Arthur Joseph Jones (born January 1, 1948) is an American neo-Nazi,

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person ca ...

. After running unopposed in the primary election, he was the Republican candidate for

Illinois's 3rd congressional district Illinois's 3rd congressional district includes part of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, and has been represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Marie Newman since January 3, 2021. The district was previously represented by Dan L ...

in the November 2018 midterm elections, losing to Democrat

Dan Lipinski Daniel William Lipinski (born July 15, 1966) is an American politician and political scientist who served eight terms as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Blue Dog Coalition, Lip ...

Early life and career

Jones was born in

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...

, to Lillian Jones, a Sunday School teacher and Arthur Joseph Jones Sr., a factory worker and World War II veteran. He graduated from high school in 1967. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

in 1969 and served Vietnam for one year during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

. He studied at

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. Student enrollment in the 2014–2015 academic year was more than 12,000. The universi ...

from 1974 and majored in political science and journalism. Jones is an independent insurance broker who worked in commission sales for large insurance companies for 25 years.

Politics

Affiliations

Jones was a member of the National Socialist White People's Party for eight years and describes himself as a former leader of the

American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American far-right and neo-Nazi political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization was originally named the World Union of Free Enterprise National S ...

, the NSWPP's former name. He has also been a member of the Populist Party, a far-right political party active in the 1980s and 1990s.

Candidacy

, Jones has run for various elected offices since 1976, but has never won an office. In that year, Jones unsuccessfully ran for mayor of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...

. In 1987, he unsuccessfully ran for

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

of the 13th Ward of Chicago. As of 2018, Jones had run for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican eight times; in 1984, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2018. In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

Jones had attempted to run for mayor of Chicago, but was denied inclusion on the Republican primary ballot due to issues regarding his candidature petition. In 2017, Jones declared his intent to run for the Republican nomination for Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district in 2018; he was the only declared candidate of that party. His candidacy was repudiated by the

Illinois Republican Party The Illinois Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Illinois founded in May 29, 1856. It is run by the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, which consists of 18 members, one representing each of ...

and the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

. RNC spokesperson Michael Ahrens stated, "We condemn this candidate and his hateful rhetoric in the strongest possible terms". Jones won the primary unopposed on March 20, 2018, and moved on to face Democratic incumbent

in the general election. Following his primary victory, Republican party officials encouraged members not to vote for Jones. Despite the GOP disavowing him, 26.2 percent of voters still voted for him in the general election on November 6, 2018, as he lost by more than 47 points. When Republicans ran for the seat in the previous ten years they earned 35.4%, 31.5%, 24.3%, and 21.4% of their respective votes. Jones ran for Congress in Illinois's 3rd congressional district again in 2020 and was described as a "fake Republican" by the party whose nomination he was attempting to gain. One of the party's digital ads ran with the slogan "Say No To The Nazi". He came a poor third in the eventual result of the primaries.

Views

Jones is a

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwo ...

and

. His 2018 candidate website calls the Holocaust a " racket." He has claimed that the Holocaust was "the biggest, blackest lie in history" and "nothing more than an international extortion racket by the Jews." Jones does not support

interracial marriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 19 ...

or integration in public schools. In 1993, Jones was filmed in a fight with Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee Jr. on ''

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...

''. Jones also “saluted”

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African A ...

leader

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, ...

for his views about Jews, as well as referring to Jews as the enemy. A

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post– World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...

, Jones appears in a photo captioned: "Jones was a guest speaker at the event organized by the

Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a group styled after the original Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Formed around 2012, it aims to "restore America to a White, Christian nation founded on God's word". The organization presents itself as part of ...

, based in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

"; the image is in a slideshow on his own official candidate website. The same slideshow has another image (captioned "Arthur Jones speaking in Harrisburg Penn., on November 5, 2016") showing him among black-clothed men who hold a National Socialist Movement banner and carry shields marked with the neo-Nazi circle-cross emblem. The same slideshow has an image showing Jones speaking amid

Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white supremacist organization that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group i ...

emblems (caption: "Art Jones speaking at the Aryan Nations 2014 World Congress in Converse, La.") Jones has attended many rallies commemorating

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

or supporting white supremacy. Jones considers himself a "white racialist" and has stated "I will work with the u KluxKlan, with socialists—I exclude communists of course—any patriotic organization that is in general agreement with my beliefs and principles". In 2016, he was a supporter of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

for president. Jones said in an interview then, "I agree with a lot of what Mr. Trump has to say ..He's his own man. I like the fact that doesn't have to go hat in hand to Jewish billionaires to get money". In February 2018, Jones nonetheless said President Trump "surrounded himself with hordes of Jews", and regrets his 2016 vote. At a neo-Nazi meeting in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to ...

, Jones said that Trump "surrounded himself with hordes of Jews including a Jew in his own family, that punk named

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a priv ...

", and moved on to say "I'm sorry I voted for the son of a bitch, pardon my English" and that Trump was "nothing but a puppet … this Jew-loving fool", all of which was also captured on video. According to the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicag ...

'', it takes thousands more signatures to get ballot-approved as an independent candidate than as a Republican; Jones therefore ran in 2016 as a Republican, but the party disavowed him and found technical reasons for removing him from past ballots. Again according to the ''Sun-Times'', Jones took countermeasures in 2017 and 2018 for which the party was unprepared, and so he appeared on their ballot despite official Republican disapproval.

Electoral history

Notes

References

External links

Official candidate websiteOfficial candidate website's Holocaust denying page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Arthur J. 1948 births Living people Alt-right politicians American Holocaust deniers American Nazi Party members American neo-Nazis Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Milwaukee Illinois Republicans Insurance agents Neo-fascist politicians Politicians from Beloit, Wisconsin Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Milwaukee Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Army soldiers University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni Candidates in the 2018 United States elections 20th-century far-right politicians in the United States