The Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) was a

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

political party active in the United States between 2013 and 2018, affiliated with the broader "

alt-right The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...

" movement that became active within the U.S. during the 2010s. It was considered a

hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acc ...

by the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

list A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...

. Established by Matthew Heimbach under the name Traditionalist Youth Network (TYN), the group promoted white separatism and a

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

view of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. As a member of the neo-Nazi Nationalist Front, the TWP held a number of protests and other local events. In 2015, the Traditionalist Workers Party changed into a political party so as to run in elections for local office. In April 2018, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that the TWP had been disbanded the previous month after group leader Matthew Heimbach's arrest for battery.McCoy Terrence (April 20, 2018
"'Imploding': Financial troubles. Lawsuits. Trailer park brawls. Has the alt-right peaked?"
''

'' In July 2021, Heimbach announced his intention to reform the party along National Bolshevik lines.

History

Traditionalist Youth Network

The Traditionalist Youth Network was established in May 2013 by Matthew Heimbach and Matt Parrott. Heimbach has been a white supremacist activist since fall 2011, when he formed a group at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and invited the white supremacist

Jared Taylor Samuel Jared Taylor (born September 15, 1951) is an American white supremacist and editor of ''American Renaissance'', an online magazine espousing such opinions, which was founded by Taylor in 1990. He is also the president of ''American Re ...

to speak at Towson's campus. The following year, Heimbach founded a " White Student Union" on campus, adopting racist and

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

views.Traditionalist Youth Network
Anti-Defamation League (February 7, 2014). In spring 2013, upon graduation, Heimbach established the Traditionalist Youth Network in partnership with Parrot, who founded a white supremacist group, Hoosier Nation, in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

around 2009. The group eventually became a chapter of American Third Position (later known as the American Freedom Party).

Traditionalist Worker Party

The

(SPLC), which tracks

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

groups, has designated the Traditionalist Worker Party as a

and has written of Heimbach: "Considered by many to be the face of a new generation of white nationalists... Since graduating in the spring of 2013, he has entrenched himself further in the white nationalist movement and become a regular speaker on the radical-right lecture circuit." In January 2015 the TYN established the Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) as its political-party offshoot in preparation for the 2016 elections, and a small group of candidates from the

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

announced plans to run under its banner. The party states that it stands against "economic exploitation, federal tyranny, and anti-Christian degeneracy". The group's strategy differs from that of the American Freedom Party (AFP), a different fringe group: while the AFP "has long run presidential candidates with no hope of success" in order to "exploit the election cycle as a way to raise money and generate publicity for their racist positions, TWP actually hopes to win by running for local offices in small communities." One element that separated the Traditionalist Worker Party from many other far-right organizations was its anti-capitalist positions "denouncing corporate interests and environmental degradation, endorsing worker unions and upportingnationalization of key industries." Heimbach and other Traditionalist Worker Party leaders publicly supported organizations and such as the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

, and the governments of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, the Russian Federation, and China, stating that "Our policy is, if you're a group that's dedicated to a political revolution through peaceful, legal and honorable means, then you're someone we can work with...They want independence for their communities; they want

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

. hat's somethingall nationalists can stand by." The Traditionalist Worker Party endorsed the creation of a "Traditionalist International" so that nationalist organizations, under Russian leadership, could work to advance their far-right, separatist, and often

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and

anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

beliefs in global politics. The organization focused its attention on developing chapters in impoverished areas through charity events, following the model by the Greek fascist party Golden Dawn, and putting forward a message that "these are people that the establishment doesn't care about" and working to provide a political voice for.

Nationalist Front

On April 22, 2016, the Traditionalist Worker Party formed a coalition with several other organizations called the Aryan Nationalist Alliance. The Aryan Nationalist Alliance later changed its name to Nationalist Front. Its aim was to unite white supremacist,

neo-Confederate Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light. The League of the South (formed in 1994), the Sons of Confederate Veterans (formed 1896 ...

, and white nationalist groups under a common umbrella. The coalition was joined by the neo-Nazi

National Socialist Movement Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

(NSM), neo-confederate

League of the South The League of the South (LS) is an American White nationalism, white nationalist, Neo-Confederates, neo-Confederate, White supremacy, white supremacist organization that says its goal is "a free and independent Southern republic". Headquarte ...

, the neo-Nazi

Vanguard America Vanguard America is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, neo-fascist organization. The organization is also a member of the Nationalist Front. The group gained significant attention after it was revealed that James Alex Fields had marched ...

