Atlanta Antifascists

Whitewash: “American Patriots USA” En‐

lists GOP Candidates to Launder White
Nationalist Agenda

5.14.2020
As this report was being prepared for publication Thursday evening, far-Right militiaman
and 9th Congressional District candidate Michael Boggus released a video on Facebook,
stating that he is the new State Director for American Patriots USA. Since neo-Nazi Chester
Doles and the white supremacists around Doles remain in the organization, we assume this
is a shell game.

Summary: American Patriots USA (APUSA) was formed last year in north Georgia by
Chester Doles, a longtime neo-Nazi. As documented in this and earlier reports, the
organization is a thinly disguised front group for white supremacists. APUSA has spent the last
few months building a broader front of “constitutionalist” Republican candidates, including
several people of color, which it uses to mask its agenda. The white power organization even
hosted a current State House Representative, Matthew Gurtler, at their March meeting. We
document APUSA’s “Trojan horse” effort and highlight the complicity of GOP candidates and
networks in normalizing white supremacist organizing.
Chester Doles (circled) at “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017 – footage here.

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Recent APUSA Meetings and Networking
• 2.1 February Meeting
• 2.2 February 29 Networking
• 2.3 March Meeting
• 2.4 May Meeting
3. APUSA Candidates
• 3.1 The Militiamen: Michael Boggus, Jonathan Garcia, Mack McGregor
• 3.2 Who’s In: Johsie Cruz, Danny Ellyson, Derrick Grayson
• 3.3 Who’s Out: Matthew Gurtler, Eugene Yu, Hubert Owens, Doug Collins
4. APUSA Members
• 4.1 The Minions: Sean Keena, Robert Timothy Dickenson, Josh Mote, Christy Howle
• 4.2 The Shadow Member: Michael Carothers/Weaver
• 4.3 The Leader: Chester Doles
5. Strategy Notes: What’s Going On?
6. Conclusion
Introduction

In late December 2019, a new organization in north Georgia named American Patriots USA
(APUSA) announced its first political endorsement. On the racist White Information Network
blog, APUSA announced: “Cody Cantrell for Sheriff of White County.” Cantrell is by his own
admission “affiliated” with the Ku Klux Klan. Less than a month after the announcement,
Cantrell’s campaign had collapsed as the community discovered Cantrell’s KKK ties. APUSA
provided contradictory accounts in the aftermath. White Information Network eventually
removed the “Cantrell for Sheriff” announcement. 

“Cody Cantrell for Sheriff of White County” announcement vanished from White Information Network

American Patriots USA continues to act as a front group for neo-Nazis and other ideological
racists. Since the Cody Cantrell debacle, APUSA has altered their electoral strategy by
pursuing support among Republican fringe candidates who, in contrast to Cantrell, are not
affiliated with the KKK. APUSA currently endorses seven candidates, with more than half
being rightwing people of color. One of these candidates has now claimed he was unaware of
the APUSA endorsement, but the rest have talked to the group’s meetings. Another candidate
endorsed by APUSA, white militiaman Michael Boggus, has effectively folded his campaign for
Congress in Georgia’s 9th District into APUSA. Boggus co-administrates a new Facebook page
for APUSA and promoted this page on a campaign radio advertisement. APUSA plans to host a
fundraising event for Boggus on Saturday, May 16. The venue was initially Johnny B’s bar in
Dahlonega – a symbolic choice, since this was where just years earlier APUSA founder Chester
Doles and Hammerskin gang members attacked the family and friends of an interracial
couple. The venue was changed less than two days before the event to the Auraria Community
Club, after Bikers for Trump allegedly said they would attend.

“We the People Dream Team” of APUSA-endorsed

candidates “Bikers for Boggus” event

In its recent outreach to Republicans, APUSA was even able to get current Georgia State
House Representative Matthew Gurtler (8th district) to speak to its March meeting in
Dahlonega. Relations between Gurtler and APUSA appear to have later soured.
 Chester Doles with National Alliance leader William Pierce

In this report, we discuss APUSA’s activities from late February to mid-May as it built support
within grassroots Republican circles in Georgia. We discuss the candidates currently being
promoted by APUSA. Then, we recap core members of APUSA who have stuck with the
organization since its founding last year. We highlight the behind-the-scenes involvement of
neo-Nazi Michael Carothers (AKA Michael Weaver) in the organization. Carothers knows
APUSA head Chester Doles since Doles led the Georgia unit of the National Alliance in the
early 2000s. At the time, the National Alliance was the largest neo-Nazi organization in North
America. We conclude with some thoughts on why it is useful for a group guided by clear white
supremacists to build a broader multiracial and “constitutionalist” front.

