MATTHEW HEIMBACH
Alt-Right rally organizer, Matthew Heimbach, notoriously organized the Charlottesville rally called “Unite the Right”. He had praised Putin as a the best European leader of the 21st century.[i] He associated himself with racist groups around Europe like Golden Dawn and with neo-Eurasianist Aleksandr Dugin. Dugin even sent Heimbach a video speech for one of his meetings launching the “Traditional Worker Party”, called “To My American Friends in our common struggle”.[ii] He’s a member of the “World National Conservative Movement”, a Russian created group.
Heimbach said that Russia under Putin became “kind of the axis of nationalists”.
Heimbach said, “I really believe that Russia is the leader of the free world right now,” in an interview with Business Insider. He said that Putin was “supporting nationalists around the world and building an anti-globalist alliance, while promoting traditional values and self-determination.”[iii] To Heimbach, this is a battle he wants to take to the global stage in his war against ‘globalism’.
Heimbach says he sees Putin as leader of the free world and Russia as “our biggest inspiration.”[iv]
Heimbach said “Russia has already taken its place on the global stage by organizing national movements as counterparts to the Atlanticist elites” which is a full echo statement of Aleksander Dugin. “Intellectually, they’ve shown us how it works.”[v]
Heimbach said, “Globalism is the poison, nationalism is the antidote”[vi]
According to the New York Times, by December 2016, Heimbach had three trips to Europe for fundraising and organizing strategies.[vii] He said his visits taught him how to turn his movement into “a real political force” that would be part of a worldwide network.
[i] Casey Michel, Eurasianet, “US hate group forging ties with the ‘Third Rome’, July 15, 2016, https://eurasianet.org/node/79686
[ii] Vegas Tenold, Al Jazeera, “The Little Fuhrer: A day in the life of the newest leader of white nationalists”, July 26, 2015, http://projects.aljazeera.com/2015/07/hate-groups/
[iii] Natasha Bertrand, Business Insider, “A Model for civilization: Putin’s Russia has emerged as ‘a beacon for nationalists’ and the American alt-right”, December 10, 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-connections-to-the-alt-right-2016-11
[iv] Alan Feuer, Andrew Higgins, New York Times, “Extremists turn to a leader to protect western values: Vladimir Putin”, December 3, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/world/americas/alt-right-vladimir-putin.html?mcubz=0
[v] Alan Feuer, Andrew Higgins, New York Times, “Extremists turn to a leader to protect western values: Vladimir Putin”, December 3, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/world/americas/alt-right-vladimir-putin.html?mcubz=0
[vi] Alan Feuer, Andrew Higgins, New York Times, “Extremists turn to a leader to protect western values: Vladimir Putin”, December 3, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/world/americas/alt-right-vladimir-putin.html?mcubz=0
[vii] Alan Feuer, Andrew Higgins, New York Times, “Extremists turn to a leader to protect western values: Vladimir Putin”, December 3, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/world/americas/alt-right-vladimir-putin.html?mcubz=0