Students Expelled For Nazi-Themed Facebook Page
Five high school students from Boulder, Colorado have been expelled for a Nazi-themed Facebook group they created which called for the “execution” of Jews and African Americans. Approximately 15 students were active on the “4th Reich’s Official Group Chat” on the social media site, as the Boulder police share, on which members had discussions about “killing all Jews and [N-words]” and encouraged each other to “recruit more members so they can complete their ‘mission.'”
Messages written by the teens also championed “WHITE POWER” and added pictures of weaponry and termed a firearm a “N***** BLASTER” The group also used negative and derogatory terms in discussions of gay people and joked about “rape memes.” Another message stated that they “must lynch the N*******” and also mocked Mexicans, according to copies of the group’s chats.
The controversial discovery resulted in expulsions at Boulder Preparatory high school, and the group seems to have arisen at a time that the alt-right-movement-known for white supremacist views and beliefs and the racist ideologies that go along with it, has increased and caused a division since the beginning of the U.S. presidential race.
Alt-right, @realDonaldTrump hate speech ‘spreading to teens in a liberal city’.
— cindy malon (@CindyMalon) October 15, 2016
The Guardian zeroes in on how the presidential race is related to the hate group.
“Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has accused GOP nominee Donald Trump of ‘taking hate mainstream’, and the Republican candidate’s campaign has galvanized far-right groups associated with the Ku Klux Klan and fringe online communities that celebrate ‘white identity.'”
There have been ongoing arguments that words spoken by Trump in regards to certain cultures and minority groups involve a “charged rhetoric” and also include demeaning stereotypes in regard to Mexicans, African Americans, and Muslims, as well as other minority groups. His stance on such matters has ignited a backlash and also created a platform for alt-right groups as well as the “white working class people in rural America who feel…ignored in mainstream politics,” as the publication notes.
Isn’t Trump Guilty of “Hate Speech”? And Isn’t it Illegal? https://t.co/QMV6btDmEG
— bruce levine (@bear4136) October 12, 2016
This latest incident, involving teens of a predominately white and wealthy urban community shows that these hateful views are becoming more prevalent in such regions. Boulder has typically been known as a liberal city and for its “hippy culture” as well as tolerance, which is why the teen’s hate group chats came as a surprise to many.
Regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Scott Levin spoke about the incident and how is brought shock and surprise across the city.
“It was a shock to the community. It isn’t as if there is any identifiable group [in Boulder] that is advocating this. There’s a lot of hateful rhetoric going on in this country right now, and that has just empowered some teenagers.”
The Facebook group that was launched by the teens initially was discovered following the alleged suicide of one of the members of the group, who reportedly took his own life to “show his allegiance to the [Nazi] party and the killing of Jewish people,” as stated is a police report. At the same time, police officers were also investigating the reports that a student at Boulder Prep was being “threatened and harassed” by peers.
Group members gave themselves Nazi-themed nicknames such as Fuhrer, Gruppenfuhrer, and Sturmbannführer. Messages discovered included mention of “the final solution” and their goal which was to “eradicate all lessers[sic].” with comments including, “Let’s have fun killing jews[sic]” as well as “You can hang Jews on trees, shoot them right in the knees. Gas as many as you please.”
Students who participated in the group attend a number of local schools, while five of the members attended Boulder Prep and have been expelled. Most students were unnamed in the report, aside from three who were 18-years-old.
Charges were not pressed after authorities determined that “there is no evidence or documentation to support there being any credible threat to any students.”
Boulder Prep declined to comment, and officials with the Boulder Valley school district that oversee a number of schools, including those in the investigation, released a statement indicating that it “administered appropriate responsive action with the students involved.”
One student who spoke to an officer downplayed the group’s seriousness. The report said, noting the words of the officer, that “he informed me that the whole thing was ‘funny’ and he would not actually ever do any of those things.” The report also stated that one mother was “visibly shaken by the conduct of her own son,”
A core member of Black Lives Matter 5280, Christina Hughes, spoke on the matter.
“What we would really like to see is for the district to step up and do more … in implementing an anti-racism curriculum and programs. We want to see systems put into place that eradicate these mindsets altogether.”
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
