| The National Socialist Movement | |
|---|---|
| |
| Established: | 1974 |
| Fragmentation: | 2015 |
| Eras: | United Nazi War |
| Capital: | Detroit Michigan |
| Leader: | Jeff Schoep |
| Newspaper: | NSM Magazine |
| Preceded By: | American Nazi Party |
The National Socialist Movement' (NSM) is a white supremacist party operating in the United States and around the world. Originally called the National Socialist American Workers Freedom Movement, the group was founded in 1974 by Robert Brannen and Cliff Herrington, former members of the American Nazi Party before its decline. The party's current chairman is Jeff Schoep, who has held that position since 1994. The group currently claims to be the largest and most active National Socialist organization in the United States. Although at times classified as a hate group, they refer to themselves as a "white civil rights organization." Each state has members in smaller groups within areas known as "regions." The NSM has National meetings as well as smaller Regional meetings.
The National Socialist Movement was responsible for leading the demonstration which some believe sparked the 2005 Toledo Riots. In 2007, some members left to join the National Socialist Order of America, which was led by 2008 presidential candidate John Taylor Bowles.
In January 2009, the group sponsored a half-mile section of U.S. Highway 160 outside of Springfield, Missouri, as part of the Adopt-A-Highway Trash Cleanup program. The highway was later ironically renamed the "Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Memorial Highway" by the state legislature. In 2009 the NSM had 61 chapters in 35 states, making it the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
On April 17, 2010, 70 members of the National Socialist Movement demonstrated against illegal immigration in front of the Los Angeles City Hall, drawing a counter protest of hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators. In May 2011, the NSM was described by The New York Times as being "the largest supremacist group, with about 400 members in 32 states," although that membership number is considered to be extremely conservative in its estimate by the organization. On May 1, 2011, Jeff Hall, a leader of the California branch of the NSM, was killed by his ten-year-old son.[4] Hall had previously run in 2010 for a seat on the board of directors of a Riverside County water board, a race in which he earned about 30% of the vote.
The NSM held a rally on September 3, 2011 in West Allis, Wisconsin. The rally was to protest incidents at the Wisconsin State Fair on August 5, 2011 when large crowd of young African-Americans targeted and beat white people as they left the fair around 11 p.m. Police claimed the incident began as a fight among African-American youths that was not racially motivated. Dan Devine, the mayor of West Allis, stated on September 2, 2011, "I believe I speak for the citizens when I say they [the NSM] are not welcome here.