White Aryan Resistance

The White Aryan Resistance (commonly known by the acronym WAR) was founded in 1983 by Tom Metzger, a television repairman from Fallbrook, California. He formed WAR to promote both his anti-Semitic, racist views and a philosophy he calls the “third force position,” a form of labor-oriented national socialism based on the ideology of Otto and Gregor Strasser, two brothers who led a leftist wing of the German National Socialist movement in the 1920s.

Prior to the establishment of WAR, Metzger's background included membership in several right-wing extremist groups. During the 1960s, he was a member of the John Birch Society. In 1975, Metzger joined David Duke's Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and became California's Grand Dragon. During this same time, he was ordained as a minister in the Christian Identity movement.

In the summer of 1980, Metzger broke away from Duke's Knights to form the California Knights of the KKK. In the fall of that same year, Metzger made an unsuccessful bid for Congress. Following his defeat, Metzger left the KKK and formed the White American Political Association (WAPA) to promote “pro-White” candidates for public office.

In 1983, Metzger abandoned his interest in mainstream politics, and his WAPA organization became WAR. It was at this time that Metzger synthesized his ideology to include issues such as racist separatism, left-wing National Socialism, right-wing religiosity, concern for the environment, and contempt for capitalism. One of the most important tenets of Metzger's activism is his support of the “lone wolf” or “leaderless resistance” model (i.e., individual or small-group underground activity versus membership in aboveground organizations), believing that this approach leaves the fewest clues for law enforcement officials, thereby decreasing the risk of being caught. Metzger urges activists never to answer questions posed by law enforcement authorities. His five-word recommended response to law enforcement questioning: “I have nothing to say.”

Metzger has actively associated with and provided strategic guidance to and racist networks for the neo-Nazi skinhead movement since it first appeared in the United States in the mid-1980s. Contacts with the skinheads have been primarily made through Metzger's son, John, who has also worked to establish a network of White Student Unions on high school and college campuses to spread the message of WAR and recruit young members.

Metzger has mastered the use of the media to distribute WAR's racist message, including a monthly [Page 520]newsletter (WAR—White Aryan Resistance), videos, books, a telephone hotline, a Web site, a weekly e-mail newsletter, a cable-access television show (Race and Reason), and appearances on nationally syndicated talk shows.

By the late 1980s, because of its coherent, welldocumented ideology and innovative use of the media, WAR had positioned itself as a leader among racialist organizations. However, at this same time, things took a negative turn for Metzger and his organization. In November 1988, three skinheads attacked and killed an Ethiopian immigrant, Mulugeta Seraw, on the streets of Portland, Oregon. Investigation into the murder revealed a close connection between WAR and the skinhead gang.

The skinheads who killed Seraw were arrested, tried, and convicted of murder. A civil suit was filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, in conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League, seeking $7 million for the wrongful death of Seraw. Ultimately, the jury awarded $12.5 million in damages to the Seraw family, making it one of the largest civil verdicts in U.S. history (the judgment was upheld on appeal in 1993). Because of the Seraw civil suit and outcome, WAR's stronghold in the racist movement has weakened.

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