Brian Herb, neo-nazi member of Blood and Honour USA and Keystone United supporter.
Brian Carlton Herb is a neo-nazi member of Blood and Honour USA and Keystone United supporter living in Pennsylvania. He is 45 years old.
Brian Herb (r) with fellow Blood and Honour boneheads posing in front of a Keystone State Skinheads banner, showing how meshed the two groups are in PA.Herb (4th from left) with fellow Blood and Honour nazis.
Herb does not seem to be much of a presence at demonstrations but is a regular at the social events put on by Blood and Honour and Keystone United. It is important not to discount the value of these events. As we discussed in our intro article to this series, Keystone United and Blood and Honour use them as social lubricant when practicing entryism into more mainstream conservative circles as well as simultaneously recruiting from those circles.
Herb (center with Blood and Honour t-shirt) with Keystone United and BNH boneheads.
Herb was convicted in 2000 for possession of materials to manufacture narcotics and sentenced to 7 days to 18 months. He was convicted of assault in 2006. Herb was accused of leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license in 2013. He was charged last year with driving under the influence, possession, and driving without a license, among other traffic charges.
Herb was sentenced just this month to 3 days to 6 months in Northumberland County jail. Herb’s last known address is 867 W. Spruce St., Coal Township, PA. We are asking our readers to send us any additional info they have on Herb, especially related to his criminal case and his employment.
Herb repping Blood and Honour USA on Facebook.Herb wearing a BNH t-shirt and “White Pride Cross” belt buckle.
Name: Brian Herb
Last Known Address: 867 W. Spruce St., Coal Township, PA
Affiliations: Blood and Honour USA, Keystone United, Keystone State Skinheads
Corina Drennen and Chris Croumbley, Keystone United supporters.
Christopher Croumbley is a 38 year old neo-nazi and associate of the Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United. His partner, Corina Drennen, is a Keystone United supporter.
Croumbley appears to be something of a late-in-life nazi. He is from PA originally, and spent some time in Florida, but he had been living in Tennessee with his ex wife as of 3 years ago. In pics from that time, he does not exactly cut the image of a typical bonehead.
Oi?
lol
In late 2016 into 2017, Croumbley began posting nazi and racist images on Facebook, was spotted at Keystone United events, including in March of this year, when they were reduced to holding a flash demo at the state house in Harrisburg. Croumbley was also in attendance at Leif Erikson Day last year in Philly and was involved in the brutal attack on 2 Anti-Racists in FDR park.
One of the pro-nazi images Croumbley posted on social media.Croumbley promoted Keystone United on social media.Croumbley (on right beneath flag with sunglasses on) holding a flash demo with Keystone United in Harrisburg.Croumbley (center with white shirt) with KSS at Leif Erikson Day 2017 in Fairmount Park
Croumbley recently shoved and accosted someone for wearing an Anti-Fascist t-shirt and pins outside Chameleon Club in Lancaster. He is friendly with at least one of the bouncers at the club, and was also overheard to claim his partner “owns the Shamrock Cafe in Lancaster, PA.” and that he “lives right next door to it.” Anti-Racists in the Lancaster area should be careful of these locations. We believe it is likely he is probating for KSS, but that is not confirmed.
His partner is Corina Drennen, who is the daughter of Shamrock Cafe owner Eileen Drennen. Corina is fully aware and supportive of Croumbley’s association with KSS, and is a KSS supporter herself. Her last known address is 2209 Columbia Ave, Lancaster PA.
We are asking our readers to send us any more info they can find on these nazis.
Names: Christopher Croumbley and Corina Drennen
Last known address: 2209 Columbia Ave, Lancaster, PA (for Drennen). Croumbley claims to live next door to The Shamrock Cafe, also in Lancaster, PA.
Employment: Corina Drennan works at Shamrock Cafe in Lancaster
Associations: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United
Terrence “Terry” Stockey is a neo-nazi associate of Keystone United. Stockey is one of the 6 KSS members, associates and supporters being charged for Ethnic Intimidation and Assault relating to a targeted attack against a Black man at a bar in Avalon, PA this summer.
Stockey’s last known address is 521 Roseland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, though he may have relocated to Beaver, PA. Stockey is 40 years old and claims to work as an electrician.
Stockey keeps his nazi affiliations relatively understated, but if you scratch the surface you can find evidence. He is Facebook friends with Shane Dilling, a Pittsburgh KSS member. He made a Google+ account that he quickly abandoned, but not before leaving this gem.
For the uninitiated, 1488 is a common numerical code for neo-nazis. 14 is a reference to “The 14 Words,” a slogan among Nazis coined by David Lane, who was a member of the nazi insurgent group The Order. The Order committed robberies, counterfeiting, murders and bombings in their quest to “bring total victory to the Aryan Race.” The 14 words are “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” 88 is a code for HH, or Heil Hitler.
Terry Stockey with a tattoo that appears to be a mix of a kolovrat/sunwheel and black sun.
We are asking our readers to help us ascertain where Terry Stockey is working, as well as confirm whether he has actually relocated to Beaver or if he is still in Pittsburgh.
Name: Terrence Raymond Stockey
Last Known Address: 521 Roseland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. May have relocated to Beaver, PA.
Associations: Keystone United, Keystone State Skinheads
Update: We incorrectly identified Dilling as one of the KSS associates charged in the bias attack in Avalon. This was simply a mix-up oversight and have removed mention from the article. Apologies to our readers.
Keystone State Skinheads member Shane Dilling celebrating the fact that he doesn’t think twice. Maybe he should.
Shane Dilling is a longtime neo-nazi and member of Keystone State Skinheads based in Pittsburgh. He is 40 and works as a freelance tattoo artist. He has also worked in tree removal and construction.