American Patriots USA is a White Nationalist Front Group

Excerpts from October 2019 APUSA promotional video, where Doles discusses APUSA as continuing his
organizing for the white supremacist National Alliance.

2. Recent APUSA Meetings and Networking

In an earlier article, we discussed APUSA’s efforts up to but not including its February 22
meeting. As we documented, in early February Chester Doles continued to broadcast his neo-
Nazi affiliations on social media, for example with a post referencing “14/88”: the “fourteen
words” white power slogan in combination with alphanumeric code for “H.H.” or “Heil Hitler.”
In early February, Doles remained in touch with Billy Roper, a white supremacist who Doles
had organized with in the National Alliance. 

2.1 February Meeting

APUSA’s February meeting took place on the 22nd, having been canceled due to snow a couple
of weeks earlier. In a sign of things to come, the organization had invited Eugene Yu, a
Republican candidate in the primary for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, to address the
meeting. After being alerted to APUSA’s politics, Yu canceled.
 Joshua Noah Mote, “Lumpkin County Coordinator” for
APUSA

The meeting at the Lumpkin County Parks and Recreation Community Center featured three
speakers: Josh Mote, Chester Doles, and Sean Keena. Mote had been Klansman Cody
Cantrell’s “campaign manager” just one month earlier. In February, Mote established a
Facebook page, “Say What You Want in Dahlonega?”, to promote APUSA’s activities. Early in
the meeting, Mote was promoted to APUSA’s “Lumpkin County Coordinator”. As Doles
explained to attendees later, Mote would serve as a public face for APUSA because “They
[antifascists] can’t find nothing on him”. 

Before giving his prepared speech, Mote insisted: “We are nothing of the Ku Klux Klan, we are
nothing of a neo-Nazi group” but an organization of patriotic Americans. Mote discussed plans
for future events and his campaigning for APUSA’s “2nd Amendment Sanctuary County”
initiative, which at the time was the group’s main focus. Mote stated that Lumpkin County
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard was “completely on board” with APUSA’s 2nd Amendment Sanctuary
organizing, and that Jarrard had purchased “many raffle tickets” for the organization’s
fundraising AR-15 raffle. Mote’s formal speech framed gun control as a plot by “Anti-American
Socialist[s] that are trying to dismantle America”.

Chester Doles at February meeting. Note militia security in

background.

Chester Doles took the podium and delivered a tearful speech. The individuals who had
founded American Patriots USA just two months prior had experienced “a profound change of
heart, soul and mind” due to “divine intervention from a loving and forgiving God.” “God
turned me upside down and shook me out”, claimed Doles, causing Doles to abandon his white
supremacist past. Doles insisted:

The one thing we [APUSA] have not been is a racist, white supremacist,
Nazi or KKK ‘front group’ or otherwise. The only memberships we have
ever had to revoke has been of members that did have continuing ties with
these groups.

Doles’ speech as well as Mote’s were later published on APUSA’s website. Doles continues to
circulate white nationalist materials on his social media, network with militant racists, and like
their posts calling for violence. In a later section (4.3), we discuss Doles’ online activity since
his February performance. Nothing has changed.
April 2020 Twitter post by Sean Keena (“Sean Cooley”) denies the Holocaust, defends Nazis

The final speech of the February meeting was from Sean Keena, whose antisemitism we have
highlighted before. When he introduced Keena, Doles stated: “I’ve known Sean for the past
twenty years, [we’ve] been through a whole bunch of stuff.” This means that Keena and Doles
knew each other since the early 2000s, when Doles led the National Alliance unit in Georgia.

In his rambling speech, Sean Keena suggested that Bernie Sanders was a political successor of
Lenin and Trotsky, then continued:

Look: I’m not an antisemite. This is not about race, but the problem is:
Benjamin Disraeli, he was a British statesman about a hundred and fifty
years ago in England. […] Anyway, he was a Jewish statesman. He said:
‘The foundation of all politics is race.’

It just so happens [Michael] Bloomberg – and I’ve had it up to here too with
Bloomberg – and Bernie [Sanders] are both, um… ‘Chosen’. The self-
proclaimed Chosen Ones.

Keena misquoted Disraeli. However, the actual quote (“All is race, there is no other truth”) is
used as an epigraph in My Awakening and is also quoted in Jewish Supremacism, both books
by neo-Nazi and former Klan leader David Duke. In our earlier article, we noted Keena’s praise
for David Duke. 
After Keena’s Jew-baiting, his remarks became even less coherent. He received polite
applause, and then the meeting wound down with everyone watching a speech by Trump.

