American extremists linked to a notorious neo-Nazi group have been creating propaganda material for Irish far-right activists aimed at driving support for anti-immigration protests.
The posters and leaflets are directed towards Irish and Irish-American audiences and have been distributed online with instructions that they should be printed out and displayed in public places.
Some of the material was created and shared with Irish anti-immigration activists by US nationals linked to the Goyim Defence League (GDL), a network of neo-Nazis and white supremacists which is mainly focused on targeting Jewish communities.
One of the group’s main tactics is to blanket an area with flyers and posters featuring extreme anti-Semitic imagery and conspiracy theories about Jewish people.
Podcast: Terry Prone on allowing son Anton Savage to be in her publicity as a child: ‘I think it was the wrong thing to do’
Man who drowned off Galway coast named as singer-songwriter Johnny Duhan
Woman who alleges she was raped by Conor McGregor had ‘severe’ post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatrist tells court
Owen Doyle: Ireland must ensure Scott Barrett’s claim about Joe McCarthy is not swept under the carpet
It is led by Jon Minadeo, who is also known under the pseudonym Handsome Truth, a former rapper who has built up a large online following through a series of racist and anti-Semitic stunts, including being arrested for protesting at the second World War Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland.
Mr Minadeo, from California, has taken a keen interest in Irish anti-immigration protests in recent months and has joined several online meetings with Irish far-right activists since May.
“Ireland’s hot right now. I’ve been in some of these Ireland spaces chatting with these youngsters,” Mr Minadeo said in a recent broadcast, sitting in front of a portrait of Adolf Hitler. “Unfortunately, some of the older Irish folks think they’re going to vote their way out of this.”
He then plays a video of a garda arresting someone outside a site in Clonmel, Co Tipperary intended for use as housing for Ukrainian refugees before saying he “can’t wait” until the garda is “burnt to death alive” by “true Irish patriots”.
Mr Minadeo is one of a growing number of US right-wing extremists who have been offering advice and assistance to their Irish counterparts.
Last week, it was revealed a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, who was jailed in the 1980s for right-wing terrorism offences, has been providing advice on tactics and propaganda to Irish extremists.
One poster created by US activists shows a line of gardaí at a recent anti-immigration protest in Coolock, north Dublin with the subject hashtag “Ireland is Full.”
Another, aimed at US audiences, tells Irish Americans: “Your homeland is being destroyed by the same people responsible for our own troubles in America” and tells them to follow the “Coolock says no” hashtag on social media.
In online spaces, some Irish far-right activists have questioned the design of some of the posters. In particular, some argued that one poster featuring a map of Ireland which excludes Northern Ireland would alienate Irish nationalists.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
