Kevin Alfred Strom

Kevin Strom
Strom in 2006
Born
Kevin Alfred Strom

(1956-08-17) August 17, 1956 (age 68)
Known forWhite separatism, Neo-Nazi activism, Antisemitism, Racism, Holocaust denial
Spouse(s)Kirsten Kaiser (m. 1990; div. 1995),
Elisha Strom
​
(m. 2000)​
Children3
Websitewww.kevinalfredstrom.com

Kevin Alfred Strom (born August 17, 1956) is an American white nationalist and neo-Nazi from Virginia who founded the National Vanguard.[1] In 2008, Strom pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.[2][3]

Early life and activism

Strom indicates a high school teacher who shared his hatred of communism introduced him to the John Birch Society (JBS) where he first met members of the National Alliance which was more vocal about race theory and conflict.[4] Joining the NA in 1982 and working under the NA's leader William Luther Pierce, Strom became a believer in the concept of a Zionist Occupied Government in the United States,[4][5] a racist,[6] and a neo-Nazi.[7][8][9][10]

Strom is a former broadcast engineer and held an amateur radio license WB4AIO. Between 1983 and 1991, a pirate radio station named Voice of Tomorrow operated on shortwave and mediumwave frequencies,[11] and broadcast openly racist and neo-Nazi material.[12] According to Strom's ex-wife, Kirsten Kaiser, Voice of Tomorrow was operated by Strom.[13] Strom had three children with his first wife, Kirsten Kaiser.[14] Since their marriage ended, Kaiser has spoken about her life with Strom in several interviews.[14][13] She has also written a book, The Bondage of Self, on her experiences with Strom and the National Alliance.[14]

As part of his involvement with NA, Strom broadcast a weekly "American Dissident Voices" hour on radio,[5] espousing antisemitic views.[15]

During the weekend of April 16–17, 2005, Strom and several others were expelled from the National Alliance because of a dispute with the new leader Erich Gliebe.[5] Strom and some other expelled members founded the National Vanguard, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Claiming that his new organization was the true successor to NA, Strom continued his weekly radio broadcasts and used the National Vanguard's website to host and promote the views of other racists, including David Duke.[16]

Strom was briefly the managing editor of The Truth at Last newspaper during 2005. Several sources have described this tabloid as being highly antisemitic and racist, because it often referred to Africans as an inferior race.[9][17] Strom's boss at The Truth at Last, Edward Fields, is a former Grand Dragon of the New Order Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.[18]

Strom was a close associate of University of Illinois Classics professor and nationalist writer Revilo P. Oliver, who has been described as "one of America's most notorious fascists" and, according to B'nai Brith Canada, was "a long time proponent of antisemitism".[19]

Strom's 1993 quote "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?" has been paraphrased and erroneously attributed to the philosopher Voltaire, including by Australian politician Cory Bernardi, U.S. Representative Thomas Massie, and X (formerly known as Twitter) CEO Elon Musk.[20][21][22]

Arrest, conviction, prison and release

On January 4, 2007, Strom was arrested in Greene County, Virginia, on charges of possession of child pornography and witness tampering.[23] The Grand Jury later added the accusation of receiving child pornography, seducing a 10-year old, and witness intimidation, Judge Norman K. Moon threw out both charges due to lack of evidence but commented "I think there is overwhelming evidence that [Strom] was sexually drawn to this child, and was obsessing over this child".[24]

At the plea hearing on January 14, 2008, Strom pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in exchange for the other charges to be dropped.[25][2][3][26] He was sentenced to 23 months in prison in April 2008.[3][27][26] Strom told the court before being sentenced that he was "not a pedophile" and was "in fact the precise opposite of what has been characterized in this case",[3] saying he had been "unwillingly" possessing 10 images of child pornography and that those came from an online forum he had visited which had been "flooded with spam", which included "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children. The judge of the case responded: "Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you're saying you're innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me".[27] Strom was released from prison on September 3, 2008.[28]

References

  1. ^ Cronk, Nicholas (2017). Voltaire: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780191512759.
  2. ^ a b Whitehead, Jayson (January 15, 2008). "Strom pleads guilty to child porn". C-Ville Weekly.
  3. ^ a b c d Tasha, Kates (April 21, 2008). "White nationalist sentenced in child porn case". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Extremist Info: Kevin Strom". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Leadership Shakeup at Neo-Nazi National Alliance Leads to Formation Of New Group". Anti-Defamation League. May 3, 2005. Archived from the original on June 18, 2007.
  6. ^ Eskenazi, Joe (April 18, 2003). "Free speech clashes with anti-Semitism in Santa Rosa". Jewish News Weekly.
  7. ^ Sutherland, John (March 19, 2006). "Into the lists". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "Factsheet on The National Alliance". The Prejudice Institute. July 13, 2005. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  9. ^ a b "Marketing Extremism". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Winter 2005. Archived from the original on June 12, 2007.
  10. ^ "2000 annual report: United States of America". Stephen Roth Institute. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  11. ^ Amazon Online Reader : Pirate Radio Stations: Tuning in to Underground Broadcasts in the Air and Online
  12. ^ Hougan, Jim (Fall 1990). "The covert spectrum - pirate and secret broadcasting". Whole Earth Review. Archived from the original on March 25, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
  13. ^ a b "Inside the Alliance". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Winter 1999. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  14. ^ a b c Finn, Scott (May 7, 2003). "'I feel these people raped my soul': After 6 years away, reformed white supremacist remains angry". The Charleston Gazette.
  15. ^ McEvoy, Meg (January 16, 2007). "Neo-Nazi arrested for child porn". C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  16. ^ Michael, George; Mulloy, D. J. (September 2008). "Riots, disasters and racism: impending racial cataclysm and the extreme right in the United States". Patterns of Prejudice. 42 (4–5): 465–487. doi:10.1080/00313220802377404. S2CID 143681020.
  17. ^ Will, Michael (November 18, 2000). "Racist newspaper condemns Kahn for Judaism, compares Barr to Jesus". Creative Loafing. Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  18. ^ "Anti-Defamation League: Edward Fields" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-12. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  19. ^ ADL: PEEL TEACHER FLAUNTS BOARD RULING Archived June 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Hunt, Elle (November 27, 2015). "Cory Bernardi mistakenly 'quotes' Voltaire on Twitter with neo-Nazi's line". The Guardian. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  21. ^ Tulp, Sophie (February 1, 2022). "US congressman shares neo-Nazi's quote wrongly attributed to Voltaire". Associated Press News. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  22. ^ Flynn, Sheila (May 29, 2023). "Elon Musk tweets quote by neo-Nazi wrongly attributed to Voltaire". The Independent. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  23. ^ Graff, Henry (January 5, 2007). "Man Facing Pornography Charges". NBC 29. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  24. ^ Steinback, Robert (January 26, 2011). "Racist Author Supports School Board Member Who Broadcast King Attack". Southern Poverty Law Center.
  25. ^ Seal, Rob (January 15, 2008). "Greene man guilty of child porn". The Daily Progress.
  26. ^ a b "Strom Sentenced". nbc29. April 21, 2008. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Provence, Lisa (April 21, 2008). ""I am not a pedophile": Strom gets 23 months". The Hook. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  28. ^ "Neighborhood watch: Kiddie porn possessor to be released". The Hook. September 2, 2008. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.

Further reading