2012-05-15 "Guard Probes Another Extremist Allegation" by Phillip O'Connor from "St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
The Missouri National Guard is investigating whether it may have another extremist in its ranks.
Earlier this month, authorities in Florida arrested several members of a white supremacist group who were alleged to be training for a race war in America. Those arrested on conspiracy and hate crime charges were members of the American Front, a militia-style neo-Nazi group with a long history of violence against black, gay and Jewish people.
According to an arrest affidavit filed in the case, a member of American Front's Missouri chapter, who also is a National Guard member, was at the group's compound in north Florida in July 2011 to conduct training in hand-to-hand combat and weapons. The Missouri chapter member, who was named in the affidavit, was not among those arrested.
A soldier with the same name serves in a Kansas City-based infantry unit of the Missouri National Guard, but it's unclear whether it is the same person.
In an emailed statement, a Missouri National Guard spokeswoman said: "The facts outlined in the affidavit are being investigated pursuant to military protocol. Appropriate disciplinary and personnel action will be taken at the conclusion of the investigation, consistent with military regulations and procedures."
It marks the second time in recent months that the Missouri guard has dealt with the issue of neo-Nazis.
In March, Sgt. Nathan Wooten was fired from his $27,000-a-year state job serving on a state military honor guard that pays last respects at the funerals of Missouri veterans.
The action came almost a year after co-workers complained that Wooten was a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi who had a portrait of Adolf Hitler in his living room, tried to recruit others to the cause and named his son after a notorious leader of the German SS. A lawyer for Wooten has denied his involvement with an extremist group.
Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, who requested a legislative hearing held last month on the guard's handling of Wooten's case said Monday that he "continues to get concerns voiced by guard members that there's a problem."
"I would hope we would get to the bottom of it," Stouffer said. "No way do I want this to stain the reputation of the guard, but if we have a problem we need to get it cleaned up."