// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Kevin Alfred Strom a storm chaser?
Kevin Alfred Strom | |
|---|---|
Strom in 2006 | |
| Born | 1956 (age 69–70) |
| Other name | Philip Carey |
| Organization | National Alliance |
| Known for | Neo-Nazi activism |
| Notable work | National Vanguard |
| Spouse | Kirsten Kaiser (divorced) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | www |
Kevin Alfred Strom (born 1956) is an American white nationalist and neo-Nazi. A member of the neo-Nazi group the National Alliance (NA), previously led by William Luther Pierce, he has edited their National Vanguard magazine from the 1980s.
In the 1980s, Strom created a neo-Nazi pirate radio station, Voice of Tomorrow, which became controversial among the hobbyist radio community. He later created a legal radio show for the National Alliance, American Dissident Voices. After a National Alliance leadership dispute involving Pierce's successor Erich Gliebe, Strom founded another neo-Nazi organization, the National Vanguard, as a schism from the NA in 2005.
In 2007, Strom was arrested for possession of child pornography, which led to the National Vanguard dissolving. He pleaded guilty and was convicted in April 2008; he was sentenced to 23 months in prison, though was released after less than 5 months. In 2014, he was brought back into the National Alliance by Gliebe's successor, William White Williams.
Early life
[edit]
Strom was born in 1956 and grew up in Washington, D.C. He was raised a Lutheran. Strom had a poor relationship with his father, an alcoholic who verbally abused him. When Strom was in his twenties his father killed himself.[1][2]
In high school, he developed a right-wing anticommunist ideology.[1][3] Strom indicates a high school teacher who shared his hatred of communism introduced him to the John Birch Society (JBS) where he first met members of the explicitly white supremacist National Alliance (NA).[4][1]
White supremacy
[edit]National Alliance under Pierce
[edit]Strom attended NA meetings throughout the 1970s, working for the organization as a broadcast engineer after he graduated high school.[2][1] Working under the NA's leader William Luther Pierce, Strom became a believer in the concept of a Zionist Occupied Government in the United States,[4][5] and a neo-Nazi.[6] He became very close to Pierce, and according to his then-wife, Strom saw him as a father figure.[2][1] As a result of Strom's influence, Pierce bought the white supremacist Resistance Records.[2][1] During a 1990 visit by Nelson Mandela to the United States, Strom was arrested for assaulting a police officer at a pro-apartheid rally outside the South African embassy. The charges were later dropped.[7][1]
Strom was also close with far right activist Revilo P. Oliver;[1] he was a speaker at his funeral.[8] He wrote the preface to Revilo's posthumous 2001 book The Origins of Christianity,[9] and published his 2002 book The Jewish Strategy.[10] He operates a website cataloguing Oliver's work.[9]
He edited the NA's magazine National Vanguard beginning in the 1980s.[11][12] He edited a book collection of articles in the magazine and its predecessor, The Best of ATTACK! and National Vanguard Tabloid, published by the NA's National Vanguard Books.[13]
Radio stations
[edit]
Strom started Radio Vanguard International in 1983, shortly after renaming it Voice of Tomorrow,[14][15] an unlicensed or pirate radio station known for its neo-Nazi content. Strom ran the radio station out of a mobile van specially equipped for radio.[14][16] Voice of Tomorrow was one of a few "clandestine" pirate radio stations; in announcing it, Strom used the name "Philip Carey". The radio station's actual affiliations and broadcast location were not known at this time.[17][14] According to Andrew Yoder in his book on pirate radio, it was one of the most well-known pirate radio stations in North America.[18]
Unusually for a pirate radio station, it announced its creation by mailing professional postcards to potential listeners, and launched at its announced time. It was known for its high production values, approaching that of professional radio. With a powerful radio signal, it was heard across the eastern United States.[19][20] The interval signal was wolf howls and the theme was Nazi music.[21] It was widely denounced by hobbyist radio publications for its neo-Nazi content, resulting in a free speech debate among the hobbyist radio community.[22] It operated irregularly.[18] Voice of Tomorrow ceased operations in 1990.[23]
In the early 1990s,[24] Strom established American Dissident Voices, initially called National Vanguard Radio,[24] a (non-pirate) radio show for the National Alliance,[5][25][26] espousing antisemitic views.[27] In his broadcasts, he criticized the "patriot" mindset held by much of the far-right;[28] he also described himself as a non-Christian and criticized Christianity.[29] By 1996 it was suspected that there was an affiliation between American Dissident Voices and Voice of Tomorrow due to the commonalities in style, content, and the voice of the announcer.[30] According to Strom's wife and the Southern Poverty Law Center, he was the creator of the program.[14]
