Update 5/21/2019: Approximately two weeks ago, Trent East was allowed to quit his job as a jailer in Haralson County, to avoid being fired.
Last month, we exposed Haralson County Deputy Sheriff Brandon Trent East as an active white nationalist and as part of the racist “Ravensblood Kindred”, alongside active duty Georgia National Guard member Dalton Russell Woodward. The Ravensblood Kindred is a regional branch of the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), a whites-only heathen organization with close ties to organized racism. AFA has been designated as a hate group by the anti-extremist Southern Poverty Law Center.
A few days after we published our documentation on the “Ravensblood Kindred”, independent journalist Nate Thayer exposed Corwyn Storm Carver, an active duty Army member, as a member and influential propagandist for Atomwaffen Division (AWD). AWD is a neo-Nazi terrorist organization whose members have committed at least five murders since its formation in 2015. Following Thayer’s expose, we released documentation showing that both Trent East – working as a jailer in Haralson County – as well as Dalton Woodward were connected on social media to AWD white supremacist Carver.
Both Trent East and Dalton Woodward linked to Atomwaffen Division white supremacist Corwyn Carver
Despite this, Haralson County Sheriff Eddie Mixon initially defended his employee Trent East when interviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, stating in the AJC’s April 17 article that everything “should stand the way it is” with East not facing discipline, because East is not on a Federal Bureau of Investigation watch list. The next day, Mixon backtracked on his support for East, after his initial public stance generated outcry. A new investigation has now been launched. Trent East is receiving paid leave while the investigation proceeds.
In its follow-up article about Trent East and Sheriff Mixon’s reversal, the AJC confirmed that Trent East is a member of the Alabama National Guard as well as a jailer in Haralson County, Georgia. The Alabama National Guard is also investigating East’s ties to the white nationalist movement. The Georgia National Guard has also stated that it is investigating Trent East’s close associate Dalton Woodward. Neither the Georgia nor the Alabama National Guard have yet publicly commented on any outcomes from their investigations.
Since our initial article, it has also come to light that Deputy Sheriff East was a member of the “White Nationalist Alliance” group on the VKontakte (VK) social networking site. The White Nationalist Alliance group – which has since gone private – describes itself as being “in support of National Socialism and Hitler”. Deputy Sheriff East also follows the VK page promoting the “Miss Hitler 2019 Competition”. Online “Miss Hitler” beauty competitions are used by militant neo-Nazis as propaganda for their movement.
We have now discovered that Trent East maintains another profile on Facebook under the alias “Lincoln Baines”, where East is even more forthright about his racism and his affinities with neo-Nazism. Using the “Lincoln Baines” account, Trent East posted an image suggesting that Black men have a special proclivity to rape; shared Nazi propaganda art; and posed wearing a ski mask during a weapons training session with another neo-Nazi. In addition, Deputy Sheriff East shared a picture of himself opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle, accompanied by the slogan “No room for degeneracy under the Black Sun”. The Black Sun is a symbol used by white supremacists and the far-Right; Trent East’s comment leaves no doubt about his murderous ideology.
The “Lincoln Baines” Facebook account “likes” PaganG Imperium, a neo-Nazi meme page which, as we have previously noted, celebrates the author of the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque massacres. The “Lincoln Baines” account is also connected to white supremacists and neo-Nazis such as Legion of Saint Ambrose leader Colton Williams. (Colton Williams was also connected to one of Trent East’s Facebook accounts under East’s own name.)
Another person connected to the “Baines” account is white nationalist Arieana Love of Savannah, Georgia, who is also friends with Trent East in real life. Arieana Love’s boyfriend, self-described “Esoteric Hitlerite” Matthew Ryan Burchfield, is shown in one picture on the “Baines” profile. In the photo, Ryan Burchfield wears a bandana to partially obscure his face, holds a semi-automatic rifle and stands beside East, who wears a ski mask and is also armed. The photo appears to be from a weapons training session. The “Lincoln Baines” picture of East opening fire is seemingly from the same day.
We discuss Trent East’s associates Arieana Love and Ryan Burchfield in greater depth in another article, also published today.
It can be easily established that the “Lincoln Baines” account is Trent East. Not only does the figure photographed wearing the ski mask resemble East, but “Lincoln Baines” is connected to many of the same people as East, for example Colton Williams, Arieana Love, and Matthew Burchfield. In addition, Trent East shared DNA test results on the VKontake account in his own name and also as “Lincoln Baines” on Facebook. As if this was not enough, “Baines” shared an image when he complained about getting a temporary Facebook ban on his “main account”: the name “Trent East” and a profile picture for East are partially visible in this image shared by “Lincoln Baines”.
Our initial article on Trent East and Dalton Woodward already provided ample documentation of East and Woodward’s involvement in white nationalism. Since we published that article, more evidence has surfaced linking both individuals but especially Trent East to the most militant, neo-Nazi sectors of the white power movement. It is unclear whether this makes any difference to the National Guard or Haralson County Sheriff’s Office investigations, but we will update this post as we receive news.
See here for our new article on Trent East’s associates Arieana Love and Ryan Burchfield. If you have information on racist and far-Right organizing in our region, please get in contact.