Teddy Joseph Von Nukem (born Ted Landrum, November 23, 1987 – January 30, 2023) was an American white nationalist and

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

extremist, noted for his role at the 2017

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

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 March 2021, Von Nukem admitted to attempted drug smuggling after being arrested at the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

. He failed to show up for a January 30, 2023, court appearance in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and died from a self-inflicted gunshot injury the same day.

Early life

Nukem was born Ted Landrum on November 23, 1987, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He was of German heritage and attended middle school in Lebanon, Missouri. One of his former classmates remembered him as a "smart 'token

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

kid' and 'highly intelligent' history buff with an unsettling interest in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Adult life

Von Nukem was a far-right extremist and a white nationalist who changed his name to that of video-game character

Duke Nukem ''Duke Nukem'' is a video game series named for its main character, Duke Nukem. Created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. (now 3D Realms) as a series of video games for personal computers, the series expanded to games released for various co ...

in 2012. A photograph of him holding a

tiki torch A tiki torch is a pole-mounted torch, typically made of bamboo, that originated in the tiki culture of the mid-20th-century United States, which has increased in popularity and spread to other places as a popular party decoration with a tropical ...

at the Unite the Right rally became the image that was most commonly used to represent the 2017 right-wing protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the photograph he stands next to a screaming man who was later identified as University of Nevada student Peter Cvjetanovic. Journalist Molly Conger identified Von Nukem as part of a mob that assaulted DeAndre Harris, a Black counter-protester, at the Charlottesville event. Nukem owned a sales training company, AnCap Incorporated (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsanarcho-capitalism Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enforce ...

), and aspired to be a

Member of Congress A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

. Nukem was arrested near the

at Lukeville Port of Entry in March 2021;

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

agents said he had 14 packages containing 33 pounds of

fentanyl Fentanyl, also spelled fentanil, is a very potent synthetic opioid used as a pain medication. Together with other drugs, fentanyl is used for anesthesia. It is also used illicitly as a recreational drug, sometimes mixed with heroin, cocaine ...

in his vehicle. Von Nukem admitted attempting to smuggle drugs, but denied knowledge that the product was fentanyl. He failed to attend a scheduled Arizona District Court appearance on January 30, 2023, prompting judge Rosemary Márquez to issue an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...

. He was facing federal charges. Within one hour, his wife telephoned the court to inform them of an emergency at the Von Nukem family home after finding his body in the snow behind a hay shed. The case was dismissed on February 10, 2023. Von Nukem was married with four daughters and a son, and resided in Hartshorn, Missouri. He was a supporter of libertarianism and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, and believed that "white people are disadvantaged in the arena of identity politics."

Death

Von Nukem killed himself at his home in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on January 30, 2023. His death occurred on the same day he was due to stand trial for drug-related criminal charges. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a handgun. He was aged 35 at the time of his death. Marie Lasater, the Texas County coroner, confirmed his death was suicide. His body was cremated after his funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Von Nukem, Teddy Joseph 1987 births 2023 deaths 2023 suicides American anarcho-capitalists American company founders American drug traffickers American people of German descent American white nationalists Duke Nukem People from Phoenix, Arizona People from Texas County, Missouri Suicides by firearm in Missouri Unite the Right rally