In a 1993 broadcast for American Dissident Voices, entitled "All America Must Know the Terror That is Upon Us", Strom stated: "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?"[31] This has been paraphrased as "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" and erroneously attributed to the philosopher Voltaire, including by Australian politician Cory Bernardi, actor John Cusack, U.S. Representative Thomas Massie, and Elon Musk.[32][33][34][35] A transcript of one of his radio broadcasts on American Dissident Voices was also carried by the website of Al Jazeera English in March 2005.[36] George Michael described Strom as "in the forefront of building bridges with extremists from across the political spectrum", writing that "he occasionally makes veiled entreaties to the Palestinians and other Arabs", with Strom claiming that their true, mutual enemies are "the Jewish power structure".[37] Strom later lost control of American Dissident Voices.[25]
National Vanguard
[edit]Pierce died from cancer in 2002, with Strom assumed to succeed him. However, Pierce was succeeded as leader of the National Alliance by Erich Gliebe, much to Strom's displeasure, though he came to support Gliebe.[1] In 2003, Strom attended a meeting to welcome David Duke following his release from prison.[38] He was given control of American Dissident Voices once again under Gliebe's leadership.[25]
During the weekend of April 16–17, 2005, Strom and several other members became involved in a leadership dispute with Gliebe;[5] Strom launched a petition for Gliebe to resign as leader, saying that his leadership was incompetent and he was unduly financially benefiting from the organization.[1][39] Gliebe accused Strom of attempting to seize power and, with several others, Strom was expelled.[26][40]
In response, Strom and some other expelled members founded the National Vanguard, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Claiming that his new organization was the true successor to the NA, Strom continued his weekly radio broadcasts and used the National Vanguard's website to host and promote the views of other racists, including David Duke.[41][42][2] It took its name from the National Alliance's magazine, the National Vanguard.[12] It, like its parent organization, was a white nationalist, neo-Nazi organization.[43][2] Both the National Vanguard and the National Alliance continued to be beset by operational issues, with several of the National Vanguard's initial members leaving.[26]
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the US Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, a National Vanguard First Response Team was organized to help only white families in Alabama and Mississippi on September 20, 2005.[44] The same year, National Vanguard showcased the pop-music duo Prussian Blue, twin sisters from Bakersfield, California, Lynx and Lamb Gaede, whom the organization hoped would "be breaking new ground... creating an entire genre of pro-White music" that will cross over to mainstream audiences.[45]
Child pornography possession
[edit]On January 4, 2007, Strom was arrested in Greene County, Virginia, on charges of possession of child pornography and witness tampering.[43][46] The grand jury later added the accusation of receiving child pornography, seducing a 10-year old, and witness intimidation. Judge Norman K. Moon threw out both charges due to lack of evidence; he further commented "I think there is overwhelming evidence that [Strom] was sexually drawn to this child, and was obsessing over this child".[47] Following Strom's initial arrest, he resigned, and the National Vanguard was disbanded in March 2007.[48][26]
At the plea hearing on January 14, 2008, Strom pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in exchange for the other charges to be dropped.[49][50] He was sentenced to 23 months in prison in April 2008.[43][51][52] Strom told the court before being sentenced that he was "not a pedophile" and was "in fact the precise opposite of what has been characterized in this case",[43] saying he had been "unwillingly" possessing 10 images of child pornography and that those came from an online forum he had visited which had been "flooded with spam", which included "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children. The judge of the case responded: "Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you're saying you're innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me".[51] Strom was released from prison on September 3, 2008.[53][48]
National Alliance under Will Williams
[edit]
After years of the National Alliance floundering under Gliebe's leadership, former National Alliance member William White Williams planned to take power. In 2013, Gliebe entirely ended the National Alliance's existence as a membership organization for unclear reasons.[54][55] The same year, Williams met up with Strom;[56][11] while Gliebe still led the original National Alliance, Strom and Williams attempted to build a new one.[55][57] They restarted the NA's radio show American Dissident Voices, which Gliebe had ceased.[55] Strom continued the National Vanguard magazine as a website.[11] He continues to make Pierce's writings and speeches available online.[58]
