James Alexander McQuirter (born and also known as James Tavian Alexander) is a former

Grand Wizard The Grand Wizard (later the Grand and Imperial Wizard simplified as the Imperial Wizard and eventually, the National Director) referred to the national leader of several different Ku Klux Klan organizations in the United States and abroad. The ti ...

of the Canadian

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catho ...

. In 1981, he was charged, along with

Wolfgang Droege Wolfgang Walter Droege (or Dröge) (25 September 1949 – 13 April 2005) was a German-born Canadian white supremacist, neo-Nazi and founding leader of the Heritage Front. Biography Early life Droege was born in Forchheim, Germany. His parents ...

and other white supremacists, with plotting to overthrow the government of

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. McQuirter joined the white supremacist

Western Guard ''The Western Guard'' is a newspaper serving Madison and Lac qui Parle County in western Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd mo ...

as a teenager and first met Droege at the age of 16 in 1975.Warren Kinsella, ''Web of Hate:Inside Canada's Far Right Network", HarperCollins (updated paperback edition), 1994, page 249 In 1976, he and Droege attended the "International Patriotic Congress" organized by American Klan leader

David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a member ...

and were recruited as Canadian organizers for Duke's

. In 1978, McQuirter and Armand Siksna were charged with conspiracy to distribute hate literature following a police raid on Siksna's Toronto apartment.Warren Kinsella, ''Web of Hate:Inside Canada's Far Right Network", HarperCollins (updated paperback edition), 1994, page 253-260 McQuirter and Droege subsequently moved to Vancouver to join McQuirter's father in the used car business as well as organize for the Klan. In 1978, McQuirter returned to Toronto and joined the

Nationalist Party of Canada The Nationalist Party of Canada is an unregistered far-right political party in Canada that was founded in 1977 by white supremacist Don Andrews. The party describes itself as white nationalist, and is known for its antisemitic and racist publi ...

's executive council but, in 1979, he allowed his membership in the party to lapse due to disdain for leader

Don Andrews Donald Clarke Andrews (born April 20, 1942 as Vilim Zlomislić) is a Canadian white supremacist. He is also the leader of the unregistered neo-Nazi Nationalist Party of Canada and a perennial candidate for mayor of Toronto, Ontario. Early yea ...

and resumed his activity with the Klan full-time. At its peak, the Canadian chapter of the Klan was estimated by researcher Stanley Barrett to have approximately 2,500 members coming from every province of Canada. Police claim the actual number to be closer to 70 - not 2500. In 1981, McQuirter was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for his role in

Operation Red Dog Operation Red Dog was the code name of an April 27, 1981 military filibustering plot by Canadian and American citizens, largely affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, to overthrow the government of Dominica, where they planne ...

, the plot to overthrow the government of

and install a white supremacist haven initiated with an American mercenary and Klan sympathizer who came into contact with Droege in 1979. The Dominican government learned of the plot in 1981 and arrested

Patrick John Patrick Roland John (7 January 1938 – 6 July 2021) was the first Prime Minister of Dominica as well as its last Premier. He led Dominica to independence from the United Kingdom. He was leader of the Waterfront and Allied Workers' Union and may ...

, the Dominican who was to be the coup d'état's figurehead. The FBI arrested Droege in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. A book about the plot, by Canadian journalist Stewart Bell, was published in August 2008. With the KKK falling into disarray, McQuirter quit in the summer of 1982 with the intention of founding a more moderate organization. In August 1982, McQuirter was charged with conspiracy to murder another Klansman, Gary MacFarlane, because of his abuse of his partner and the perception that he was a security risk to the Klan. McQuirter pleaded guilty."Sentence suspended for murder plot", ''Globe and Mail'', May 27, 1983 He was sentenced in 1983 and served a prison term until 1989 when he was released to a Toronto half-way house. McQuirter kept a low profile after leaving prison.

contacted him in 1991 about becoming active in the

Heritage Front The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005. The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the hotline was Gary ...

but, according to Droege "he was not politically active and had no desire to get involved in racist politics".Bell, Stewart, "Canadian executive in Panama hides racist past", ''National Post'', November 13, 200

/ref> Using the pseudonym James Tavian Alexander, he published the book ''Realm of Wealth: The 9 Cycles of Prosperity'' and embarked on a career as a speaker and marketer of his own financial self-help program. He was associated with a

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian company marketing "prosperity" programs but was dismissed when his past became known. When confronted about his past, McQuirter said he is no longer involved with

white supremacism 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 ...

: "I was a different person 25 years ago. I have learned something important over the many years since 1980 – that it was not possible for me to change my past, but it was possible for me to change." In 2009, McQuirter renounced and apologized for his racist past in an exclusive interview with the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

''s Stewart Bell.

References

External links

CBC's ''fifth estate'' investigates McQuirter's plot to assassinate a fellow Klan member
{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuirter, James Alexander 1950s births Living people 20th-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals Canadian motivational writers Canadian self-help writers Canadian neo-Nazis Former Ku Klux Klan members Canadian finance and investment writers Canadian Ku Klux Klan members