Keystone State Skinheads

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Keystone State Skinheads (also known as KSS) is a politically militant white nationalist organization based in Pennsylvania. According to the KSS website, the group has chapters in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton and other cities in the state. The group's logos are a pitbull and a keystone.

KSS was featured in the documentary American Skinheads, which aired on the National Geographic Channel. Watchdog groups such as Southern Poverty Law Center, state that the club is one of the most active white power skinhead organizations in the United States.

1 History
2 Activities
3 History of Violence And Arrests
4 External links
5 Footnotes

[edit] History

The group was founded in late 2000 by five men from Harrisburg, PA. Originally focused on uniting white power skinheads throughout the regions of Pennsylvania, one original member had more interest in maintaining non-political status and a fashion-based lifestyle common with being a traditional skinhead. In 2001, the four original members were joined by other white power skinheads throughout Pennsylvania. The second KSS chapter was founded in nearby Lancaster, which had a small group of white power skinheads who were part of a National Alliance youth group who decided to join the ranks of KSS.

Shortly after the formation of Lancaster's chapter, World Church of the Creator leader Matt Hale had announced plans to visit the York, PA to speak at the public library. After the arrival of several hundred activists who clashed with Anti-Racist Action members and other anti-fascists outside the library, this was a launching point for the club's future. The Anti-Defamation League stated that: "KSS transformed itself from a mainly Harrisburg group to a network of seven regional crews that had members from every major city in the state and associates in New Jersey and Maryland."^[1]

[edit] Activities

The KSS has organized several white power concerts in Pennsylvania, featuring bands such as: Blue Eyed Devils, Max Resist, Youngland, Grom, Cradle Song, Teardown, Those Opposed, Vinland Warriors, Grand Belial's Key, and Fear Rains Down. According to the Anti-Defamation League,

KSS began to capitalize on its growing prominence by conducting a series of concerts, first in Harrisburg, and then in a series of venues across the state. In late September 2003, Hammerskin Nation allowed KSS to help coordinate Hammerfest, which was held in Pennsylvania. By the beginning of 2004, KSS had become the largest group in the northeastern U.S.^[1]

KSS has also organized family-based events such as parties, picnics and nature hikes; as well as more political acts such as distributing pamphlets, attending protests, and posting hate fliers in communities near Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ^[2]. Several members claim to be straight edge, as well as also performing health-conscious acts such as weight lifting, self defense and mixed martial arts.

[edit] History of Violence And Arrests

In December 2001, Keith Carney was arrested in Philadelphia for posting stickers for the National Alliance, a white supremacist group, on the city's Vietnam war memorial. He was charged with institutional vandalism, criminal mischief and criminal conspiracy.^[3]

In June 2002, KSS members, Robert Gaus, Douglas Sonier and Joseph Hoesch, were arrested by police outside the Suburban Diner in Feasterville, near Philadelphia, for assaulting a man who asked them to stop throwing food at his table. The victim was struck several times and left on the diner’s floor. All three pleaded guilty to a charge of simple assault and were given suspended sentences.^[1]

In September 2002, KSS members, Todd Sager, Jason Hayden, and Christopher Keough, beat a former member, Christopher Morosko, who refused to return his KSS "colors". The three pleaded guilty to assault on March 3, 2003, and were all released for time served.^[1]

On March 23, 2003, three members of KSS, Keith Carney, Steve Smith and Steve Monteforte, were arrested on ethnic intimidation charges in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for assaulting an African-American man who, according to police, was walking home in the early morning.^[4]

In April 2003, two associates of the Lancaster Keystone State Skinheads were arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation and terroristic threats for making racist and threatening comments to three black patrons in a Lancaster-area bar.^[1]

In January 2006, KSS members, Edward Robert Locke and Todd Clair Sager, were charged with multiple counts in connection with a violent bar fight in March 2005 in New Stanton. Police claim Locke stabbed two men. Locke was charged with attempted homicide and four counts of aggravated assault, while Sager was charged with criminal solicitation to commit homicide and criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault.^[1]

On January 7, 2006, Jason R. Honeywell, a member of KSS, was charged with stabbing two men outside Café Metropolis. Witnesses said a small group of KSS members, including Honeywell, began making Nazi hand signals during a performance by the band River Side Riot, whose lead singer, Mike Lungs, is black. Honeywell was arraigned on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006 for stabbing the men. ^[5]

In January 2007, KSS members, Kenneth Hoover and Charles Marovskis members of Tampa Blood and Honour at the time of the incident, were arrested for beating and killing two homeless men to death in Tampa, Florida in 1998. Kenneth Hoover pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and racketeering. ^[1]

On May 26, 2007, Keith Carney was charged with a series of weapons and assault charges stemming from an incident that reportedly involved him and two other persons beating up on an alleged KSS associate.^[6]