National Front's ex-leader marries Mormon

The face of the white supremacy movement in New Zealand is walking away from rightwing groups and moving from Christchurch to marry a devout Christian woman in Hamilton.

Kyle Chapman, the former leader of the National Front, married Claire Clifford at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Tuhikaramea Rd, last night. The couple only saw each other in person for the first time in 3 1/2 years yesterday morning.

The couple will live on her lifestyle block on the outskirts of Hamilton, with Mr Chapman, who said he was an unwilling poster boy for right-wing extremism, committing to her Mormon faith.

The pair met in Christchurch nearly four years ago when Ms Clifford was on her Mormon mission. They lost contact over the past three years and met again on the social networking website Facebook a month ago. They spent 80 hours on the phone in two weeks, decided to marry and Mr Chapman flew into the city yesterday morning.

"I'm here because I want to have a nice peaceful life with Claire. She is an example of a righteous woman," Mr Chapman said before the ceremony.

He was quitting his roles with the Nationalist Alliance and The Survive Club, and hoped the people of the Waikato would give him a chance.

But he's not banking on it. He has fears for his and Claire's safety and still holds some of the beliefs that made him a reviled figure. "A lot of people still have aggressive ideals towards me," he said.

It's little wonder. The 38-year-old father of five, to four different women including one ex-wife, is a former skinhead who was addicted to alcohol and drugs.

In his younger days in Invercargill he admitted to a series of arsons between 1987 and 1992, including fire-bombing a marae.

His time in the National Front gained him plenty of media coverage and notoriety, the most memorable incident a clash on the streets of Wellington where 50 of his supporters, many skinheads, got into a bloody battle with 800 marchers from the Multicultural Aotearoa rally.

He resigned as leader of the National Front in 2005, citing pressure on his children, who were being shunned at school. But he continued to lead far-right groups.

Only in January this year he revealed plans for a commune-style mini-state in North Canterbury for "like-minded Europeans" to have training areas for sport fighting, a protected community and gatherings for active nationalists.

Mr Chapman yesterday said that was likely to go ahead when enough money had been saved, but it would do so without him.

He wanted to focus on his marriage. "I intend to live a calm lifestyle; I can't do that as the leader of anything.

"I'm about to move my whole life here. I'm about to walk away from a two-year contract in the middle of a recession. This is all based on faith."

He had quit his job as a storeman at an electrical company in Christchurch and would look for work in Hamilton.

"I've found that the lifestyle many people live in the extreme right-wing movement is not what I want to live."

He had made bids for Parliament and the Christchurch mayoralty, but said he had no Waikato political aspirations.

Mr Chapman, who has not drunk alcohol since he was 21, hoped his former supporters would understand. 

"I'm the example of the Mormon who believes in the church but has been swayed away and has made mistakes.''

Some people would see him as a sellout. "Most of them will be happy for me though they'll be bummed out I'm not with them. I love those guys, they are my brothers. This is no easy thing.''

Mr Chapman  said his mother was a Mormon and he had gone back to religion before meeting Ms Clifford, 31, a private health worker.

Ms Clifford said church leaders were happy with her choice of husband. "They trust me, they're really happy for me. We've (Kyle and her) prayed about it and it feels totally right.''

They were planning a family and intended serving a Mormon mission together.

Though Mr Chapman repeatedly said he had moderated and that extreme National Front policies like repatriation of Asians and Polynesians were the group's, not his, he still had strong views.

''I still have concerns that all white people don't have the same rights as some other people. But that's irrelevant if we're not finding a way of getting back to God.''