Neo-Nazi group linked to fatal Charlottesville car crash spreads hate fliers in Houston

Group: League of the South League of the South Type: Neo-confederate

Located in: San Antonio, Pointblank

Source: Southern Poverty Law Center Group: League of the South League of the South Type: Neo-confederate

Located in: San Antonio, Pointblank

Source: Southern Poverty Law Center Photo: John Moore/Getty Images Photo: John Moore/Getty Images Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Neo-Nazi group linked to fatal Charlottesville car crash spreads hate fliers in Houston 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

A neo-Nazi group linked to the man accused of killing a counter-protester at a white supremacist rally targeted two Houston synagogues with fliers earlier this year, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The group, Vanguard America, pasted hateful fliers on signs, doors and gates at two Houston-area synagogues in July and distributed flyers with similar messages at universities in Houston and other parts of Texas in January.

"We believe authorities should aggressively investigate this incident as a domestic act of terror and swiftly bring to justice the individual responsible for the death of one citizen and the injuries of dozens more," said Dayan Gross, ADL Southwest Regional Director.

Vanguard America has chapters in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, according to an ADL report.

Members or supporters of the group also left hateful stickers at two Louisiana synagogues in March, and hung anti-Semitic banner at a Holocaust memorial in New Jersey in July, according to the ADL. The group also posted fliers at several Texas universities - including Rice University - in January.

The violent clashes in Virginia come as organizations that track hate groups have warned of a sharp rise in hate crimes and other acts of racism. White supremacists had planned to hold a similar rally in College Station at Texas A&M University on Sept. 11 but was called off Monday afternoon.

In southern Texas, the ADL found a 50 percent spike in hate crimes this year compared to last year.

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Vanguard America "opposes multiculturalism and believes that America is an exclusively white nation," according to an ADL report about the group.

"Using a right-wing nationalist slogan, Blood and Soil, VA romanticizes the notion that people with 'white blood' have a special bond with 'American soil," according to the ADL.

The man accused of driving the car into a crowd of counterprotesters Saturday has been identified as a member of the group, although the group denies it.

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, can be seen in photos and video taken before the car crashed into the crowd holding a "Vanguard America" sign and standing with other members of the group. He is charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.

Vanguard America denies Fields had ties to their organization.

"The driver of the vehicle that hit counter protesters was, in no way, a member of Vanguard America," the group said, in a statement posted on social media Saturday. "All our members had been safely evacuated by the time of the incident. The shields seen do not denote membership, nor does the white shirt. The shields were freely handed out to anyone in attendance."

Hundreds of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, members of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups assembled Saturday in a rally called "Unite the Right," to protest the decision of Charlottesville officials to remove a statue of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park.

Violence erupted between the protesters and hundreds of counter-protesters. At least 34 people were injured in the clashes and the mayhem of the car crash.

Thirty-two-year-old Heather D. Heyer, a paralegal from Charlottesville, was killed in the crash.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions launched a civil rights investigation.

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St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.