Convicted in 2020, Greek Neo-Nazis are Leaving Prison Early

Last week, the news broke that two prominent members of Greece’s now-banned, neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party would leave prison fewer than five years into their 13-year sentences. Former parliamentarians Christos Pappas and Ilias Panagiotaros, a court recently said, were granted conditional release.

The news of their release came on the heels of a Greek prosecutor recommending the release of Ilias Kasidiaris, whom a court sentenced to 13.5 years for his role in directing Golden Dawn, a former political party turned criminal organization. Kasidiaris, whom I write about in my (ahem) new book on Greece’s far right, has a long pedigree in the country’s neo-Nazi movement.

Founded in the 1980s, Golden Dawn was largely confined to the political fringe until the early 2010s, when Greece’s economic crisis thrust the neo-Nazi party into parliament. Even then, its members and supporters engaged in widespread — and at times, deadly — violence.

Funny enough, migrant rights groups and anti-fascist organizations aren’t pleased with these recent releases — even though some advocates say the conservative government’s hard-right drift on migration-related policies has effectively become the bigger threat to displaced people in the country.

Read the whole piece here.

Meanwhile, news about the far right isn’t any less grim elsewhere. Here are a few stories that caught my eye this past couple weeks:

Black Ohio Community Harassed by Nazis

At The Guardian, Stephen Starr reported on African American residents of Cincinnati’s Lincoln Heights suburb, who say a neo-Nazi march through their community later this year has led to an ongoing string of harassment.

The march took place in February, and although gun-toting neo-Nazis hurled threats and racial slurs at local Black residents, police did not charge anyone.

“I just don’t think that they are sensitive to how that impacted this Black community,” Lincoln Heights’ mayor told Starr, adding that police officers had “intermingled with the neo-Nazis.”

Germany’s ‘Anti-Pride’ Marches

Reporting at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Context, Enrique Anarte Lazo broke down a rise in far-right, anti-LGBTQ demonstrations in Germany.

“Germany is ranked among the highest in Europe for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights by ILGA World, a worldwide federation of organizations campaigning on such issues,” the piece explained. “But there are fears Germany could also be hit by the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ movements across the continent.”

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Last year alone, far-right groups targeted at least 27 Pride events. Because Pride events often take place throughout July and August in Germany, rights groups and others worry that number could grow this year.

Old Glory Club (Men Only)

Also at The Guardian, Jason Wilson has done a deep-dive investigation into a far-right “men’s club” spreading across the United States. Called the Old Glory Club, the men-only network has dozens of chapters across 20 states and was incorporated in 2023, though it existed for a long period before that.

The Old Glory Club is highly active, hosting meetups and conferences, among other events, and has a membership that includes active military personnel, police, antisemitic podcast hosts, civil servants, and lawyers. The network also maintains a Substack, which, Wilson reports, “reflects the broader preoccupations of its members: a mix of far-right causes and racist politics.”

Trump Appointee: US Should Fund France’s Far-Right Le Pen

At Politico, Eric Bazail-Eimil reported that Samuel Samson, a senior adviser in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, has proposed using American taxpayer dollars to bankroll French far-rightist Marine Le Pen’s appeal against a recent embezzlement conviction.

Samson, both Politico and Reuters have reported, has partook in discussions with Le Pen’s National Rally party, but the State Department has not made a decision on his proposal. A court recently dealt Le Pen a five-year ban from electoral participation.

Here’s how Bazail-Eimil put it:

While no decision has been made on the recommendation, using funds allocated to promote human rights and combat authoritarian regimes to back the leader of an opposition party — especially one whose founders included Nazi collaborators — would be explosive, potentially undermining the nearly 250-year alliance between France and the United States.

Dotted Line is newsletter focused on global borders and the far right, written by Inkstick Media managing editor Patrick Strickland. If you have tips, email Patrick at pstrickland (at) inkstickmedia (dot) com.