Members of the white nationalist group the Honorable Sacred Knights of the Ku Klux Klan hold a rally in Dayton, Ohio, U.S., May 25, 2019. (photo credit: JIM URQUHART/REUTERS)
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According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the NGO allegedly linked a social media account spreading white nationalist views to a police officer serving in a department in the Akron, Ohio area.
The account holder, known in the statement and online as B.S., has shared through various social media accounts “calls to action and hate speech, mostly against African-Americans but also against Jews and anti-fascist groups,” as well as graphic photos of members of minority groups who are either dead or have been tortured, while also claiming to be ready for an imminent “race war.”
The alleged police officer used platforms such as Vkontakte (VK), Facebook and Instagram to spread the nationalistic views, that which MEMRI says demonstrates “suspicious/potentially dangerous activity in relation to white supremacist and racist ideology.” Most of the information collected during MEMRI’s investigation was gathered from the suspected officer’s public Vkontakte (VK) account.
“The content he shares suggests that he is a white supremacist, Nazi sympathizer, and neo-Confederate, whose racist views are directed primarily against African-Americans and Jews. He appears to be a member of a regional branch of the Ku Klux Klan, possibly belonging to the East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire,” MEMRi stated in its report. “As part of his online community of like-minded individuals, many of his posts have received positive comments and expressions of support and encouragement. Furthermore, he also shares insignia and symbols such as swastikas and Waffen SS patches, as well as memes and imagery.”
The NGO discovered the account holder was a suspected police officer when they uncovered a conversation the user had with another on VK, in the comments section of one of B.S.’s posts.
“B.S. I hear you are a cop are you a county sheriff or local police or state trooper? It does not bother me you are a cop i just wanted to know witch [sic] one you work for that being said be safe out their and look over our people.” To this, B.S. commented, “Local.”
B.S. as discussed earlier has posted on the accounts calls for incitement claiming to be “slowly” preparing for a “race war.” The user has posted antisemitic graphics calling for Jewish people to leave the United States, as well as calls to violence against African Americans.
The user shared images of police officers garbed in Klan uniforms and MEMRI wrote in its report that “on his social media accounts, B.S. advocates armed violence. In several occasions, he alluded to his desire to use his position on the police force to commit consequence-free acts of violence against [African Americans].”
The report, while detailed, has not been independently confirmed by law enforcement agencies to be linked to a police officer in the Akron, Ohio area.
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