Right-wing extremism

Did Von Brunn See Significance In The Number 88?

Zachary Roth | June 10, 2009, 4:52PM

Is there a significance to the fact that James Von Brunn allegedly carried out this shooting at the Holocaust Museum at the age of 88?

Eighty-eight is a number with particular significance in Neo-Nazi circles. The eighth letter of the alphabet is 'H', so 88 equates to HH, or "Heil Hitler." The German Neo-Nazi rock group Landser has a song called "88 Rock Band.

The lyrics:

White Power! They call me nazi and I am proud about They call me racist and I shout it out loud I am proud of my race, proud of my land White brothers and sisters Come and raise your hand

We are an 88 Rock 'n' Roll Band
We are an 88 Rock 'n' Roll Band
We are an 88 Rock 'n' Roll Band
and we play for the fallen for race and land

Racism

Von Brunn Promoted Work Of Legendary Anti-Semite

Zachary Roth | June 10, 2009, 4:05PM

It looks like James Von Brunn tried to use Wikipedia to promote the work of Willis Carto, the right-wing Holocaust denier and founder of the Liberty Lobby.

Just last month, a Wikipedia user James Von Brunn asked the site's adminstrators:

How do I get user: James W. von Brunn on Wikipedia website. Also I have a letter from Professor Revilo Oliver pertaining to Willis Carto that I want to attach. ???????"

According to his Wikipedia page, Carto has been accused by some observers of doing more than just about anyone to keep anti-Semitism alive as a political movement in the US during the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Late Update: The Southern Poverty Law Center, which says it added Van Brunn's website as a hate site last year, adds:

In the 1980s or early 1990s, von Brunn was employed by Noontide Press, a part of the Holocaust denying Institute of Historical Review, which was then run by Willis Carto, one of America's most prominent anti-Semites.

So Von Brunn's ties to Carto appear to go far deeper.

Right-wing extremism

Von Brunn To Fellow Extremists: Don't Go To Montana, Holocaust Memorials Are The Enemy

Zachary Roth | June 10, 2009, 3:53PM

In the posting on a right-wing conspiracy site, Von Brunn specifically mentions the idea that the "enemy" is at Holocaust memorials.

He writes:

There are many, many informed patriots such as YOU who know the score! The question then is why don't the INFORMED, such as YOU, take action? If YOU won't take action, if the INFORMED don't take action who the hell will - certainly not the UN-informed.

Moving to Montana is a cop-out. The ENEMY is at the FED, the networks, Wall Street, Congress; at "Holocaust" memorials, at synagogues, not in some sylvan mountain retreat.

Right-wing extremism

Von Brunn Revered By Some Neo-Nazis

Zachary Roth | June 10, 2009, 3:40PM

James Von Brunn appears to be a kind of revered elder statesman of the hardcore white supremacist movement.

A 2003 posting on the Neo-Nazi website Storm Front, by "The Celtic Pit Dog," asked readers to wish him good health after heart surgery and noted "I have heard many great things about this amazing man."

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Right-wing extremism

James Von Brunn: A Profile

Brian Beutler and Zachary Roth | June 10, 2009, 3:18PM

On December 7, 1981, a man named James W. Von Brunn pulled out a sawed-off shotgun at the Federal Reserve Board headquarters, claiming to have planted a bomb and threatening to take members of the Board hostage. That was 40 years to the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, though it's unclear whether that's a coincidence or not.

Years later, he'd describe the entire incident somewhat differently.

In 1981 Von Brunn attempted to place the treasonous Federal Reserve Board of Governors under legal, non-violent, citizens arrest. He was tried in a Washington, D.C. Superior Court; convicted by a Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys, and sentenced to prison for eleven years by a Jew judge. A Jew/Negro/White Court of Appeals denied his appeal.

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