Student Group Leader Tied to White Supremacist Arrested Wednesday
A white supremacist just arrested on federal firearms charges in the state of Washington had ties to a university student leader of a new chapter of Youth for Western Civilization (YWC). Jeremiah Daniel “JD” Hop, previously convicted of child rape in California, is accused in a federal indictment of being a felon illegally possessing a shotgun. Arrested by FBI agents on Wednesday, Hop also likely faces state charges for possessing stolen property taken in burglaries near his home in Pullman and the campus of Washington State University, authorities say.
The 29-year-old suspect is linked to recent Aryan and extremist picketing outside Mexican taco stands near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, authorities say. Using the name “WhitePhoenix,” Hop has boasted of that involvement on the racist Stormfront Web site, The Spokesman-Review reported Thursday. On his Facebook page, Hop’s list of “inspirational people” included the late William Pierce, who founded the National Alliance and author of The Turner Diaries. The fictional account of a race war has been the blueprint for action for some extremists, including neo-Nazi members of The Order in the 1980s and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 1995.
In a 2006 “guestbook” posting for imprisoned Order member David Lane, Hop, using a “fourteenwordlivin” e-mail address, said he was inspired by Lane’s racist writings. “It would be nice if you were not in prison,” Hop said to Lane, who died in prison in 2007.
“They failed and you are still getting your message across,” Hop told Lane. “You have the power and determination. I’m 24 and have so much ahead. I wish I could talk to someone who could lead me on the right path to do the best for our race. My love and respect.”
Although he isn’t currently a student at WSU in Pullman, Hop’s Facebook friends included Phil Tignino, the student leader of the Youth for Western Civilization chapter, an officially recognized student organization on the WSU campus. The group’s anti-immigration, anti-multiculturalism message targets young adults and seems to flirt with the extremist, hate-filled fringe.
