Johnny B's – Atlanta Antifascists

Whitewash: “American Patriots USA” Enlists GOP Candidates to Launder White Nationalist Agenda

8/10/2020: update on Matt Gurtler and Marjorie Taylor Greene here.

As this report was being prepared for publication Thursday evening, far-Right militiaman and 9th Congressional District candidate Michael Boggus released a video on Facebook, stating that he is the new State Director for American Patriots USA. Since neo-Nazi Chester Doles and the white supremacists around Doles remain in the organization, we assume this is a shell game.

Summary: American Patriots USA (APUSA) was formed last year in north Georgia by Chester Doles, a longtime neo-Nazi. As documented in this and earlier reports, the organization is a thinly disguised front group for white supremacists. APUSA has spent the last few months building a broader front of “constitutionalist” Republican candidates, including several people of color, which it uses to mask its agenda. The white power organization even hosted a current State House Representative, Matthew Gurtler, at their March meeting. We document APUSA’s “Trojan horse” effort and highlight the complicity of GOP candidates and networks in normalizing white supremacist organizing.

*Chester Doles (circled) at “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017* – footage here.

Chester Doles, the Hammerskin Nation, and “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, VA, 2017

Chester Doles, the lead organizer of “American Patriots USA” in North Georgia, has a history spanning decades in the white supremacist movement.

In December 2016, Doles, alongside other members of the violent Hammerskin Nation (HSN) racist gang, was involved in a brawl with family and friends of an interracial couple celebrating at Johnny B’s bar in Dahlonega, Georgia. Doles is affiliated with Crew 38, a booster group for the Hammerskins. Doles accepted a plea deal for two counts of battery from the Johnny B’s brawl in November 2017. Prior to accepting the plea, Doles traveled with members of the HSN to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he participated in the bloody August 12, 2017 “Unite the Right” (UTR) rally.

*Photo posted by John Todd Kopko to Instagram in early 2018, showing the Hammerskin group from Unite the Right*

North Georgia: “American Patriots USA” Update

Update 3/27/2020: We have now identified the International Keystone Knights of the KKK supporter discussed in this article as Robert Timothy Dickenson.

Introduction

Since late last year, longtime white supremacist Chester Doles has attempted to build an organization – American Patriots USA (APUSA) – in north Georgia. Doles held a far-Right “Patriots” rally in Dahlonega, Georgia in September 2019 that was greatly outnumbered by counter-protesters, and started APUSA shortly afterwards. Although Doles’ September rally was not the success he’d hoped for, Doles has held regular meetings for his new organization since December.

Recently, APUSA seized on “2^nd Amendment Sanctuary” proposals as their main organizing issue. As this article discusses, APUSA is dominated by active Klansmen as well as neo-Nazis, and is an attempt by ideological white supremacists to broaden their base of support in North Georgia and gain conservative electoral credibility. Our update will also discuss a newly identified business manager supporting APUSA; local militiamen doing security for the organization; a planned APUSA candidate for Sheriff in White County who became a community laughing stock; and finally, a new business linked to the APUSA front group. We hope this information is useful for North Georgia locals challenging Doles’ organizing.

*Late November 2019: Doles shares propaganda for the National Alliance, the neo-Nazi organization whose Georgia chapter he led prior to his 2003 arrest on federal firearm charges.*

Documentation: White Supremacist Chester Doles’ 2016 Battery Case and the Hammerskin Nation

In November 2017, white supremacist Chester Doles took a plea deal for two charges of battery in Lumpkin County, Georgia. The charges stem from a brawl involving Doles and other white supremacists affiliated with the Hammerskins gang. The incident took place at Johnny B’s restaurant and bar in Doles’ home city of Dahlonega, December 2016. Chester Doles was still on probation from his plea deal when he organized a far-Right rally in Dahlonega this September.

*Chester Doles wearing embroidered shorts for “Crew 38 – Georgia” circa 2017. Crew 38 is the support/feeder organization for the violent Hammerskins Nation gang.*

The battery case and Doles’ probation status have already been covered by the media. However, we are publishing a police report and case files from this incident for the first time. These documents highlight several key members of the Hammerskin Nation racist gang (and its “Crew 38” support formation) who were active in our region circa 2016.