Frazier Glenn Cross, also known as Frazier Glenn Miller, is escorted by police in an elementary school parking lot in Overland Park, Kansas. Photograph: AP
Authorities investigating the killing of three people in attacks on the Jewish community in Kansas City declared they were treating the incident as a hate crime, as a deeper picture emerged Monday of the suspect’s longstanding ties to hate groups.
Frazier Glenn Cross, 73, was booked into Johnson County jail on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder and is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon. He was arrested on Sunday after a shooting spree that killed a 14-year-old boy and his grandfather outside a popular Jewish community center, and a third victim outside a nearby Jewish retirement home in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park.
US attorney general Eric Holder said he has instructed the Justice Department to provide all available support to state and local authorities. Officials said Cross would face federal criminal charges.
Television crews caught Cross yelling “Heil Hitler” during his arrest after the shooting. But at a news conference on Sunday, Overland Park police chief John Douglass said it was too early in the investigation to tell whether Cross, also known as Frazier Glenn Miller, had an anti-Semitic motive. “We know it's a vicious act of violence. Obviously two Jewish facilities, one might make that assumption," Douglass said.
The incident has brought attention to Cross’s decades-long affiliation with hate groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that tracks hate movements in the US, said Cross was once the grand dragon of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He has also been arrested for using intimidation tactics against African Americans, and he has authored a book filled with hateful rhetoric.
Our commenters have told us that racism is almost gone in the US. Yet, we see daily indications that it's alive and well, thriving even. Then every once in a while one of these overt sickos makes himself known. And in spite of all this evidence, the gun-rights fanatics, who apparently take this very personally, insist there's nothing to it.
My question is not whether racism is still prevalent in the US society, that's a no brainer, my question is how prevalent is it. How many white supremacists and Aryan nation maniacs are there. And of them, how many are gun owners?
You see how that works? The percentage of Klan members or Aryan brothers who own guns is a lot higher than, let's say, your Pax Christi members.
This is a problem that cries out for stricter gun control.
Another nut job from the pro gun "side." Their "side" is full of these nut jobs and they support and protect their right to get guns.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteMy contention has been that racism is in decline and is no longer a mainstream position or even accepted by the mainstream in most places. I've never claimed that it was non-existent or that the racists are not violent sickos. The more ostracized from mainstream society they are, the worse they get.
I was in Overland Park last summer for the wedding of one of my best friends, and Arab immigrant, who was marrying an American girl from a redneck family that made me and my family look positively urbane. Bachelor party consisted of a bunch of rednecks and a bunch of Arabs smoking hookah, drinking moonshine, playing poker, and discussing everything from guns and redneckery to Arab culture and theology. There's a decent sized Arab community in Kansas City and its suburbs. Apparently a decent sized Jewish community too judging by this case.
This murderous bastard doesn't reflect the mainstream in Kansas City, or in any other part of the country except the the few little places that still have enclaves of racists and Klan members like itty bitty Newport, Tennessee--and even in Newport I don't know how whether they're the mainstream, or just a large minority--I just know that I shouldn't take non-white friends there, and if I can't take whoever I want to a place, I don't go period.
I'm not claiming mainstream. I'm claiming way too prevalent still, and please don't give be a lengthy Kurtian diatribe about how even one is too many. I'm talking about racism being much more prevalent in society than you see willing to admit or see. And among gun owners, it's even worse for the reasons I pointed out. A disproportionate amount of these extreme racists have guns and they add up to serious numbers.
DeleteBut you call everyone a racist. THIS guy is an actual racist.
DeleteMaybe it's just your co-bloggers who think it's the primary motivation of the GOP, then.
DeleteYour implication that I'm wearing blinders on the issue is insulting. You only know me from here and can't see me in my every day life, so you can't imagine just how insulting.
As for the idea that a lot of the extremists are armed, yes. As are a lot of many types of extremists. However, I'd ask you to answer the questions Greg and I posed below--how do we prevent these extremists from buying guns and not set up a system prone to manifold abuses?