Neo-nazi Shane Dilling
Shane was also involved in the brutal attack of 2 Anti-Racists in FDR park following their Leif Erikson Day celebration in Fairmount Park. Dilling has been at several LED’s in the past.
Shane Dilling at Leif Erikson Day 2017 on Boathouse Row. Note the KSS tattoo on the inside of his right arm.Shane Dilling in KSS t-shirt at LED 2017.
Shane’s last known address was 108 Hawthorne Ave, Pittsburgh. We are calling on our readers in that area to help make Dilling’s neighbors (in whatever way they feel safe) aware that he is a longtime neo-nazi organizer with a recent history of violent assaults. Keep in mind that Dilling and associates are very violent, though potentially their current charges could dissuade them from unprovoked attacks.
Dilling (2nd row right) with KSS at LED 2017.Dilling (right in KSS t-shirt) with fellow KSS and Keystone United members at their Yule Party.Dilling (front row 2nd from left) with fellow Keystone United members holding a flash demo in Harrisburg, PA.
Name: Shane Dilling
Last known address: 108 Hawthorne Ave, Pittsburgh
Employment: Freelance tattoo, tree removal, and construction.
Associations: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United, Blood and Honour USA
Cory Button and Courtney Miller, neo-nazi and Keystone United Associates.
Cory Button and Courtney Miller are neo-nazis and Keystone United associates living in Jersey Shore, PA. Button has attended at least one of the KSU Leif Erikson Day events in Philly (2016) and they have both attended the various movement-building social events KU puts on during the year, including a BBQ in central PA.
Leif Erikson Day 2016, where KSS and Traditionalist Worker’s Party rallied in secret on Kelly Drive in Philly.Button and Miller wearing nazi gear. His hoodie has the white pride world wide celtic cross logo and her shirt says “Keystone United supporter.”
Their last known address is 411 Wilson St., Jersey Shore, PA. Button claims to have formerly worked in horizontal drilling for H&H Enterprises. It is not known what either of them is doing for work now. We are asking our readers to send us any verifiable information as to their employment statuses.
Nazi Cory Button on the way to work.Button and Miller posing in front of a white power flag.Cory Button. His shirt reads “United States of Anti-Antifa.”Photo from front of Button and Miller’s home. They are flying a modified nazi battle flag with the swastika replaced by another common neo-nazi symbol, the black sun.
Names: Cory Button and Courtney Miller
Last known address: 411 Wilson St., Jersey Shore, PA
Employment: Unknown; Button may be working in horizontal drilling.
Affiliations: Keystone United supporters. Button may be a probational member.
“Tim Wylie was convicted of 3 separate firearms felonies and sentenced on January 16th to 2-4 years in SCI Camp Hill and 3 years state probation to run concurrent with confinement. As of August 7, 2018, he is confined at Quehanna Boot Camp.”
Article has been updated to reflect that info.
Tim Wylie, Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United member.
Tim Wylie is a neo-nazi member of Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United. Wylie joined KSS more recently, in the past few years. Wylie was present when KSS was providing security for the National Socialist Movement demo in Harrisburg 2 years ago. He also attends all their social events such as their Yule and St. Patrick’s Day parties. Wylie was present at Leif Erikson Day in Philly last fall.
Wiley (right front with backwards cap) with fellow KSS members at Leif Erikson Day 2017 in Fairmount Park.
Wylie was arrested in 2016 for driving without a license while carrying a handgun with the serial number removed as a felon. KSS co-founder Bob Gaus started a fundrazr for Wylie, but it did not meet it’s goal.
Wiley with KSS at Leif Erikson Day 2017. Wiley is wearing a KSS hoodie.
Wiley with KSS bandanna.
Wylie is 25 years old. His last known address was 6111 Blue Valley Ave, Harrisburg PA. However, Wylie was convicted of three firearms felonies in January and began a 2-4 year sentence, and as of this writing is being house at Quehanna Boot Camp, a military style program run by the PA Department of Corrections. Pretty lenient sentencing for a repeat offender just convicted of 3 firearms felonies.
Wiley (with glasses next to Bob Gaus) with Keystone United demonstrating against refugees in Harrisburg, PA.Wylie, kneeling front and center with glasses, at the Keystone United yule party.
Wylie, back right with glasses, hanging out with fellow Keystone State Skinheads and Blood and Honour nazis.
Name: Timothy Richard Wylie
Age: 25
Last known address: 6111 Blue Valley Ave, Harrisburg PA.
Affiliations: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United
Bryan and Patricia Vanagaitis, neo-nazis and members of Keystone United. Bryan is also a member of Keystone State Skinheads.
Bryan and Patricia Vanagaitis are long time neo-nazis. Bryan is a member of both Keystone United and Keystone State Skinheads, Patricia is a KU member and KSS supporter. The two of them lived in Philly for many years, using a house they lived in on Ditman St. as a sort of home base for KSS, letting some of their members live there at times and used the house for meetings.
Philly KSS in the basement of Bryan Vanagaitis’ old house. From l to r, Vanagaitis, Joey Phy and AJ Olsen.The Vanagaitis’ with Philly Keystone United.
Back in 2014, after we finished running the klan out of Tacony (including recently sentenced klansman Richard Preston), we and some locals paid a visit to the house and held a home demo. A few weeks later they had left the city for Highspire, PA, located a few miles outside Harrisburg.
Bryan Vanagaitis wearing his KSS flight jacket.Philly KSS singing at one of their Yule events. Bryan Vanagaitis is on the right in KSS flight jacket.Vanagaitis (behind Bob Gaus and AJ Olsen) with fellow KSS members.
The Vanagaitis’ can be found at pretty much all KSS events, including their Leif Erikson Day celebrations that happen here in Philly every October. Patricia was involved in campaigning for Steve Smith’s reelection to the Luzerne County GOP Committee.
