Fury as white supremacist holds recruitment drive on University of Wisconsin-Madison campus 11 years after he set two black churches on fire

• e-mail

A college student who was jailed for torching two predominantly black churches is now trying to recruit students on campus for a national pro-white party.

Daniel Dropik, 33, who studies computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has enraged his fellow students for trying to start the local chapter of the American Freedom Party.

The political party 'exists to represent the political interests of White Americans' and has deep ties to white supremacism, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

Dropik served about five years in prison after he was convicted of racially-motivated arsons at two black churches in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Lansing, Michigan.

Dropik was convicted of racially-motivated arsons at two black churches in 2005. He's now trying to start a local chapter of the American Freedom Party, which has white supremacist ties

Dropik expressed his frustrations with college courses examining white and male privilege, and said the discussions, coupled with the Black Lives Matter movement on campus led him to start a local chapter of the American Freedom Party. 

After several incidents on campus targeting black and Jewish students last spring, minorities at the school have been pushing UW-Madison leaders to better protect them.

But Dropik, who spoke to The Associated Press in an interview, pushed back against the idea, saying the university has gone overboard in supporting non-white students and promoting cultural diversity.

'It's become unacceptable,' Dropik said. 'If white people have problems, they need to be able to organize.'

Dropik has been handing out flyers on campus encouraging people to 'fight anti-white racism' by joining the party, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. 

The party's website states: 'Change your party allegiance to the American Freedom Party. A Nationalist party that shares the customs and heritage of the European American people.' 

But the 33-year-old denied that his group promotes white supremacist ideas and cast himself as a victim, saying he has been bombarded with threats since he started handing out information about the chapter on campus about a week ago. 

A dozen UW-Madison students and community members have expressed interest in joining, he said. 

The school's officials said they are not aware of any other students who have joined and pointed out that the group is not a registered student organization.

Dropik has been handing out flyers on campus encouraging people to 'fight anti-white racism' by joining the party

In 2005, Dropik was convicted in federal court of racially-motivated arsons at two predominantly black churches. 

 He set out from his home specifically looking for black churches 'as racial retaliation', according to court documents.  

He told investigators he believed a black person had stolen his backpack in a Milwaukee bus terminal and said black men beat him up during a party near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

He served about five years in prison, and recently cited his mental illness, calling the crimes 'violent and wrong acts', according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

The school's chancellor said the American Freedom Party is 'diametrically opposed to our campus values of respect and inclusion'

Dropik is starting his second year at the UW-Madison, and the school's chancellor Rebecca Blank said she was unaware of his convictions because the school is barred from asking applicants about their criminal history.

Blank said she will ask the Board of Regents to consider reviewing that policy.

She also criticized the American Freedom Party, saying: 'Its activities are diametrically opposed to our campus values of respect and inclusion.'

'I am appalled by attacks on churches and by organizations that express hatred of people of color, Jews, Muslims or any other identity,' she added.  

Students are planning a march on Tuesday to protest Dropik's efforts. As of early Thursday evening, more than 120 people plan to attend and 400 more are interested, according to the Facebook event.

'This thinly veiled white nationalism and blatant racism has no place on the diverse UW-Madison campus or in the city as a whole,' the event's description says.

Kat Kerwin, one of the protest organizers, called Dropik's group 'a modern-day Ku Klux Klan.' 

Kerwin's group, the Student Coalition for Progress, will also ask university leaders not recognize the Madison-American Freedom Party as an official student organization.

Kerwin said that while she recognizes the right to free speech, she doesn't believe the group's ideas fall under those protections.

'This is hateful speech that is damaging to other people,' Kerwin said.

Dropik, who said he voted for President Donald Trump, doesn't think his group will have any trouble becoming a registered student organization given that it would not exclude anyone from joining.

The political party's website also states: 'The American Freedom Party is a party that represents the interests and issues of White Americans and all Americans who support our mission.'

Republican state Senator Stephen Nass supported Dropik's right to express his ideas

Blank said in a news release that the university is monitoring the situation and is not aware of any safety threats to students.

'We continue to track this situation closely given the student's history,' Blank said. 'We will not tolerate discrimination against any student. We will also not tolerate harassment, threats, hate crimes or violence against any students  

Republican state Senator Stephen Nass of Whitewater, a frequent UW System critic, accused the university of declaring a 'war on men' with an initiative exploring masculinity. He also criticized a class about white privilege.

Nass' spokesman, Mike Mikalsen, said Nass does not agree with all of Dropik's views, but supports his right to express them and widen the array of ideas on campus.

The campus saw a string of racially charged incidents in the spring of 2016. A black student was spat on and called racial slurs, a swastika was drawn on a Jewish student's door and police arrested a black student for spray-painting anti-racist messages on buildings.

University leaders announced in August a plan that calls for students from several dorms to discuss social differences. 

They also hope to create a black cultural center, increase the size of ethnic studies courses and diversity training for faculty and staff. 

Dropik, however, thinks such training amounts to indoctrinating radical viewpoints.