2.2 February 29 Networking Events

The following Saturday, Doles, Mote and other APUSA members attended rallies to promote
their organization. At the “Bartow County 2A and Trump Rally” hosted in Adairsville by the
Presidents Team nonprofit, Doles and his teenage daughter prominently displayed an APUSA
banner. William Tex Simmons and other members of the American Brotherhood of Patriots,
the militia that provides armed security for APUSA meetings, also attended the Adairsville
event.

Lucretia Hughes (2nd from L), Marjorie Taylor Greene (4th), Josh Mote (2nd from R) and Chester Doles (R) at
“Georgia Second Amendment Sanctuary Rally”, Villanow, February 29
From Adairsville, the APUSA contingent went on to Villanow (near LaFayette), Georgia for a
“Georgia Second Amendment Sanctuary Rally” at a local community center. At the Villanow
event, the APUSA group posed for a photo with the event’s main speaker, Islamophobe and
QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is running for Congress as a Republican in the
Georgia’s 14th District. Also in the group photo was Lucretia Hughes, a Black pro-Trump
commentator and energetic rightwing networker who talked at Chester Doles’ September 14
far-Right rally in Dahlonega.

2.3 March Meeting

March 14 meeting. L-R: Josh Mote, Mack McGregor, Jonathan Garcia, Michael Boggus, House State
Representative Matthew Gurtler and Chester Doles.

The March 14 meeting for APUSA was their last at the Parks and Recreation Community
Center before the coronavirus pandemic suspended operations. The event introduced several
candidates running as Republicans to APUSA. Doles opened the meeting with comments
about the delays and difficulties faced by his Lumpkin County “2nd Amendment Sanctuary”
efforts. He told an unverifiable story about having sat down with FBI agents about the
problem of antifascists. With introductory remarks out of the way, Doles introduced the first
guest, State House Representative Matthew Gurtler (8th GA House district).

Matthew Gurtler speaks to APUSA meeting

Matthew Gurtler stated to Doles that “I’m right there with ya”, portraying APUSA and similar
groups as organic responses to big government and “socialism on the rise”. He referenced his
track record of being the most conservative member of Georgia’s state House and promoted
his current campaign for the congressional spot in Georgia’s 9th Congressional District.
Gurtler asserted that it was time to push back against the “rise of socialism” from the media,
academia, and Hollywood.
The meeting featured four other speakers: three militia figures with long shot political
ambitions, and an impromptu speech by APUSA’s webmaster. Between speakers, Doles
offered additional comments, for example mentioning a recent failed attempt by APUSA to
harass a local progressive group that has long been a target for Doles. Doles reminded
everyone that he had “renounced hate” and found common ground with Lucretia Hughes. 

Jonathan Garcia, Mack McGregor, and Michael Boggus are all militia supporters who promote
each other’s efforts. Garcia aims to run for Governor in 2022, with McGregor running an
accompanying campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Michael Boggus is a former member of the
Georgia Security Force III% militia. He is currently running for the Republican nomination for
Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, where he is competing against Matthew Gurtler among
others.

Jonathan Garcia

In a rambling speech, Garcia railed against “Commie-crats” and stressed his “strict
constitutionalist” principles. His talk included common far-Right rallying cries, from Ruby
Ridge to the more recent militia martyr LaVoy Finicum. (Garcia stated that he had met
Finicum’s wife.) Garcia favorably cited Robert Welch, the conspiracy theorist co-founder of the
John Birch Society. Garcia, who is Black and Latino, told the audience: “I am what Martin
Luther King talked about […] Call me a racist, I dare you.”

Mack McGregor

McGregor believes that the Democratic Party is a socialist and communist organization
dedicated to gun confiscation. He expressed nostalgia for the days when mentioning socialism
meant “you got curb stomped”. McGregor encouraged the audience to “push these people
[Democrats and others considered socialist] back where they belong […] drag ‘em out, do away
with ‘em”.
 Michael Boggus

Michael Boggus’ speech focused on his main qualifications for the Congressional spot in
Georgia’s 9th District this year: “I’m definitely no politician and I’m not politically correct”.
Boggus talked about candidates such as himself as the alternative to civil war: “We can do it
now [change by political means] or we can wait and let Boogaloo happen.” While Boggus
claimed “Boogaloo [a far-Right term for civil war] is fun”, he would rather win through the
ballot and change the establishment.   