Patricia Vanagaitis (front right) wearing “Vote for Steve Smith” shirt with other Keystone United members and supporters. Smith is in the back.
Their last known address was 209 Frederick Street, Highspire, PA.
Bryan Vanagaitis with his KSS shirt.
We are asking our readers to get creative with ways to expose the Vanagaitis’ as neo-nazi organizers to their community, as well as sending any additional info on these two, to us.
Bryan and Patricia Vanagaitis at Leif Erikson Day 2013 with fellow nazis surrounded by protesters.Leif Ericson Day 2012 after party. Both are visible in crowd.Keystone State Skinheads at Leif Erikson Day 2017 on Lemon Hill. Bryan Vanagaitis is in center with cap and hat.
Names: Bryan and Patricia Vanagaitis
Last Known Address: 209 Frederick Street, Highspire, PA
Affiliations: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United
Evan (l) and William (r) Decker, neo-nazi members of Blood and Honour’s Club 28 and Keystone United affiliates.
William and Evan Decker are brothers and neo-nazis living in Pennsylvania. They are both affiliated with Blood and Honour, Keystone United, and Keystone State Skinheads. William attended Leif Erikson Day in Philly in 2013 with a large contingent of Blood and Honour affiliated nazis, including Vinlanders Social Club founder Brien James.
Decker with fellow nazis at Leif Erikson Day 2013 in Fairmount Park.Evan Decker showing off some of his neo-nazi tattoos.
William Decker and his partner, “Sally Jean”. Decker is wearing a vest with a Blood and Honour patch and another patch that appears to say “Blood and Honour President Pennsylvania.”Sally Jean wearing a Club 28 Blood and Honour supporter t-shirt.
Sally Jean and William Decker. Decker is wearing his Blood and Honour gear.Evan Decker is a similar vest with Blood and Honour patch as his brother William.William Decker posting a picture of an SS t-shirt.
William Decker has a tattoo of a Panzer tank on his left forearm.Sally Jean and William Decker. Decker’s Blood and Honour patch is visible.
Evan Decker is working at the Mr. Tire in Punxatawny, PA. He also works as a sinter operator at MPP Falls Creek. We would like to ask our readers to contact both these companies (Social media this weekend, call first thing Monday) and demand that Decker be fired for his affiliation with violent Neo-Nazi gangs like Blood and Honour and Keystone State Skinheads.
We are also asking our readers to help us ascertain where William Decker is currently working.
Names: William and Evan Decker
Locations: Rockton and Dubois, PA
Affiliations: Blood and Honour, Club 28, Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United
UPDATE: We previously reported that Natasha Bowers had started working at 2 companies. It appears that had been on a trial basis and neither job worked out so we have removed mention of those companies. Please cease contacting them. Bowers is not an employee there.
Natasha Bowers and Jeremy Ingram, Keystone United members. Ingram is also a KSS member.
Jeremy Ingram and Natasha Dawn Bowers are 2 neo-nazis and Keystone State Skinheads assoiates living in Hollidaysburg, PA. Ingram is a KSS member and Bowers is a KSS supporter. They are two of the 6 KSS associates and members who were charged with misdemeanor assault and ethnic intimidation after a racist attack in Avalon, PA this summer.
Ingram is 35. When he joined KSS is unclear, but he was a longtime associate of Blood and Honour USA’s “Club 28.” Here is a picture of Ingram with Bowers, and his Club 28 tattoo is partially visible on his forearm.
Blood and Honour USA’s brand has been claimed by most Vinlanders Social Club affiliated state-based bonehead crews over the years, KSS included. When Brien James and the Vinlanders called for a “Council of 28” to coordinate between various racist bonehead organizations, KSS was in attendance.
Ingram and Bowers. Ingram is wearing his Blood and Honour patch.
We are also asking for anyone with additional info on these two to send it our way.
Ingram mugshot for an arrest in PA related to an outstanding warrant a few years back.
Names: Jeremy Ingram and Natasha Dawn Bowers
Last Known Address: 578 Berwind Rd, Hollidaysburg PA
Employment: Sas Retail Merchandising and the Smokey Pig (Bowers)
Assocations: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United
Stacey and Joe Phy, Keystone United members. Joe is also a Keystone State Skinheads member. They live in Philadelphia.
Joseph and Stacey (Sautner) Phy are longtime neo-nazis who live in Philadephia. Joe is a Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United member, Stacey is a Keystone United member and KSS supporter.
Joe Phy (2nd from left) with Keystone State Skinheads members in Philly.
Joe Phy has been a member of Keystone State Skinheads/Keystone United since their inception, or shortly after. He is a committed National Socialist who reps being both Heathen and Asatru (check out Heathens United Against Racism for all the latest on the struggle from within those beliefs against nazis like the Phys) . Joe Phy is extremely active in KU/KSS. Stacey Phy is also reps Asatru.
Stacey Phy (laughing with arms around 2 other women) campaigning for KSS co-founder Steve Smith.Joe and Stacey Phy at Leif Erikson Day 2012 after party with Keystone United.Philly KSS a few year ago. The Phys are on the left. Apologies for the size of the pic.KSS at Leif Erikson Day 2017 in Philly. Joe Phy is wearing the cap and Anti-Antifa t-shirt in rear center.
Phy has been involved in assaults on anti-racists, as well as other violence, and was once under house arrest for an assault conviction. Phy was with a group of neo-nazi that came to a Pride event in Philly in 2006, spewing homophobic hate and nazi salutes before quickly leaving.
Joe Phy (right, no shirt) at a Philly Pride event in 2006 with other nazis.Joe Phy harassing a Pride event in Philly in 2006.
