Patriotic Youth League

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"PYL" redirects here. For other uses, see PYL (disambiguation).

The Patriotic Youth League (PYL) is a neo-Nazi youth organization in Australia whose members describe themselves as 'radical nationalists' [1].

The PYL was founded in late 2002 by Stuart McBeth, a student at the University of Newcastle who was previously involved with the One Nation Party. The current president is Lachlan Black, a former One Nation candidate. It acts as the youth wing of the Australia First Party, under the mentorship of former National Socialist Party of Australia member and National Action leader Dr. James Saleam. In the 1980s, Dr. Saleam ordered a shotgun attack on the home of African National Congress representative Eddie Funde. [2] He has also been charged for arson and fraud.

The PYL has numerous links to international White Supremacist groups, including the New Zealand National Front and Volksfront. Andrew Wilson, then the president of the PYL's Sydney branch, told the Herald that McBeth had founded the Australian branch of the Volksfront. [3] Many PYL members also use the white supremacist Stormfront message board.

Before closing their main website, the PYL advertised neo-Nazi bands and declared "soon the Newcastle foreshore will be packed with lowered utes with chrome rims and awesome stereos pumping out Fortress." [4]

The PYL is believed to have branches in Sydney, Newcastle, and Canberra. The PYL's Melbourne branch was closed in 2006 by its leader Luke Connors. He claimed that there were too many neo-Nazis in the Australia First Party and the League, and that they were holding the party back. ^{[citation needed]}

The PYL's logo is the Eureka Flag.

1 Alleged links to violence
2 Patriotic Youth Controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Alleged links to violence

Woman holding Patriotic Youth League material

The Sydney Morning Herald has linked the PYL to racially motivated attacks at the University of Newcastle.

In December 2005, PYL members were present at the riots in Sydney [5]

[edit] Patriotic Youth Controversy

In January 2005, Australian members of the group that would become FightDemBack! created a parody of the Patriotic Youth League's main website. [6] Although the layout appeared similar, the text and images were altered for comedic effect. The website encountered controversy when the former Mayor of Sunbury, Ann Potter, referred to incumbent Hume Councillor Steve "Jack" Medcraft as being a possible recruit for the group, 9 months prior to the 2005 council elections.

In the aftermath of the election, in which Potter was elected to council and Medcraft was not, Medcraft launched legal action in the Magistrate's Court of Melbourne, claiming that Potter had violated the Local Government Act by making defamatory statements while both were candidates. The judge found that as Medcraft had not officially registered as a candidate, the Act did not apply - but to "state or imply that a candidate sympathises with the aims and philosophy of such organisations (as the Patriotic Youth League) may be a defamatory statement in relation to his personal character." [7]