Aryan Strike Force : Do Not Collect $200

Huh.

Two British neo-Nazis — Michael Heaton, 42 (aka ‘Wigan Mike’), and Trevor Hannington, 58 — have been convicted of inciting racial hatred after posting abusive comments on a nutzi website belonging to the ‘Aryan Strike Force’, a forum utilised by themselves and a range of other fascist kooks to plan for RaHoWa! Mike was given a 30-month jail term for his keyboard heroics, while Trev got two years.

Hannington’s hate-filled postings include messages which read: “Kill the Jew, Kill the Jew, Burn the synagogues, and Burn the Scum”. Heaton wrote, “Jews will always be scum, and must be destroyed, I would encourage any race who wants to destroy the Jews, I hate them with a passion.”

Sentiments which, to anyone who has spent any time browsing nutzi websites (or even social networking sites such as Facebook), while they may be considered unusual (in addition to repulsive), would realise are very far from unique. To the best of my knowledge, however, this is — I think — only the second occasion upon which a British citizen has been convicted of such offences for their online rants (the other convictions being those of Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle in July 2009). Further details about the dynamic duo’s trials, tribulations and now jailings are available by way of Mike Hornby and the Press Association (White supremacists jailed over ‘vicious’ online messages, The Independent, June 25, 2010):

The “proud neo-Nazis” were unanimously cleared of soliciting murder at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday but Heaton was jailed today for 30 months after being convicted of four counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to stir up racial hatred.

Hannington previously admitted two counts of stirring up racial hatred, two further counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and disseminating a terrorist publication.

He was jailed for two years.

In Perth, Australia, Brendon O’Connell is currently on trial for racial vilification. He was last spotted at an anti-censorship rally in Perth (in the company of a handful of fascists belonging to Nationalist Alternative).

See also : Neo-Nazis jailed over anti-Jewish internet posts, BBC, June 25, 2010 | Nazis Jailed, libcom, June 25, 2010: “The other question that remains is that of web content. With Sheppard and Whittle behind bars and Heaton and Hannington about to sample HMP’s finest cuisine for the next year or so how does this affect the other extreme websites? On places like VNN and Stormfront there are many threads that, late at night, ‘having strong drink taken’ descend into amusing bitchiness and not-so-amusing threats, racist outpourings and vile anti-Semitism. The EDL are not exempt either with current threads like ‘***k Palestine’ and ‘how many uaf are gonna get done over today.’ Having achieved a couple of high profile convictions, are the cops going to be trawling through the sites and trying to secure a few more promotion boosting arrests? This affects militant anti-fascists as well as nutjob fascists. Posters beware!”

Bonus Wesley!