Phy has attended most Leif Erikson Day events in Philly, and has helped organize them. He also travels around the state to almost every KSS-related event, participating in Anti-Refugee “Overpasses Across America” campaign, among others.
Phy (2nd from right) at Overpasses Across America with other KSS members.
Phy was last known to be working at the Metal Shop on Cottman Ave. Phy is not shy about his affiliations so it is definitely possible they are aware that he is a KSS member. Attempts to call the Metal Shop to confirm were not successful.
Stacey Phy works as a Contact Center Agent for the city at 3-1-1. We are aksing out readers to call Managing Director Michael DiBerandis at (215) 686-3480 and demand that Stacey Phy be fired for her continued involvement in Keystone United and Keystone State Skinheads. Having a neo-nazi working for the city in any capacity is unacceptable.
Joe Phy (center, in hat) and KSS members alongside polish neo-nazis in Jersey City, NJ in 2013Joe Phy (r) with fellow KSS members.Joe Phy with fellow KSS members.Joey Phy having a really good time at Leif Erikson Day 2013 surrounded by protesters.Phy wearing his KSS gear.
Names: Joseph Phy and Stacey Phy (Sautner)
Affiliation: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United, Blood and Honour USA
Last Known Address: 4383 Salmon Street, Philadelphia PA
Workplace: Joe @ The Metal Shop, Cottman Avenue, Stacey works @ 3-1-1
EDITOR’S NOTE: Before we get to our article for the day, we wanted to encourage our readers to KEEP UP THE CALLS to Gertrude Hawk Chocolates (1 800-822-2032) regarding them employing Steve Smith of Keystone State Skinheads at their Dunmore, PA warehouse as a forklift operator. Without revealing too many details, we have reason to believe the calls are having an effect. Keep calling to follow up, and demanding that they fire Smith for his leadership roles in KU/KSS, as well as his nazi activism, and his history of racist violence.
AJ Olsen of Keystone State Skinheads at their Leif Erikson Day event in Fairmount Park in 2011.
Anthony James “AJ” Olsen is a neo nazi and member of Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United living in Philadelphia. Olsen has been involved in organizing the Leif Erikson Day Celebration here in Philly for the past 7 or so years.
AJ Olsen of Keystone State Skinheads at 2017 Leif Erikson Day event in Fairmount Park. Olsen is wearing a hoodie of notorious British nazi band Skrewdriver.
Olsen was involved in the violent assault of 2 Anti-Racists in FDR park following KSS’ rally in Fairmount earlier in the day last October. FDR was the location for their after-party, and as Anti-Racists began trickling in to protest, a dozen or so KSS members brutally assaulted 2 of them before canceling the party and fleeing.
Olsen (2nd from left) with fellow members of Keystone State SkinheadsOlsen (l) with KSS members participating in an anti-refugee “Overpasses Across America” demonstration.
Olsen is a longtime and committed National Socialist, starting off in South Jersey as one of a 2 man “crew” called South Jersey Skinheads that functioned as a satellite crew of KSS briefly before Olsen moved to Philly and joined KSS.
AJ Olsen in a really bad Halloween costume?AJ Olsen (2nd from right) with fellow KSS members.Olsen marching at Leif Erikson Day 2017 in Philly with Keystone United
Olsen lives at 2913 Knor Street in the Mayfair neighborhood of Philly. He is a very active member and present at almost all KU and KSS events. Olsen fancies himself a “romantic” with an interest in more obscure fascist philosophers like Julius Evola.
Olsen (r) with fellow neo-nazis at Tacony library countering our demo there a few years ago.
Olsen lives with his partner, Sabrina Long, and his mother, brother, and his mother’s partner. Long is a nazi and KU supporter as well, and his family are all aware and supportive of his activities within KSS.
AJ Olsen and KSS members alongside polish neo-nazis in Jersey City, NJ in 2013AJ Olsen at Leif Erikson Day 2013 listening to Matthew Heimbach try to make a speech while being drowned out by protesters.Olsen (l) with fellow KSS members.
Olsen drives a Ford F-150 (PA ZGZ 0574). He can often be found buying beer after work at the beer store on Tyson and Roosevelt Boulevard. He may be working at the navy yard in south Philly, possibly either as maintenance or security. We are asking our readers to send us any more information they find on Olsen.
AJ Olsen of KSS’ truck.
Olsen is prone to violence (he once pulled a knife on people at a show at Philly venue The Electric Factory when questioned about his associations) and usually carries a gun, so those in the area should be aware of the danger he represents.
Name: Anthony James Olsen
Last known address: 2913 Knor Street, Philadelphia
Relationship: Married to Sabrina Long
Affiliations: Keystone State Skinheads, Keystone United, Traditionalist Youth Network, Be Active Front USA, South Jersey Skinheads
Melissa and Robert Gaus, Keystone United members and neo-nazis.
Bob Gaus is a longtime neo-nazi and co-founder of Keystone State Skinheads. He is heavily involved in a leadership role with Keystone United and KSS. Less is known about his activities before being in KSS, but it is known that Gaus aspired to joined a 1%er Motorcycle Club but was rebuffed. Gaus has attempted to recreate that environment with KSS, even as their Keystone United brand offered them much greater success than being a bonehead crew ever did.
Keystone State Skinheads at Leif Erikson Day 2017 on Lemon Hill. Bob Gaus is front and center in sunglasses.
Gaus pled guilty alongside fellow nazis Doug Sonier and Joseph Hoesch for assault for a 2002 assault in a diner in Feasterville, PA after a man asked them to stop throwing food at his table. He also has been arrested at least 3 times for DUI.
Keystone State Skinheads Yule Party. Gaus is center rear.