Following Boggus’ talk, APUSA webmaster Christy Howle gave an impromptu speech in which
she fantasized about building gallows for “traitors”. Howle characterized undocumented
immigration as an “invasion” and labeled immigrants as “the enemy”. She speculated that
coronavirus shutdowns had been orchestrated because no shots were fired at the Richmond,
Virginia anti-gun control rally two months earlier, which would have otherwise been the
pretext for a clampdown. 
An unfocused discussion of Doles’ favorite organizing issue, immigration, followed. After
briefly speaking again, Matthew Gurtler made his excuses but posed for a group photo before
leaving.

(d) May Meeting

Georgia was under a shelter-in-place order from April 3 to April 30. During this time APUSA
held no public meeting. On the first day of the shelter-in-place order, Doles shared an APUSA
image endorsing four fringe GOP candidates: Boggus, Garcia, McGregor, as well as Hubert
Owens Jr., who is running as a Republican in State House District 93. On April 20, Doles
circulated a new image adding two more candidates on the APUSA “We the People Dream
Team”. These two additional endorsements were: Johsie Cruz, running as a Republican for
Congress in Georgia’s 4th District, and Danny Ellyson, running for in Georgia’s 8th
Congressional District. 

APUSA members also mentioned Derrick Grayson, running as a Republican in the special
election to the US Senate for Georgia, as billed to speak at an upcoming meeting. Grayson
however was not officially endorsed by Doles and APUSA until the day after their May 9
meeting, held at the organization’s new clubhouse.
May 9 APUSA meeting. Front row (L-R): Josh Mote, Johsie Cruz, Derrick Grayson, Michael Boggus, Danny
Ellyson, Chester Doles, Jonathan Cruz. Back row: William Tex Simmons in center with American Brotherhood of
Patriots militiamen.

Only sections of the May 9 meeting were posted online. Candidates who presented at the small
clubhouse gathering were: Johsie Cruz, Derrick Grayson, Danny Ellyson, Michael Boggus and
Jonathan Garcia. As well as Doles, key APUSA members attending were Lumpkin County
Coordinator Josh Mote; KKK supporter and APUSA Chaplain Robert Timothy Dickenson
(visible in footage); and Nazi-supporting Doles associate, Sean Charles Keena (audible in
recordings). The speaker’s podium was draped with an “Anti-Antifa” scarf featuring a white
nationalist celtic cross symbol on either end. APUSA later characterized having people of color
framed by the white nationalist accessory as a “laugh” at antifascists’ expense. 
 Johsie Cruz Derrick Grayson

Danny Ellyson

Johsie Cruz, who emigrated to the US from Venezuela, portrayed antifascists as the true Nazis.
Video of Derrick Grayson’s speech was briefly posted, but soon went offline. We do not know
its content except that according to Chester Doles, Grayson criticized RINOs (“Republicans in
Name Only”). Doles officially endorsed Grayson’s Senate run the following day. Danny Ellyson
stressed his military experience and portrayed himself as a strict constitutionalist. He
congratulated APUSA for trying to “bridge a gap” and characterized anti-fascist criticism as
“When you do right things, people try to attack you”. Most of Boggus’ talk is not available, but
online footage shows a meandering conversation involving APUSA core member Sean Keena.
At one point, Boggus commented that he was in Michigan last year, to challenge “No Go
Zones” – a reference to an anti-Muslim protest he attended, and the myth that parts of
Dearborn, Michigan are under Sharia law. Jonathan Garcia’s speech insisted that “outside
organizations” such as the World Health Organization were undermining sovereignty. Garcia
also stressed his unhyphenated American identity, which he perceives as under threat.

2019: Michael Boggus likes comment by “Knights Templar” ( “KT” ) Islamophobe,

hoping for mass shootings in Dearborn, Michigan

3. APUSA Candidates

By summarizing APUSA’s recent meetings, we also covered most of its endorsed candidates.

3.1 The Militiamen: Michael Boggus, Jonathan Garcia, Mack

McGregor

Militia supporters Jonathan Garcia and Mack McGregor aim to run for Georgia Governor and
Lieutenant Governor respectively in 2022. They currently support Michael Boggus’ campaign
in the Republican primary for the 9th Congressional District. Boggus is now deeply involved
with American Patriots USA. APUSA are using a “Bikers for Boggus” fundraising event on May
16th – a bike run leaving from the Auraria Community Center in Dahlonega and returning for
music and speakers – to further claim Dahlonega as their turf.
American Patriots USA Facebook page, co-administrated by Michael Boggus

Boggus’ close relationship with APUSA is not the first time he has sided with white
nationalists. Sidney Horton, a Georgia white nationalist who authored antisemitic propaganda
about “The Jewish Question”, also works closely with Boggus.

