Joseph Tommasi
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Joseph Tommasi | |
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Leader of the National Socialist Liberation Front | |
In office March 2, 1974 – August 15, 1975 | |
Preceded by | position established |
Succeeded by | David Rust |
Personal details | |
Born | Joseph Charles Tommasi April 15, 1951 Virginia, U.S. |
Died | August 15, 1975 El Monte, California, U.S. | (aged 24)
Political party | American Nazi Party |
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Neo-fascism |
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Joseph Charles Tommasi (April 15, 1951 – August 15, 1975) was an American
Tommasi was shot and killed during a fight with a fellow Neo-Nazi in 1975.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6] However, he was never charged.[7]
The NSWPP had splintered following the 1967 murder of
In March 1974, Tommasi launched the NSLF as a separate organization.[5] 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
Death
On August 15, 1975, Tommasi was shot in the head and killed 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.[9] David Rust, who was with Tommasi at the time, stated that someone had directed an obscene gesture towards them.[10] Witnesses said Tommasi had walked into the front yard carrying a club and got into an argument.[11] One NSWPP member allegedly warned him that if he came any closer, he would be shot.[10] Jerry Keith Jones, an 18-year-old NSWPP member, was arrested for the murder.[12] Jones later pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing Tommasi and was sentenced to 300 days in the county jail and placed on probation for five years. Another Neo-Nazi, Clyde Frank Bingham, was initially charged two count of assault with a deadly weapon. However, the charges were later dropped.[13][4]
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][14][15]
Publications
- POLITICAL TERROR (1974 leaflet)
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7425-0340-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0814731550.
- ISBN 9780759116580.
- ^ a b "Article clipped from The Los Angeles Times". The Los Angeles Times. 1976-06-17. p. 358. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
- ^ a b c d "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.
- ^ "Jewish Extremists Arrested in Failed Bombing Conspiracy". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Charges Dropped". Star-News. June 9, 1976.
- ^ "Preliminary Hearing Slated in Slaying of Former Nazi Leader".
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Article clipped from The San Bernardino County Sun". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1975-12-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ^ "Southern Poverty Law Center: JAMES MASON". Southern Poverty Law Center.
- ISBN 0-9724408-0-1.
External links
- The Post-war Paths of Occult National Socialism: From Rockwell and Madole to Manson by Jeffrey Kaplan