Introduction
With the presidential election inching ever closer in the United States, swathes of extreme political factions are trying to exert their influence in an effort to revamp American politics. One white supremacist group in particular, the antisemitic neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League (GDL), advocates for a national socialist upheaval of society and seeks to expunge the US of a perceived ‘woke’ agenda rooted in mass immigration, corrupt Jewish government officials and inherently anti-white policies and programs. The GDL is predicated on conspiratorial views about a supposedly rotten US government, where those in positions of power, as well as those in positions of influence in entertainment media and the healthcare system, are all anti-white Jewish villains.
This Insight will examine both the online and offline growth of the GDL, showing how the group has significantly expanded through the use of hateful livestreams, racist online discussion groups, aggressive public harassment and real-world mobilisation campaigns. This analysis will also show how the GDL’s trajectory differs from other pro-white groups, most notably white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ ‘Groyper’ movement, distinguishing itself as an actionable force seeking to create an official national socialist party in the United States.
The Genesis of the GDL and Key Beliefs
Figure 1: GDL’s official logo as seen on its X account.
The GDL is a decentralised community of hateful, antisemitic white supremacists who advocate for the establishment of a national socialist government in the US. The primary goal and ambition of the GDL is to rid the US of all Jews and all perceived Jewish influence. While it is difficult to pinpoint when exactly the GDL was first established, a May 2024 report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) suggests the group became publicly active in 2022, when leader Jon Minadeo II, known as ‘HT’ online, moved from California to Florida. The GDL has purposefully adapted and twisted the ADL name in an attempt to make a mockery of the ADL’s mission. The term ‘Goyim’ is a Hebrew and Yiddish term, sometimes used in a demeaning way to refer to non-Jewish people.
Ultimately, the GDL views all Jews in the US as an inherent threat to the survival of the white race. Drawing on antisemitic conspiracy theories and long-espoused myths about the role of powerful Jews in all sectors of society, including government, the GDL creates and disseminates propaganda to persuade the American public that, by design, the annihilation of the white race is inevitable as long as Jews remain in positions of power. Through online discussions, public mobilisation and real-world trolling and intimidation using video chat websites like Ome.tv, the GDL attempts to show that Jews are the puppeteers of every aspect of American society, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a failing economy, corrupt media and entertainment industries, and that even Jewish figureheads are serial paedophiles and child molesters. Additionally, the GDL virulently opposes ‘race-mixing,’ or the notion that increasing numbers of white men and women are marrying and reproducing outside of their race, a behaviour that is believed to have been indoctrinated by Jewish control. Further, the GDL views homosexuality, transgenderism and any non-white immigration as abhorrent. Predominantly, Jews, black people and Latino people are seen as the enemy of the GDL as they are perceived to all be the scourge of society. The GDL also believes that non-whites in America drain society of white-deserving jobs, opportunities and resources. This is compounded by the belief that the Biden and Harris administration has gone out of its way to ensure illegal migrants and non-whites have access to adequate housing, work prospects and healthcare over the needs of white Americans. The GDL believes that America belongs to white people and that it was founded by white settlers who created the United States as we know it today.
Figure 2: HT at a Nashville anti-hate rally making Nazi gestures.
Online Activity: Livestreams, X Spaces and Propaganda
The GDL uses a host of tactics to sow division and mobilise followers against Jews. The GDL’s primary hub for disseminating its propaganda is its website, where GDL creators share videos, podcasts, live streams, music, images, documents, and blogs. Users can explore a variety of topics on the website, including “Hoaxes/False Flags,” “Hollywood/Jewish Media,” “Israel/Zionism,” “Judaism/Talmud,” “Pharmajewdicals Vaccines,” “Police State/J.W.O,” “Satanic Music Industry,” “Politics,” “Jewish Genocides,” and “Pedophilia/Trafficking,” among others (Figure 3). Popular livestreamers and podcasters on the site include ‘HT’ (GDL leader Jon Minadeo II) and ‘GC’, real name Paul Miller, who is a Florida-based neo-Nazi accelerationist and close friend of Minadeo.
Figure 3: Topics accessible to users on the front page of the GDL website.
One of the most striking characteristics of the GDL, which slightly differentiates them from other white nationalist groups, is that much of its activity, spearheaded by ‘HT,’ exists within the public sphere. Nearly every day, the GDL’s live, online group discussions are held using X’s public ‘Spaces’ feature via an account with obvious neo-nazi references. The group’s website is linked in the bio of the affiliated X account, and the location is set to ‘Weimar Republic.’ Individuals belonging to the GDL collective often make references to Nazi Germany and the reign of the German National People’s Party between 1919-1939 as socio-politically perfect, indicating a desperation to see America transition to a racially-homogeneous nationalist socialist society. GDL members, none more openly than ‘HT,’ openly espouse Nazism, employing recognisable Nazi features and iconography, including the Swastika, the Heil Hitler salute, and fake Hitler moustaches. In his livestreams, ‘HT’ also dresses up like a Nazi officer in German military uniform, flies the Nazi flag in his stream background, and uses a multitude of other Nazi insignia and emblems (Figure 4). Many of the speakers in GDL’s X Spaces also adopt Nazi-era names and images to advocate for an antisemitic nationalist socialist society, including user ‘WhyteRyk’ (White Reich) [now banned], user ‘RW’ and images like the Black Sun and a selection of other known Nazi hate symbols. Other members and speakers in the GDL’s X Spaces claim to have ancestral roots in these nations, reciting their family tree to a pre-America Anglo-Saxon European, whose lineage of offspring eventually emigrated to the US as colonialists and therefore played an integral role in the establishment of America as we know it today. Not only do the GDL’s members embrace this as an important aesthetic feature of their identity-based motivations, but it also serves as a legitimiser for its beliefs and hate speech. In other words, the GDL’s members believe they are, in a way, divinely deserving of America’s land because it was their white ancestors who founded the United States of America.
