Harold Armstead Covington (September 14, 1953 ā July 14, 2018)
[ was an American neo-Nazi activist and writer. Covington advocated the creation of an "Aryan homeland" in the ]Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
(known as the Northwest Territorial Imperative
The Northwest Territorial Imperative (often shortened to the Northwest Imperative or simply known as the Northwest Front) is a white separatist idea that has been popularized since the 1970sā80s by white nationalist, white supremacist, white se ...
), and was the founder of the Northwest Front (NF), a political movement which promoted white separatism
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
.
Early life (19531971)
Covington was born in Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
, 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 ...
in 1953 as the eldest of three children. In 1968, at age 15, he was sent to Chapel Hill High School.
In 1971, he graduated from high school and joined the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
.
Political activities, Rhodesia and South Africa (19711979)
In 1971, Covington joined the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP), the political successor to 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 Nation ...
(ANP).[ He moved to ]South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in December 1973, after his discharge from the U.S. Army, and later to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
). Covington was a founding member of the Rhodesian White People's Party, and later claimed to have served in the Rhodesian Army
The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel ...
. He was deported from Rhodesia due to his racist beliefs.
Political activities after returning from Rhodesia
In 1980, while leader of the National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the ...
, he lost a primary election for the Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nomination for candidates for attorney general of 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 ...
. Covington resigned as president of the NSPA in 1981. That same year, Covington alleged that would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...
had formerly been a member of the NSPA. Law enforcement authorities were never able to corroborate this claim, and suggested the alleged connection "may have been fabricated for publicity purposes".
Covington later settled in the United Kingdom for several years, where he made contact with British far-right groups and was involved in setting up the neo-Nazi terrorist organisation Combat 18
Combat 18 (C18 or 318) is a neo-Nazi terrorist organisation that was founded in 1992. It originated in the United Kingdom, with ties to movements in Canada and the United States. Since then it has spread to other countries, including Germany ...
(C18) in 1992. C18 openly promotes violence and antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, and has adopted some of the features of the American far right.
In 1994, Covington started an organization called the National Socialist White People's Party, using the same name of the successor to the American Nazi Party under Matt Koehl
Matthias Koehl Jr. (January 22, 1935 ā October 9, 2014) was an American Marine, neo-Nazi politician and writer. He succeeded George Lincoln Rockwell as the longest serving leader of the American Nazi Party, from 1967 to 2014.
Like the C ...
in Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
*Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
* Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...
, North Carolina. He launched a website in 1996; using the pseudonym "Winston Smith Winston Smith may refer to:
People
* Winston Smith (artist) (born 1952), American artist
* Winston Smith (athlete) (born 1982), Olympic track and field athlete
* Winston Boogie Smith (born ), American man killed by law enforcement in 2021
* Winst ...
" (taken from the novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and fina ...
''), Covington became one of the first neo-Nazi presences on the Internet.Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (15 January 195329 August 2012) was a British historian and professor of Western esotericism at the University of Exeter, best known for his authorship of several scholarly books on the history of Germany between the W ...
(2001). '' Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity''. New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
Press. p.28. . Covington used the website and the Winston Smith pseudonym to disseminate Holocaust-denial material.
Beginning in 2005, Covington maintained a political blog titled "Thoughtcrime". As a fiction writer, Covington authored several occult-themed novels. As an author, he is best known for his series of five Northwest Independence novels: ''A Distant Thunder'', ''A Mighty Fortress'', ''The Hill of the Ravens, '' ''The Brigade'', and ''Freedom's Sons''.
Covington was mentioned in the media in connection with the Charleston church shooting, whose perpetrator Dylann Roof
Dylann Storm Roof (born April 3, 1994) is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and mass murderer convicted of perpetrating the Charleston church shooting on June 17, 2015, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. During a Bible study at Ema ...
discussed the Northwest Front in his manifesto, and was critical of its means and objectives. According to Covington, the shooting was "a preview of coming attractions", but he also believed it was a bad idea for his followers to engage in random acts of violence, supporting organized revolution instead.
Covington died in Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...
, on July 14, 2018.[
]
References
External links
Thoughtcrime
- Covington's blog.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covington, Harold
1953 births
2018 deaths
20th-century far-right politicians in the United States
United States Army soldiers
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American science fiction writers
American fantasy writers
American male novelists
American neo-Nazis
People from Burlington, North Carolina
Novelists from North Carolina
Foreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
American expatriates in Rhodesia
North Carolina Republicans
Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) alumni
People deported from Rhodesia
Neo-Nazi politicians in the United States
Activists from North Carolina