Update 11/1/2024: “Aryan Fest” 2024 was held on the property of George Haynie III and Shannon Haynie in Lexington, Georgia.
The Aryan Freedom Network (AFN) is a neo-Nazi group that claims to operate within 26 US states, according to the chapter listings on its website. AFN is currently advertising its national “Aryan Fest” gathering—a major get-together for AFN and its white supremacist allies—for Saturday, October 26th at an undisclosed location in Georgia. While AFN also advertised an “Aryan Fest” in Georgia last year, that year’s event was eventually rescheduled and relocated to Texas. However, the 2024 event appears likely to take place as announced in our state.
Headquartered in DeKalb, Texas, AFN began in 2018 as a white supremacist networking project but announced in October 2021 that it was transforming into a membership organization. AFN’s leaders are Dalton Henry Stout (AFN President “Brother Henry”) and Dalton’s ex-wife, Tonia Sue Berry (AFN Vice-President “Daisy Barr”/“Sister Daisy”). Berry’s father and brother were Klan leaders in Indiana. Dalton Stout’s father, George Bois Stout, is also active in AFN. George Stout previously ran the “Church of the Ku Klux Klan,” which Berry was a top recruiter for. Dalton Stout has his own long history of white power organizing, with earlier ties to groups such as the racist/Southern secessionist League of the South and the white supremacist Shieldwall Network. Although AFN welcomes involvement from white supremacists with different religious beliefs, the organization is highly influenced by Christian Identity, an antisemitic and racist religion which claims that whites are God’s true chosen people.
To expand the organization, AFN has held events in numerous states over the last few years. They regularly hold “Unity” gatherings to network with allies and friendly groups, although these are typically small-scale events. AFN also distributes neo-Nazi propaganda, most of it in Texas.
“Aryan Fest” is not only AFN’s major national gathering for the year; it also attempts to draw in wider white supremacist circles. The Georgia event advertises racist musical acts from the RAC (“Rock Against Communism”) scene, speakers, games, children’s events, a boxing competition, and a swastika lighting at dusk. The boxing competition is likely to draw members of white power “Active Clubs” who wish to compete.
Empire Falls is the only musical act currently listed on the flyer for Aryan Fest, although more groups are promised. Empire Falls is the musical project of Bryan Russell Haizlip of North Carolina and Virginia, with a rotating line-up of other musicians. Originally a non-political hardcore punk act, by the mid-2000s Empire Falls was releasing albums on white supremacist labels. The Southern Poverty Law Center has cited Haizlip as one of the key US popularizers of Combat 18, a neo-Nazi network which has been tied to terror plots.
While AFN are not publicly announcing the location of the October 26 racist festival, it will almost certainly be held on private land. Although AFN has a rule of “no weapons” for Aryan Fest guests, their members have turned up with firearms to events in the past. The event could therefore present a danger to those living or working near the “Aryan Fest” site. Please get in touch if you have further information on Aryan Fest or those attending, and check our social media for updates.