At the same time, other members of the National Alliance, led by Jim Ring and Pierce's brother Sandy Pierce, formed the National Alliance Reform and Restoration Group (NARRG), also attempting to take over the National Alliance; while they also disliked Gliebe, they criticized Williams, mostly due to his friendship with Strom and his previous conviction.[55][57] Williams has claimed that Strom was not guilty and had been "framed".[56][57][11]
In March 2014, Gliebe, facing a lawsuit from other National Alliance members, resigned as chairman and gave leadership of the original National Alliance to Williams, shocking other members of the organization.[59][60][61] Williams brought back the National Alliance, with Strom now on board as their communications director.[62][59] This was controversial and unpopular among other National Alliance members due to Strom's previous conviction.[63][59] In December 2014, Williams was not allowed at a white supremacist summit due to his promotion of Strom.[63] Williams was later temporarily banned from the National Alliance headquarters, which resulted in Strom becoming effectively the leader of the few remaining members of the National Alliance for a time.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Strom had three children with his first wife, Kirsten Kaiser.[64] Their marriage ended in 1997.[1] Since their marriage ended, Kaiser has spoken about her life with Strom in several interviews.[14][64] She has also written a book, The Bondage of Self, on her experiences with Strom and the National Alliance.[64] He remarried in 2000, wedding his second wife, Elisha, also a neo-Nazi activist.[1][65] She testified against him in the child pornography case and stated she wished they had sentenced him to death.[50][66] Will Williams introduced him to a woman who worked for the National Alliance, Meredith Keller, who he was engaged to in 2015.[54]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Atkins 2011, p. 107.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kim, T.K. (November 14, 2005). "National Vanguard's Strom Seeks More Power". Intelligence Report. Montgomery: Southern Poverty Law Center. ISSN 1084-0028. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Balleck 2018, p. 348.
- 1 2 "Kevin Strom". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Leadership Shakeup at Neo-Nazi National Alliance Leads to Formation Of New Group". Anti-Defamation League. May 3, 2005. Archived from the original on June 18, 2007.
- ↑ Cronk, Nicholas (2017). Voltaire: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780191512759.
- ↑ Fisher, Marc; McCombs, Phil (April 25, 1995). "The Book of Hate". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
- ↑ Zeskind 2009, p. 394.
- 1 2 Berry 2017, p. 42.
- ↑ Berry 2017, p. 245.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Balleck 2018, p. 349.
- 1 2 "National Vanguard". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
- ↑ Berry 2017, p. 247.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Inside the Alliance: A Former National Alliance Insider Speaks". Intelligence Report. No. 93. Montgomery: Southern Poverty Law Center. Winter 1999. pp. 17–20. ISSN 1084-0028. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, pp. 3, 224.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, pp. 3, 44, 221.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, pp. 3, 220, 226.
- 1 2 Yoder 1996, p. 102.
- ↑ Helms, Harry L. (1993). Shortwave Listening Guidebook: The Complete Guide to Hearing the World (2nd ed.). Solana Beach: HighText Publications. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-1-878707-11-6.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, pp. 224–226.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, p. 226.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, pp. 225–226.
- ↑ Yoder 2002, p. 225.
- 1 2 Yoder 1996, p. 203.
- 1 2 3 Michael 2003, p. 71.
- 1 2 3 4 Durham 2007, p. 34.
- ↑ McEvoy, Meg (January 16, 2007). "Neo-Nazi arrested for child porn". C-Ville Weekly. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ↑ Durham 2007, p. 62.
- ↑ Durham 2007, p. 81.
- ↑ Yoder 1996, pp. 102, 203.
- ↑ Himmelman, Khaya (February 1, 2022). "No, Voltaire Didn't Say That". The Dispatch. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
- ↑ Andrew, Scottie; Ries, Brian (June 18, 2019). "John Cusack apologizes for tweeting an anti-Semitic meme". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ↑ Tulp, Sophie (February 1, 2022). "US congressman shares neo-Nazi's quote wrongly attributed to Voltaire". Associated Press. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ↑ Flynn, Sheila (May 29, 2023). "Elon Musk tweets quote by neo-Nazi wrongly attributed to Voltaire". The Independent. London. ISSN 1741-9743. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ↑ Hunt, Elle (November 27, 2015). "Cory Bernardi mistakenly 'quotes' Voltaire on Twitter with neo-Nazi's line". The Guardian. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ↑ Michael 2006, p. 166.
- ↑ Michael 2006, p. 289.
- ↑ Durham 2007, p. 45.
- ↑ Zeskind 2009, p. 534.
- ↑ Atkins 2011, p. 108.