We can't prevent someone from owning guns legally if they qualify regardless of their political affiliations, obviously. But since almost all the guns in criminal hands had to flow through the hands of you lawful gun owners first, we can tighten up the gun control laws that allow those guns to so easily flow over to the dark side.
DeleteBTW--interesting bit of info on the guy just came over the news ticker:
ReplyDeletehttp://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/14/frazier-glenn-cross-racist-religion/?hpt=hp_t3
Had heard about his hatred of Jews and statements about them leading to a neo-Con takeover. Just add this into the hodge-podge of disparate ideas this evil man amalgamated into his personal philosophy.
And today I read that the ones he killed were not Jews.
DeleteYep. He failed to even lay a finger on his intended victims--well, maybe...considering some of the comments in that CNN article, who knows for sure.
Delete1. This criminal was not a lawful gun owner. He's a convicted felon. Read down the page of the article that you cited.
ReplyDelete2. He's an evil man. Fortunately, most people aren't evil.
3. You seem to want a political test for gun ownership. Are there any limits to your desire for control?
Can we expect a change to the title of the post to reflect that he's a felon who illegally acquired a gun through the illegal actions of another person who straw purchased it?
DeleteAlso, with regards to Greg's question in point 3: Seriously, Mike, what are you proposing? I wondered this too, when I first read your post.
DeleteAre you suggesting that the police should be able, under may issue, to deny the permit due to Klan associations? I don't like the idea of armed Klansmen anymore than you do, but how and where do you draw the line so that you don't have liberal cops denying guns to tea partiers out of trumped up and false fears that they might be violent racists? Or liberal cops doing the same to someone who took part in an Occupy movement because he claims they might be a violent Communist working to overthrow the government? It sounds like a dangerous recipe for equal opportunity McCarthyism.
I corrected the post title to reflect his status. He's a first cousin not a brother.
DeleteThis man is no cousin of mine, genetically, morally, or intellectually. The fact that you can't see that, Mikeb, is one of many reasons why you must lose.
DeleteAh, so we'll just remove any reference to his legal status as gun owner--can't point out it was already illegal.
DeleteStill, at least you changed it from lawful.
What of the question Greg posed and I elaborated on?
DeleteAs Greg said, it's insulting and foolish to keep on about this type of person being tied to us. So he chose to own a gun--he also chose to worship Odin; does that make him a first cousin or even brother to commeter Baldr?
DeleteOther than this guy owning a gun, and apparently pants and a shirt like the rest of us, that's where similarity ends. This guy's entire guiding philosophy was based on racial hatreds at complete odds with the worldviews the rest of us here subscribe to.
I'd argue that neither this schmuck nor the fellow from Oregon who comments here from time to time honor Odin.
DeleteNo, Simon, his relationship to you goes much deeper. His criminal past doesn't change the fact that he owned and used guns exactly like you do, to protect himself and his family, to shoot at cans out in the woods or at the shooting range, to lovingly clean them and show them off to his friends. There was really no difference between the two of you. In fact, going berserk and suddenly shooting a few innocent people is not the exclusive domain of ex-felons, as I often show on this blog. So, no Simon, criminal gun owners are not much different than the rest of you.
DeleteIn addition, being a prohibited person for gun buying, he had to rely on you or someone like you either directly or indirectly in order to procure his guns.This brings us back to the overarching need for stricter gun control which would prevent guns from so easily flowing into the criminal world.
Well, except he also used guns to shot innocent people, and pretty sure Simon has never done that.
DeleteAnd what's with the "NRA racism" tag. Have you seen evidence of him being an NRA member?
Delete" After his arrest, Miller agreed to testify against several other defendants in a major Federal sedition trial in Arkansas. He served three years (1987-1990) in Federal prison, following his conviction for weapons violations, as well as for violating the injunction proscribing him from engaging in paramilitary activities."
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frazier_Glenn_Miller,_Jr.
This guy has quite a history, and it turns out that he's, you guessed it, a felon.
Yes, a cousin rather than a brother.
