When the American Nationalist Party (formerly the Knights of Freedom) launched its Web site in August 1998, it touted itself as a neo-Nazi "state within a state" with a "stable power structure," seeking members "ready to take back our nation and battle for the cause of Racial preservation." It appears that ANP exploited the anonymity of the Internet to foster the illusion that it was a rapidly growing neo-Nazi organization. In reality, ANP's Web site - and, indeed, the whole organization - was run from the dormitory room of a college junior who hid behind a pseudonym for fear that his background might discredit him in the eyes of other racists.

Focus on the Founder

ANP's founder and leader was born Andrew Britt Greenbaum, and is a 20-year-old student at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Greenbaum legally changed his name to Davis Wolfgang Hawke in 1996, but his attempt to affect Southern and German lineage has not been entirely successful. When his birth name was uncovered earlier this year, other extremists ridiculed Hawke for trying to mask his Jewish background. He vociferously denies any Jewish heritage. Hawke's rebuttal to his critics takes up an entire section on ANP's Web site. He claims that he is the product of an illicit affair between his mother and a German man, and that his "stepfather's" name was mistakenly put on his birth certificate. Hawke's mother denies his allegation.

Hawke, who majors in history and German, claims that his racist ideology crystallized when he was a student at a multiracial high school in suburban Boston: "Seeing the problems caused by the minority students and the blindness of the white members of the community, I became determined to make a difference in the world."

Knights of Freedom (KOF) first came to the attention of authorities and ADL in 1996 when Hawke and a friend distributed racist, anti-Government and anti-immigrant flyers in Norwood, MA. At the time, KOF did not fashion itself as a neo-Nazi organization, but rather as a pro-white "political movement dedicated to Freedom, Natural Order, and the restoration of the traditional ideals of the founders of our Nation."

Knights Reborn as Nazis

Two years later, KOF resurfaced as an Internet-based organization that unapologetically embraced neo-Nazism. KOF's Web site featured Hawke (who assumed the pseudonym "Bo Decker" for his online activities) in a Nazi uniform with his arm stretched in a "Heil Hitler" salute. KOF had now dedicated itself "to establishing an Aryan homeland in the American West in which we may rebuild the glory of the National Socialist Third Reich and provide a haven for all loyal Comrades throughout the World."

Hawke's conversion to neo-Nazi ideology was complete. In a March 1999 speech to his followers, he said, "We must all carry with us in our hearts this knowledge; that the dreams of Adolf Hitler have not faded away, but are just as alive today as they were 60 years ago! The German army was defeated on the battlefield, but the Ideals of Adolf Hitler live on in the hearts and souls of those who now carry the torch of the Aryan peoples."

Hawke's grandiose view of "the Aryan peoples" is surpassed only by the overblown image he promotes about his own organization: he recently claimed that "KOF is now the largest National Socialist organization not only in this country, but in fact throughout the entire world." Hawke claims to have 10,000 members, but no one seriously believes that he has more than a small fraction of that amount. Other than Hawke's cohorts - including ANP's vice-president Jeff Kay; Deputy Director "Dallas Knight"; Chief Party Secretary Patricia Lingerfelter; Security Services and Stormtrooper Leader Matthew McKenna - and a handful of contact people around the country, it is difficult to gauge the number of members.

Despite some leafleting of KOF propaganda, the group has had little visibility beyond the Internet. Hawke announced a number of KOF events (including a rally in Andrews, NC, against the "tyranny" of the Federal Government and the planned appearance of KOF members at a community meeting against racism in Brooklyn, NY) that were quietly abandoned. KOF's singular lack of any organized activity suggests that the group's membership is very small. Nevertheless, Hawke predicted that, "By the end of [1999], KOF will be a feared political force within this nation and a household name, a name which strikes terror and horror into the heart of every Race traitor, every jewboy judge, every race-mixing scum and every ZOG [Zionist Occupied Government] politician."

