Joseph Tommasi
American neo-Nazi
Joseph Tommasi
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|
---|---|
Leader of the National Socialist Liberation Front | |
In office
March 2, 1974 – August 15, 1975 |
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Preceded by | position established |
Succeeded by | David Rust |
Personal details | |
Born |
Joseph Charles Tommasi
( 1951-04-15 ) April 15, 1951 Virginia , U.S. |
Died |
August 15, 1975
(1975-08-15)
(aged
24)
El Monte, California , U.S. |
Political party | American Nazi Party |
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Joseph Charles Tommasi (April 15, 1951 – August 15, 1975) was an American Neo-Nazi who founded the National Socialist Liberation Front . He advocated extremism and armed guerrilla warfare against the U.S. government [1] and what he called its "Jewish power structure." Tommasi wanted anarchy and lawlessness so that the "system" could be attacked without protection. [2] Tommasi was derisively nicknamed "Tomato Joe" by rival neo-Nazis because of his Italian heritage and "less than Nordic complexion." [3]
Politics
Influenced by William Luther Pierce , Tommasi first rose to prominence as a young leader within the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP, earlier known as the American Nazi Party ) in Arlington County, Virginia . [4]
In 1969, Tommasi launched the National Socialist Liberation Front (NSLF) as a youth wing of the American Nazi Party. In 1970, David Duke joined the organization. [1]
In February 1972, Irv Rubin , a Jewish militant of the Jewish Defense League , was arrested after firing at Tommasi. [5]
The NSWPP had splintered following the 1967 murder of George Lincoln Rockwell , and Tommasi frequently found himself at odds with Rockwell's successor, Matthias Koehl . Koehl, a strait-laced follower of Adolf Hitler , objected to Tommasi's radical viewpoints, as well as his personal habits, which included smoking marijuana , wearing long hair, listening to rock and roll and inviting a girlfriend for sex at NSWPP headquarters. [2] These led to Tommasi being ejected from the NSWPP in 1973. [4]
In March 1974, Tommasi launched the NSLF as a separate organization. [4] The group attracted many of the younger and more radical members of the NSWPP. It used propaganda such as pictures showing the twisted wreckage of a Bank of America branch . [2]
Tommasi sought membership among white college students who felt alienated by both the radical leftist movement as well as the mainstream conservative right. [4] However, Tommasi had not given up trying to regain control of the NSWPP. [6]
Death
On August 15, 1975, Tommasi was killed by a single bullet to the head in front of the headquarters of the NSWPP in El Monte, California . Numerous weapons were found at the headquarters, including a gun that had been recently fired. [7] David Rust, who was with Tommasi at the time, stated that someone had directed an obscene gesture towards them. [8] Witnesses said that Tommasi walked into the front yard carrying a club and got into an argument. [9] One NSWPP member allegedly told him that if he came any closer, he would be shot. [8] Jerry Keith Jones, 18 years old, was suspected in the murder. [10]
Tommasi was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park .
Legacy
Tommasi's life inspired fellow neo-Nazi James Mason to revive the NSLF in the early 1980s as a leaderless "philosophical concept or a state of mind" called Universal Order and to resurrect Tommasi's "Siege" periodical. [2] [1] [11] [12]
Publications
- Building the revolutionary party Chillicothe, Ohio : National Socialist Liberation Front
- POLITICAL TERROR (1974 leaflet)
References
- 1 2 3 Kaplan, Jeffrey S. (2000). Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right . Rowman & Littlefield . ISBN 0-7425-0340-2 .
- 1 2 3 4 Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (July 31, 2003). Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity . New York University Press . ISBN 978-0814731550 .
- ↑ Kaplan, Jeffrey S. (Jul 31, 2002). The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization . Rowman & Littlefield . ISBN 9780759116580 .
- 1 2 3 4 "Atomwaffen and the SIEGE parallax: how one neo-Nazi's life's work is fueling a younger generation" . Southern Poverty Law Center . February 22, 2018.
- ↑ "Jewish Militant Charged On Coast in Attack on Nazi" . The New York Times . United Press International . February 13, 1972.
- ↑ "Charges Dropped" . Star-News . June 9, 1976.
- ↑ "Preliminary Hearing Slated in Slaying of Former Nazi Leader" .
- 1 2 "Career of Slain Nazi Leader Started and Ended-by a Bullet-in El Monte" . Los Angeles Times . August 21, 1975.
- ↑ "American Nazi Slain" . The Desert Sun . United Press International . August 16, 1975.
- ↑ "Preliminary Hearing Slated in Slaying of Former Nazi Leader" . Los Angeles Times . September 18, 1975.
- ↑ "Southern Poverty Law Center: JAMES MASON" . Southern Poverty Law Center .
- ↑ Mason, James (2003). Siege: The Collected Writings of James Mason . Black Sun Publications. ISBN 0-9724408-0-1 .
External links
- The Post-war Paths of Occult National Socialism : From Rockwell and Madole to Manson by Jeffrey Kaplan