Figure 4: Screenshot from one of HT’s livestreams.
X Spaces Dialogue and Primary Talking Points
The GDL’s X ‘radio’ account sometimes has hundreds of listeners who are aligned under the belief that secular liberal society is the downfall of the modern man (Figure 5). It is this ideal by which the values of Hiter-era Nazism and white supremacy are juxtaposed against contemporary societal polarisation. For GDL and its followers, the only remedy to the current divisions and perceived anti-white Jewish conspiracy (reminiscent of the Great Replacement Theory) is national socialism and the establishment of an American Nationalist Socialist party. ‘HT’ and his cronies, including RW, WhiteRyk (now banned), GC (Paul Miller), and TW, who regularly livestream on the website, encourage listeners to “get active.” Followers and supporters of the movement are encouraged to take part in fitness training, arm themselves with guns and munitions, and marry and reproduce with a white partner to produce racially pure white children. Listeners are told to join their local Active Clubs, a network of localised white supremacists trained in mixed martial arts (MMA), inspired by Robert Rundo’s Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.). The question “Which way White Man?” is often used in such discussions in order to posit the very important choice white men have regarding their livelihood: will they choose to reproduce with a white woman and prepare themselves for the coming race war, or will they choose to ‘race-mix’ and conform to liberal society? Race-mixing, understood as the concept of interracial relationships and reproduction, is viewed as abominable and loathsome to the GDL. Race-mixing is a very prominent topic within white supremacist circles and the GDL is no different.
Figure 5: Screenshot from GDL’s X Space.
Figure 6: Screenshot from HT’s livestream.
GDL’s Attempt to Influence Voters Ahead of the Presidential Election
Ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election, the GDL has continued expanding its online forum, using publicity stunts and public harassment campaigns in order to fearmonger and spread propaganda about the invasion of non-whites in America, supposedly enabled by Jewish cyphers. In July 2024, GDL members verbally attacked a group of Black children busking in Nashville, Tennessee. The incident was later condemned by the city’s Metro Council. Through its demonstrations, the GDL seeks to gain public visibility and stoke voter polarisation ahead of the election, with the ultimate goal of provoking a reaction from political figures. One such incident occurred on 13 October in Jupiter, Florida, when Jon Minadeo II (‘HT’) was allegedly spotted participating in a pro-Trump boat parade. During the parade, boats were spotted flying swastika flags and banners adorned with images of known Trump supporter and CEO of the MyPillow company Mike Lindell. In the aftermath of the parade, conspiracy theories spread on X, suggesting that those who were flying swastika flags and Nazi symbols were not in fact members of the GDL or any pro-Trump group, but were actually far-left members of Antifa aiming to misrepresent GDL. ‘HT’ later posted a video of the boat parade, mocking ‘Trump 2024 Racism.’ ‘HT’ regularly mocks himself as a repulsive Nazi white supremacist to promote his social media posts and livestreams. Furthermore, during GDL X Space discussions in September, members had created neo-Nazi propaganda using Mike Lindell’s image, claiming that MyPillows were discounted to $14.88. ‘1488’ is a known hate symbol, referencing the 14-word white supremacist slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” The letter ‘H’ is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and the number 88 stands for “Heil Hitler.”
However, in mid-October 2024, during an X Spaces discussion, the GDL and X Spaces account speakers made reference to a doxxing that occurred within the GDL’s internal ranks sometime between 10 and 19 October. While it is unclear which particular GDL member was doxxed and how, it is evident the GDL took quick action, enabling security measures on X, with some making their accounts private. For a few days, the X Space suddenly went offline after operating daily for a number of months. It might be reasonable to assume that the dox was focused on either user WhiteRyk, who was banned from X in mid-October or the account(s) that ran the X Space. It is unclear at what point the main account began to use its secondary and tertiary accounts.
While one might infer that the GDL’s rhetoric and desired political policies fall into line with a Trumpian form of Republicanism and government, it is a misconception that the GDL and the movement it has galvanised is inherently pro-Trump in nature. While the group’s public sentiments reflect support of a new Trump government, the GDL has also been vocal about Trump’s Jewish connections. They deem Trump, his family, and his campaign to be completely infiltrated by Jewish influence. The GDL deems Trump to be far too close to Judaism and powerful Jewish figureheads, with Trump frequently rubbing shoulders with powerful, wealthy Jews and occasionally attending Jewish events and religious ceremonies as part of his political campaign. As evident in Figure 7, the GDL is just as open about Trump’s Jewish authority as they are about the Biden administration.
Figure 7: Flyers and banners disseminated by the GDL on live streams, posts and other propaganda.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The findings of this Insight might inform tech policy in a variety of ways. X and other social media sites might choose to carry out a variety of strategic means to combat the saturation of antisemitism online and in public. In October 2024, the ADL and live streaming platform Twitch collaborated to take meaningful action against antisemitic vitriol on the streaming site, including working together to hold those accountable for hate speech better. As such, a blend of educational content, monitoring tools, community-based strategies, and human oversight may aid in negating the risks posed by white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology. While navigating the balance between free speech and content moderation is incredibly convoluted, a July 2024 Supreme Court decision to throw out a case aiming to limit the government’s collaboration with tech companies emphasises the need for high-level moderation policies through either proactive moderation, increased investment in AI monitoring tools, or through reactive moderation, such as the rapid takedown of content and coded speech that violates online protections.
The author of this Insight has elected to remain anonymous.