, and four other groups. In April 2017, the group organized the white supremacist rally in

Pikeville, Kentucky Pikeville () is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pike County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 7,754 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Pikeville serves as a regional eco ...

which attracted 125 to 150 supporters. In August 2017, the affiliated groups participated in the

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a White supremacy#United States, white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, whi ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

. In October 2017, the Nationalist Front was a key organizer of the "White Lives Matter" rally in Shelbyville and

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

. Participating groups included: NSM, TWP, League of the South, Vanguard America, The Right Stuff, and

Anti-Communist Action Anti-Communist Action, also shortened to Anticom, is a right-wing to far-right political organization based in the United States and Canada. The group has described itself as " the right's response to antifa." Anticom has espoused neo-Nazi id ...

Internal conflict and disbandment

On March 13, 2018, Heimbach was arrested in

Paoli, Indiana Paoli ( ) is a town within Paoli Township and the county seat of Orange County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 3,677 at the 2010 census. History Paoli was laid out and platted in 1816. It was named for Pasquale Paoli Ash, the ...

, on charges of domestic battery arising from a domestic dispute. Following this, Parrott shut down the TWP's websites and said he planned to delete membership data, citing privacy concerns. According to Parrott, the TWP no longer existed, as the incident had destroyed the group's credibility. Days later, however, Parrott filed a

sworn declaration A sworn declaration (also called a ''sworn statement'' or a ''statement under penalty of perjury'') is a document that recites facts pertinent to a legal proceeding. It is very similar to an affidavit but is not witnessed and sealed by an official ...

in court (in an ongoing federal civil lawsuit over the

in 2017), stating that he had not deleted or destroyed the membership information, as it was relevant to the ongoing litigation. On April 5, 2018, the left-wing media collective Unicorn Riot released hundreds of thousands of messages on TWP's Discord server and associated ones such as "Silver Guild" and "Not Tradworker" as part of a series on alt-right and neo-Nazi organizations. The messages on TWP's Discord server revealed that the group promoted and praised

Dylann Roof Dylann Storm Roof (born April 3, 1994) is an American mass murderer, white supremacist and neo-Nazi who perpetrated the Charleston church shooting. During a Bible study on June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charle ...

, the perpetrator of the

Charleston church shooting An Anti-Black racism, anti-black mass shooting and hate crime occurred on June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed, and one was injured, during a Bible study (Christianity), Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist ...

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, colloquially Mother Emanuel, is a church in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1817. It is the oldest AME church in the Southern United States; founded the previous year in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

as well as James Alex Fields, the man behind the

Charlottesville car attack The Charlottesville car attack was a white supremacist terrorist attack perpetrated on August 12, 2017, when James Alex Fields Jr. deliberately drove his car into a crowd of people peacefully protesting the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesv ...

during the violent

. The group also praised Jacob Scott Goodwin, a member of the group that was involved in the beating of DeAndre Harris in the parking lot during that rally. Additionally, there was a conflict within TWP over one of its members, Colton Williams, taking issue with another member having a non-white spouse. These conversations also included the group's ties to

Atomwaffen Division The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "atomic weapons" in GermanModern standard German prefers ''Kernwaffen'' () for the concept.), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, was an international far-right extremist and ...

, a violent neo-Nazi terrorist network linked to 5 murders such as the death of Blaze Bernstein of which Mark "Illegal Aryan" Daniel Reardon and Vasilios "VasilistheGreek" Pistolis were members of both organizations. Despite his group having been involved in violent incidents as well, Heimbach expressed concern over Atomwaffen's level of extremism and influence and eventually denounced it.

Ideology

Heimbach and his group advocated white separatism, and the group also adhered to a

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

and

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

.Joe Heim
This white nationalist who shoved a Trump protester may be the next David Duke
''Washington Post'' (April 12, 2016). Heimbach and Parrott are "self-declared ethnonationalists"Sarah Viets & Ryan Lenz
Matt Heimbach's Traditionalist Youth Network is Cutting Deals with Holocaust Deniers
''Hatewatch'', Southern Poverty Law Center (July 11, 2016). who aim to create a separate

white ethnostate A white ethnostate is a proposed type of state in which residence and citizenship would be limited to whites. In the United States, proposals for the establishment of such a state are advanced by white supremacist and white separatist factions s ...

