Neo-Nazis Plan Patrols in Florida in Wake of Trayvon Martin Shooting

The neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM) has announced that it will be conducting patrols in Seminole County, Fla., to protect “local citizens from the area who are concerned for the safety of their families.” The group says it is prepared for “racial violence” in the Sanford area, where the Martin shooting occurred, and that is has been “contacted by dozens of local citizens” supposedly seeking protection.

The NSM’s announcement warns of imminent racial violence, saying that “the Melting Pot is brimming over like a powder keg ready to explode into the streets.” Rabidly anti-Semitic and racist, the NSM is known for its frequent rallies, where members often come dressed in full Nazi uniforms featuring swastika armbands.

The NSM announcement pointed as evidence of impending racial strife to the recent comments by New Black Panther Party (NBPP) leader Mikhail Muhammad that the group had started a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” campaign to bring justice for Trayvon Martin. Muhammad said the group was offering a $10,000 bounty for the capture of George Zimmerman, the alleged shooter in the case. The NBPP is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for its anti-white and anti-Semitic beliefs.

The NSM is one of the country’s largest neo-Nazi hate groups. Headquartered out of Detroit, Mich., the organization has chapters across the country including two in Florida (the closest to Sanford is in Tampa).

Though the NSM’s posting is rabidly racist, the group’s leader, Jeff Schoep, hasn’t always been so unfriendly to minorities, including black people. For more on that, check Hatewatch this coming week.