Neo-Nazi Leader August Kreis Sentenced for Fraud
Kreis was sentenced yesterday to six months in jail — time he has already served — in addition to six months of house arrest and two years of probation. But ever defiant, despite pleading guilty in August, Kreis remained unapologetic for his actions and the life he has led. “I don’t preach to hurt anybody, except the Jews, and I’ll keep doing that,” he said. “But that’s my First Amendment rights. As long as I obey God’s laws, I don’t care about anything else.”
The investigation that led to Kreis being charged began with a statement he made in 2005 to CNN, when he suggested the Aryan Nations form an alliance with Al Qaeda. “You say they’re terrorists, I say they’re freedom fighters,” Kreis said. “I want to instill the same jihadic feeling in our peoples’ heart, in the Aryan race, that they have for their father, who they call Allah.”
The statement drew the attention of the FBI.
D.J. Anderson, a spokesman for the Aryan Nations, told the Associated Press that the mainstream media had misinterpreted Kreis’ statements and that he only was pointing out that the group shared similar enemies with Al Qaeda. “That is where the similarities stop, for obvious reasons,” Anderson said. “Just the idea that a nationalist organization set up to promote the ideals of a white lifestyle, our culture and our heritage, would want to band up with an Islamic, fascist entity such as Al Qaeda, is — I don’t know.”
While the FBI found no link between Kreis and the terrorist organization that planned and paid for the 9/11 attacks, investigators did find problems in his books. Kreis had been using a need-based pension for military service, yet had failed to report thousands of dollars in other income.