Elliott Kline (born 1991), also known as Eli Mosley, is an American

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

and military impostor. He is the former leader of Identity Evropa, and was a prominent organizer in the

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

movement between 2017 and 2018. He was also a key figure behind the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was one of several neo-Nazi rallies that Kline helped organize. The ''

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'' revealed in February 2018 that Kline had lied about his military service. Specifically, Kline had pretended to be a combat veteran of Iraq when in fact he had been stationed in Pennsylvania throughout this time in the military. Following the revelation of his lie, Kline withdrew from political activism.

Early life

Kline grew up in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He graduated from high school in 2010 then attended several colleges before dropping out without obtaining a degree. He later joined the Pennsylvania National Guard, where he served for about six years.

Alt-right activism

Kline's

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Eli Mosley was inspired by British fascist

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

. Kline joined the

Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...

in 2016. He helped organize the 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally. After Kline condemned a tweet by

Jason Kessler Jason Eric Kessler (born September 22, 1983) is an American neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and antisemitic conspiracy theorist. Kessler organized the Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11–12, 2017, and the Unite ...

, who wrote that the counterprotester killed at the rally in a car attack deserved to die, Kessler tweeted that, "There is an individual who has done a coordinated smear job on me, from within the movement; that person is Eli Mosley, Elliott Kline. From the beginning he was fucking things up." Kline became the head of Identity Evropa in August 2017. At the same time, Kline took a position as a writer for the neo-Nazi ''Daily Stormer'', for which he promoted racial hatred and conspiracy theories about Jews. In order to bolster his reputation, throughout his time in the alt-right movement Kline claimed that he had deployed to and fought in Iraq and Kuwait, when in fact his unit never left the state of Pennsylvania during his service. The lie was exposed in a February 2018 ''

'' report, and Kline subsequently withdrew from political activism.

Legal issues

In October 2017, Kline was named as a defendant in '' Sines v. Kessler,'' a case brought by nine Charlottesville residents against various organizers, promoters, and participants in the Unite the Right rally. Kline was jailed in January 2020 for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

after ignoring orders to produce records, including credentials for his email and social media accounts. He was held at the Albemarle–Charlottesville County Regional Jail for about a week. The trial was originally scheduled for late 2020, but was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The trial began on October 25, 2021. During the trial, plaintiffs showed a video deposition of Samantha Froelich, an ex-girlfriend of Kline's, who described her experiences as a former member of Identity Evropa and the alt-right. The jury reached a partial verdict on November 23. Kline was found liable on two claims:

civil conspiracy A civil conspiracy is a form of conspiracy involving an agreement between two or more parties to deprive a third party of legal rights or deceive a third party to obtain an illegal objective.

under Virginia state law, and engaging in race-based harassment or violence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Elliott 1991 births Activists from Pennsylvania American conspiracy theorists American neo-Nazis Living people Pennsylvania National Guard personnel People from Reading, Pennsylvania Proud Boys Impostors