DeleteGlen Miller did an awful thing, if he did it. He must have been extremely frustrated, to see his nation rot from the inside out, to see his country occupied by a tribe that did not love America. Miller must have snapped, and now three innocents are dead. I hope he rots. 'Racist' is just code for pro-white.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, whoever you are (meaning I don't know if you're our usual anonymous, but I'm guessing you're someone else),
DeletePlease clarify your statement. Are you suggesting that he was right about the "tribe" occupying his country? Are you suggesting it's a ethnic group by that term? Are you suggesting that the dead are innocents because they're white Christians, but if they were part of that "tribe" it wouldn't have been so bad?
And as for your statement about "racist" being code for "pro-white," are you suggesting that it's a good thing to be splitting up into groups based on skin tone and advocating for our group against the others?
Wise up man. There's one race--the human one. Melanin content means precisely jack and shit in the grand scheme of things. Remove head from ass and stop following fucked up world views that divide the human race into a bunch of competing races based on what paint chip they match.
And if I've got you wrong and you're the most colorblind person in the world, then wise up and stop talking like a racist. Words mean things, and your words certainly indicate a certain position.
"A tribe?"
DeleteThe KKK is a proven criminal organization and has been found guilty of murder and other serious felonies. Not just as individuals, but as a group. That's how a black lady was awarded title to KKK land. Do you think such a group is having its rights violated because the government spies on them to find out what crimes they are intending to, or have actually committed? That kind of "leave the crooks alone" mentality is why they get away with more crimes.
ReplyDelete???
DeleteWho are you ranting at now, Anon? Who suggested not investigating criminal activity by the Klan?
Did I say YOU said that, no.
DeleteYour "side" mentality has you attacking for no reason. Paranoia.
Your "side" is responsible for this nut and he is a member of your "side." Remember what I said about the stupid "side" argument that you guys always use? If you use it, it will be used against you, that's fair. Mike stated it well.
I never said that you said I was advocating that. I merely asked WHO had suggested not investigating the Klan. I was wondering who you thought was opposing you.
DeleteYou took the question as a personal attack and then went on about my supposed paranoia etc. Seems you're projecting a bit.
Oh, and since you keep going on about "sides"--according to Mikeb, you're on my "side" of this, along with the shooter here, because you own guns. This guy is your cousin, according to him.
DeleteBut according to YOU guys I am not on your "side." Since you guys keep lying about my stance on these gun issues, you would have no way of knowing which "side" I'm on, even though I have stated I reject the "side" argument and only use it to show how ridiculous your arguments are. GC just lied and said I have never stated my position on these issues, yet I have. Next lie.
DeleteAnon, you're playing coy and mysterious in where you stand on issues, but you then go to great trouble to find fault in one side and then support the other. Then you find fault when someone comes to a reasonable conclusion to what side of the issue you support.
DeleteWhy don't you just come out and say where you stand plainly? Then we can debate the issues as befitting the purpose of this blog and not waste time with you playing hard to get.
SS,
DeleteBS
Show me where I have been coy and mysterious about my positions? I have come out and plainly stated my position, it's you guys who twist and lie about what I have said. Reread the archives. It must be your extremism that leads you to believe I'm coy, or mysterious with my moderate views, or else you are just lying again.
" Since you guys keep lying about my stance on these gun issues, you would have no way of knowing which "side" I'm on, even though I have stated I reject the "side" argument and only use it to show how ridiculous your arguments are. GC just lied and said I have never stated my position on these issues, yet I have."
DeleteThis one is a pretty good example. This blog debates for the most part gun rights issues, both for and against. The last time I saw anybody tap dance so much to avoid taking a stand, it was the President of Starbucks trying to keep both sides happy and failing, getting everyone mad at him.
You are perfectly welcome to continue what you're doing as long as Mike will have you. The only good that comes of it is when you say stuff like that in response to a serious comment, because you come off as a goof, which then translates to representing the side of gun control advocates as goofs.
BS again SS, you haven't quoted me once proving what you say, but I quote you guys all the time.
DeleteNext lie