Spreading the Word: Hate Online

Although Hawke clearly exaggerated both the power and size of his group, he has been able to reach like-minded individuals on the Internet. In early 1999, KOF launched the E-mail-based "White Pride News Service" which purports to distribute newsletters and updates about the group to "1,600 white racialists in 43 countries throughout the world." That Hawke and his fellow officers hid behind pseudonyms and never followed through on public meetings or rallies did not seem to deter potential members; KOF has apparently managed to recruit some members as a direct result of such Internet activities.

Hawke's "Millennium Plan" - released in June 1999 - signaled yet another transformation for KOF and its leader. As part of Hawke's attempt to take his organization in a new direction, he abandoned the nom de guerre of Bo Decker, and KOF was reborn as the American Nationalist Party. Ever sensitive to his growing number of critics, Hawke instituted these cosmetic changes in order to "improve the image of the Party" and to dispel the general perception that KOF was "a paramilitary neo-Nazi group with an element of 'Hollywood Nazism' mixed in." As Hawke explained to his supporters, "Since our goals are political in nature, we must dispel our image as a militia and ensure that the public sees us for what we are; a legitimate National Socialist political Party dedicated to defending white rights."

ANP's newly designed Web site - dominated by images of American flags and bald eagles - is characteristic of Hawke's attempt to retool his group's image. Since ANP aspires to real political legitimacy, the group posts its platform on a variety of domestic policy issues: immigration, affirmative action and crime.

Despite Hawke's attempt to offer ANP as a viable political force, his group is still very much a neo-Nazi organization. Among the articles in ANP's "On-Line Library" are What is National Socialism? by American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell, The Truth About the Talmud and The Swastika. Also featured are a number of articles culled from other extremists on the far right, including Holocaust-denial propaganda from the Institute for Historical Review and an anti-Semitic essay by William Pierce, leader of National Alliance. In addition, visitors to the group's Web site can purchase Nazi memorabilia, including flags, armbands and jewelry.

Recruiting Young Haters

For Hawke, expanding ANP's membership base is essential if his group is to have any lasting viability. Another significant element fueling ANP's membership drive is the money it attracts: ANP members pay $5 in monthly dues. Not surprising for a group dominated by men under 25, ANP recruits heavily among teen-agers. The group has established a youth corps, geared to teens between the ages of 12 and 17, which is "committed to the education and enlightenment of white youth throughout the world." The aims of ANP Youth include "political education and current events knowledge, cultural studies of white heritage and history, recruiting within the schools and community youth groups, participation in our Rallies and Party functions, health excercises [sic] to build strength and endurance, and the discussion of important political works such as the Declaration of Independence, Mein Kampf, and the International Jew by Henry Ford."

Hawke's inflated statements about himself and ANP make it difficult to take either seriously. Nonetheless, some people are evidently paying attention. In less than a year, ANP seems to have managed to attract a number of followers, apparently aided by the group's well-designed Web site and frequent electronic mailings. In fact, Hawke's shrewd use of the Internet helps advance the illusion that ANP is a large-scale operation. Even if ANP does not have a significant presence off-line, any group that promotes racist and anti-Semitic propaganda to teen-agers over the Internet merits close attention.

Racism and Anti-Semitism from Davis Wolfgang Hawke:

• Who are we?. . . We're White Men who refuse to stand idly by as our Race gets gobbled up by the hordes of traitors, jews, and immigrants who seek to wipe us out. We're White Men who are ready to take back our nation for the cause of Racial preservation.

• The time for sitting back and waiting for a miracle is over. The White Race will no longer wait for the Jewish butchers to deal the final blow to our racial gene pool.

• I would like to take this brief moment to publicly express my full and unswerving support for a man whom we should all admire and hail as a white hero. That man is John William King…Now don't get me wrong or think I don't care about the life of the poor negro James Byrd, Jr. I definitely think that Jon [sic] King should have been convicted, but only of cruelty to animals! No white man should ever be punished for ridding the world of a negro - They are not humans, but filthy, disgusting beasts!

• We have suffered long enough under the iron heel of Juda. We have encountered their lies, their money lending, their jack-booted ZOG mercenaries, and their oppression. They have stamped our great nation into the ground and destroyed every courageous Aryan who dared oppose the Jewish domination. For these crimes I hold them all accountable, as one people, and pronounce this judgment upon them; the extinction of that Race whose father is the Devil!