Ready's neo-Nazi leanings were first detailed by New Times in 2007 blog and column items discussing his Web page on NewSaxon.org, a social networking site "for whites, by whites," where Ready maintains a blog under the handle "Viking Son" and makes such anti-Semitic statements as, "The Jew is a two-legged cancer which corrupts and putrefies all that is natural and noble upon this Earth." But if there were any doubts about Ready's views remaining, he eliminated them by traveling to Omaha, Nebraska, for a rally sponsored by the National Socialist Movement on September 1, 2007. There, Ready was captured in photographs standing shoulder to shoulder with swastika-wearing brownshirts.
But back to the sheriff's March 21 press conference, which occurred inside a taped-off area that served as Arpaio's provisional headquarters for the anti-immigrant sweep. All anti-Arpaio protesters and U.S.A. counter-protesters remained outside the yellow tape, save for one: Rusty Childress.
Eduardo Barraza
Arpaio receives a plaque from nativists, including U.S.A. member Barb Heller (left)
Eduardo Barraza
A close-up of the plaque
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Pressed about Childress' presence in the inner sanctum, Arpaio responded by saying Childress is "a good guy."
Arpaio was asked, "You don't have any problem with him accepting neo-Nazis into his ranks?"
The sheriff replied, "I have no problem. You know what? I talk to everybody. I even talk to the demonstrators."
"Would you talk to the Klan?" New Times asked.
"I talk to the inmates. I talk to everybody. I'm the sheriff for everybody," he responded, glibly.
If neo-Nazis did not give Arpaio pause, their presence later led to a mini-rebellion in U.S.A.'s ranks, with Republican activist and Vietnam veteran Bob Haran and anti-immigrant activist Anna Gaines walking out of an April 10 meeting where Hall was present.
Gaines accused Hall of hurting the group's image and suggested he remove himself from U.S.A. Hall was defiant, and the meeting turned into a shouting match. Hall remained, while acknowledging his National Socialist beliefs and his continuing activism as a neo-Nazi.
A week later, Hall offered the group an out: He would officially "step down" from U.S.A. yet still participate in some of its events. U.S.A. accepted his proposal, and Hall has been at subsequent U.S.A. demonstrations since last April. For instance, he was present at U.S.A.'s counter-demonstration to the February 28 anti-Arpaio march, which drew 5,000 marchers to downtown Phoenix. Like the smaller May 2 Walk for Respect, it was led by Rage Against the Machine/One Day as a Lion frontman Zack de la Rocha.
Aside from speaking to a group with neo-Nazi ties, Arpaio has also served as a "rallying point" for white supremacists, in the words of Arizona ADL director Straus. For instance, on the white nationalist site Stormfront.org, whole discussion strings are devoted to Joe Arpaio's so-called patriotic actions.
"I love to see a white man stand up for himself," wrote one Stormfront member recently under the handle "direct action."
In the same thread, a Stormfronter from Arizona named "DesertFox63" stated, "Sheriff Joe is my man, yes he is. I voted for him all 5 times."
As with neo-Nazis counter-protesting the Walk for Respect, Arpaio has never disavowed support from the racist right. And such radicals have flocked to demonstrations supporting him.
In late 2007, M.D. Pruitt's furniture store became a tinderbox as Pruitt's owner Roger Sensing hired off-duty MCSO deputies to patrol his property and keep away day laborers seeking work from motorists.
The MCSO not only guarded Sensing's lot, it scoured the area, stopping day laborers and drivers when possible, looking for illegal immigrants to arrest. Under the leadership of Salvador Reza, weekend protests of Sensing's business commenced, and counter-protesters from U.S.A. and other nativist groups showed up to oppose Reza's action. By the end of the year, the demonstrations and counter-demonstrations were drawing hundreds of activists from both sides. The pro-Arpaio supporters were armed with guns, pepper spray, and collapsible batons.
Several neo-Nazis joined the nativist side, including Scott Hume (a.k.a. Shawn Hughes), the "acting unit leader" of the Phoenix chapter of the National Socialist Movement. (Hume was outed by New Times during coverage of the protests.)
Also present were newbie skinhead Damon Ashenfelter and longtime local neo-Nazi Jerry Harbin, among others. The situation was tense, with nativist demonstrators stomping on the Mexican flag and both sides jeering each other. Phoenix police eventually separated the protest factions to opposite street corners, but violence seemed imminent for a time.
Arpaio visited Pruitt's on several occasions, treating the furniture store as his personal fiefdom. Occasionally, he ventured out to where the protesters were. The nativist side cheered him like a conquering hero, while the pro-immigration side hissed and booed him. Once, Arpaio walked down the street next to where Salvador Reza's group was lined up on the sidewalk and taunted the crowd. He was accused by some protesters of trying to incite the two groups.
If this was Arpaio's intention, he did not get his wish. By the end of 2007, the Pruitt's protests concluded with a proverbial whimper rather than a bang after owner Roger Sensing agreed not to hire off-duty MCSO deputies. But Pruitt's had given Arpaio a bold, new idea — sweeps to root out illegal immigrants that would continue to draw protesters and get the sheriff's face plastered across the media.