Rocky Joe Suhayda | |
---|---|
3rd Commander of the American Nazi Party (fringe group)[1] | |
Assumed office October 9, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Matthias Koehl |
Chairman of the American Nazi Party (fringe group) | |
Assumed office 2000 | |
Chairman of The National Front | |
In office 1979–1982? | |
Preceded by | Unknown |
Succeeded by | Unknown |
Personal details | |
Born | 1952 (age 71–72) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.[2] |
Children | 3[2] |
Residence(s) | Unknown, previously Livonia, Michigan, U.S.[3] and Eastpointe, Michigan, U.S.[4] |
Rocky Joe Suhayda (born 1952)[5][6] is an American neo-Nazi and far-right activist,[7][8][9] who as of 2017 was chairman of a fringe group that split from the American Nazi Party.[10] He has held the office since at least 2000.[11] He and his Party are based in Michigan.[12][13]
Suhayda graduated from Bentley High School in Livonia, Michigan, in 1969.[3] He worked in the shipping and receiving department of the Garden City Osteopathic Hospital.[3] Suhayda has run unsuccessfully for public office on several occasions, including for the Livonia School District and the Livonia City Council.[2][3][14]
Suhayda was a member of the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists and the National Association for the Advancement of White People,[3][15] and subsequently founded his own organization under the name of the American Nazi Party. Suhayda's organization claims a connection to the American Nazi Party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell in 1959,[16] but it is officially a separate entity.[17] He was a member of the National White People's Party in 1976, but resigned some point before 1979.[18] As of 1979, he was the Chairman of a 12-member group called The National Front.[18] Suhayda has stated that he represents a Livonia chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.[19]
Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Suhayda stated that "if we were one-tenth as serious as the bin Laden terrorists, we just might start getting somewhere."[20][21][22] In 2016, Suhayda stated on his radio show that a Donald Trump presidency could give American Nazis the chance to build a 'pro-white' political caucus similar to the Congressional Black Caucus.[23][24] He publicly supported the appointment of Steve Bannon to the position of chief strategist in Donald Trump's White House.[25][26]