The alt-right movement – known for white supremacist views and its overtly racist ideology – has gained traction during the divisive US presidential race. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA.
A Nazi-themed Facebook group that called for the “execution” of Jews and African Americans has led to the expulsion of five Boulder, Colorado, high school students in an unusual case of “alt-right” hate speech spreading to teens in a liberal city.
About 15 students participated in a “4th Reich’s Official Group Chat” on Facebook, according to a Boulder police report, which said members discussed “killing all Jews and [N-words]” and encouraged each other to “recruit more members so they can complete their ‘mission’.”
Members wrote messages championing “WHITE POWER!”, posted pictures of guns, called a firearm a “[N-word] BLASTER”, used derogatory terms for gay people, joked about “rape memes”, declared that they “must lynch the [N-words]”, and mocked Mexicans, copies of the group’s chats showed.
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The Facebook group, first reported by the local Daily Camera newspaper, was discovered after one of its leaders allegedly committed suicide, reportedly to “show his allegiance to the [Nazi] party and the killing of Jewish people”, a police report said. Officers were also investigating reports that a Boulder Prep high school student was being “threatened and harassed” by classmates.
Participants gave themselves Nazi-themed nicknames, including the Fuhrer, Gruppenfuhrer and Sturmbannführer. They wrote of “the final solution” and the goal to “eradicate all lessers [sic]”, with some writing, “Let’s have fun killing jews” and “You can hang Jews on trees, shoot them right in the knees. Gas as many as you please.”
The students come from a number of local schools. Officials from Boulder Prep, a charter school, told police they had expelled five participants. Most of the students’ names were redacted in the report, except for three who are 18 years old.
Police ultimately decided not to press charges after determining that “there is no evidence or documentation to support there being any credible threat to any students”, officers wrote.
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At least one student attempted to play down the seriousness of the group, with an officer saying “he informed me that the whole thing was ‘funny’ and he would not actually ever do any of those things”, the report said.
One mother was “visibly shaken by the conduct of her own son”, the report added.
It is unclear how long the Facebook group was running, whether other users ever reported the nature of group or whether the group was known to the social media company. Under Facebook’s community standards, “hate speech” is banned, including content that “attacks people” based on race, ethnicity, gender or other factors.
Facebook representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Everyone who is surprised by FB’s response, raise your hand! It’s no surprise that Germany is looking into making FB financially responsible for all the hate speech they allow to fester. All countries should do the same, as FB never stops talking about how they don’t condone this, don’t condone that, and never do one fucking thing. One of the 18 year olds involved said:
“They’re sorry that it got to this point,” Reynolds said. “They didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings, it was just a joke that turned sour.”
No, they are not sorry it got to any point. Pretty sure they are sorry they got caught. This sort of open, hateful bigotry is not a game, and it is most certainly not a joke. It’s not fun. It’s young assholes like you who end up not having the spine to stand up and do right, so you just follow along in the wake of evil, being willingly led by the nose. FFS.
Via The Guardian and Atlanta Black Star.
