Harold Armstead Covington (September 14, 1953 – 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 1970s–80s 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

. 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 – 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 ...

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