In Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand, three boneheads — Benjamin Peter McPadden, 19, Jaydon Russell Borland, 31, and Jason George Gregory, 20 — were today (Friday the 13th) found guilty of a number of charges relating to the kidnapping, assault and robbery of a Canadian tourist, Jeremie Kawerninski, 26, on April 18 last year. Previously, in September, proceedings were delayed when Kawerninski failed to appear in court to give evidence; as a consequence, “Borland – who has the words “Nazi” and “skin” tattooed above each eye – smirked from the dock and made hand signals to a bonehead friend… in Lower Hutt District Court”. According to news reports, one juror was threatened during these most recent deliberations, and “The juror was discharged from the case after reporting that he had found a note outside his house on Friday morning saying “Not guilty”, and marked with a swastika.”
In Melbourne, boneheads from throughout Australia and overseas will be gathering on October 13 in order to commemorate the death in 1993 of Ian Stuart Donaldson, vocalist with neo-Nazi band Skrewdriver and co-founder of international neo-Nazi muzak network Blood & Honour. As in previous years, the gig is being organised by the local B&H franchise in conjunction with the local franchise of another, US-based group, the Hammerskins, although it’s unlikely that the gig will be held, as it was in 2006 and 2005, at The Birmingham Hotel in Fitzroy. Notably, a racist assault occurred on the night of last year’s gig, and members of both networks have been guilty of numerous acts of murder and assault (in Indiana in 1999, a pack of five Indiana Hammerskins tracked down one ‘offender’, roughed him up, tore off his colors, held him down, burned off his Hammerskin tattoos with a blowtorch, and then shoved a pool cue up his rectum). B&H is banned in Germany and Spain, and faces possible bans in Belgium and Holland, but operates with absolute impunity in Australia, and its major venue in Melbourne maintains the full support of a number of local punks.
Previously, in April, local Newcastle band Blood Red Eagle traveled to Wellington to perform at a gig, organised by the New Zealand B&H and Hammerskins franchise, to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Both Blood Red Eagle and Skrewdriver are available for purchase through Sydney-based hardcore label Snapshot Records, a label which also claims affiliation to the anarchist group Class War.
