Exclusive: Interview With Professor Who Extensively Studied Alleged Wisconsin Mass

[maddezmom]

Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism Advisory Board member and University of Nebraska at Omaha Criminology professor Pete Simi had extensive long term contact with alleged Wisconsin mass killer Wade Michael Page when he was conducting a multi-year study of the hate rock music scene in Southern California. Page was a prominent figure in the hate rock world who had links to different hate groups. Dr. Simi recently co-authored (with Robert Futrell, University of Nevada, Las Vegas) the book American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate. His research on extremist movements has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. The interview was conducted this morning by Center director Prof. Brian Levin, who has also studied hate rock and was formerly the Associate Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Klanwatch and Militia Task Force in the 1990s. Both will appear on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews this evening at 7PM EST

When did you first meet Wade Page and what was he generally like at that time?

I met Page in 2001 while I was conducting fieldwork studying white supremacist groups in Southern California. Page had recently moved to Orange County, California and was living with another research subject I already knew. Wade was immediately friendly and didn't seem to have any problems with me hanging around doing research. He actually seemed to enjoy talking about his beliefs and at times I think he hoped to convert me. There were times when he was a little quiet and awkward but other times he seemed to loosen up and would joke around a lot. He definitely had a drinking problem and would pass out regularly. His heavy drinking made it hard for him to get to work.

Who was Page affiliated with and what types of activities was he involved in?

When I first met Page he was new to Southern California but he'd been around the white supremacist movement for a while. In Southern California he was spending time with a lot of different groups and was very involved in the white power music scene playing guitar in bands and trying to help promote shows. He had contacts with the National Alliance, Hammerskin Nation, different Klan groups, Volksfront and various other groups active in the white supremacist movement.

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-levin-jd/exclusive-interview-with_b_1751181.html

[maddezmom]

1. Page's associations with right-wing extremists had drawn attention before from federal investigators

Last edited Tue Aug 7, 2012, 03:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Page's associations with right-wing extremists had drawn attention before from federal investigators, who looked into the possibility that he was providing funding to domestic terrorist groups, a senior U.S. law enforcement official said.

Investigators determined that there was not enough evidence to begin a full-scale investigation of a U.S. citizen, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official did not elaborate on the source or nature of the alleged funding.

more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-milwaukee-sikh-shootings-20120807,0,5375121.story

Man ID'd As Sikh Killer Was Mentioned In Report FBI Got About Someone Else

Tuesday, 08/07/12 1:57pm
Mark Memmott


Wade Michael Page, the 40-year-old man killed by police at the scene of Sunday's shooting rampage at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee who authorities say gunned down six people and wounded three others, was referred to in a report the FBI received about six years ago, NPR's Dina Temple-Raston says.

Dina said earlier on Morning Edition and on the NPR Newscast that Page had "popped up on the FBI's radar." She now adds some details: Page was mentioned in a report about someone else. But sources with knowledge of the investigation tell her that the FBI never opened a formal investigation because Page didn't appear to be a threat.

The Los Angeles Times, which is also on the story, says that while agents looked into whether Page might have been providing funds to a domestic group, they concluded there wasn't enough evidence to open a formal investigation.

Our original post continues:
The Times says it has been told by a "senior law enforcement official" that the FBI "looked at" Page more than once.



http://www.vpr.net/npr/158289292/

[maddezmom]

2. In 2011, Page wrote an e-mail — with a subject line reading, "No registering of long guns"

¬snip¬

In 2011, Page wrote an e-mail — with a subject line reading, "No registering of long guns" — to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: "Wake Up!!!! No more restrictions on law abiding gun owners! These restrictions do nothing about the criminals they are meant to affect. Why punish and render defenseless the very people that deserve to be protected while HELPING the offenders with such laws? The only other use for such laws is for government to gain control over the people. This is America, and I AM THE GOVERNMENT, not you! Remember who you work for, and your oath!"

After his name, Page added: "Stop tying the hands of the good guys!"

Page is the fifth person on the Southern Poverty Law Center's tracking list who has been tied to crimes in recent years. Among the others was James Von Brunn, who was charged with killing a black security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., in 2009. He died awaiting trial.

more: http://www.freep.com/article/20120807/NEWS07/120807006/Sikh-temple-shooter-thrived-as-neo-Nazi-musician?odyssey=nav%7Chead

[bobthedrummer]

3. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, a former BUND city and a consistent Neo-NAZI racist stronghold

Professor Simi. I can be a resource to those of US that refuse to ignore the White Power groups active all over the Milwaukee metro region. That's because of the historical roots of racist fascism everpresent in Milwaukee.

Look at Matt KOEHL's biography-he was born in Milwaukee too
Matt Koehl (Wikipedia via Ask.com)
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Matt_Koehl

How about Art JONES, who ran as a NSWPP candidate for Mayor of Milwaukee in the mid 70's and got thousands of votes.
Art JONES still gets around Milwaukee, the most physicially racially segregated city in the MidWest.

Neo Nazi rally: 5 arrested, none injured (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel arhives)
http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/photos/129196693.html

What do you think, maddezmom?

[maddezmom]

4. In 1992 Fort Bragg was also a recruiting centre for white hate groups including the National

¬snip¬

But at the time Fort Bragg was also a recruiting centre for white hate groups including the National Alliance, once regarded as one of the most effective such groups and also among the most extreme because it openly glorified Adolf Hitler. The Military Law Review at the time reported that National Alliance flags were openly hung in barracks and, out of uniform, soldiers sported neo-Nazi symbols and played records about killing blacks and Jews.

"White supremacists have a natural attraction to the army," the Military Law Review said. "They often see themselves as warriors, superbly fit and well-trained in survivalist techniques and weapons and poised for the ultimate conflict with various races."

In 1995, two soldiers with the 82nd Airborne murdered a black couple in Fayetteville, the city neighbouring Fort Bragg, in a racially motivated attack.

Others serving at the base during the 1990s were arrested for hoarding ammunition in preparation for an attack on businesses, including media organisations, owned by African Americans and Jews. Soldiers were also arrested as members of skinhead gangs involved in assaults.

more:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/07/wade-michael-page-wisconsin-shooting?newsfeed=true