Beginning on April 17, 1999, and continuing for two weekends thereafter, London, England was racked by the explosion of nail-bomb attacks in two minority neighborhoods and in a gay bar(3 dead, many injured). Police initially said a group known as the "White Wolves" were responsible, based on numerous letters that were sent to prospective targets around the same time and claims for responsibility by that and three other groups. The note read in part:
"When the clocks strike midnight on the 31st of December 1999 the White Wolves will begin to howl and when the Wolves begin to howl the Wolves begin to hunt. You have been warned. Hail Britannia."
Police announced they were looking for one Del O'Connor, 39, alleged neo-nazi leader of the White Wolves, which was itself an offshoot of a group called Combat18(1 and 8 being the numerical equivalent of A and H, meaning Adolph Hitler).
Later police would say he was in the US at the time, and it is known that he spent two weeks with a group known as the "Hammerskins" in Dallas in November of '98.[or maybe he was there for a year--he was arrested when he returned to England in June] Sources at the time hinted at a US connection:
"Whoever is responsible appears to have been strongly influenced by pre-millennial philosophies and tactics emanating from extremist groups in (the)US."
"Detectives told the media that they suspected the group or individual behind the London bombs had received help from an international source."
So who are these 'hammerskins'?
"The Hammerskins first appeared in the late 1980s as the Dallas-based Confederate Hammerskins and quickly spread across the country. Soon, other groups began adopting the Hammerskin philosophy: the Northern Hammerskins in the Great Lakes region, the Eastern Hammerskins in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the Western Hammerskins in Arizona and California. By 1989, the Hammerskin Nation (HN) emerged as the unifying federation for these different groups. By the Mid-1990s the Hammerskin Nation went global, with chapters in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Russia. "
Were there Hammerskins in the Denver area? Yes, according to one independant reporter, who tied them to the TCM:
From www.etext.org/Zines/ASCII/ATI/ati176.txt (thanks Jane!)
"....And Now, an update from Wednesday...Colorado - The Phollowing...
------I might have just confirmed that some of the members of TCM are also western hammerskins. Plus, guess what? When police finally did roll in, there were in fact 4 trenchcoats lying on the floor!
------I spoke with members of the TrenchcoatMafia in more than a dozen towns in this country, and also Western Skins in a few. The Western Branch of the Hammerskins are definitely in Denver heavy, and there headquartered; however I was wrong, thank god. They had nothing to do with the killings this past week in a public school in Columbine, Colorado. Although three of the nine people who planned Tuesday's placing of pipebombs and murderous gunfire were in fact, members of TCM; TrenchCoatMafia organization itself had little or nothing to do with the conspiracy to commit chaos. The four empty trench-coats remain a partially unconfirmed story. I have confirmed two missing suspects with a handful of credible sources, but I was a little carried away when one White-Pride member I interviewed told me it was not two, but four empty trenchcoats on the floor. He seemed credible. He remains my only source on that."
Although this source says neither of these two groups, as organizations, were involved, he does seem to imply a connection. One is reminded of Chris Morris' boast that the TCM was a 'national organization', and that he had attended a national meeting of the group. Plus, what about that claim that the plans for attacking the school were delayed for one day to have it coincide with Hitler's birthday? According to the FBI report:
"...the weapons came from a local militia in the area,....The reason it happened on 4-20 is because they got all the guns and ammo and explosive compounds for free to do it on that date."(unknown source, page 83)
And its posssible they may have been communicating via internet, just as the TCM may have been communication with other trenchcoat groups around the country:
"Terrorism expert David Capitanchik, of Aberdeen University, said the use of coded messages on the Internet by right-wing groups and individuals added to the problem facing police. "What is a puzzle to me is the timing - I'm not sure why it's happening now. ....."I think there's a sort of link with the shootings in Denver, in that individuals and small groups of people with the same sort of ideas, probably across the world, get on to Internet sites and access the same material, and encourage each other."
Admitedly, this is a pretty thin thread upon which to base a connection, but there were other hints:
--the 'white wolves' claimed credit for the London bombs. "White Wolf, Inc." of Augusta, GA are producers of the LARP game "Vampire, the Masquerade" which I strongly suspect some of the TCM were playing, including H&K. As one author said:
"By chance does the name of the company - which supplies all the information one might want on how to kill and assassinate and suggestions on scenarios for acts of terror for role-players and LARP:ers - coincide with the Nazi splintergroup White Wolves. By chance, role-players have for a long time carefully studied the theory on how to execute or injure people with e.g. the type of bombs used in London: "It's desirable to create shrapnel if one is aiming for injuring people.Shrapnel is very easy to create but there is relatively few terrorist bombs that has that function. The easiest way to do this is to place small pieces of metal, nails, pellets or suchlike on the surface of the bomb." (the gaming magazine Gryning 2/93/excerpt form the book "De vergivnas arm") By chance, role-players, LARP:ers and terrorists live in the same context with combat, terror and white wolves. Where do they get everything from?"
--just like the Columbine surveillance tapes had to be sent to Washington for 'enhancement', a video tape used to catch the London bomber was sent to the US for enhancement(though it was NASA, not the FBI). Also, Prime Minister Tony Blair was in Washington at the time for the anniversary summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO? hmmmm........)
--though British police initially said it was a conspiracy, they later blamed a 'lone nut' with no clear motive:
"Police charge engineer David Copeland, 22, with murder and three counts of causing an explosion. Just hours after Copelands arrest, the police were confidently asserting that Copeland was acting alone and had no connections with any nazi organisations. It is understood he was acting alone for his own motives, David Veness, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, told journalists. Copelands lawyers argued that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia that compelled him to carry out the bombings. A succession of eminent doctors told the court how Copeland was suffering from grandiose religious delusions that made him believe he was acting on Gods orders and would be rewarded for his work by being lifted up into Rapture at the time of Armageddon.(uh oh, can you say mind control?)
--just like Columbine, there was a political impetus as a result of the crime:
"But though new laws are to be introduced later this year to target violent right-wing organisations, the Government will stop short of outlawing them, fearing that such action would serve only to drive them further underground. Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, will replace the current Prevention of Terrorism Act with much broader proposals which, it is hoped, will dismantle their organisational and fundraising abilities. The new Prevention of Terrorism Bill will, for the first time, include religious and ideological as well as political motives. Right-wing, extremist animal rights groups and religious cults that use violence to pursue their goals are also to be targeted." (Can you say 'Patriot Act'?)
Also, we still don't know the identity of the 'white t-shirted bomber". He didn't sound like a TCMer. Could he have been an intelligence operative planted in the ranks of the Hammerskins? That is the question.
"Let the Truth be out, and let the chips fall where they may"
