Chandler: Joint Press Release Regarding Neo-Nazi Activities & Alleged Crimes

Chandler: Joint Press Release Regarding Neo-Nazi Activities & Alleged Crimes

ACTION ALERT | PRESS RELEASE

EAST VALLEY (1008-B) & WEST VALLEY (11AB-B) NAACPs QUESTION LAW ENFORCEMENT’s RESPONSE TO PLANNED NEO-NAZI ACTIVITIES & ALLEGED CRIMES, AND MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY’s SWIFT DISMISSAL OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CHARGES

May 2, 2021

CHANDLER, ARIZONA (May 2, 2021) – Last month, Phoenix hosted the national convention of one of the oldest Neo-Nazi hate groups in the United States, the National Socialist Movement (NSM). Officially designated as an Extremist Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, these swastika-wearing, shield-wielding white supremacists freely roamed the streets and parks of Phoenix harassing Black Americans.

Two days later in Chandler, their leader, Burt Colucci, “pointed his loaded semi-automatic handgun at one of the [Black] men and threatened to kill them all,” according to witness accounts in police records. The gunman “also told Reuters he wanted white people to ‘stand up for themselves’ by, for example, feeling free to shoot Black people who made them feel unsafe in public places.”

These alleged acts of domestic terrorism are horrific and intolerable, and totally unsurprising since the NSM’s “platform calls for an all-white ‘greater America’ that would deny citizenship and virtually all legal protection to non-whites, Jews and the LGBTQ population.” Members of their organization participated in the 2017 Charlottesville riots which left “3 people dead and at least 33 injured” after “white nationalists holding lit tiki torches marched through the campus of the University of Virginia”, and a man plowed his car through a crowd of peaceful protestors. “Last year, one of its members was killed in a shootout with authorities in Missouri and was planning to set off bombs in a hospital.”

Residents and visitors of Maricopa County deserve to be safe, and taxpayers deserve accountability and transparency from their elected officials and law enforcement. Therefore, the East Valley – Arizona and West Valley NAACPs are calling upon Maricopa County Attorney (MCA) Allister Adel and local law enforcement to answer the following questions:

* How many participants of the unpermitted, unpeaceful protest were arrested?

* How many members of the Extremist Hate Group were charged with hate crimes?

* How many were charged as a gang?

* Why was Burt Colucci’s bond set to a mere $7,500, and why was he permitted to leave Arizona?

* What charges brought against these people, if any, have not yet been dismissed?

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and law enforcement should protect and serve the entire community, not embolden violent extremists who encourage people to “feel free to shoot Black people” by shielding them from prosecution. The East Valley NAACP urges MCA Allister Adel and members of local law enforcement to respond expeditiously to these questions for the safety & mental well-being of Arizona families & communities.

Stay Safe & Be Well,

Kiana. M. Sears, President, East Valley NAACP – Arizona (1008-B)

Bishop Anthony Holt, President, West Valley NAACP – Arizona (11AB-B)