- ↑ Michael, George; Mulloy, D. J. (September 2008). "Riots, disasters and racism: impending racial cataclysm and the extreme right in the United States". Patterns of Prejudice. 42 (4–5): 465–487. doi:10.1080/00313220802377404.
- ↑ Atkins 2011, p. 106.
- 1 2 3 4 Tasha, Kates (April 21, 2008). "White nationalist sentenced in child porn case". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ↑ Kruse, Michael (September 14, 2005). "Appeal for Katrina aid carries an ugly message - A neo-Nazi group hands out fliers in Brooksville that ask for support for white victims only". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
- ↑ "Race: The White Album". Newsweek. November 7, 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ Graff, Henry (January 5, 2007). "Man Facing Pornography Charges". NBC29. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ↑ Steinback, Robert (January 26, 2011). "Racist Author Supports School Board Member Who Broadcast King Attack". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- 1 2 Balleck 2018, p. 244.
- ↑ Seal, Rob (January 15, 2008). "Greene man guilty of child porn". The Daily Progress. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- 1 2 Whitehead, Jayson (January 15, 2008). "Strom pleads guilty to child porn". C-Ville Weekly. Charlottesville. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- 1 2 Provence, Lisa (April 21, 2008). ""I am not a pedophile": Strom gets 23 months". The Hook. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- ↑ "Strom Sentenced". NBC29. April 21, 2008. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- ↑ "Neighborhood watch: Kiddie porn possessor to be released". The Hook. September 2, 2008. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- 1 2 Beirich, Heidi (May 21, 2015). "Chaos at the Compound". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Zeskind, Leonard (Spring 2014). "The Remains of William Pierce's National Alliance Are Reshuffled". Searchlight. No. 458. London. p. 32. ISSN 0262-4591.
- 1 2 Thomas, Judy L. (April 28, 2015). "Landscape of White Nationalist Groups Is Changing". The Kansas City Star. ISSN 0745-1067. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Lenz, Ryan (January 7, 2014). "Former Army Special Operations Officer Attempting to Relaunch Notorious neo-Nazi Group". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
- ↑ Berry 2017, p. 71.
- 1 2 3 Balleck 2019, p. 228.
- ↑ Terry, Don (December 17, 2014). "Triumph of the Will: Will Williams and the National Alliance". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ Terry, Don (October 24, 2014). "In Major Surprise, Erich Gliebe Steps Down As National Alliance Chairman". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ Thomas, Judy L. (April 24, 2015). "Klan and Other White Nationalist Groups Splinter and Evolve". The Kansas City Star. ISSN 0745-1067. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
- 1 2 Smith, James L. Jr. (December 3, 2014). "'Klanbly Friendly' Tennessee: State Becomes Hate Tourist Mecca". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Finn, Scott (May 7, 2003). "'I feel these people raped my soul': After 6 years away, reformed white supremacist remains angry". The Charleston Gazette.
- ↑ Durham 2007, p. 91.
- ↑ "Enticing Charge Dismissed Against Neo-Nazi". Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery. December 1, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
Works cited
[edit]- Atkins, Stephen E. (2011). Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism in Modern American History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-350-7.
- Balleck, Barry J. (2018). Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-5275-6.
- Balleck, Barry J. (2019). Hate Groups and Extremist Organizations in America: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-5750-8.
- Berry, Damon T. (2017). Blood and Faith: Christianity in American White Nationalism. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-5410-0.
- Durham, Martin (2007). White Rage: The Extreme Right and American Politics. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-23181-2.
- Michael, George (2003). Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-31500-X.
- Michael, George (2006). The Enemy of My Enemy: The Alarming Convergence of Militant Islam and the Extreme Right. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1444-8.
- Yoder, Andrew (1996). Pirate Radio: The Incredible Saga of America's Underground, Illegal Broadcasters. Solana Beach: HighText Publications. ISBN 978-1-878707-29-1.
- Yoder, Andrew R. (2002). Pirate Radio Stations: Tuning in to Underground Broadcasts in the Air and Online. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-137563-4.
- Zeskind, Leonard (2009). Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement From the Margins to the Mainstream. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-10903-5.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Kevin-strom.com at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Living people
- 1956 births
- 21st-century American criminals
- American founders
- American magazine editors
- American neo-Nazis
- American radio show creators
- American radio personalities
- American people convicted of child pornography offenses
- American prisoners and detainees
- National Alliance (United States) members
- Neo-Nazi writers
- People from Charlottesville, Virginia
- Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government