Lads Society
Predecessor | United Patriots Front Australian Defence League Reclaim Australia |
---|---|
Formation | 2017 |
Founder | Thomas Sewell |
Type | White nationalist organisation |
Purpose | Neo-Nazism,White nationalism |
Location |
|
Chairman | Thomas Sewell |
Affiliations | United Patriots Front, Antipodean Resistance, Soldiers of Odin, Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party, True Blue Crew, Reclaim Australia, |
Website | https://www.ladssociety.com/ |
Formerly called | United Patriots Front |
Split from Reclaim Australia |
The Lads Society is an far-right White nationalist extremist group founded by several former members of the United Patriots Front in late 2017, with club houses in Sydney and Melbourne.[1] The Lads Society came to national prominence after it staged a rally in St Kilda, Victoria, targeting the local African Australian community. Attendees were seen making the Nazi salute and one was photographed brandishing an SS helmet.[1] In 2017, the group’s leader Thomas Sewell approached the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, asking him to join the Lads Society, but Tarrant refused.[2] The group’s members and allies attempted to infiltrate the Young Nationals in NSW, and engaged in branch stacking at the May 2018 conference. Lads Society member Clifford Jennings attained a leadership position in the Young Nationals, but was later forced out of the party.[3]
Contents
History
In 2017, members of the United Patriots Front, Blair Cottrell, Neil Erikson, Chris Shortis and former UPF lieutenant Thomas Sewell, along with Nathaniel Anderson and Jacob Hersant, members of the neo-Nazi Antipodean Resistance, were involved in the creation of the Lads Society, a private far-right men-only club, with a base in Melbourne.
A Sydney club followed in April 2018, while there were plans to expand into other states. The clubs include a boxing gym where weekly “fight nights” take place and a library.[4][5]
In 2018, a local Sydney community group called Ashfield Community Action (ACA) formed to oppose the Lads Society. The group distributed posters which aimed to warn the suburb’s residents about the group, stating that “The Sydney Branch is known to be led by committed Nazis”, and that the organisation “has attracted the interest of hundreds of hard line far-right racists from around Australia". It accused the group of “training white men for racist violence” and called for it to be "shut down as soon as possible”.[4]
Lads Society members provided a security detail for far-right white nationalist Lauren Southern during her 2018 Australian tour. Photo's from the event show members displaying the white power symbol hand sign gang signal.[4]
See also
- Australian Defence League
- Antipodean Resistance Australian neo-Nazi group that emerged around the same time as Reclaim Australia.
- Australia First Party Australian far-right political party associated with Reclaim Australia.
- Far-right politics in Australia
- Islamophobia in Australia
- National Action (Australia) Australian neo-Nazi group.
- Q Society
- Reclaim Australia
- Romper Stomper (TV series) - TV series featuring a group similar to Reclaim Australia[6]
- Soldiers of Odin (apparently defunct as of late 2016)
- True Blue Crew - Reclaim Australia splinter group
- Ultranationalism
- United Patriots Front
- White nationalism
- White supremacy
- Yellow Vest Australia (formerly Australian Liberty Alliance)
References
- ^ a b Campion, Kristy (April 2019). "A "Lunatic Fringe"? The Persistence of Right Wing Extremism in Australia". PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM. 13 (2): 12–13. PMID 23343745. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Begley, Patrick. "Threats from white extremist group that 'tried to recruit Tarrant'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ Koziol, Michael. "Nationals members resign en masse amid investigation into neo-Nazi ties". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ a b c Graham, Ben (30 November 2018). "Secret location of Aussie underground fight club leaks". News.com. New.com. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ Puddy, Rebecca. "Far right nationalists open private men-only clubs in Melbourne and Sydney". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Romper Stomper reboot is a compelling investigation into Australia's extremist politics". ABC News. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
Further reading
- 2017 establishments in Australia
- Alt-right
- Australian nationalism
- Anti-immigration politics in Oceania
- Antisemitism in Australia
- Australian white nationalists
- Far-right political parties in Australia
- Islamophobia in Australia
- Neo-fascism
- Opposition to Islam in Australia
- Organisations based in Victoria (Australia)
- Persecution of Muslims
- Racism in Australia
- White nationalism in Australia
- White nationalist groups