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 ...
U.S. State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
. He was suspended from his position in August 2019 after he was reported as a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Gebert joined the State Department in 2013. His brother reported him to the FBI in June 2019 for his activities. As of January 2020, Gebert was being investigated by the State Department, and was also active in the white nationalist movement.
Personal life, career, and education
Matthew Gebert is the oldest of two brothers and one sister in his family, and he and Michael grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Sterling High School in
Somerdale, New Jersey
Somerdale is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,566, an increase of 415 (+8.1%) from the 2010 census count of 5,151,Wu-Tang Clan. Voted by his class as "Most Likely to Succeed", Gebert had earlier participated in a student exchange program in Ukraine.
Gebert graduated from George Washington University in 2011. In 2001 he had participated in a study program in Moscow that was sponsored by
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
. There he met his future wife, Anna Vuckovic, a Serbian-American student abroad in a study program of Northwestern University. Gebert also took other opportunities later for travel in Eastern Europe.
Gebert and Vuckovic married in 2007, and have children together. In 2012 the couple purchased a home in Leesburg, Virginia (a distant suburb of Washington, D.C.) and lived there until at least 2019.
Gebert joined the
U.S. State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
in 2013, as a presidential management fellow, a program intended to develop "potential government leaders".
Radicalization
According to his own account in a white nationalist forum, Gebert became radicalized in 2015. The reasons are unclear, although he had long been interested in Slavic culture and suggested the United States and the Slavic peoples had common interests. Gebert had studied and traveled numerous times in Russia and Eastern Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union.
He became a white nationalist, leading a Washington, D.C.-area fan club of a
neo-fascist
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...
podcast called " The Right Stuff." He uses the online pseudonym "Coach Finstock", in addition to several others.
Gebert attended the May 2017 Unite the Right rally in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
.
In a podcast called "The Fatherland" in May 2018, Gebert was quoted as saying: "... hitesneed a country of our own with nukes, and we will retake this thing lickety split." In 2018, Gebert donated $200 to white supremacist
Paul Nehlen
Paul Nehlen (born May 9, 1969) is an American businessman, white supremacist, retired politician, and former Congressional candidate from Wisconsin. He gained notoriety for his controversial remarks while running in 2016 and 2018 in the Republica ...
's election campaign. He has hosted known white nationalists in his home in Leesburg, Virginia. In 2019, he shared an image of a
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
-shaped cookie with the caption: "From our pool party last night. Plate was stacked." The cookies were saved for special guests.
On July 2, 2019, Matthew Gebert's brother reported him to the FBI because: "I saw so much evil in my brother, I could not fucking deal with it". Following an investigation, as of August 8, 2019, Gebert was placed on leave from the State Department.