Goyim Defense League

Key Points

• The Goyim Defense League is a loose network of individuals who promote vitriolic antisemitism and white supremacist themes through online activity, propaganda distributions, and real-world actions.
• The group includes a few dozen core influencers and live streamers, a larger group of supporters willing to engage in on-the-ground activity, and tens of thousands of online followers.
• GDL operates GoyimTV, a video platform that streams antisemitic content, with monetized livestreams funding the network’s on-the-ground activities.
• GDL engages in antisemitic stunts and schemes to troll and harass Jewish communities and individuals.

Origins and Ideology

Goyim Defense League (GDL) is a small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs led by Jon Minadeo II. Originally from Petaluma, California, Minadeo moved to Springfield, Missouri, in November 2024 after living in Florida for several years. GDL parodies the Anti-Defamation League’s name and logo by replacing “Anti-Defamation” with “Goyim Defense” — “Goyim” being a disparaging Yiddish and Hebrew word for non-Jews.
   
GDL’s overarching goal is to expel Jews from America. To that end, its propaganda casts aspersions on Jews and spreads antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories in hopes of turning Americans against Jewish people. This includes frequent references to Jews ostensibly having undue power through their “control” of major institutions such as media networks, the economy, or the government, or disparaging Jews as degenerates who molest children and advocate for pornography, abortion, and LGBTQ+ communities. GDL maintains that the Holocaust is a Jewish lie, asserting that all accounts are merely propaganda fabricated by Jews for their own gain.

Similarly, the GDL says that Jews were responsible for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York and Washington D.C., and that Israel intentionally targeted a U.S. warship during the height of the 1967 Six-Day War.

Minadeo, who has been active for several years, first posted his antisemitic stunts on platforms such as YouTube, DLive and BitChute. After being de-platformed in May 2020, he and Port St. Lucie, Florida, resident Dominic Di Giorgio, also known as Ned Flanders, launched GoyimTV, a video streaming platform primarily focused on antisemitic content. Minadeo regularly uses the platform to post his podcasts and videos of his antisemitic exploits and homophobic rants. Throughout 2020 and 2021, other GDL devotees began to do the same.

Minadeo and Di Giorgio in Florida, May 2021. (Source: Telegram)

GDL attracts a range of antisemites and white supremacists who are motivated and united by their hatred of Jews. They work alone or in small local cliques and occasionally travel across the country to participate in extended antisemitic events they refer to as “Name the Nose” tours.

Minadeo and other GDL activists often play to their various audiences, shouting “white power” when among white supremacists, criticizing Israel when speaking to Muslims, or attempting to ingratiate themselves with Black people by repeating the antisemitic canard that Jews were responsible for the transatlantic slave trade.

In that vein, in late 2022, GDL sought to capitalize on the attention Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) garnered from his antisemitic antics. In October, the GDL, along with the White Lives Matter network and NatSoc Florida, dropped antisemitic banners supporting West in California, New York and Florida.

In October 2022, Minadeo live streamed an interview with Ayo Kimathi (aka Irritated Genie), an antisemitic black nationalist and anti-LGBTQ+ bigot who published Jews are the Problem, a book that covers a myriad of perceived societal problems that he blames on the Jewish community including Covid-19, media censorship, food shortages, abortion, race-mixing, globalism, inflation, gas prices, pornography, feminism, and homosexuality. During the stream, the two discussed how Jews pose a problem for both whites and blacks and called for a “temporary racial unification to cleanse the earth [of Jews].”

White supremacy prevails

Despite occasionally allowing non-Jewish minorities to participate in their activities earlier in the network’s history, white supremacist ideology has since become dominant in GDL.  Minadeo crossed over into blatant white supremacism when, during a July 2022 meet-up with the neo-Nazi Nationalist Social Club in New Hampshire, Minadeo acquired two neo-Nazi tattoos — a Totenkopf on his arm and SS Bolts on his torso, — courtesy of white supremacist tattoo artist Christopher A. Pohlhaus.

White supremacists now dominate GDL’s livestreams and online chats and increasingly participate in GDL’s real-world street actions. As a result, GDL’s network of supporters has increased, and its collaborative tours have grown — increasing from four participants during the first GDL tour (California, September 2019) to approximately two dozen participants during their sixth tour (Tennessee, July 2024).

Minadeo poses with members and associates of the Nationalist Social Club – Telegram July 2022

 

Minadeo’s foray into white supremacy began in late 2020 when he expanded GDL’s network by hosting white supremacists on his podcasts and giving them a platform to share their views. Minadeo also began working with Cape Canaveral, Florida-based neo-Nazi Jason J. Brown, who is also a member of the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA), a small white supremacist group.