3.2 Who’s In: Johsie Cruz, Danny Ellyson, Derrick Grayson

Three more candidates talked for the first time at APUSA’s May 9 meeting: Johsie Cruz (for
Congress, GA04), Danny Ellyson (for Congress, GA08), and Derrick Grayson (for US Senate).
Grayson was not included in APUSA’s April “We the People Dream Team” promotional image
but was endorsed following the May 9 meeting.
APUSA informally promotes QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene (for Congress, GA09)
who posed for a photo with group members in February and who Doles calls “our friend”.

3.3 Who’s Out: Matthew Gurtler, Eugene Yu, Hubert Owens, Doug
Collins

Despite State House Representative Gurtler talking at the March APUSA meeting and voicing
support for the organization’s efforts, APUSA is supporting Michael Boggus over Gurtler and
other candidates in the 9th Congressional District Republican primary. APUSA appears to have
fallen out with Gurtler, with Christy Howle selling an APUSA t-shirt which portrays Gurtler as
“nutless & gutless”.

As we discussed earlier, Eugene Yu (for Congress, GA07) pulled out of an APUSA meeting in
February.

Hubert Owens, Jr.

Hubert Owens, Jr. was one of the earliest candidates endorsed by APUSA, having been
promoted by the organization alongside Boggus, McGregor and Garcia on April 3. Owens is a
Republican running for State House District 93. He previously ran in a 2018 GOP primary for
a Congressional spot in Maryland. Owens now claims not to have been aware of the APUSA
endorsement and his Facebook post thanking APUSA for its support has vanished. Christy
Howle continues to sell tank tops and posters of the APUSA “We the People Dream Team”
featuring an image of Owens along with the other five candidates that APUSA had endorsed by
the end of April. 

Message on “Hubert Owens for GA HD 93” Facebook page from APUSA organizer Michael Carothers AKA Michael
Weaver

Incumbent 9th District Congressman Doug Collins had already disassociated himself from
Chester Doles shortly before the formation of APUSA, by issuing a statement disavowing white
nationalism and saying that he would not attend Doles’ September 2019 rally in Dahlonega,
after having his name listed as “invited” on the initial flyer. The White Information Network
blog complained that GOP Congressman Collins had “come out against pro-white activists.”

4. APUSA Members

With five out of the seven candidates promoted by APUSA being people of color – four of them
Black – it is easy to be distracted from the white nationalist nature of the project. APUSA is
still controlled by Chester Doles and his close associates. Doles’ VKontakte (VK) social media
account remains part of online groups for “Mein Kampf” and the National Alliance, among
others. Scrolling down more than a few days on his VK account predictably leads to white
nationalist content. See Section 4.3 for more counterevidence to Doles’ claim of rejecting
“hate”.
Chester Doles Sean Keena
 Robert Tim Dickenson

4.1 The Minions: Sean Keena, Robert Timothy

Dickenson, Josh Mote, Christy Howle

Apart from Joshua Mote, who is the “clean” public face of APUSA, the two most frequent
attendees at APUSA meetings are Sean Keena, a Nazi sympathizer and longtime friend of
Doles, as well as Robert Timothy Dickenson, a Klan supporter who Chester Doles identified as
APUSA’s Chaplain. The organization’s webmaster, Christy Howle, is close with racist Paul
Lovett, who operates the racist “Nationalist Liberty Union” in the Augusta metro area. 

With the January commotion over Cody Cantrell’s attempted run for White County Sheriff,
Cantrell and other members of his SCK Klan group may have indeed left APUSA. However,
APUSA’s official explanation – after dropping their initial lie about antifascist hackers –
makes no sense. If APUSA removed bigots, figures such as the Holocaust-mocking Sean Keena
would also have to go.

Following APUSA’s first meeting in December, members celebrated at Johnny B’s in

Dahlonega. A group photo showed eight people, including Cantrell and three more SCK-KKK
members, one of them giving a Klan salute. The four remaining figures were Doles, Keena and
Dickson – ideological racists and key APUSA members – as well as one other person, Michael
Carothers AKA Michael Weaver.

