William Daniel Johnson
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William Daniel Johnson (born 1954) is an American
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
, attorney, and the chairman of the
American Freedom Party The American Freedom Party (formerly the American Third Position Party or A3P) is a political party in the United States that promotes white nationalism. In November 2009, it filed papers to be on a ballot in California, and was launched in Ja ...
.


Background

Johnson graduated from
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
where he majored in
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
and later served as a
Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...
in Japan. Before becoming an activist, Johnson's background was as an attorney. He was admitted to the bar in California in 1981, Colorado in 1990, and Arizona in 2006. In the 1980s, Johnson began to use three separate identities to promote his work. Under the name James O. Pace, he wrote a 1985 book advocating a constitutional amendment (the "Pace Amendment") that would repeal the 14th and 15th amendments and deport almost all non-whites from the United States. This proposal was similar to one advocated earlier by
J. B. Stoner Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. (April 13, 1924 – April 23, 2005) was an American lawyer, white supremacist, neo-nazi, segregationist politician, and a domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 1958 bombing of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingh ...
. The Pace Amendment proposed defining whiteness thus: Under the Pace amendment, indigenous Americans and Hawaiians would be maintained in tribal reservations instead of being deported. The Pace book included dust-cover comments written by
Richard Girnt Butler Richard Girnt Butler (February 23, 1918 – September 8, 2004) was an American engineer and white supremacist. After dedicating himself to the Christian Identity movement, a racialist offshoot of British Israelism, Butler founded the neo-Na ...
and Dan Gayman. In 1986, he promoted the book by attending Butler's
Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white supremacist organization that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group i ...
World Congress. Under the name "Daniel Johnson", Johnson founded the League of Pace Amendment Advocates, a group dedicated to promoting the Pace amendment. In his capacity as an attorney, Johnson used the name "William D. Johnson". In 1987, following an exposé by the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', it quickly became clear that "Pace" and both Johnsons were all the same person. This came to light partly because the League had been infiltrated by a member of the
Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...
, which opposed the amendment.


Political aspirations

In 1989, Johnson ran for Congress as an independent in a Wyoming special election to replace
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
. He received enough signatures to appear on the ballot, and said he was running because "Whites don't have a future here in this country, and that is ... one of many issues that I am addressing." His campaign was promoted by the
Nationalist Movement The Nationalist Movement is a Mississippi-founded white nationalist organization with headquarters in Georgia that advocates what it calls a "pro-majority" position. It has been called white supremacist by the Associated Press and Anti-Defamati ...
, and he ended up receiving about 0.3% of the vote. In 2006, Johnson again ran for Congress, this time in a Democratic primary for an Arizona House seat. He did not openly espouse the Pace Amendment, but did call for the deportation of Mexican illegal aliens. His campaign manager, Russ Dove, had attracted coverage earlier for burning a Mexican flag. In this contest, Johnson came in a distant fifth. During this campaign, Johnson stated that he opposed a constitutional amendment banning
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. In 2008, Johnson ran for a seat on the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. He was initially endorsed in that race by
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
, but after Johnson's racist views came to light, Paul retracted his endorsement of Johnson. Bruce Einhorn, the national commissioner of the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, commented on the election by saying "A competent judge is one who parks his politics at the courthouse steps. Someone who holds such racist views and flaunts them so obviously is in no position to block them out of his courtroom." Johnson lost this election, winning only 26% of the vote. In 2010, Johnson became the first (and so far only) chairman of the
American Freedom Party The American Freedom Party (formerly the American Third Position Party or A3P) is a political party in the United States that promotes white nationalism. In November 2009, it filed papers to be on a ballot in California, and was launched in Ja ...
. During an appearance on ''
The Political Cesspool ''The Political Cesspool'' is a weekly far-right talk radio show founded by Tennessean political activist James Edwards and syndicated by the organizations Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network in the United States. First broa ...
'', Johnson said "Our positions are reasonable and moral and everybody can understand them and accept them" and said that he wanted to run candidates who were "sincere, honest people". In 2012, Johnson ran for Congress under the
Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it con ...
label for the 11th District in Michigan. He received 3,251 votes, or 0.9%. In 2016,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's
presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
named Johnson as one of its delegates to the
2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Lo ...
, to be held in July. Trump campaign officials blamed Johnson's inclusion on a "database error", though Johnson claimed he really was one of Trump's delegates.


Views

Johnson has expressed support for
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, arguing that it should adopt the Pace Amendment model. "In 20 years ... Israel will cease to exist unless Israel deports all non-Jews from its borders ndestablishes a demilitarized zone around the country; America and Europe repatriate their anti-Israel Arab/Muslim populations; and Israel renews its efforts to call Jews home. Israel's policy should be to encourage all Jews in America ... who desire the continued existence of Israel to emigrate there." In 2016, Johnson paid $2,000 to
robocall A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public service or emer ...
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
voters accusing
Evan McMullin David Evan McMullin (born April 2, 1976) is an American politician and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. McMullin ran as an independent in the 2016 United States presidential election and in the 2022 United States Senate electio ...
of
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
. As part of a later apology for this action, he explained that "Evan McMullin typified that perfidious mentality" in Americans of "failure to marry and have children," adding that the "white birth rate is so astonishingly low that Western Civilization will soon cease to exist." Johnson is an advocate of the
Fourteen Words Fourteen Words (also abbreviated 14 or 14/ 88) is a reference to two slogans originated by David Eden Lane, one of nine founding members of the defunct white separatist insurrectionary terrorist organization The Order. The slogans have served ...
slogan. He has stated that he and his organization "embrace principles that will secure the existence of our people and a future for our children". He has claimed that
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
withdrew his endorsement of him for a judgeship in California, after media reported that he was an advocate of the 14 Words.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, William Daniel Alt-right American Freedom Party American Mormon missionaries in Japan 1954 births Living people 20th-century Mormon missionaries Arizona Democrats Natural Law Party (United States) politicians American white supremacists California Republicans