In November 2020, Brown, Di Giorgio and several other Florida-based GDL and NJEHA associates hung a banner from a Florida overpass that read, “Holocaust denial illegal in 16+ countries [.] WHY??? GoyimTV,” then met on a beach where they poured lighter fluid in the shape of a swastika and lit it on fire. They also burned an Israeli flag. When Minadeo played the footage during a subsequent podcast, he laughed and shouted, “He did a swasi!!! Oh! Sick! Oh! Nice! Light that kike flag!” and “Beach Nazi! White Power!”

In early December 2020, Brown introduced Minadeo to Travis Golie, an Illinois-based white supremacist, and Minadeo posted a lengthy interview with Golie. During the interview, Golie discussed his hateful ideology at length and claimed responsibility for the November 2020 distribution of thousands white supremacist fliers across 70 miles in central and northern Illinois. Minadeo responded, “You did some good work brother…70 miles of waking up the sleepy whiteys.”

Later in December, Minadeo interviewed Paul Miller, a Florida-based neo-Nazi accelerationist who gained notoriety in extremist circles for his racist and misogynist abuse via online chat app Omegle. Before his arrest in March 2021, Miller, also known as Gypsy Crusader, used the app to harass women and minorities while dressed as supervillain comic book characters, then posted these interactions online to entertain his followers.

Minadeo discussed during subsequent podcasts how “insanely popular” the tactic of Omegle “redpilling” had become, and posited that GDL could use the practice to attract people to GoyimTV. By the end of January 2021, Minadeo and at least three other GDL provocateurs had joined the league of more than 30 extremists who engage in Omegle trolling, many of whom livestream the antics and upload highlights to Telegram, a social media platform known for its lack of moderation. In 2023, Omegle shut down due to abuse claims, prompting GDL affiliates to move to alternative comparable sites like OmeTV.

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Minadeo used Telegram to build and expand the GDL network by promoting and interviewing other antisemites and white supremacists. For example, in January 2021, Minadeo began promoting white supremacist Robert Wilson of Chula Vista, California, by reposting Telegram videos of Wilson’s online trolling efforts under the pseudonym “Aryan Bacon.” By May 2021, Wilson was part of the GDL network and traveled to Florida to participate in the GDL tour along with approximately 20 other white supremacists and antisemites from states such as Florida, California, New Jersey, Colorado and New York. Wilson also participated in GDL’s October 2021 tour in Texas. And, in late 2021, Wilson posted a series of antisemitic banner drops from overpasses in Irvine, California.

Front: Minadeo, second row from left to right: Pohlhaus, Wilson, and Brown during GDL tour Texas – October 2021.

In preparation for GDL’s October 2021 Texas tour, Minadeo interviewed several Texas-based white supremacists who are well-known in white supremacist Telegram circles. These included Christopher A. Pohlhaus who now leads the neo-Nazi Blood Tribe a Sean Sweat a Texas-based white supremacist podcaster. Both men participated in GDL’s Texas tour and are now part of Minadeo’s network of supporters, and both have become live streamers in the GDL ecosphere.

Tactics and Activity

In addition to peddling antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories, GDL engages in a range of antisemitic stunts to troll or otherwise harass Jews and other minorities, and to draw attention to themselves. 

For example, in late 2022 and early 2023, GDL affiliates used laser projectors to cast antisemitic messages and images onto buildings around Florida in an initiative they referred to as “Laserwaffen.” This garnered significant attention when, at the end of the University of Georgia vs. University of Florida football game in Jacksonville in October 2022, the group cast antisemitic messaging onto TIAA Bank Field, with one reading, “Kanye is right about the Jews.” 

GDL funds their on-the-ground activities through monetized GoyimTV livestreams, using platforms like Entropy and Odysee. The network also operates the bigoted GoyimTV.shop, which sells antisemitic merchandise, white supremacist flags, mugs and patches, as well as the group’s antisemitic propaganda pre-bagged and ready for distribution.

Propaganda Distributions 

GDL's primary activity is the distribution of antisemitic propaganda — including occasional banner drops, typically from overpasses on major thoroughfares. GDL’s overarching goal is to expel Jews from America. To that end, its propaganda casts aspersions on Jews and spreads antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories to foster anger and anti-Jewish sentiment among Americans. GDL propaganda makes baseless charges about Jewish power, and blames Jews for a range of perceived social ills, including immigration, pornography, abortion, and gun laws. Since the beginning of its “every aspect of XXX is Jewish” campaign in December 2020, GDL has distributed antisemitic propaganda on at least 790 occasions in 46 different states and Washington DC.

