Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Black Activist Says He Took Over Neo-Nazi Group to Kill It
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 4, 2019

Share

MORENO VALLEY — A black activist said he has taken the helm of what has been billed as one of the nation’s largest neo-Nazi groups to put it out of business.

Corporate records show James Stern of Moreno Valley, California, is now president of the National Socialist Movement. He replaces previous longtime leader Jeff Schoep.

“The National Socialist Movement put a poison pill into the truth of history. I think we can put the antidote to make sure that we correct some of those wrongs.” — James Stern of Moreno Valley

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Stern said he established a yearslong dialogue with Schoep and convinced the former leader to transfer the organization to him when Schoep said he planned to disband it.

“The National Socialist Movement put a poison pill into the truth of history. I think we can put the antidote to make sure that we correct some of those wrongs,” Stern said.

Stern said he prefers to control the group and neuter it rather than see it disband and reconstitute in the shadows.

“If he dissolved the group, all anyone would have to do is take it and reincorporate it and carry on the same shenanigans as it never stopped,” Stern said.

Schoep’s resignation comes as he and the National Socialist Movement are among a slew of defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by survivors of a violent 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Plaintiffs in that case recently filed a motion accusing Schoep of doing everything he could to cause procedural delays and duck accountability for his conduct.

Comparisons to Spike Lee’s ‘BlacKkKlansman’

In a phone interview, Schoep said Stern essentially tricked him into transferring leadership. He said Stern suggested that the plaintiffs would no longer pursue the lawsuit against Schoep and the NSM if Schoep handed over the reins. Schoep said he was preparing to leave the party leadership anyway, and agreed to Stern’s proposal as a way to try to reduce the party’s legal liability.

“He has that piece of paper, but he is absolutely not recognized as the leader of the National Socialist Movement.” — previous longtime leader Jeff Schoep

“He has that piece of paper, but he is absolutely not recognized as the leader of the National Socialist Movement,” Schoep, a Detroit resident, said of Stern.

Stern, though, says he can speak for the NSM, and filed his own motion in that case Thursday, saying the group now admits its liability in the lawsuit.

“Justice must be served and the truth must be told,” Stern wrote in the motion. “Consequences must be excepted (sic).”

It is unclear whether the judge will accept Stern’s status to speak for the organization.

Stern’s actions invited comparisons to the recent Spike Lee movie “BlacKkKlansman” in which a black police officer infiltrates a branch of the Ku Klux Klan.

The lawsuit against Schoep, the National Socialist Movement and other white nationalist groups describes NSM as one of the nation’s largest neo-Nazi groups, but a former officer in the group recently told the AP that it had only about 40 active, dues-paying members last year.

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

UP NEXT

Fewer Kids Are Going to California Public Schools. Is There a Right Way to Close Campuses?

UP NEXT

California Voters Reject Measure That Would Have Raised Minimum Wage to Nation-High $18 Per Hour

UP NEXT

With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

7 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

7 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

7 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

7 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

8 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

8 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

8 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

9 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

9 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

9 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

6 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

6 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

7 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
7 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

7 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

7 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
8 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend