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Subscribe to RSSWhile investigators continue to search for a motive in the deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in Wis., they say alleged gunman Wade Michael Page was active in the white supremacist scene for at least 12 years, playing in two bands associated with racist skinheads.
The gunman who allegedly attacked a Sikh temple in southern Wisconsin, killing six people and wounding four, was a “white supremacist skinhead” and “frustrated neo-Nazi” who led a white power punk and metal band, groups that track extremism said Monday.
Wade Michael Page, 40, was the founder of End Apathy, according to Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a blog post about Page, Potok cited an April 2010 interview that the alleged gunman gave to the “Uprise Direct” music website about the band’s work.
MySpace, End Apathy
A photo of Wade Michael Page, 40, who is accused of killing six people and wounding four others at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis.
Page said his band, which formed in 2005, “was based on trying to figure out what it would take to actually accomplish positive results in society and what is holding us back. A lot of what I realized at the time was that if we could figure out how to end people’s apathetic ways it would be the start towards moving forward. Of course after that it requires discipline, strict discipline to stay the course in our sick society.
“So, in a sense it was view of psychology and sociology. But I didn't want to just point the finger at what other people should do, but also I was willing to point out some of my faults on how I was holding myself back. And that is how I wrote the song ‘Self Destruct,’’ he said.
Mark Pitcavage, director of investigative research for the Anti-Defamation League, said Page was a member of the Hammerskins, "one of the oldest and largest hardcore racist skinhead groups," and identified himself as a Northern Hammerskin, part of the group’s upper Midwest branch.
End Apathy had been a featured band in recent years at many Hammerskin-organized white power music concerts, such as the August 2010 “Meet & Greet BBQ & Bands” in North Carolina, the Hammerskins’ St. Patty’s Day Show in March 2011 in Orlando, Fla., and Hammerfest 2011 last October in Orlando, Pitcavage noted in a blog post, in which he described Page as a "white supremacist skinhead."
Researchers say the alleged gunman in the Wisconsin Sikh temple was deeply involved in hate group subculture. The Army veteran, who was discharged for a drinking problem, played in two bands associated with racist skinheads. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
“We had identified Page several years ago as someone who was prominent in the white-power music scene,” he told NBC News. He said Page also used a pseudonym, “Jack Boot,” an apparent reference to the high military boots worn by members of dictatorial regimes such as Nazi Germany.
The white-power music scene is one of the main things that the Hammerskins do in the United States and is a “fairly important part of the white supremacist subculture" in the country, said Pitcavage. Because of Page's role in that music scene, he had already become linked with the Hammerskins through his involvement in bands tied to the group and his performances at their events.
Page became a “fully patched” member of the Hammerskins by late 2011 after going through an apprenticeship period. He had one of their tattoos on his right arm -- a sort of cogwheel with the numbers 838 inside it (838 is an alpha-numeric code that means “hail crossed hammers,” a reference to their logo of two-crossed hammers that was taken from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”), Pitcavage said. The tattoo also had the group’s colors of red, black and yellow.
A photo of Page also showed that he had a Celtic Cross tattoo with the number 14 in it, which is a “major white supremacist symbol,” Pitcavage said.
The Hammerskins emerged in Texas in the mid-to-late 1980s and spread across the country. They are loosely organized, not hierarchical and tend to group themselves regionally.
“It has had a strong association with violence over the past several decades,” Pitcavage said, noting that it was not surprising that the alleged gunman “was a white supremacist because white supremacist shooting sprees tend to be directed at minorities.”
FBI probes background of Sikh temple shooting suspect
Sikhs reel after senseless attack: 'We're not Taliban'
Sikhs at the Golden Temple, their holiest shrine
Page said in the “Uprise” interview that his music was a mix of '80s punk, metal and Oi!, a subgenre of punk.
“The topics vary from sociological issues, religion, and how the value of human life has been degraded by being submissive to tyranny and hypocrisy that we are subjugated to,” he said in the interview.
Page was a “frustrated neo-Nazi who had been the leader of a racist white-power band,” wrote Potok, of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “In 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center has found that Page also attempted to purchase goods from the neo-Nazi National Alliance, then America's most important hate group.”
The FBI was “looking at ties to white supremacist groups” in the case, said Teresa Carlson, FBI special agent in charge in Milwaukee. They were also investigating the attack as possible domestic terrorism, which she noted meant use of force or violence for social or political gain. The FBI did not have an active investigation on Page before Sunday.
Page, an Army veteran who served from 1992 to 1998 but was never deployed, said in the “Uprise” interview that he was from Colorado and that in 2000 he “wanted to basically start over.”
“So, I sold everything I owned except for my motorcycle and what I could fit into a backpack and went on cross country trip visiting friends and attending festivals and shows. I went to the Hammerfest 2000 in Georgia, over to North Carolina, up to Ohio, down to West Virginia, and out to California… .”
Since 2009, the United States has been in the middle of a “huge resurgence” of right-wing extremism largely split into two spheres: an anti-government extremist one, such as the militia movement, and white supremacists, Pitcavage said. The number of militia groups has quintupled in the past three years and there have been many arrests of white supremacists over the same time for acts of violence, he said.
The election of a non-white president and the struggling economy were the triggers, Pitcavage said.
“It’s just a huge number of incidents from the extreme right since 2009. It’s the biggest resurgence of right-wing extremist activity since the mid-1990s and the Oklahoma City bombing (in 1995), and it’s causing problems all around the country,” he added.
On End Apathy's Myspace page, the group listed its location as Nashville, N.C., and said they had finished recording for an upcoming release on Label 56, which the ADL described as a Maryland-based company that distributes racist skinhead music, videos and merchandise. The last login for the page was dated Feb. 21, 2012.
Label 56 issued a statement Monday saying that all images and products related to the group had been removed from their website.
“We do not wish to profit from this tragedy financially or with publicity,” said the label. “In closing please do not take what Wade did as honorable or respectable and please do not think we are all like that.”
Label 56 officials did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.
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omg did he bomb the pentagon like bill ayers??
This organization is similar to ALEC'S principles except it's more violent.
Something about this and that batman shooting does NOT smell right to me!I can't place my finger on it but it all seems a bit odd.In both shootings actual eye witnesses are saying 3-4 shooters( this is just being covered in local news ) yet I do not hear even one person talking about that.All I have seen in both shootings is the "mainstream" media complete ignoring these facts and giving us their version of the "facts". This reminds me a bit of when I saw my friends on CNN in their "fallen Hero" bits when I saw my friend that I knew had been killed 2 weeks before up on CNN as being killed in an attack the day before and that when I knew that the news is meant only to dis-inform us all .
What makes these Republican TeaBilly's so Evil and Violent? Is it da Sarah Palin Books?
Any word from the NRA?
last time I looked there were 0 arrests at the tparty rallies....hundreds at the occupy, not to mention rapes and murders
Folks all ya Heard from da TeaBilly’s for the past few years is:
We want our Country Back.
We Cleaned up or Rally really Nice.
Now all ya hear is:
Anybody but Obama.
It Shows ya how they have no Leadership, Direction, Solutions or Substance and have Lowered all Expectations and Standards.
You Bet Cha….Fer Sure.
There are over 1,000 right-wing domestic terrorist militias all supported by the NRA as anti-government patriots ready to overthrow the government at the behest of the NRA. There are way to many reasonable and responsible citizens who are members of the NRA for their sportsman interests and don't buy into the paranoia of the white supremacy. The only way to get the NRA to disavow its association with these organizations is to get out and form an organization that does the civic duties of responsible gun ownership, gun safety through education and genuine sportsmanship that doesn't draw targets over people with non-rightwing political views.
TeaBillyism = Selling your Soul to da Republicans.
Republicanism = Selling your Soul to da Devil.
You BetCha….Fer Sure.
ummm..........looks like your pants is down and its really showing your hate.
Brace yourself America, this is only the beginning.
So the Mayans were right afterall. Thought we had to wait til December?
Republican TeaBilly Conservative = Social Natzeeeeeeee’s.
the guy would fit right in at any occupy camp
Maybe this Killer just got done reading a “Sarah Palin” book….became Confused, Irrational and Lost his Mind. It seems to be a “Side Effect”.
You BetCha….Fer Sure.
Whelp if we ban all guns, what are we going to defend ourselves with, harsh language?
WeAreBetterThanThis.org
Sign the petition to get guns out of the hands of criminals. They're the only ones with assault weapons. Screw you NRA! You're full of sh*t!
Not going to happen, are you familar with the second amendent?
Yeah, you maybe better than that, but criminals and thugs don't give a rats arse about you being better then them now do they?
JoeS. Hey buddy boy you need to pull your head out of the dark hole that it is stuck in, get a little fresh air and take a few deep breaths. You are going to suffocate on your own fecal matter.
omg almost as many killings as there were at the occupy camps
The Sihk in the US ARMY have been allowed to wear full beards, turbans, etc. See LT Kalsi, etc..... Lots of soldiers have a problem with that because they are NOT allowed to have beards or choose their head gear. Pretty much Christians are under attack from the US Government. And it was legal in Mossuri for 138 years to shoot Mormons on the city streets ("Mormon Extermination Order" enacted 1838, rescended 1976). We live in troubled times, folks -- still. Along with the "freedom of religion" enjoyed by people of all faiths, perhaps those seeking (Sihks) "special treatment" from the US that produces resentment in us "regular joes" should consider MAKING THOSE CHANGES EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO MAKE TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY!! You are nothing special. My God is no less real to me than your god is to you. Why should you get to dress any different?
Well, why don't you start wearing different garb then? Until you do, Sikhs and others will be accommodated for their religious beliefs because that's the American Way and a guarantee of the First Amendment to the U.S. constitution.
If a Sikh wants to serve in the military, he or she does so to protect your butt. His turban or beard will not make any difference whatsoever when he has to fight to protect your right to spout non-sense. He does not seek special treatment - he just seeks the same type of religious accommodations that all other people of various religious beliefs get.
As for Missouri and their laws, if you do study your history, you will learn that the early Mormons were actually rather mean - to say the least, although they were unfairly mistreated in many territories. For reference, please see Wikipedia about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Also see about blood atonements and blood vows. The Extermination Order, by the way, was rescinded formally in 1976.