4.2 The Shadow Member: Michael Carothers/Weaver

Facebook page for Michael Carothers/Weaver, featuring American Patriots USA image

Michael David Carothers (born 1980), who goes by the name Michael Weaver, has been an
active white supremacist for over two decades. According to an article on Andrew Anglin’s old
Total Fascism website, “Upon turning 18, he [Carothers] joined the National Alliance, of which
he was a member for ten years.” As well as the National Alliance, Carothers was active in the
white supremacist “World Church of the Creator” for several years beginning in 1999.
 “We Are All Michael Weaver” article on Total Fascism, 2013

Even if the years in the Total Fascism article are slightly off, Carothers was clearly part of the
National Alliance while Chester Doles led the Georgia unit in the early 2000s. According to
Total Fascism, Weaver “once met [National Alliance leader] William Pierce at a [2002] NA
meeting in Dahlonega, Georgia” – an event organized by Doles. Weaver continued with the
National Alliance for years after Doles went to prison on federal firearms charges, even being
named “Activist of the Year” by the organization in 2008. In December 2010, Carothers
attacked a Black man in his hometown of Columbus, Georgia with pepper spray, eventually
taking a plea deal. Carothers received a sentence of one year in prison plus nine more years of
banishment from the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. 
White Information Network lists white supremacist murderer James Fields as “political prisoner”

Currently, Carothers maintains the White Information Network blog which he launched in
2010. Weaver often plays the role of publicist and behind-the-scenes organizer in the Georgia
white nationalist milieu, as he did for the failed “Rock Stone Mountain II” mobilization and for
Chester Doles’ September rally in Dahlonega. Carothers’ racist ideology has changed little as
decades passed. His White Information Network blog lists white supremacist murderer James
Alex Fields, Jr as a “political prisoner” deserving support. Carothers republishes neo-Nazi
propaganda from the National Alliance on a regular basis.
 Michael Carothers wearing APUSA shirt, posted to Facebook April 2020 (image
flipped for readability.)

Carothers did not merely attend the initial meeting for APUSA in December. He assists online
promotion and communications for the group. Carothers/Weaver and Chester Doles were the
only two profiles linked to the American Brotherhood of Patriots militia on VK. (Weaver lost
his VK account in February.) A few days after Michael Boggus was introduced as a candidate
to the March APUSA meeting, Carothers posted a photo of a Michael Boggus campaign sign in
Cartersville to his White Information Network. In April, Weaver also posted a screen-capture
of Hubert Owens, Jr. thanking APUSA for its endorsement on his White Information Network
blog, with the title “Support American Patriots USA”. Carothers wrote that APUSA candidates
are “standing up to antifa” on VNN Forum and Stormfront, both white power sites.
 “American Patriots USA” (i.e. Chester Doles) comments on White Information
Network, April 1, 2020, celebrating the release of white nationalist Augustus
Invictus from jail. Later in April, Invictus was arrested again for stalking his
wife.

A look at the “Michael Weaver” profile on Facebook shows just how closely he has been
following APUSA’s candidates. Of the seven candidates endorsed by APUSA, Carothers follows
pages for all except Derrick Grayson, who APUSA just officially endorsed. On a Facebook
livestream by Michael Boggus the day of APUSA’s May meeting, Michael’s father David
Carothers (“Horst Hessler”) commented: “Greetings on behalf of my son, Mike Weaver”.
David Carothers is also a neo-Nazi and used to help his son distribute propaganda for the
National Alliance.

Carothers/Weaver comments on the Facebook page for Joshua Noah Mote, May 2020

On Facebook, Weaver is also connected to APUSA’s Lumpkin County Coordinator Josh Mote,
who insists that APUSA is “nothing of a neo-Nazi group.”

4.3 The Leader: Chester Doles

 Chester Doles at his September 14, 2019 rally in Dahlonega

Chester Doles’ claim that he recently had a divinely inspired “profound change of heart, soul
and mind” leading him to reject racism is false. Doles made this claim in a speech to the
February 22nd meeting of his American Patriots USA. In the two months directly following the
February meeting, Doles’ social media profile on VKontakte featured: 

A link to Michael Carothers’ “White Information Network” blog.

An anti-immigrant propaganda image from the white nationalist “Western Loyalist” site.
Two different reposts from the VK profile of Paul Fromm, a longtime Canadian white
supremacist.
A photo of a New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA) poster placed on a street
sign. NJEHA is a small antisemitic, white power organization
Doles shares statement from the white supremacist League of the South, April 2020

A statement from the Southern secessionist/white supremacist League of the South (LoS)
on the “Disease of Globalism”. The text, written by LoS head Michael Hill, targets an “alien
elite (largely Jews)” for allegedly taking over the United States and states that only “White
men and women” should “run […] our civilization.” Doles shared this link from the VK page
of Michael Tubbs, LoS Chief of Staff and leader for its Florida chapter. Tubbs was a
ringleader for violence at 2017’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Tubbs
had earlier served prison time for his part in the “Knights of the New Order”, which heisted
weapons from the US military as part of a plot to spark a race war.
 “Anti-Antifa” image featuring Nazi insignia shared by Doles, April 2020

Two reposts from VK user Roberto Figueras, whose profile picture is a portrait of Adolf
Hitler. The first was an “Anti-Antifa” image which incorporates the Totenkopf/Death’s
Head symbol used by a division of the Nazi SS. Eight days later, Doles shared a video clip
from Figueras captioned as: “Russian nationalists dissolve an anti-racist concert”. The
video actually showed a hooligan attack involving clubs and rubber bullet “traumatic
pistols” against an open-air rock festival in Miass, Russia in 2010, for which there have
been differing explanations. By sharing Figueras’ post, Doles implies that he supports
attacks on anti-racist events.  

