Editing Matthew Heimbach (section)

==Biography==
Heimbach, who is of German descent, was born in Poolesville, Maryland. Heimbach's parents, Karl and Margaret Heimbach, are public school teachers whose political affiliation he describes as Mitt Romney-style Republicans.

Heimbach met his former wife Brooke at an ''[[American Renaissance]]'' conference.

Heimbach is a defendant in the ''Sines v. Kessler'' lawsuit filed by Integrity First for America that claims that he and other organizers in the Aug. 12, 2017, [[Unite the Right rally]] in Charlottesville, Virginia "planned and promoted violence against protected groups."<ref name = Heimbach></ref><ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/white-nationalist-leader-matt-heimbach-defends-violence-saturdays-rally-charlottesville How white nationalist leader Matt Heimbach defends violence at Saturday’s rally in Charlottesville], ''PBS Newshour''</ref>

The Southern Poverty Law Center said Heimbach is "considered by many to be the face of a new generation of white nationalists." According to the Counter Extremism Project, "Heimbach’s platform is based around the idea that the white race has been disadvantaged because of globalism and multiculturalism, which he has largely blamed on a global Jewish conspiracy. Heimbach claims white unity is necessary because the Jews hate all white people equally."

In the summer of 2013, it became evident that Heimbach was wading into neo-Nazi territory. He spoke at the annual ''[[Stormfront]]'' gathering in Tennessee, where he sang the praises of neo-Nazi [[David Duke]]. This followed a late August interview on Duke’s radio show. Heimbach took an even more extreme turn the next month when he participated in a gathering hosted by the violent skinhead group Aryan Terror Brigade and co-hosted by the [[Imperial Klans of America]] and the National Socialist Movement. The event included a cross and swastika lighting. A photograph surfaced showing Heimbach standing under a large swastika performing the TYN favorite Avalonian salute, nearly indistinguishable from a sieg-heil, with a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis.

As a result of Heimbach’s appearance at that gathering, [[Michael Hill]], leader of the [[League of the South]], barred him from attending an LOS rally in October and booted him out of the group. However, the ban only lasted a few short months before Heimbach was reinstated and placed into a leadership role as the LOS’ training director.

In 2014, Heimbach’s steady activism continued and was highlighted by a presentation at the annual ''Stormfront'' Smoky Mountain Summit entitled “Death to America.” Although it contained many familiar white nationalist talking points, such as claims about the purportedly Jewish-controlled U.S. federal government and scathing indictments of affirmative action, it also veered into more outlandish — such as the assertion that America was born of a secret partnership between Freemasons and the Jews.

Heimbach has forged ties with nationalist groups from other countries, like Greece’s far-right nationalist party [[Golden Dawn]]. The United Kingdom government banned Heimbach from entering the country in October 2015 because his extremist rhetoric could incite violence. Heimbach identifies himself as a Strasserist. He also has ties to the [[Council of Conservative Citizens]], the League of the South, and the [[American Freedom Party]].

Heimbach is a supporter of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. According to Heimbach, "North Korea is a nation that stands against imperialism and globalism around the world". He even posted a tweet commemorating North Korea's independence day on his now-suspended Twitter account praising its "Nationalist culture, Policies for racial purity, Opposes Globalism" with a message "Happy Independence Day North Korea". Additionally, Heimbach also supports the Islamic fundamentalist regime of Iran as well as being a supporter of Palestine.

In July 2017, Heimbach pled guilty to second-degree disorderly conduct for an incident when he repeatedly pushed an anti-Trump protester at a [[Donald Trump]] campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky. He received a suspended prison sentence, a fine, and an order to attend anger management classes. In 2018, Heimbach was sentenced to 38 days in the Louisville jail for violating the terms of his probation.<ref>[https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/06/20/matthew-heimbach-released-jail-after-probation-related-trump-rally/718260002/ White nationalist who shoved woman at Trump rally released from jail], ''The Courier Journal''</ref>

A federal lawsuit was filed in October 2017 by a group of Charlottesville residents against organizers and key participants in the Aug. 12, 2017 Unite the Right rally. Plaintiffs Elizabeth Sines, Seth Wispelwey, Marissa Blair, Tyler Magill, April Muniz, Hannah Pearce, Marcus Martin, Natalie Romero, Chelsea Alvarado, and John Doe claim Heimbach and the other defendants conspired to commit violence.

He has been called "the future of organized hate in America".

In April 2020, Heimbach appeared to recant his white nationalist views. However, he continues to espouse his white nationalist ideology claiming his racist worldview is “natural law”. As of 2020, Heimbach said he was "pulling back" from white nationalism, later describing himself as a "pro-white" National Bolshevik. As of July 2021, he planned to relaunch the Traditionalist Worker Party as a National Bolshevik party.<ref>[https://scrippsnews.com/stories/extremist-heimbach-to-relaunch-hate-group-supports-violence-3/ Extremist Heimbach To Relaunch Hate Group, Says He Supports Violence], ''Scripps News''</ref><ref name = Heimbach ></ref>

On January 8, 2021, Chicago's NPR radio station WBEZ reported that Heimbach had participated in an [[2021 United States Capitol storming|attempted coup at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021]]. The caption to WBEZ's photo of insurrectionists confronting U.S. Capitol Police outside the Senate chamber identified "Neo-Nazi Matthew Heimbach (second from left wearing a blue mask)." However, WBEZ later amended its story with an editor's note including Heimbach's denial and his assertion that he was in Tennessee with his family on January 6. In its update, WBEZ removed Heimbach's name from their photo caption.<ref name = Capitol>[https://www.masslive.com/springfield/2021/02/twitter-users-thought-matthew-heimbach-part-of-neo-nazi-hate-group-was-man-in-photo-at-us-capitol-but-it-was-actually-massachusetts-pizza-delivery-drivanother0 Twitter users thought Matthew Heimbach, part of neo-Nazi hate group, was man in photo at US Capitol but it was actually a Massachusetts pizza delivery driver], ''MassLive''</ref>

Also on January 8, Fox News identified Heimbach as having been "captured posing for photographs" during the January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol. Fox News subsequently deleted that story and ran another by the same reporter, stating that "social media posts" had suggested Heimbach "took part in Wednesday's storming of the U.S. Capitol," but not mentioning Fox's own, withdrawn article to that effect. 

On January 8, Mashable reported that "there is no proof that Heimbach was at the Capitol" on January 6. [[Brian McCreary]], a resident of Massachusetts, was arrested in February 2021 for his participation in the January 6th protest and was identified by police as the individual who had previously been mistaken for Heimbach.<ref name = Capitol></ref>