Gaus lives in Harrisburg and runs the Harrisburg unit of KSS, which, is in reality, a revolving door of his drinking buddies. Gaus is 47 and has a linkedin profile claiming to be an “Independent Sports Professional.” That is probably a reference to “Brutal Force Athletics,” a clothing label Gaus runs, the website of which has not been updated in several years. That said, many members and associates of KSS can be seen wearing Brutal Force Athletics gear, so it is good to be aware as a potential way to ID KU/KSS nazis.
Gaus (2nd from left with Keystone State Skinheads and Blood and Honour nazis.Traditionalist Youth mid-Atlantic gathering in Philly in 2016. Gaus is on the right with goatee and KSS shirt.Keystone State Skinheads members. Gaus front center-right with KSS t-shirt.
Bob Gaus was married in 2015 to his wife, Melissa Gaus (Regl). Melissa is also a nazi and vocal member of KU/KSS. She is 39 and works as a model and actress. She is from Baltimore, MD.
Melissa Gaus, Keystone United member from one of her modeling photos.
Gaus wearing a shirt bearing the number 88, a commonly used white supremacist symbol for the 8th letter twice, HH for Heil Hitler. The odin runes on the banner reading “get some” are also a favorite of white supremacists.Melissa and Bob Gaus at the Keystone United yule party.Melissa and Bob Gaus protesting against refugees in Harrisburg
Just this summer they put a pre-assembled home on a parcel of land Gaus owns at 10 Small Valley Road in Halifax, PA. They are either moved in there or still living at their old place at 7112 Union Deposit Road, Hummelstown, PA. We are asking our readers to help us find info on what else they’re currently doing for work, if anything.
Names: Robert and Melissa Gaus
Last known address: 10 Small Valley Road, Halifax, PA
Employment: Robert- Owner, Brutal Force Athletics. Melissa works as a model and actress.
Affiliations: Robert is co-Founder Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United and de-facto leader of KSS. Melissa is a Keystone United member and KSS supporter.
Steven Scott Smith of Keystone State Skinheads and Keystone United
Steven Scott Smith is a neo-nazi and founding member of the Keystone State Skinheads, as well as Keystone United, and has remained heavily involved in the leadership and activities of both groups. Smith is also leadership in the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a vile hate group with an innocuous name that originated with the White Citizens Councils of the Jim Crow south. Smith is a longtime National Socialist and Bonehead. Smith lives in Pittston, PA.
We have written extensively on Smith over the years, and his history as a racist and neo-nazi is a matter of public record. Smith was in the Army, then joined David Duke’s KKK, following Duke to the “Natonal Association for the Advancement of White People,” and again to the organization EURO. Smith also was involved in the Aryan Nations for a time with his longtime friend going back to the Klan days, Charles Juba. Smith wrote fondly on the nazi message board Stormfront of “going way back” with Juba, as well as convicted child molester August Kreis, and their “proven track records.” Locally, Smith founded and/or took on leadership roles in KSS, KU, CCC, and several other “white civil rights” organizations.
Steve Smith in the army.Smith posing in front of a campaign poster of Hitler.Steve Smith (center, back) with members of Keystone State Skinheads and Blood and Honour.Steve Smith partying with convicted murderer and nazi Charles Marovskis, who pled guilty to killing 2 homeless men in FL in 1998, along with Kenneth Hoover. Both would later join KSS before being arrested in 2007.
In 2012, Smith was elected as a Luzerne County, PA Republican Party Committeeman as a write-in candidate. He campaigned for re-election in 2016 and won handily with over 70 votes. While this is a party position, and not a coveted one at that, it is still alarming. Keystone United has since gotten another member, Ryan Wojtowicz, elected to another Committeeman post. Smith encourages KU members to run for local office where the positions are often open to whoever is willing to campaign for them.
KU members Ryan Wojtowicz, Jason Honeywell, and Steve Smith.
Smith was involved in a racist attack on a black man in Scranton, PA in 2003 when he and 2 other KSS members “attempted to assault a black man who was simply walking down a street in Scranton, PA. The three approached him while holding bricks in their hands and asked him if he had ever been “beat up by a skinhead.” As the man ran away and called police with his cellular phone, the three drove by and threw a brick at him while yelling racial slurs.”
Smith has attended almost every Leif Erikson Day, and can be found at almost every action or social event related to KU/KSS, or any other far right event in Pennsylvania, as well as Luzerne County and other Pennsylvania republican party events.
Smith with KSS at Leif Erikson Day 2012 after-party. Smith is in back in the center.
Smith works as a Forklift operator for Gertrude Hawk chocolates at their warehouse in Dunmore, PA. We are asking our readers to contact Gertrude Hawk chocolates and demand they fire Smith immediately. Gertrude Hawk chocolates are in malls all over Eastern PA, and we doubt many of those malls want to associate with a company that employs a leader in Pennsylvania white power political organizations with a history of violence. You can call them at (800) 822-2032 . If you are unable to call or they stop answering the phone, leave a review for them on Facebook or Google, tag them on Twitter or Instagram, or get creative in ways to be heard.
Traditionalist Youth mid-Atlantic gathering in Philly in 2016. Smith is in the rear center behind TWP leader Matthew Heimbach, his hand on Heimbach’s shoulder.KSS members participate in an anti-refugee protest as The “European American Action Coalition,” one of many front groups. Smith is 2nd from right.
Name: Steven Scott Smith
Age: 47
Location: Pittston, PA
Car: Grey Hundai PA KDN9134
Steve Smith of KSS’ car parked for work at Gertrude Hawk Chocolates factory in Dunmore, PA.
Employment: Forklift operator, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates warehouse, Dunmore, PA
Affiliations: Klan, Keystone United, Keystone State Skinheads, EURO, CCC, just about every far right racist organization in Pennsylvania in the past 25 years.
