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Joseph Tommasi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of theNational Socialist Liberation Front | |
| In office March 2, 1974 – August 15, 1975 | |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | David Rust |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Charles Tommasi (1951-04-15)April 15, 1951 Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | August 15, 1975(1975-08-15) (aged 24) El Monte, California, U.S. |
| Political party | American Nazi Party |
Joseph Charles Tommasi (April 15, 1951 – August 15, 1975) was an AmericanNeo-Nazi who founded theNational Socialist Liberation Front. He advocatedextremism and armedguerrilla warfare against the U.S. government and what he called its "Jewish power structure."[1] Tommasi wantedanarchy andlawlessness so that the "system" could be attacked without protection.[2] Tommasi was derisively nicknamed "Tomato Joe" by rival neo-Nazis because of his Italian heritage and "less than Nordic complexion." He was later expelled from the group for using drugs and misusing group funds.[3]
Tommasi was shot and killed during a fight with a fellow Neo-Nazi in 1975.[4]
Influenced byWilliam Luther Pierce, Tommasi first rose to prominence as a young leader within the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP, earlier known as theAmerican Nazi Party) inArlington County, Virginia.[5]
In 1969, Tommasi launched theNational Socialist Liberation Front (NSLF) as a youth wing of the American Nazi Party. In 1970,David Duke joined the organization.[1]
In February 1972,Irv Rubin, a Jewish militant of theJewish Defense League, was arrested after firing at Tommasi.[6] However, he was never charged.[7]
The NSWPP had splintered following the 1967 murder ofGeorge Lincoln Rockwell, and Tommasi frequently found himself at odds with Rockwell's successor,Matthias Koehl. Koehl, a strait-laced follower ofAdolf Hitler, objected to Tommasi's radical viewpoints, as well as his personal habits, which included smokingmarijuana, wearing long hair, listening torock and roll and inviting a girlfriend for sex at NSWPP headquarters.[2] These led to Tommasi being ejected from the NSWPP in 1973.[5]
In March 1974, Tommasi launched the NSLF as a separate organization.[5] The group attracted many of the younger and more radical members of the NSWPP. It used propaganda such as pictures showing the twisted wreckage of aBank of Americabranch.[2]
Tommasi sought membership among white college students who felt alienated by both the radicalleftist movement as well as the mainstream conservative right.[5] However, Tommasi had not given up trying to regain control of the NSWPP.[8]
On August 15, 1975, Tommasi was shot in the head and killed in front of the headquarters of the NSWPP inEl Monte, California. Numerous weapons were found at the headquarters, including a gun that had been recently fired.[9] David Rust, who was with Tommasi at the time, stated that someone had directed an obscene gesture towards them.[10] Witnesses said Tommasi had walked into the front yard carrying a club and got into an argument.[11] One NSWPP member allegedly warned him that if he came any closer, he would be shot.[10] Jerry Keith Jones, an 18-year-old NSWPP member, was arrested for the murder.[12] Jones later pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing Tommasi and was sentenced to 300 days in the county jail and placed on probation for five years. Another Neo-Nazi, Clyde Frank Bingham, was initially charged two count of assault with a deadly weapon. However, the charges were later dropped.[13][4]
Tommasi was buried atRose Hills Memorial Park.
Tommasi's life inspired fellow Neo-NaziJames Mason to revive the NSLF in the early 1980s as a leaderless "philosophical concept or a state of mind" called Universal Order and to resurrect Tommasi's "Siege" periodical.[2][1][14][15]
