oregon named Evan McCarty who was a neo-Nazi musician and former theatre actor known as "Byron de la Vandal" (named after Byron De La Beckwith, the assassin of Medgar Evers) who served as a member of the fascist Vanguard America and affiliated with the Daily Stormer. McCarty was required to apologize, to renounce white supremacy, to stop trolling and doxing online, and to provide information to and cooperate with authorities in the prosecution of white supremacists.[20] The lawsuit that was brought on her behalf was led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law which continues to use litigation as a tool to fight extremism and to slow the efforts[21] of white supremacists.[22]
On August 9, 2019, a Federal judge awarded Dumpson a judgment of over $725,000, to be paid by Andrew Anglin, Brian Andrew Ade, and the shell company which owns The Daily Stormer. The defendants did not show up to contest the lawsuit, so a default judgment was entered against them, consisting of $101,429.28 in compensatory damages, punitive damages of $500,000 and attorney's fees and costs of $124,022.10. A restraining order was also handed down, as was an injunction not to publish anything more about Dumpson. The judgement came only a day after Tanya Gersh was awarded a $14 million default judgment against Anglin.[23][24]
Views
[edit]Anglin has stated: "The goal is to ethnically cleanse White nations of non-Whites and establish an authoritarian government. Many people also believe that the Jews should be exterminated".[25] Anglin also uses The Daily Stormer as a platform to promote misogynistic conspiracy theories, claiming that politically active "white women across the Western world" are pushing for liberal immigration policies "to ensure an endless supply of Black and Arab men to satisfy their depraved sexual desires".[26] In July 2018, Anglin summarized his misogynistic views, writing: "Look, I hate women. I think they deserve to be beaten, raped and locked in cages."[27] Anglin is also a Holocaust denier.[28] Although he has espoused neo-Nazi views, he has attempted to rebrand his ideology as "American Nationalism".[28] Anglin stated he agreed with the central tenets of Nazism in 2014, but had reservations over the revival of all aspects of Hitler's regime.[6] A self-proclaimed "troll", Anglin stated that he had been introduced to Nazism on the online imageboard 4chan.[29]
Criticism
[edit]Anglin has received criticism from some other white nationalist organizations, such as the website Counter-Currents, who deem The Daily Stormer lowbrow and do not like its troll-heavy approach.
Anglin was banned from Twitter in 2013, but was reinstated weeks after the site was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022.[30][31] Twitter banned him again in May 2023.[32]
The Anti-Defamation League says that Anglin is controversial among white supremacists for his past relationships with Asian women during his time as an expat in the Philippines,[33][34] and for his misogyny, including towards white women.[7]
See also
[edit]- Antisemitism in the United States
- Far-right politics in the United States
- Racism in the United States
- Radical right (United States)
References
[edit]- ^ "Andrew Anglin's Lawyer Visited The Elusive Nazi's Hometown And Madness Ensued". HuffPost. January 25, 2018. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h O'Brien, Luke (December 2017). "The Making of an American Nazi". The Atlantic. ISSN 1072-7825. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ Siegel, Jacob (June 29, 2015). "Dylann Roof, 4chan, and the New Online Racism". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Andrew Anglin". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ Anglin, Andrew (August 25, 2017). "I was born in 1984". Archived from the original on June 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (March 20, 2014). "Here's America's leading Millennial Neo-Nazi. Ugh -->". Vocativ. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Oliphint, Joel; Downing, Andy. "The White Nationalist from Worthington". Columbus Alive. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Andrew Anglin Addresses the Attacks on His Person". August 15, 2014. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ Kirkland, Allegra (April 18, 2017). "Lawsuit: Neo-Nazi Led Anti-Semitic Harassment Campaign Against Montana Woman" Archived August 22, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Talking Points Memo. Retrieved May 16, 2017
- ^ Robertson, Adi (April 17, 2018). "White supremacist website hit with lawsuit over harassment campaign" Archived August 22, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. The Verge, Retrieved May 15, 2017
- ^ Storey, Kate (August 29, 2019). "Tanya Gersh Was the Target of a Neo-Nazi 'Troll Storm.' Then She Fought Back—and Was Awarded $14 Million". Esquire. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ "Neo-Nazi website founder owes $14 million to woman he urged readers to harass". NBC News. Associated Press. August 9, 2019. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ O'Brien, Luke (April 25, 2019). "Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin's Lawyers Want To Ditch Him In High-Profile Harassment Case". HuffPost. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ "Judge in Montana orders arrest of neo-Nazi website founder". AP News. November 9, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ Kunzelman, Michael (March 22, 2018). "Lawsuit against Neo-Nazi site's founder clears legal hurdle". Cincinnati.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ Adely, Hannan (July 3, 2018). "Court sides with Paramus-born comedian in lawsuit against neo-Nazi website". North Jersey. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Sines v. Kessler (W.D. Va.), Text, archived from the original.
- ^ Hammel, Tyler (October 24, 2021). "UTR rally organizers return to Charlottesville, but this time as defendants". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ "School's First Black Student President was the Target of a Racist Attack. Now she's Suing Over the 'Troll Storm' That Followed". Fox 40. CNN. May 5, 2018. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- ^ Larimer, Sarah (December 21, 2018) "Man who harassed black student online must deliver ‘sincere’ apology, renounce white supremacy" Archived December 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post
- ^ Zraick, Karen (December 21, 2018). "Student Targeted by 'Troll Storm' Hopes Settlement Will Send Message to White Supremacists". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Judge orders neo-Nazi website to pay black university graduate nearly £600,000 for racist 'troll storm'". news.yahoo.com. August 11, 2019. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ Keeley, Matt (August 9, 2019) "A Black Woman Was Awarded $725,000 In a Lawsuit Against A Neo-Nazi Who Led a Harassment Campaign Against Her" Archived December 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Newsweek
- ^ "Judge orders neo-Nazi website to pay black graduate £600,000". The Independent. August 11, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ Hankes, Keegan (August 25, 2016). "Whose Alt-Right Is It Anyway?". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ Futrelle, David (January 1, 2019). "The alt right is fueled by toxic masculinity — and vice versa". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ Reaves, Jessica (July 31, 2018). "Mapping the Male Supremacy Movement: The Alt-Right's Woman Problem". Ms. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "Andrew Anglin: Five Things to Know". Anti-Defamation League. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ Hankes, Keegan (February 9, 2017). "Eye of the Stormer". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ Graeme Massie; Rachel Sharp; Alex Woodward (December 2, 2022). "Kanye West news – live: Biden says 'silence is complicity' as Elon Musk suspends rapper for posting swastika". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ Bort, Ryan (January 30, 2023) "Men Must ‘Force’ Women to Submit, Says Neo-Nazi Reinstated to Twitter by Elon Musk." Archived December 8, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Rolling Stone. (Retrieved March 8, 2023.)
- ^ "Evaluating Twitter's Policies Six Months After Elon Musk's Purchase". ADL. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ O’Brien, Luke (November 14, 2017). "The Making of an American Nazi". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463.
- ^ "Eye of the Stormer". Southern Poverty Law Center. February 9, 2017.