In North Dakota, a white supremacist town has been envisioned for a small burg named Leith, with the residents of the area unsettled — but a groundswell of support from racists nationwide.
In fact, the white supremacist town idea is pretty popular among the white power subset, and hundreds reportedly descended upon Leith this weekend to flesh out the vision of a neighborhood officially free of black people, Jews, and possible Italians.
The weekend was probably a bit scary for average folk in the small North Dakota town as the white supremacist takeover was fleshed out — with leader Craig Cobb joined by Jeff Schoep — who is the head of the “National Socialist Movement.” (Which we think is code for “Nazi.”)
Schoep was cautiously optimistic that his brand of white power could germinate in the little town, calling Cobb’s white supremacist town property grab a “test ground” to begin taking over communities.
Chillingly, Schoep added :
“You have to start somewhere.”
Then, perhaps rather ironically, the white power leader added:
“We’re here to support him, make sure his civil rights aren’t violated.”
Cobb’s white supremacist town visions are one he describes with creepy awe, and NPR quotes him as describing the proud flying of a symbol that still telegraphs the memory of six million plus deaths just decades ago:
“It would be extraordinarily beautiful when people enter the town, particularly at night. We will probably have the National Socialist hunting flag with stag horns and a very small swastika in the center — very discreet.”
(With Holocaust survivors still living, is there ever any such thing as a discreet swastika?)
One black guy lives in Leith, and as you can imagine, the white power rally galvanizing where he hangs his hat was somewhat of an unpleasant and unwelcome sight — Bobby Harper told a local news source:
“I never dreamed so many people would come out against hate.”
35-year-old Chase Iron Eyes protested along with fellow Standing Rock Sioux members — and he said:
“We won’t condone outsiders coming in to spread bigotry in our homeland.”
While the white supremacist town drew hundreds of supporters from elsewhere who liked the idea of a white power enclave, the initiative also prompted a counter-protest, and many came to voice support for diversity and acceptance. Harper personally thanked protesters Sunday for their help in objecting to the white power encroachment.