Keystone State Skinheads
Encyclopedia
Keystone State Skinheads (also known as KSS) is a White nationalist group organization based in Pennsylvania
. According to the KSS website, the group has chapters in Harrisburg
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie
, Scranton
, Reading
, Carlisle
, Allentown
, and other cities in the state. The group's logos are a pit bull
or a bulldog
within a chain or a keystone symbol.
KSS was featured in the documentary American Skinheads, which aired on the National Geographic Channel. Watchdog groups such as Southern Poverty Law Center
, state that the club is one of the most active white nationalist organization in the United States. In 2008 they changed their name to Keystone United in a bid for mainstream respectability. but there has been undocumented reports that the group has gone underground and restructured. the number of members still remains unknown, and with up to seven or more chapters statewide it is difficult to say.
had announced plans to visit York, PA to speak at the public library. White supremacists were set upon by hundreds of Anti-Racist Action
members and other anti-fascists
outside the library. The Anti-Defamation League
stated that: "KSS transformed itself from a mainly Harrisburg group to a network of seven regional crews that had members from every major city in the state and associates in New Jersey Maryland and new york."
The KSS has organized several white power concerts in Pennsylvania
, featuring bands such as: Blue Eyed Devils, Max Resist, Youngland, Grom, Cradle Song, Teardown, Those Opposed, Vinland Warriors, Grand Belial's Key
, and Fear Rains Down.
KSS has also organized family-based events such as parties, picnics, concerts, as well as more political acts such as distributing pamphlets, attending protests, and posting fliers in communities.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. According to the KSS website, the group has chapters in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
, Carlisle
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
, Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
, and other cities in the state. The group's logos are a pit bull
Pit bull
A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
or a bulldog
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
within a chain or a keystone symbol.
KSS was featured in the documentary American Skinheads, which aired on the National Geographic Channel. Watchdog groups such as Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
, state that the club is one of the most active white nationalist organization in the United States. In 2008 they changed their name to Keystone United in a bid for mainstream respectability. but there has been undocumented reports that the group has gone underground and restructured. the number of members still remains unknown, and with up to seven or more chapters statewide it is difficult to say.
History
The group was founded in late 2001 by five men from Harrisburg, PA, originally focused on uniting white power skinheads throughout the regions of Pennsylvania. A second KSS chapter was founded in nearby Lancaster, which had a small group of white power skinheads who were part of a National Alliance youth group. Shortly after the formation of Lancaster's chapter, World Church of the Creator leader Matt HaleMatthew F. Hale
Matthew F. Hale , more commonly known as Matt Hale, was the third Pontifex Maximus of the white supremacist religion, Creativity, and the founder of the group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as The Creativity Movement. The organization's headquarters were based in...
had announced plans to visit York, PA to speak at the public library. White supremacists were set upon by hundreds of Anti-Racist Action
Anti-Racist Action
The Anti-Racist Action Network is a decentralized network of anti-fascist and anti-racists in North America. ARA activists organize actions to disrupt neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, and help organize activities against fascist and racist ideologies. ARA groups also oppose sexism,...
members and other anti-fascists
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
outside the library. The Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
stated that: "KSS transformed itself from a mainly Harrisburg group to a network of seven regional crews that had members from every major city in the state and associates in New Jersey Maryland and new york."
The KSS has organized several white power concerts in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, featuring bands such as: Blue Eyed Devils, Max Resist, Youngland, Grom, Cradle Song, Teardown, Those Opposed, Vinland Warriors, Grand Belial's Key
Grand Belial's Key
Grand Belial's Key is a black metal band formed in 1992 by guitarist Gelal Necrosodomy and vocalist Lord Vlad Luciferian. Lord Vlad Luciferian was later ejected from the group due to internal differences and joined the formerly Norwegian band Ancient that had moved to the USA, using the new stage...
, and Fear Rains Down.
KSS began to capitalize on its growing prominence by conducting a series of concerts, first in Harrisburg, and then in a series of venues across the state. In late September 2003, Hammerskin NationHammerskinsThe Hammerskins, are a white supremacist group formed in 1988 in Dallas, Texas.The Hammerskins' primary focus is the production and promotion of white power rock music, and many white power bands were affiliated with the group. The Hammerskins were affiliated with the record label 9% Productions...
allowed KSS to help coordinate Hammerfest, which was held in Pennsylvania. By the beginning of 2004, KSS had become the largest group in the northeastern U.S.
KSS has also organized family-based events such as parties, picnics, concerts, as well as more political acts such as distributing pamphlets, attending protests, and posting fliers in communities.
Violence and arrests
- In December 2001 Keith Carney was arrested in Philadelphia for posting stickers for the National Alliance, a white supremacist group, on the city's Vietnam war memorial. He was charged with institutional vandalism, criminal mischief and criminal conspiracy.
- In June 2002, KSS members, Robert Gaus, Douglas Sonier and Joseph Hoesch, were arrested by police outside the Suburban Diner in Feasterville, near Philadelphia, for assaulting a man who asked them to stop throwing food at his table. The victim was struck several times and left on the diner’s floor. All three pleaded guilty to a charge of simple assault and were given suspended sentences.
- In September 2002, KSS members, Todd Sager, Jason Hayden, and Christopher Keough, beat a former member, Christopher Morosko, who refused to return his KSS "colors". The three pleaded guilty to assault on March 3, 2003, and were all released for time served.
- On March 23, 2003, three members of KSS, Keith Carney, Steve Smith and Steve Monteforte, were arrested on ethnic intimidation charges in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for assaulting an African-American man who, according to police, was walking home in the early morning.
- In April 2003, two associates of the Lancaster Keystone State Skinheads were arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation and terroristic threats for making racist and threatening comments to three black patrons in a Lancaster-area bar.
- In January 2006, KSS members, Edward Robert Locke and Todd Clair Sager, were charged with multiple counts in connection with a violent bar fight in March 2005 in New Stanton. Police claim Locke stabbed two men. Locke was charged with attempted homicide and four counts of aggravated assault, while Sager was charged with criminal solicitation to commit homicide and criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault.
- On January 7, 2006, Jason R. Honeywell, a member of KSS, was charged with stabbing two men outside Café Metropolis. Witnesses said a small group of KSS members, including Honeywell, began making Nazi hand signals during a performance by the band River Side Riot, whose lead singer, Mike Lungs, is black. Honeywell was arraigned on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006 for stabbing the men.
- In January 2007, KSS members, Kenneth Hoover and Charles Marovskis members of the fake Blood and Honour (The real Blood and Honour is in no way associated with KSS) at the time of the incident, were arrested for beating and killing two homeless men to death in Tampa, Florida in 1998. Kenneth Hoover pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and racketeering. Charles Marovskis, 29, recently from West Pittston, Pennsylvania, but originally from Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to two federal charges of second-degree murder.
- On May 26, 2007, Keith Carney was charged with a series of weapons and assault charges stemming from an incident that reportedly involved him and two other persons beating up on an alleged KSS associate.
- On September 7, 2008, Philadelphia police officers arrested Keystone State Skinhead Andrew Boyle at a Philadelphia bar for being in possession of a knife. A summary trial is scheduled for December 1, 2008. At the time of his arrest, Boyle was out on bail awaiting trial on another matter. Boyle, along with co-defendants and fellow Keystone State Skinheads Keith Carney and Doug Caffarella, and Atlantic City Skinhead Vincent DeFelice, are charged with assault and conspiracy in the alleged attack of another skinhead outside of a Philadelphia bar in 2007. DeFelice is currently incarcerated in New Jersey on an unrelated matter, but the trial against Boyle, Carney and Caffarella is scheduled for late November 2008.