This has been a long time coming. For the next 30 days, every day, we will be profiling/exposing a member or supporter of Keystone United (KU) and Keystone State Skinheads (KSS). We will be largely concentrating on Pennsylvania fascists, with a few exceptions.
Every fall, KU/KSS comes to our city in secret and attempts to hold a march, rally and party to varying levels of success. They hold this event under the auspices of a “Leif Erikson Day Celebration.” Their logic being that Leif Erikson was (allegedly) the first “white” man (even though whiteness as a label was not a thing at the time, and Erikson would have considered himself Norse with no allegiance to Whiteness) to form a settlement in this hemisphere, and therefore began what they see as the rightful domination of these lands by the settler-colonial empires of Europe.
This year’s Leif Erikson day is October 9th, a month from today. The actual holiday, not the KSS rally, which they refuse to announce publicly anymore due to fear or mass opposition. Starting tomorrow, we will release a new article each day. We will be exposing KU/KSS members, former members, associates and supporters. We will reveal their homes, workplaces, criminal histories and other personal information.
Many of those we are exposing have gone to great lengths to hide their associations and cultivate a personable image, and the truth will likely be a shock to those around them. Many of them appear to be normal parents or friends, co-workers or neighbors, but moonlight in one of the most notorious neo-nazi organizations in the U.S. Keysone Untied especially loves to infiltrate general conservative circles and subtly move people more into the racist extreme or just normalize those ideas in the dialogues there.
We realize this is a controversial practice for some, so here is a brief summary of this group’s history and current activities to put it in perspective…
Keystone State Skinheads was founded in late 2001 at a Waffle House in Harrisburg, PA. KSS was part of a push to form state-based White Nationalist Skinhead crews in all 50 states that began in Indiana with the Hoosier State Skinheads, previously known as the Outlaw Hammerskins, who would later also go by the name Vinlanders Social Club and spread that brand around the country. Arizona (Canyon State Skinheads), Maryland (Maryland Skinheads aka MDS), and Ohio (Ohio State Skinheads) were just some of the other states where the idea found root.
An early pic of Keystone United.
KSS was one of the more successful iterations of the statewide skinhead crew idea. Though they suffered an early defeat in York, PA in 2002, when Antifa and local residents teamed up to chase the nazis out of town, KSS persisted and picked up steam into the late 2000’s, when they engaged in several large rallies around Pennsylvania, including the 2008 Leif Erikson Day, which drew 70+ hardcore Neo-nazis from all over the country (at a time when rallies of that size were extremely rare), including members of the Vinlanders Social Club and Volksfront, groups that had previously been hostile to each other. During this period, KSS ramped up attacks around the state, including in Philly. Assaults, harassment and vandalism against left wing community spaces were common. Many pitched battles occurred in the Punk and Hardcore to keep KSS from gaining a foothold in Philly, as they had in many other cities in PA.
Also around this time, the KSS label was avoided in favor of “Keystone United,” which allowed KSS to organize with White Nationalists and Neo-nazis who did not meet the male skinhead criteria that KSS was founded under. Basically, all members of KSS can be considered members of KU, but only male bonehead members of KU can be “patched in” members of KSS. Outright Neo-nazi activities, such as the White Power show being organized for September 15th somewhere in PA, are organized as Keystone State Skinheads.
White power concert being organizing by KSS this month.
Political advocacy and demonstrations are organized as Keystone United. It is also a common strategy to “remove” anyone accused of a crime from KU, embracing them as KSS instead, allowing them to keep the image of KU sanitized for the media. For the forthcoming profiles, we will at different times refer to people as members of KSS and/or KU, but for all intents and purposes, the difference is a matter of public image, and the groups are essentially the same.
KU/KSS members rally against refugees in Harrisburg.
During this period, KU/KSS began to do things like bring dozens of neo-nazis to an NAACP organized community meeting in response to the vandalism of a synagogue in Wilkes Barre by nazi teens who were friends with members of KU, in order to intimidate opposition and dominate the discussion with the fruitless act of debating nazis. Keystone United also brought out a large contingent to support an Anti-Immigration rally in Harrisburg, and its members attended the National Policy Institute conference, for at least one year.
KU/KSS has strong ties with Matthew Heimbach, formerly of the Traditionalist Worker’s Party, and hosted a secret conference for Trad Worker’s “Traditionalist Youth Network” in Philly in 2016. Heimbach attended with Paddy Tartleton and several TWP members, but the bulk of the attendees were KSS/KU members.
Traditionalist Youth mid-Atlantic gathering in Philly in 2016
The threat represented by KSS/KU is a dual one. Firstly, they engage in White Nationalist activism and political work. Steve Smith, a co-founder of KSS, is in his 2nd term as Republican Committeeman in Luzerne County. He was elected the first time as a write-in candidate, but campaigned for his 2nd term and gathered over 70 votes. He has been joined this term by KU member Ryan Wojitowicz, who was also elected to the same position. Keystone United actively campaigned for both candidates.
Not only has Luzerne County’s GOP neglected to try and campaign anyone against this nazi incursion, but both Keystone United members have become regular attendees at GOP party functions in Luzerne County. They are often joined by “Joe Mulligan,” a Pennsylvania KKK leader who is friendly with Smith, a former klansman.
Keystone United will also engage in political activism around issues of immigration, refugees, gun rights, and support for President Trump. They regularly participate in “Overpasses Across America” rallies on highway overpasses to protest against immigration and accepting refugees.
KSS members participate in an anti-refugee protest as The “European American Action Coalition,” one of many front groups
KSS is under the Blood and Honour USA umbrella, and have alliances with those crews as well as The Traditionalist Workers Party (until that groups implosion earlier this year) and the Pennsylvania State Militia (whom they have rallied with at Overpasses Across America events).