. Specifically, the group promoted a white supremacist interpretation of Christianity, recruiting members to battle what it terms "anti-Christian degeneracy."Jon Schuppe
'Garrulous and Polite': The White Nationalist Behind Violent California Rally
NBC News (June 27, 2016). The group advocated the prohibition of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, restrictions on

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

, and the carrying out of what Heimbach calls "peaceful secessionist projects." In media reports, Heimbach has been called an "

personality". The SPLC describes the group's ideology as being "virulently

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

."Keegan Hankes
Meet the New Wave of Extremists Gearing Up for the 2016 Elections
Southern Poverty Law Center (October 19, 2015). The SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League both note that the group is modeled after the European

Identitarian movement The Identitarian movement or Identitarianism is a Pan-European nationalism, pan-European nationalist, Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalist, Far-right politics, far-right ideological movement centred on the preservation of White people, white ...

. The TWP proclaims itself to be "against

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

globalism Globalism has multiple meanings. In political science, it is used to describe "attempts to understand all of the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight patterns that underlie (and explain) them". While primarily associated wit ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

." The group identifies itself as an

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...

organization and it connects this position to its advocacy of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

by stating "For us, to be anti-capitalist is to be a nationalist.

Nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

is a bulwark against capitalist exploitation and

." The Traditionalist Worker Party rejected multiracial societies and the concept of

civic nationalism Civic nationalism, otherwise known as democratic nationalism, is a form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights, and is not based on ethnocentrism. Civic nationalists ...

, instead, it believed that "The ethnic community is the definition of a true nation. Shared blood, history, and traditions are what make a people and bind us together as an extended family." The rejection of multiculturalism as organizational policy is a continuation of the group's virulent

white separatist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine of ...

beliefs. In 2016, Heimbach hailed the British vote to leave the European Union as "the greatest European nationalist victory since 1933," the year of the Nazi rise to power in Germany. In 2016, the TWP and the '' Barnes Review'', a

Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...

publication, announced a partnership to promote each other.

Organization and activities

Traditionalist Youth Networks's only active university chapter is at the

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

; this group is led by a white-supremacist activist Thomas Buhls, who has been affiliated with the

Harrison, Arkansas The city of Harrison is the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek (Arkansas), Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Cen ...

-based Knights Party, a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

group. In December 2016, the group's founder Heimbach claimed that it had some three dozen active chapters and 500 members across the United States; analysts at the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League state that these numbers are likely exaggerated. The SPLC's 2017 annual report identifies the TWP as having chapters in Paoli and

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

;

Benson, North Carolina Benson is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States, near the intersection of Interstates Interstate 95 in North Carolina, 95 and Interstate 40 in North Carolina, 40. Benson celebrates Mule Days on the fourth Saturday of September, ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and the affiliated Traditionalist Worker Party as having chapters in Paoli and

Columbus, Indiana Columbus () is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 50,474 at the 2020 census. The city is known for its architectural significance, having commissioned noted works of modern architect ...

;

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

;

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Madisonville, and

Murray, Kentucky Murray is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the County seat, seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest list of Ky cities, city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,3 ...

;

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

;

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

;

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

; and Virginia. In August 2013, the group protested a leftist bookstore in

; in October 2013, the group held rallies protesting campus speeches by anti-racist educator

Tim Wise Timothy Jacob Wise (born October 4, 1968) is an American activist and writer on the topic of race. He is a consultant who provides anti-racism lectures to institutions. Early life and education Wise was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Michae ...

. In September 2013, the group, as Traditionalist Youth Network, held an event in Corunna, Michigan, in support of

Syrian president The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Armed ...

's government. The group initially planned a "Koran BBQ" that would feature the

burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combust ...

of copies of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

and pictures of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, to show "Islamic immigrants and citizens alike that they are not welcome here in Michigan"; however, this was changed to a pro-Assad protest after the U.S. government announced its plans to support

Syrian rebels A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the Syrian civil war (2011–present) as belligerents. The main groups were Ba'athist Syria and allies, Syrian opposition, the Syrian opposition and allies, Al-Qaeda and affiliate ...