A similar picture emerges from looking at who interacts with Doles on social media. We have
already noted that Doles reposts longstanding white supremacists such as Paul Fromm and
Michael Tubbs. During the same two-month period since Doles’ speech claiming that God
“turned me upside down and shook me out”, the five most frequent commenters to his VK
page were all blatant white supremacists:

Mark Calvin of Texas (23 comments), whose VK profile features speeches by Hitler and
Goebbels as well as a rant about “beady eyed rat Jews”.
Nick Folkes of Sydney, Australia (7 comments), who formerly led the far-Right “Party for
Freedom” in Australia and this year announced, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE ADOLF!” on
 Hitler’s birthday.
Garry Solomon of Oklahoma (6 comments), a member of the white supremacist League of
the South.
“Vacuum Decay” of Virginia (6 comments), who refers to people of color as “muddies” and
jokes about “return[ing] jews to the ground” with poison gas.
Tom Shaw of Virginia (6 comments), an obsessive Hitler fan, Holocaust-denier and racist.
In one comment, Shaw stated that he had formally applied for American Patriots USA
membership.

“Exterminate the foreign virus” image celebrating

genocide, liked by Doles in April. (Disclaimer
added.)

During the same two months after allegedly abandoning “hate”, Doles repeatedly signaled his
agreement with these white supremacists. On March 25, Doles liked a post by Nick Folkes to
his wall stating: “The answer is simple ‘NO MORE NON WHITE IMMIGRATION’” – an
unambiguous white nationalist position. On the same day, Mark Calvin wrote that he
appreciated Chester Doles “raising awareness of k[*]ke scheming”, which also got a like from
Doles. Finally, on April 5, “Vacuum Decay” posted an image to Doles’ page with the slogan
“Exterminate the foreign virus – hydrogen cyanide” and featuring a figure with a gas mask and
a swastika-and-eagle emblazoned helmet. The propaganda image is a reference to genocide.
The poison hydrogen cyanide – also known by the brand name Zyklon B – was used in Nazi
extermination camps for mass murder. As someone who spent a long time in white
supremacist and neo-Nazi circles, Doles understood the reference. He liked the post.

The above shows Doles’ story of divine transformation to be a lie. The tale was highly suspect
to begin. Doles has a history not as a Christian or any kind of monotheist, but rather as a racist
heathen. Although there are non-racist varieties of Germanic neopaganism, Doles does not
subscribe to them – in 2005, Doles wrote from prison that for him “Asatru [the name of his
faith] and National Socialism go together, like hand and glove”. Doles does not share Christian
iconography on his social media, but rather heathen imagery. Although American Patriots
USA has Christian members and a Klan-supporting Chaplain, there is little evidence that
Doles has changed from his racist heathen faith, beyond speeches at two APUSA meets that
appear to have been motivated by political convenience.

5. Strategy Notes: What’s Going On?

With figures such as Doles, Keena, Dickenson, and Carothers, white nationalism remains at
the heart of APUSA. So, why would white nationalists promote a multiracial team of
“constitutionalist” Republicans?

Chester Doles outlined his intentions for American Patriots USA early on. Appearing on The
Right Voice white nationalist podcast in October, Doles cited deceased National Alliance
leader William Pierce to explain his plans. Pierce stressed the importance of having allies
“inside the gates”, or within centers of social, political, and economic power, rather than
building a racist movement primarily from the margins. Doles believes that building broader
coalitions can open doors, eventually leading to influence and opportunity.
Chester Doles explains to white supremacist internet friend that although APUSA candidates may not be “WP”
(white pride/white power), all are “die hard constitutionalist”.

On the same broadcast, Doles argued that the Trump presidency has done much to normalize
white “tribal thinking” – a less direct way of saying racism – and that Trump therefore
deserves support. Doles discussed Black pro-Trump organizer Lucretia Hughes’ appearance at
his September rally, which Doles believed to be the perfect “Trojan Horse” for his agenda.
Doles is happy to make vague statements against “hate” and to build visible alliances with
rightwing people of color, provided that this ultimately helps his white “tribal” position.

