Introduction
Michael Cason Hitt (born 1991) and his wife Shannon Joy Hitt (née Nicholson, born 1993) are neo-Nazis living in Senoia, Georgia. Last year, both distributed flyers for the viciously antisemitic Goyim Defense League (GDL), also involving their children in this effort. Michael Hitt, a former Marine, uses the alias “D1ktater” online. Michael Hitt claims to have “been a part of at least 5 active” white supremacist groups. Recently, he has been close to Patriot Front. He works as a rebuild technician for RAS Systems, LLC, a machinery supplier in Peachtree City, Georgia that is the US partner of a German company. Hitt claims to have traveled to Germany for his work and expressed interest in networking with neo-Nazis while there.
Identification, Goyim Defense League Activity, Michael Hitt Workplace
“D1ktater”/Michael Hitt first came to our attention last year. In June 2023, members of the “Goyim Defense League” harassed synagogues in Macon and Marietta, Georgia. “D1ktater” was a member of the GDL’s chat on the Telegram messaging application. He was based in Georgia and appeared eager to help, but was left in the dark about GDL plans. On Friday the 23rd, the GDL rallied outside Temple Beth Israel in Macon, and the next day, they targeted Chabad Lubavitch of Cobb County in Marietta. When he learned on the Saturday that GDL members were rallying again, “D1ktater” asked the Telegram chat: “Are they [GDL demonstrators] in the same city?”
Looking further into “D1ktater,” we found his account on Gab, a far-right social networking site. On this profile, “D1ktater” shared videos of himself throwing bags containing GDL flyers onto lawns. One video shared January 31, 2023 shows “D1ktater’s” wife, who drives while he throws flyers from the passenger side. Later in this video, in footage from another expedition to throw GDL flyers, two children are visible in the back seat of the vehicle (their faces are blurred in the footage). Another video shared by “D1ktater,” posted on March 12, 2023, shows him sitting in the bed of a pickup truck with a woman identified in the video as “UncomfortableTruths.” Both throw GDL flyers. When posting this video, “D1ktater” tagged the Gab accounts for his wife as well as for “UncomfortableTruths.”
After finding the Gab account for “D1ktater,” identifying him was straightforward. As mentioned earlier, his wife also had a Gab account at the time. She used the same address on this Gab account as she did on other platforms where she provided her real name: Shannon Hitt. With this clue, we soon found Michael Hitt and his LinkedIn account. Hitt claimed on LinkedIn to have been a Marine from 2013 until 2018, which corresponds to “D1ktater’s” claim on Gab that he “enlisted and worked on choppers for 5 years.”
On LinkedIn, Hitt wrote that in May 2023 he had started working as a rebuild technician at RAS Systems, LLC in Peachtree City. RAS Systems is the American partner of a German company founded in 1939, RAS Reinhardt Maschinenbau GmbH. Hitt’s information on LinkedIn closely matched a May 4, 2023, Gab post from “D1ktater,” in which he claimed to have had an in-person interview for a new job, “less than 10 minutes from my house”, and that the company “desire[d] to send me to the Vaterland to learn new equipment, maintenance, and processes.” “D1ktater” shared a GDL video featuring clips of a Nazi rally to accompany the post about his job interview.
Shannon Hitt is an active neo-Nazi in her own right. In a February 2023 comment on Gab, Michael Hitt told GDL participant Mel Travis Layton of Missouri (AKA “John 8:44”) that “I’d have learned to toss [bags of GDL flyers] while driving by now if my wife didn’t enjoy coming along so much.” On Shannon Hitt’s own profile, she posted about baking a “Führer cake for Hitler’s birthday.” Her profile picture on Gab featured an animated spinning “black sun”—a symbol used by neo-Nazis. Disturbingly, both the Hitts involved their children in bagging GDL flyers for distribution, and Michael Hitt posted a picture of his son and daughter making Nazi salutes. As mentioned earlier, they also brought their children along on a trip to throw GDL flyers.
A Friend of the Family: Charmon “Ann” Aaron
Despite a history of spreading GDL propaganda, Michael and Shannon Hitt were left in the dark about plans last year for GDL members to harass Georgia synagogues. Examining the Hitts’ Gab accounts, the reason for this became clear: infighting within the GDL. Michael and Shannon Hitt were close with a neo-Nazi then living in Newnan, Georgia: Charmon Antoinet “Ann” Aaron (born 1968). Aaron, also known as “UncomfortableTruths” on Gab, relocated to Amory, Mississippi in July 2023.