The people elected to office since the founding were Christians, and it seems funny that since the Christians turned to Mammon for wealth and power, they are now blaming the government for being anti-Christian. The Christian church today is not the church of the 1st Century Christians nor of the piety of the liberal Jewish Jesus. I remember when Christians were concerned about their personal piety and not their personal profit or power. I am an atheist because those who believe in God worship an idol of their own ego, and I never want to be affiliated with any religion that worships Mammon.
There is a long tradition, of Sikhs in the military. As part of their belief, they are obligated to protect the defenseless. They are among the very best soldiers.
Hey, LaDolce... Thanks for repeating info I already provided (1976). Since everyone is inferior to you, we really needed YOU to say it to make it so. And I DO think that religious beliefs should be expresed in the military. Heck, where would FT Hood be without MAJ Hasan gunning down people because his Imam told him to?
Obama says "shootings happen too often". Well in Chicago, Obama's city, there are 10+ shootings every day! Gun control in Chicago with strong Democrat leadership has left the drug gangs well armed and the innocent people unarmed. Why hasn't the Chicago Democrat done anything to protect poor Blacks in Chicago from being murdered by a Black drug gang? WHY? Chicago is a war zone. I guess Obama has sympathies with drug gangs, having been a drug user. His friends still need their supplies! especially in Hollywood so the Mexican Border will remain wide open so that Obama can supply liberals with drugs. Meanwhile the drug gangs kill.
Obama just said that this all George Bushes fault.
Mitt Romney just said that it is all President Obama's fault. Romney even blames President Obama for the Bane screwing of American business. If Romney would release his tax returns, he would blame President Obama for making him do it. Romney: Blame Obama so I don't have to take responsibility for my screw ups. Capitalism: a paradise for thieves "Let the buyer beware". The American Dream "rags to riches" is more like "rags, now take a bath and get a job at minimum wages, and be grateful that the rich don't tax you more". Romeny economics: Tax the working class so the rich can get richer and create more minimum wage jobs, else send them overseas."
What does the NRA do other than take money for Memberships?. Who are the People Behind the Scenes...you know da ones pulling da strings and what really is there Agenda?
Why does this make me want to break out in song? =0)
Didn't this Band Play at all of da Republican TeaBilly Rally's the past couple of years?
You BetCha....Fer Sure.
I find it rather disengenous that the left keep trying to associate nazism to the republican party. Nazism was national socialism. For you left wing boobs thats what your messiah obozo advocates. The tea partie's concern is the economy and federal corruption, lead by the number one corruptcrat Barack Obozo.
The Tea Party GOP is promoting establishment of corporate socialism as it already exists in the tax code and corporate control of the government. Socialism only means that a group of people cooperate in a political context - like the Tea Party GOP, unlike the Democrats who seem to be unable to focus on a progressive agenda for advancing human freedom (as opposed to economic freedom for corporations to avoid taxes, regulations against corporate wrong-doing, and tort reform preventing corporate responsibility).
National Socialism (Nazis) is socialism for corporations, kind of like what we have now... under Republicans.
Nice try Max...
I am a Christian but anybody who even did the most minimal amount of research would have realized they probably would want a Sikh as a neighbor and in my case more so than 65% of the so-called Christians out there. Yeah a little research and he might have known that he could put Sikh's way down the list of hate for all things different than there own warped view. Sikh's have many beautiful and admirable views and philosophies that any Christian would value and can use as their own with the blessing of the Sikh faithful. What a pathetic excuse for a human being this guy is.
I appreciate Christians who recognize the universal moral value of the Golden Rule found in all religions, and who embrace the commandments and Sermon on the Mount as spoken by the liberal Jewish Jesus. Paul's letter to the Corinthians about love is one of the most stirring writings in the Bible. I'm an Atheist.
I appreciate an Atheist who can see the universal wisdom found in most religions. Unlike many Christians I have found most Atheist to be very moral people. I know that the logic center in many folks brains does not allow them to believe in the irrational and FAITH is believing in the irrational.
Last I checked, Form 4473 the Firearms Transaction Record has a line asking if the purchaser has been dishonorably discharged from the military. Would this not bring into question the legality of the purchase of his firearm?
I heard this Nazi TeaBilly Dude was wearing a TeaBilly T Shirt will da latest sayings on it when he did da Dirty Deed.
Some Tea Party's slogans from Last Debate:
"We wanna make it White again".
Let's do the White thing this time.
"It's not White to have a Blk President in office.
” I'm dreaming of a White President”.
And since Obama is Half White: We never like Half and Half in our Tea.
It is called the "White House", isn't it?
Why are people who think like the Nazi's even in this country? I guess because they are usually poor worthless people who can't make it in life so they need to blame their failures on someone else and can't afford a pot to pee in let alone move to someplace more of their liking. Time to get rid of them instead of them thinking they can get rid of anyone they don't like.
there you go fox news with your reporting ...well done this is all on you....with reporting all or everything wrong ......mitchelle bachman good job.... and the rest of you goooniies rasist bastards.