Starting in September 2023, individuals associated with GDL mailed antisemitic postcards and other propaganda to the homes and offices of public officials and Jewish leaders around the country. These often included explicit antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, including, “gas the Jews,” “The Happy Merchant,” and concentration camps.

This method of propaganda distribution continued to gain traction until May 2024, when the proprietor of the GDL-affiliated Patriot Candle Company, Ariel Ramos of High Point, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with one count of threatening communications after allegedly mailing antisemitic postcards to Jewish institutions and public officials, often with the company logo.

Sampling of fliers distributed by GDL in 2022

City Council Death Squad (CCDS)

In 2023, individuals associated with GDL began targeting public forums such as city councils, county boards and state house committee meetings with antisemitic speech and trolling efforts. Using the public comment portion of these forums, especially those with the option to call in virtually, individuals associated with GDL pushed antisemitic, white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ+ narratives. In September of that year, these efforts became more organized when Modesto, California-based GDL affiliate Harley Petero created a GDL sub-group called the City Council Death Squad (CCDS). 

The scope and persistence of the CCDS harassment has prompted some city councils to discontinue remote or virtual public comments. In December 2023, Petero responded by creating a GiveSendGo fundraiser to support disruption of in-person meetings, claiming, "They can shut us down on zoom [sic], but they can't stop us in person." 

CCDS has disrupted public forums in at least 32 states across the country, with greater activity on the West Coast and in New England.

March of the Redshirts 

Over the summer of 2023, GDL and the neo-Nazi Blood Tribe promoted and solicited donations for a “march of the redshirts” event in Florida. On September 2 that year, approximately 50 individuals associated with the GDL, Blood Tribe, White Lives Matter, Dixieland Nationalists and Vinland Rebels marched around Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte, Florida before demonstrating on the Central Parkway I-4 overpass. The participants wore matching uniforms (red shirts, black masks and black pants), waved swastika flags, performed Hitler salutes and shouted, “white power” and “Jews will not replace us.” Known participants include individuals from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Missouri and Texas.

Name the Nose Tours 

On several occasions, GDL has led “Name the Nose” tours, which involve several days of antisemitic stunts to unsettle local Jewish communities, garner attention and spread hate. The most recent of these took place in Nashville, Tennessee in July 2024. Over the course of 10 days, at least 21 individuals associated with GDL distributed propaganda and livestreamed antisemitic demonstrations in the greater Nashville area. This included protests at the West End Synagogue, Diane Nash Plaza and “Nashville together,” a Jewish solidarity event. They also disrupted a Nashville Metro Council meeting. Participants have waved swastika flags, displayed antisemitic banners and shouted slurs and obscenities at passing motorists and pedestrians. At least two GDL affiliates were arrested in connection to the Nashville tour — Ryan Scott McCann of Ontario, Canada for two separate assault cases, and David Aaron Bloyed of Frost, Texas, for threatening a Nashville public official online.

Previous tours included a June 2023 mini-tour in Georgia, an October 2021 tour in Texas, a May 2021 tour in central and south Florida, an August 2020 tour in California, a 2019 tour in Denver, Colorado, and a 2019 tour in San Diego and Los Angeles, California.

Van used by GDL during the Florida “tour” – May 2021

Posing as Jews

GDL stunts often include wearing costumes or posing as Orthodox Jews. This tactic dates back to 2019, when Minadeo first recorded himself driving around California in his car dressed mockingly as an Orthodox Jew. Referring to himself as “The Honest Rabbi,” Minadeo issued “confessions” and apologies on behalf of the Jewish people, claiming, for example, that he was “sorry” that Jews lied about the Holocaust and were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In 2023, Minadeo posed as an offensive caricature of an LGBTQ+ Jewish person at an Orlando City Council meeting. Calling himself “Tammy Cohen” and feigning outrage, Minadeo shared GDL propaganda. After the clip of the incident was shared widely in GDL spaces online, Minadeo continues to use his Tammy Cohen persona to troll people on social media.

On January 23, 2025, 31-year-old Tennessee resident and GDL affiliate Travis Keith Garland was indicted on two counts of civil rights intimidation connected to a January 13 incident where he allegedly entered Nashville’s Gordon Jewish Community Center while dressed as an Orthodox Jewish man and tried to meet with staff. These charges were added to the initial assault and criminal trespassing charges he received.