In late 2016 in Harrisburg, KSS members were in the area during a National Socialist Movement rally to provide security for the event since one of the speakers was Matthew Heimbach of the TWP. At the time both the NSM and TWP were members of “The Nationalist Front,” which, along with League of the South, Vanguard America (the group James Fields was marching with in Charlottesville 2017 before he plowed his car into a crowd of protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring many others) and other smaller nazi orgs.
Nationalist Front marching Charlottesville at Unite the Right 1.
The Nationalist Front made up the single largest Fascist bloc at Charlotesville, and were heavily involved in the fighting that occurred. In the fallout of UTR1, The Nationalist front has been largely reduced to an NSM front, with the dissolution of TWP, the re-branding of Vanguard America to Patriot Front, and the recent departure of League of the South.
The second threat is that, behind the veneer of “gentle” white nationalism, KSS/KU is still a bonehead crew. In their over 15 years of existence, their members and supporters have been involved in countless acts of violence.
Here is a timeline of just some of the known attacks by KSS:
In June 2002, KSS members Robert Gaus, Douglas and Joseph Hoesch were arrested by police outside the Suburban Diner in Feasterville, near Philadelphia, for assaulting a man who asked them to stop throwing food at his table. The victim was struck several times and left on the diner’s floor. All three pleaded guilty to a charge of simple assault and were given suspended sentences
In September 2002, KSS members Todd Sager, Jason Hayden, and Christopher Keough, beat a former member, Christopher Morosko, who refused to return his KSS “colors”. The three pleaded guilty to assault on March 3, 2003, and were all released for time served.
On March 23, 2003, KSS members Keith Carney (Carney has since left KSS), Steve Smith and Steve Monteforte were arrested on ethnic intimidation charges in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for assaulting an African-American man who, according to police, was walking home in the early morning
In April 2003, two associates of the Lancaster Keystone State Skinheads were arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation and terroristic threats for making racist and threatening comments to three black patrons in a Lancaster-area bar.
In January 2006, KSS members Edward Robert Locke and Todd Clair Sager were charged with multiple counts in connection with a violent bar fight in March 2005 in New Stanton. Police claim Locke stabbed two men. Locke was charged with attempted homicide and four counts of aggravated assault while Sager was charged with criminal solicitation to commit homicide and criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault.
Also in 2006, KSS members attacked several Anti-Racists outside a show at Mojo 13 (bar name later changed) in Delaware.
In January 2007, KSS members Kenneth Hoover and Charles Marovskis were arrested for beating two homeless men to death in Tampa, Florida in 1998. Hoover pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and racketeering. Charles Marovskis, of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, but originally from Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to two federal charges of second-degree murder.
In October, 2007, KSS members attacked Anti-Fascists down the street from a Floorpunch Show at first Unitarian Church in Philly, injuring 3 before fleeing.
On September 7, 2008, Philadelphia police officers arrested KSS member Andrew Boyle at a Philadelphia bar for being in possession of a knife. At the time of his arrest, Boyle was out on bail, awaiting trial on another matter. Boyle, along with co-defendants and fellow KSS members Carney and Doug Caffarella, and Atlantic City Skinhead Vincent DeFelice, were charged with assault and conspiracy in the alleged attack of another skinhead outside a Philadelphia bar in 2007.
In May 2014, KSS associate Vincent Pellegrino, brother of KSS member Nunzio Pellegrino, sexually assaulted a woman and stole her car, crashing it into a wall while being persued by police. Pellegrino died at the scene.
In October 2017 following their disrupted attempt to rally in Philly’s boathouse row, 10 KSS members attacked 2 Anti-Fascists in FDR park, injuring them both before aborting their party and fleeing the scene. KSS went on to celebrate the event with their event t-shirt.
In July 2018, 6 members of KSS were charged for attacking a Black man at a bar in Avalon, PA. According to the victim, KU members told him they were going to exterminate Black People “one by one” and called him the N-Word. They also injured an employee who tried to intervene. Others were involved, but the 6 charged were Natasha Dawn Bowers, 33, of Roaring Spring; Terrence Raymon Stockey, 40, of Beaver; Jeremy L. Ingram, 35, of Hollidaysburg; Travis Lee Cornell, 43, of Marianna; Crystal Lynn Shields, 23, of Tarentum; and James Edward Kryl, 45, of Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Just a few weeks ago, KSS associate and KU member Christopher Croumbley attacked an Anti-Racist outside the chameleon club in Lancaster for wearing clothing identifying themselves as Anti-Fascist.
It is worth considering that there is a pattern of high profile violent incidents, (which we assume to occur at times when non-reported acts of violence are at a peak) occurring at times when Keystone United’s “respectable white advocacy” is also more active. After the departure of a major organizer in the late 2000’s, Keystone United went relatively dormant for a few years and so did reports of violent attacks by it’s members. This flies in the face of the claim that allowing nazis in the public space for debate will redirect their energies and minimize violent assaults and murders. As nice as it would be to just let them “talk it out of their system,” when nazis and Fascists feel legitimized in the public sphere, they are emboldened, and attacks increase.
In addition to outward violence and their attempts to gain state power to enact large scale violence, KSS/KU is involved in fostering a Neo-nazi subculture in Pennsylvania that is larger than the group itself. They have organized Neo-nazi music festivals, usually in conjunction with Label 56, run by Rick Haught of Maryland Skinheads, including the “Uprise Festival,” which ran for several years, and shows by The Blue Eyed Devils, Aggravated Assault, and other popular Neo-nazi bands. They are hosting another Blue Eyed Devils show somewhere in PA on September 15th. The Blue Eyed Devils’ song titles include:
Bomb the Cities
Beating and Kicking
Hate Filled Mind
We Will Fight
Final Solution
Holocaust 2000
White Violence
Which feature lyrics such as :
During German nights and days
Adolf Eichman would lead the way
For the cause of White salvation
Victory, for our race and nation
The plan has started, no turning back
From the entire world, you’re under attack
A New Worlds Order for the Aryan man
Regain control of the European lands
Too many problems, too many lies
Too much of what you despise
Implement the only plan
Eradicate the so-called chosen man
The final solution!
