James von Brunn
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James Wenneker von Brunn (July 11, 1920 – January 6, 2010) was an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi and anti-Semite who shot and killed security guard Stephen Johns at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009. He previously wrote multiple essays promoting the white genocide conspiracy theory and denying the Holocaust. Many of his online writings were removed from their various sites following the killing.
Biography edit
James Von Brunn was born in the Missouri city of St. Louis. In 1938 he enrolled in the Washington University and received a Bachelor's Degree in journalism in 1948. Von Brunn was described by the university as having been a sportsman and President of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
From 1943 to 1945 Von Brunn saw combat in the Pacific theatre of World War II and received three battle stars and a commendation. He continued to serve after the war until 1957, after which he moved to New York City and then to Maryland to work as an advertising executive.
In 1966 Von Brunn was arrested in Maryland after a drunken altercation in a restaurant. He was charged with have driven to the restaurant while drunk. Two years later, he was arrested again in Maryland after attacking a local sheriff and was jailed for six months. Following his release, Von Brunn briefly worked for the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review and was a member of the American Friends of the British National Party, which raised funds for the UK hate group known as the British National Party.
In 1981, Von Brunn entered the main offices of the Federal Reserve armed with a shotgun, a knife, a pistol and a fake bomb. In what he would later claim was a "citizen's arrest for treason", Von Brunn pointed his gun at a guard and tried to take him hostage while ranting about high interest rates. He also threatened to detonate his so-called "bomb", but was persuaded to surrender without any shots being fired. Investigation found that the guns he had used in the attack were illegal. In 1983 he was convicted of attempted kidnapping, assault and weapons charges and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. An appeal against this sentence was denied. Von Brunn was released on September 15 1989, after which he joined Mensa International. He was expelled soon after for not paying membership fees.
In 1999, Von Brunn published a book called Kill the Best Gentiles. The book was highly supportive of the white genocide conspiracy theory, which has motivated many far-right terrorists, and praised German dictator Adolf Hitler. Kill the Best Gentiles also frequently denied the genocide of the Jewish people by Adolf Hitler's Nazis. Almost all online traces of this book were removed following Von Brunn's arrest.
In 2004 and 2005 he lived in Hayden Lake, the town where Aryan Nations — a neo-Nazi organization led by Richard Girnt Butler — was based until 2001. Von Brunn was living in Annapolis, Maryland at the time of the 2009 incident.
At about 12:50 p.m. on June 10, 2009, an 88-year-old Von Brunn entered the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with a .22-calibre rifle. A security guard named Stephen Johns opened the door for him, at which point Von Brunn raised his weapon and shot Johns. Two officers stationed nearby then opened fire, wounding Von Brunn in the exchange of fire. Johns later died in hospital, although Von Brunn lived.
During a search of his home, FBI agents seized several computers and weapons, along with pictures of Adolf Hitler and a statue of Jesus. The agents found child pornography on one of the computers. Soon after, Von Brunn appeared in federal court and was charged with murder, hate crimes and firearms charges. Had he been convicted, then Von Brunn would have been eligible for the death penalty. However, his trial delayed by a federal judge ordering him to undergo a competency evaluation, Von Brunn was never to be convicted. He died of heart failure on January 6, 2010, while held in a North Carolina prison.