Michael Carothers at white nationalist torchlit march culminating in violence, Charlottesville, VA, August 11, 2017.
He is walking with white nationalists Renee and Brad Griffin.

APUSA is a response to the current political position of white nationalists. In the years
following Unite the Right in Charlottesville, VA 2017 – attended by both Doles and Michael
Carothers – it has been increasingly difficult for white nationalists to hold events. Even before
Unite the Right, in Georgia the “Rock Stone Mountain” rally of April 2016 was forcefully
challenged by large protests, and a “Rock Stone Mountain II” announced for early 2019
collapsed before the event took place. Some white nationalists now look to mobilizations by
groups such as Patriot Prayer in the Pacific Northwest as a possible way forward. Patriot
Prayer is a multiracial far-Right group whose most prominent leaders are men of color, but
Patriot Prayer provides ample space for white nationalists to organize under its umbrella.

Michael Carothers discussing failure of Rock Stone

Mountain II, 2019

Similarly, portions of the militia movement – actively courted by Doles – are multiracial even
as this movement engages in anti-immigrant and Islamophobic agitation. The militia
movement frequently intersects with white nationalism.

Chester Doles VK account: part of “Mein Kampf”, National Alliance, and other white power groups
What makes APUSA different from these above examples is that APUSA is structured around a
core of Doles and his longtime associates – clear white nationalists who have practical control.
They believe that a front-facing multiracial alliance will allow them to build capacity, push for
their goals, and gradually move people toward their position. The point is not merely to
deceive, however. APUSA wishes to lead broader campaigns and will presumably involve
whoever wants to help. Yet the agenda and strategic vision is still set by Doles’ white
nationalist coterie.

The demographics of Lumpkin County, where Doles and APUSA are based, also help to
understand APUSA’s strategy. Lumpkin County is 94.8% white, 5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8%
Black and less than 1% each Asian and American Indian. (The numbers add to over 100% since
Hispanic people may be of any race.) Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, which includes
Lumpkin County, is overall 87.1% White in a significantly more diverse state. Immigration is a
key driver of demographic change in this area, and so white nationalists can make significant
strides in their agenda locally just by scapegoating and targeting immigrants. Further, since
the area remains very white, a “constitutionalist” insistence on local powers over the federal
government and also over a more diverse, politically changing state, is a useful proxy for
explicit white nationalism. 

Late January 2020: Chester Doles references neo-Nazi leader William Pierce, insists there is no “Jew loving” in
APUSA
The role of antisemitism within Doles’ organization should be emphasized. Participants such
as Doles, Carothers, and Keena view a vast Jewish conspiracy as their primary enemy. Doles
wrote earlier this year that terms such as “globalist” can be used to make antisemitic
narratives more palatable, while at least initially avoiding “the evil J word”. Conspiracy
theories flourish within APUSA and on its social media. Those who have been led to believe in
shadowy “globalist” conspiracies can then be directed to sites such as White Information
Network, which makes the racist and antisemitic worldview explicit.

6. Conclusion

We have shown how APUSA has tried to use Republican candidates to launder its reputation
and create new opportunities, while remaining a white nationalist organization in leadership
and intent. 

It is hard to assess how long APUSA’s present alliances will last. A figure such as Michael
Boggus – a far-Right militiaman who was already open to working with white nationalists –
seems to have gained by linking up with APUSA. APUSA has thanked him by turning their
long-desired bike run into a Boggus fundraiser, and by treating Boggus’ campaign as their
main organizing issue while 2nd Amendment Sanctuary County efforts are stalled. For other
candidates, there may be limits to how much APUSA can help, beyond assistance with name
recognition and potentially speaking at a few meetings.

Although APUSA hosted an elected official at its March meeting, most of those on the APUSA
candidate team exist on the political fringes, far from any official power. For Doles and
company, getting “inside the gates” is more still aspiration than reality. It is unlikely that
APUSA will push any political candidate to victory, including its efforts for outsider Boggus. 

The greater concern is that by being accepted within the GOP grassroots, APUSA’s white
nationalist leaders may feel normalized, find opportunities for growth, and eventually become
emboldened. This in turn could create a hostile and potentially dangerous climate for others in
the region. Campaign events also present a useful opportunity for APUSA to recruit and
further radicalize the Republican voter base. Thankfully, north Georgia has a history of anti-
racist community protest and networks defending human dignity. We hope this
documentation proves useful.
If you have further information on APUSA or other white nationalist organizing in Georgia,
please get in touch.

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