White supremacist leader 'shot dead at home by his young son'



The young son of a white supremacist leader has been detained after his father was found shot dead at their home.

Jeff Hall, 32, a regional director for the National Socialist Movement, was killed in the early hours of Sunday morning by a 'known assailant' at his house in Riverside, California.

Police removed two handguns from the property and questioned one of his five children, believed to be a ten-year-old boy. They have not yet ruled out the possibility that the shooting was deliberate.



Shot dead: Jeff Hall, a regional director for the National Socialist Movement, was killed at his home while he slept

Mr Hall was a plumber and rising star in the neo-Nazi group based in Detroit, who ran for office at his local water board last November.



Neighbours said he flew a swastika from his home at a Halloween party last year and attendees wore Ku Klux Klan costumes.



A New York Times reporter attended a meeting of the local group at his home the night before he was killed, where Mr Hall called on members to join him for militia-style raids for illegal immigrants along the Mexico-Arizona border.

He said: 'This is a very active area right now. You guys get your Glocks cocked and get ready to rock. We’re going to the border. That’s how we do it.'

Neo-Nazi: Neighbours said Jeff Hall held a Halloween party at his house last year where attendees wore Ku Klux Klan outfits

Police were called to his house at 4am on Sunday after a report of shots being fired, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.



According to the coroner's office Mr Hall died of a single gunshot wound from a 'known assailant'. His wife and five children were all at home at the time of the shooting.

Lieutenant Ed Blevins told the Press-Enterprise he was investigating whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.

The Times reported one of his sons, believed to be ten, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. No other suspects were being sought.

Separatist movement: NSM commander Jeff Schoep, pictured here at a demonstration, wrote a tribute to Mr Hall on the organisation's website

Neighbours told the Press-Enterprise they had suffered months of intimidation by Mr Hall and other members of the National Socialist Movement who visited for meetings.

NOTORIOUS HATE GROUPS IN AMERICA

According to The Southern Poverty Law Centre, in 2010 there were 1,002 'hate' groups active in the U.S. This is a staggering rise from the estimated 602 such groups in 2000. The two most notorious groups are: Ku Klux Klan

Klan groups in the U.S. increased significantly in 2008, from 155 chapters to 186. It is broken down into smaller sub units, with the Brotherhood of Klans Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (BOK) one of the fastest growing. 17 new chapters were added in 2008. Neo-Nazis Fanatics who broadly follow the example set by Adolf Hitler's Nazi party. There are around 300 different groups including the two largest groups - American National Socialist Workers Party and the National Socialist Movement.

Other white supremacist groups include the Hammerskin Nation Volksfront, Blood & Honour American Division, Atlantic City Skins and the American Front, as well as violent biker gangs.

Juan Trejo, who lives opposite Mr Hall's house, said: 'Honestly, I feel like it's over. It was scary here. Hopefully we'll never see any of them again.

He described Mr Hall's children as all being younger than 12. He said: 'I never tried to even say hello because they are racist.'

A spokesman for the National Socialist Movement told the Times: 'All I can tell you right now is Jeff’s dead.'

In a tribute on the organisation's website, its commander, Jeff Schoep, described Mr Hall as a 'loving father of five children, a family man and a dedicated American patriot.'

He wrote: 'He touched the lives of so many people, and was a tremendous inspiration to everyone around him. His energy and devotion to our Folk and Nation knew no bounds.'



Mr Hall ran for election as a member of the Riverside Water Board in November 2010, but lost to the incumbent.

The Phoenix New Times reported Mr Hall led a band of armed supremacists into the Arizona desert last year to search for Mexican immigrants.

His death comes just two months after David Lynch, one of America's most powerful white supremacist leaders, was shot in his Sacramento home.

The skinhead was an influential figure in the underground neo-Nazi movement, and worked for the American Front, a national body of skinhead groups committed to 'preserving the white race' in America.







