Armed Neo-Nazis Now Patrolling Sanford, Florida

While pundits on the right have jumped to the defense of George Zimmerman - the shooter in the Trayvon Martin killing - some of their extreme political have gone even further. Now armed members of National Socialist Movement have fielded armed members to patrol in Sanford, Florida, to "protect white citizens in the area who are concerned for their safety"- even as the conservative pundits and NRA supporters say that its blacks and liberals who are blowing the shooting of Martin out of proportion. Here's what the Southern Poverty Law Center says in part about the National Socialist Movement:

NSM ideology mirrors that of the original American Nazi Party. The group openly idolizes Adolf Hitler, described in NSM propaganda as, “Our Fuhrer, the beloved Holy Father of our age … a visionary in every respect.” NSM says only heterosexual “pure-blood whites” should be allowed U.S. citizenship and that all nonwhites should be deported, regardless of legal status. As Schoep put it: “The Constitution was written by white men alone. Therefore, it was intended for whites alone.”

One cannot help but ask WTF is going on in Sanford. Here are highlights from the Miami New Times on the activities of these self-avowed racists in Sanford (something makes me suspect these folks are exactly gay friendly either):

Neo-Nazis are currently conducting heavily armed patrols in and around Sanford, Florida and are "prepared" for violence in the case of a race riot. The patrols are to protect "white citizens in the area who are concerned for their safety" in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting last month, says Commander Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement. "We are not advocating any type of violence or attacks on anybody, but we are prepared for it," he says. "We are not the type of white people who are going to be walked all over."

Because nothing diffuses racial tension like gun-toting racial separatists patrolling an already on-edge community. Schoep, whose neo-Nazi group is based in Detroit, tells Riptide the patrols are a response to white residents' fears of a race riot.

The patrols are comprised of between 10 and 20 locals and "volunteers" from across the state, including some from Miami, he added. He couldn't go into specifics on what kind of firepower, exactly, the patrols had with them. . . . Asked if the patrols wouldn't just make things worse -- spark a race riot, for instance -- Schoep insisted they were simply a "show of solidarity with the white community down there" and "wouldn't intimidate anybody."

To some, sending in the storm troops seems like a sure way to incite -- not prevent -- a race riot. But Schoep says that's way off base.

"We don't wish for things like that," he says. "But there have been race riots in Detroit and L.A... So we know those types of things happen." "You can either be prepared or you can be blindsided," he adds. "This way, if something were to touch off a race riot, we'd already be in the area."

Ironically, Schoep cites actions by Al Sharpton, but I don't recall ever seeing Sharpton and those at rallies with him carrying automatic assault rifles. True, there are extremists on the left, but these folks are truly scary and in my opinion a strong argument for strict gun control laws. No one needs to be walking around with automatic assault rifles.