Minadeo with other GDL participants who posed as Jews while distributing propaganda in Canyon, Texas, in 2021.

Adoption of Pseudo-Legal “Sovereign Citizen” Tactics

In 2023, several individuals associated with the GDL adopted pseudo-legal “sovereign citizen” tactics in a misguided attempt to escape legal troubles. These include uses of “redemption” or “strawman” theory challenges of government jurisdiction over individuals, and references to conspiracy theories. The sovereign citizen movement is a far-right, anti-government extremist faction whose adherents claim that the government is illegitimate and has no jurisdiction or authority over them. Sovereigns claim that people can “divorce” themselves from this illegitimate government. The movement is known for its “paper terrorism” harassment and intimidation tactics, scams, and frauds — as well as acts of deadly violence.

Criminal Activity

Nashville, Tennessee, January 2025: Travis Keith Garland was indicted on two counts of civil rights intimidation. The charges are connected to a January 13 incident during which he allegedly entered Nashville’s Gordon Jewish Community Center while wearing a costume of an Orthodox Jewish man and tried to meet with staff.

Nashville, Tennessee, September 2024: David Aaron Bloyed of Frost, Texas, was arrested for making online threats to kill Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk during GDL’s 2024 “Name the Nose Tour.”  In May 2025, Bloyed was convicted of communicating a threat in interstate commerce and faces up to five years in federal prison.

Nashville, Tennessee, July 2024: Ryan Scott McCann of Ontario, Canada, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and disorderly conduct after allegedly using a flagpole to attack a local bartender during GDL’s “Name the Nose Tour” on July 14, 2024. In February 2025, additional civil rights intimidation and assault charges were leveled against McCann for an incident the day prior, during which he attempted to strike a Jewish man’s neck and head as he kicked the victim. In June 2025, McCann was convicted for the July 13, 2024 antisemitic assault, and faces up to 13 years in prison.

High Point, North Carolina, May 2024: Ariel Ramos, the proprietor of the GDL-affiliated Patriot Candle Company, was charged with one count of threatening communications after allegedly sending antisemitic postcards to Jewish institutions and public officials. 

West Palm Beach, Florida, March 18, 2023:  Jon Minadeo, Nicholas Bysheim, and David Kim were cited for littering after distributing antisemitic propaganda. Minadeo was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Bysheim was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine. Kim was found guilty, sentenced to 6 months’ probation, and ordered to pay a fine.

West Palm Beach, Florida, March 11, 2023:  Brian Hulliger was cited for littering after distributing antisemitic propaganda. Hulliger was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months’ probation. 

Atlantis, Florida, January 21, 2023: Nicholas Bysheim was arrested for obstructing an officer without violence for refusing to provide identification when police were trying to cite him for littering while distributing GDL propaganda. Bysheim received 12 months’ probation. 

Carrolton, Georgia, October 2022: Hillary and Philp Jacobs were cited for littering after allegedly distributing antisemitic propaganda.

Poland, September 2022: Polish authorities arrested Jon Minadeo II for violating the country’s hate speech laws after he and Robert Wilson demonstrated in front of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Tillamook, Oregon, August and July 2022: Tillamook police arrested Matthew Dorminy, charging him with misdemeanor harassment, theft and criminal mischief following an incident in which he destroyed posters at a business and tried to replace them with GDL propaganda. He was also cited in July for affixing a flier to a vehicle or property without the owner’s permission. Dorminy was sentenced to 90 days in county jail and 12 months’ probation.

Denton, Texas, March 2022: Anthony Joseph Hammer was arrested on federal charges of interstate communication of a threat following an FBI investigation focused on online threats made against the Anti-Defamation League in July 2021. During a March 2022 detention hearing, an agent with the FBI reportedly testified that Hammer also made death threats directed toward Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf in November 2020. Hammer has been active with a network of Texas-based white supremacists that hold small, localized demonstrations and distribute white supremacist and antisemitic propaganda including fliers from GDL. Hammer was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and has since returned to associating with GDL.

Chula Vista, California, November 2021: On December 27, 2021, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced charges of one count of felony battery and associated anti-gay hate crime against GDL associate Robert Wilson. The charges stem from a November 10 incident in which Wilson allegedly blocked his neighbor’s driveway, yelled homophobic slurs at the victim, and struck him in the face. In an unrelated incident, on December 18 that year, Wilson allegedly violated San Diego City Municipal Code by hanging a large antisemitic banner from an Interstate 805 overpass. The banner claimed, “Jewish supremacy censors speech” and promoted the GDL website.