The June targeting of Georgia synagogues was arranged by an inner circle of GDL participants close to leader Jon Minadeo II (AKA “Handsome Truth”). Ann Aaron had begun feuding with two Georgia GDL members who are part of Minadeo’s inner circle, Hilary and Philip Jacobs, with Aaron claiming that the couple took advantage of her generosity. The Hitts, on the other hand, are close with Ann Aaron—Michael Hitt even shared a video in March 2023 of him and Aaron throwing GDL flyers together. The Hitts’ relationship with Ann Aaron led them to be viewed with suspicion by Hilary and Philip Jacobs, and by extension the rest of the GDL inner circle around Minadeo. Key GDL organizers therefore did not let the Hitts in on their plans to harass synagogues in Georgia, leaving Michael Hitt to ask for information about what was happening in the broader GDL Telegram chat.
Connection with Patriot Front
Starting in the second half of 2023, Michael Hitt was active with Patriot Front (PF), either as a formal member or a close associate. PF is a racist and fascist organization established in the direct aftermath of 2017’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, from an earlier fascist group, Vanguard America. We have documented PF’s activity in our state since its early days and exposed multiple members.
In July 2023, Michael Hitt posted to Gab that he had “tried hooking up with PF once” and that he “may try that again.” A few months later in October, Hitt commented on Gab below a video of Nazi troops marching in the streets, writing that “I know some [people] who do [that]” and sharing a video of a PF march.
In late October, Georgia members of Patriot Front joined with Atlas Active Club for an “afternoon of Halloween festivities and striking training.” Atlas Active Club is part of the white nationalist “Active Club” network, whose members spread propaganda and train for violence together. In Georgia, Patriot Front and Atlas Active Club are intertwined. Although faces are blurred in images from the gathering, Michael Hitt is identifiable in a group photograph. We made this identification based not just on the figure’s build and posture, but by matching clothing with Hitt’s wardrobe. Another photograph from the gathering shows that two children were present. Again, faces are blurred, but the two closely resemble Shannon and Michael Hitt’s children.
Hitt further indicated his affiliation with Patriot Front in November, when he re-shared a PF post about stencil graffiti in Atlanta on his Gab account.
Michael Hitt (as “D1ktater”) is also part of the Telegram chat for White Lives Matter (WLM) network in Georgia. Georgia’s WLM network overlaps with Patriot Front.
International Neo-Nazi Networking
In early March, Michael Hitt deleted his account on Gab. Shannon Hitt also deleted her Gab account that month, although some time after her husband. Gab had just begun to charge users who wished to upload media on the platform, leading to complaints from its users and some quitting. Michael Hitt’s departure, however, appears to be motivated by other worries that Gab owner Andrew Torba does not protect the personal information of users.
In February, Michael Hitt created an account as “D1ktater” on NiceCrew, a federated social networking server which has a reputation for blatant racism. He now uses this platform as a substitute for Gab.
On NiceCrew, Hitt wrote in late February that he “recently went to Germany for 2 weeks,” presumably for his job. In the same message, he claimed that he had earlier messaged a contact from Gab and hoped to meet up with him while in Germany. Hitt claimed that his contact had spent “a year in jail for protesting […] rape and murder […] by Muslims.” According to an old post on Gab, Hitt had previously helped the account in question—“Sons of Sonnenrad”—by moderating his Gab group for “National Socialists.” Most details about “Sons of Sonnenrad” in Hitt’s February post on NiceCrew are incorrect, unless “Sons of Sonnenrad” was deliberately misstating facts about his life when posting on Gab. “Sons of Sonnenrad” claimed that he is in Estonia, not Germany, and that his jail sentence was for a fight with striking workers. However, even if Michael Hitt was mistaken about his old contact, Hitt’s post on NiceCrew demonstrates his desire to network with neo-Nazis while in Europe. If Michael Hitt’s employer gives him further opportunities to travel to Germany, he will surely try to meet up with neo-Nazis while there.
Conclusion
Michael and Shannon Hitt are neo-Nazis who littered Georgia neighborhoods with propaganda for the Goyim Defense League in early 2023, disturbingly involving their children in these efforts. Despite their work for the GDL, the couple were never part of the GDL’s inner circle due to their close friendship with another neo-Nazi, Charmon “Ann” Aaron, who is on bad terms with influential GDL members in Georgia. Later in 2023, Michael Hitt began promoting Patriot Front, a racist and fascist organization. Michael Hitt was photographed at a gathering PF held together with Atlas Active Club in late October, where he seemingly brought his children along. Hitt also served as a moderator for a “National Socialists” group on Gab and is in the Telegram chat for the White Lives Matter network in Georgia. Hitt claims that his job at RAS Systems, LLC gives him opportunities to travel to Germany. He has expressed an interest in meeting up with neo-Nazis while there.
We will update our article if RAS Systems, LLC reconsiders its employment of an active neo-Nazi in light of our documentation.
We are always interested in information about the Goyim Defense League, Patriot Front, and other racist groups active in our region. Please get in touch if you can help.