White revolution!
This is a group with 2 Pennsylvania GOP politicians as members, promoting the show on their blog, alongside long articles claiming to be “white advocates” who “are like the NAACP for white people.” Who do these nazis think they are fooling… you?!
KSS makes it policy to show up at European heritage celebrations, St. Patrick’s day parades, and similar events. They do this both to recruit, and to normalize their presence in those spaces, making it harder to dislodge them later.
Each forthcoming article will come with a call to do some small action to make that KSS member’s life as a nazi a little bit harder. When it’s hard to be a nazi, some of them find a reason to quit. Others can’t do it as well as they had been. It creates divisions. Victories make them grow, defeats make them shrink.
Take the time to call their employer and demand they be fired. KSS has largely survived based on the ability for their members to travel around the state to swell numbers as needed. Gas is expensive. If the call is to help us get more info, ask your friend who is good at research but isn’t necessarily plugged into this world. If we mention that they hang out in certain places or areas, and you feel like you can do it safely, make up some flyers and post them around so that they have no anonymity. Someone should not be able to attack someone for their race on Saturday, then walk their dog to the park Sunday with no repercussions. We may feel better being ignorant of the nazi down the street, but it doesn’t actually make as any safer. Quite the opposite.
So remember to check back on the site every day. We are striving to put out each article first thing each morning, but it may be later some days. While standing our ground, defending ourselves, and physically shutting down Fascists in the street is an indispensable and crucial part of this work, the next 30 days is about showcasing how much we can do to disrupt neo-nazi organizing using research and communication.
Submission
On August 25th, actions took place to counter a Blue Lives Matter march on occupied Lenape land, Philadelphia, PA. A robust description of the organizers for the Blue Lives March and their connections to and affinity with white supremacy, transphobia and anti-immigrant politics can be found here: http://archive.is/8CIpg. A pretty decent description of how the events unfolded can be found here: https://itsgoingdown.org/antifascist-rally-in-philadelphia-met-with-police-violence/.
Below are some (very incomplete and rushed) thoughts that feel relevant from one participant:
After the police violence we dealt with, several reportbacks and press releases framed the events as a situation where police needlessly escalated an otherwise non-violent and non-confrontational situation. While it is accurate that our team was unable to effectively attack either the fascist march or the police, and didn’t really have the opportunity to try at any point, it is decidedly inaccurate to assert that we did not have confrontational intentions. We should not play into narratives of innocence set up by our enemies when faced with state violence that we know is coming. We are in a violent political conflict with both the state and proto-paramilitary formations nationally and ought to recognize this and talk about it as it is.
In this vein, when we *do* successfully mobilize a confrontational action, we should hype that whether it goes well or not. That is the capacity we want to be building, and the 25th was another step in the right direction. Further, narratives about us being pure victims of unprovoked police violence erase the courage of those who took risks, arrests and blows in order to defend others from the cops. We had each others’ backs that day, and while it didn’t work out, that still means something. Let’s lift that up to encourage and normalize practices of immediate defense, de-arrests, and risk-taking.
Keep moving! We really need to work on both mobility and blockading. At one point, the bloc came out of an alley filled with dumpsters, saw a contingent of bike cops moving toward us, and allowed them to come up and form a line. Rather than use nearby obstacles to create space between us and the cops, we ended up in a futile standoff, dragged on longer than necessary largely by indecision.
Use what is around! At the spot where the initial arrests took place, a very large number of police barricades (left over from the most recent Occupy ICE/Homeless Against Stop and Frisk eviction) were ten feet from us. Using those to create space (as west Arch was undefended) rather than try an uncoordinated dart through bike cop lines could have been fruitful. And again, there are rolling dumpsters literally everywhere in center city.
Be ready to take advantage of opportunity! Early on, before a significant police presence had formed, we darted past the Criminal Justice Center. Aside from a couple bottles being tossed at the windows, nothing happened to the building. This would have been an especially good target considering the nature of the fascist march that day, and done well to emphasize solidarity with the prison strike. The same could be said for at least a couple empty and undefended police vehicles that we passed before the initial confrontation.
A lesson to really internalize here is that the police may escalate at any time. If, say, the above opportunities *were* seized, or our team escalated in any other ways, it’s likely that repression faced afterwards would be blamed on those actions. It’s important to keep in mind in the future, when we do go harder and actually crime it up better, that such actions are not to blame for repression. We’ve seen repeatedly that toning down our actions does not keep us safe.
And finally, the composition of the march appeared to me to be informed to some extent by its framing as primarily an “anti-fascist” event. Without going too much into the potential pitfalls of prioritizing a sort of narrow antifascism over emphasis on broader structures of domination (here is a very good starting point for that: https://itsgoingdown.org/beyond-bash-fash-critical-discussion), it seems plausible that placing more focus on the anti-police nature of our mobilization *may have* drawn more people and projects in the city into this action.
To be clear, these thoughts are all offered in extreme good faith, and I’d like to repeat that my main takeaway from the 25th is that we really had each other’s backs and did our best. Let’s do that more!
Let’s continue to care for one another in dealing with our physical and emotional wounds.
Let’s come back harder soon.
fire to the prisons & the cops,
death to fascism & white supremacy, and let’s be real, fuck democracy too,
– some anarchist living on occupied Lenape land
