Page 6 - AT

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 5 November 2019

Black man who led neo-Nazi group dies amid bid to destroy it

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN crimes unit in Nessel's of- Edgar Ray Killen, who was by getting rid of such overt Movement," Schoep said
Associated Press fice was preparing to notify convicted in the "Mississippi displays of Nazi symbols. of Stern in February. During
A black activist who took Stern that it didn't find suf- Burning" killings of three civil Earlier this year, Schoep an interview in March, Stern
control of one of the na- ficient evidence to file any rights workers. told The Associated Press said he wanted to disband
tion's largest neo-Nazi the group rather than see
groups — and vowed to another member re-form it.
dismantle it — has died "If (Schoep) dissolved the
amid a legal fight over who group, all anyone would
would lead the group. have to do is take it and re-
James Stern died Oct. 11 incorporate it and carry on
after getting hospice care the same shenanigans as it
for cancer, according to never stopped," Stern said.
one of his attorneys, Bob His move offered compari-
Ross, and a friend, Arne sons to the recent Spike Lee
Edward List. Stern, 55, died movie "BlacKkKlansman" in
at home in Moreno Valley, which a black police of-
California, List said. ficer infiltrates a branch of
"James was a very uncon- the Ku Klux Klan.
ventional crusader," Ross Schoep recently has
said Monday, praising his told reporters that he re-
client's "quiet confidence." nounced white supremacy
Earlier this year, Stern told and will speak out against
The Associated Press and the hate-fueled beliefs
other news outlets that he that he spread for years.
persuaded the National Schoep left the group in
Socialist Movement's for- March, his lawyer said in a
mer leader, Jeff Schoep, court filing last month.
to give him control of the The group's website names
group. Schoep says Stern Burt Colucci as its latest
essentially tricked him into "commander." A leader
the transfer. tried to dissolve the group
Michigan corporate re- in Michigan in May, the
cords show Stern replaced same month that Colucci
Schoep in January. Howev- This June 14, 2012, file photo shows James Hart Stern, of Jackson, Miss., at a news conference in incorporated the National
er, Stern sued several group Jackson, Miss. Associated Press Socialist Movement in Win-
members in March after ter Garden, Florida, records
Schoep signed corporate criminal charges, a spokes- Stern served a prison sen- that Stern essentially tricked show.
records naming a different man said in an email Mon- tence for mail fraud at the him into transferring leader- The lawsuit that Stern filed
president. day. same facility as Killen, who ship while the group faces in California seeks hun-
Stern's lawsuit is pending Group members used to at- died in January 2018. In a federal lawsuit over the dreds of millions of dollars in
in California court. William tend rallies and protests in 2012, Stern claimed Killen Charlottesville violence. damages. It also asked the
Daniels, another of Stern's full Nazi uniforms, including signed over to him power Schoep said Stern sug- court to bar Schoep and
lawyers, said the activist's at a march in Toledo, Ohio, of attorney and ownership gested that the lawsuit's others from interfering with
death doesn't necessarily that sparked a riot in 2005. of 40 acres of land while plaintiffs could drop their Stern's efforts to maintain
end the "full-blown dispute" More recently, members they were in prison togeth- claims against Schoep and the group's websites.
over the group's leader- attended the white nation- er. the group if Schoep hand- A burial service for Stern is
ship. alist rally in Charlottesville, A lawyer for Killen asked a ed over the reins. Schoep planned for Tuesday in In-
"But it's just not clear to me Virginia, that erupted in vio- judge to throw out the land said he already was pre- glewood, and a memorial
now how it's going to un- lence in August 2017. transfer and certify that Kil- paring to walk away from service is set for Thursday in
fold," Daniels said. Stern met Schoep several len and his family owned the group and agreed to Moreno Valley, according
After members removed years ago after Stern invit- the property. Stern's proposal in hopes of to List, his friend.
his name from corporate ed him to attend a summit Before the rally in Charlot- reducing its legal liability. "He fought with such cour-
records, Stern also filed a on race in California, the tesville, Schoep tried to re- "He has that piece of pa- age in everything he did,"
complaint with Michigan Washington Post reported brand the group and ap- per, but he is absolutely not List said. "James was very
Attorney General Dana . Both had connections to peal to a new generation recognized as the leader clear that this fight isn't go-
Nessel in March. The hate onetime Ku Klux Klan leader of racists and anti-Semites of the National Socialist ing to die with him."q