. Heimbach told

MLive MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers from the state of Michigan in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold t ...

that he did not regret the group's original plan, and that the group supported Islam "when it's in its own home in the Middle East." In 2014, the group filed an

amicus brief An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amic ...

in a federal court in Michigan in the case of '' DeBoer v. Snyder''. In its brief, the group took a stance against

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, which Parrott described as part of "the Leftists icsocial engineering campaign to destroy every last vestige of Western civilization." Later the same year, the group filed a second amicus brief in a case in Maryland challenging a law prohibiting assault weapons; in a four-page filing, the TYN stated that it opposed "the enemy of freedom—the Culture Distorter—in its sights and wishes to shoot down unconstitutional legislation that disarms our people". In July 2015, the group called for the filing of hate-crime charges in connection with the beating of a white man in

Fountain Square, Cincinnati Fountain Square is a city square in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1871, it was renovated in 1971 and 2005 and currently features many shops, restaurants, hotels, and offices. History An Indian mound stood at the present site of ...

. The local prosecutor, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, stated that there was no evidence of ethnic intimidation in the crime. At a March 2016,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

rally at the

Kentucky International Convention Center The Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC), formerly called the Commonwealth Convention Center, is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The KICC, along with the Kentucky Exposition Center, hosts conventions ...

,Nicole Hensley
Matthew Heimbach claims he acted on Trump's 'get 'em out of here' order to remove protester at Louisville rally
''New York Daily News'' (April 18, 2017). Heimbach was filmed shoving a black woman who was protesting Trump. Heimbach and two other men were initially charged with misdemeanor harassment with physical contact and were served with a criminal summons in April 2017.Thomas Novelly & Matthew Glowicki
White nationalist pleads guilty to disorderly conduct at Trump rally in Louisville
''Courier Journal'' (July 19, 2017). The charge was later amended to second-degree

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions, such as the United States and China. Typically, "disorderly conduct" is a term used to refer to any behavior that is considered unacceptable in a formal, civilized or controlled environment. ...

; in June 2017, Heimbach entered an ''Alford'' plea, a form of guilty plea. Heimbach was fined $145, was ordered to attend anger management classes, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail; the jail sentence was suspended on the condition that Heimbach not commit another crime within two years. In 2018, after Heimbach was charged with misdemeanor battery and felony domestic battery in Indiana in a separate case, Heimbach's probation in the Kentucky case was revoked and he was sent to jail for 38 days. In a separate civil case, Heimbach is being sued in federal court for

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

by the woman he accosted at the March 2016 rally, Kashiya Nwanguma, and two of her fellow protesters, Henry Brousseau and Molly Shah, who allege that they were also the victims of violence at the rally. Also named as defendants are Alvin Bamberger (who is accused of assault and battery) and Donald Trump and Trump's campaign (who are accused of incitement to riot, negligence, and

vicarious liability Vicarious liability is a form of a strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency, '' respondeat superior'', the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate or, in a broader sense, the r ...

).Avi Selk
The violent rally Trump can't move past
''Washington Post'' (April 3, 2017). In the case, Heimbach, who is representing himself, said that he "relied on Trump's authority" in order to oust the woman from the rally, citing Trump's directive to "Get 'em out of here" and promise to "pay for the legal fees" of supporters who expelled dissidents from rallies. On this basis, Heimbach has filed court papers seeking

indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

from Trump. In November 2017, the group created an online

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

platform called "GoyFundMe" for racists, white supremacists, and other extremists with the objective of advancing their causes. The name is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

on the name of the

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

crowdfunding platform, founded in 2010, and the word ''

goy In modern Hebrew and Yiddish, (; , pl: , or ) is a term for a gentile, a non-Jew. Through Yiddish, the word has been adopted into English (pl: goyim or goys) also to mean "gentile", sometimes in a pejorative sense. The Biblical Hebrew word ...

''.

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

suspended the account of Matt Heimbach on January 3, 2017. The account for the group itself was suspended from Twitter on December 18, 2017.

References

External links

Official website
Website is inactive-->

a selection of photos from the Shelbyville rally, featuring TWP's members, via ''

PoliticusUSA PoliticusUSA is an American left-wingSources describing PoliticusUSA's content as "left", "left-wing", "leftist", or "left-leaning" include: * * * * website that publishes hyperpartisan clickbait. Its content has been described by academic st ...

'' {{United States political parties Defunct far-right political parties in the United States 2013 establishments in the United States Alt-right organizations Identitarian movement Syncretic political parties Anti-corporate activism Neo-Nazi organizations in the United States 2018 disestablishments in the United States Political parties established in 2013 Political parties disestablished in 2018 White American culture in Indiana Anti-capitalist organizations Anti-capitalist political parties Antifeminism Political parties in the United States National Bolshevik parties Orange County, Indiana Right-wing anti-capitalism