Racist group warned

The U.S. Post Office and the publisher of The Recorder issued warnings Monday to the group linked to the distribution of white-supremacists flyers found in mailboxes and in newspaper boxes citywide.

The man behind the flyers, however, denied placing the mailings in mailboxes, which is a federal offense, but said he would continue to distribute them in Recorder boxes in spite of the threat of legal action by The Recorder.

Jeff Loder, 27, said Monday that the Creator Skinheads, a local branch of the infamous World Church of the Creator, would fight to protect its free speech.

“I know I’m not stupid, I know it is a federal crime to put things in people’s mailboxes, that is a lie,” said Loder, whose group is known for aggressive leafleting and recruiting. “But I’ll continue to spread the word, and I would view any challenge to stop it as a threat to my right to free speech.”

The local postmaster placed a written warning in P.O. Box 1603, the box listed on the two-page flyer first distributed last week on the cityÂ’s east side, but now being placed in mailboxes on the cityÂ’s west side, too.

U.S. Postal inspector Jeff Fitch said the Porterville post office received 14 complaints from residents who said they found flyers from the group in their mailboxes. Unpaid postage violates a federal statute, and repeated violations could result in fines.

Fitch said local postal workers have destroyed the flyers, but fines are not considered likely because of the relatively small number of violations.

“The reality is, will a federal prosecutor take a case of 14 violations? Not likely,” Fitch said. “If this was more widespread, then maybe.”

More residents complained to The Recorder’s circulation department Monday about the flyers, which Loder said he distributes in an effort to recruit white youth to the organization espousing the doctrine of “the survival, expansion and advancement of the white race exclusively.”

Loder, who used racial epithets to describe blacks, Hispanics and Jews, said the group has no connection with white-supremacist street gangs, and despite the group’s motto of Rahowa — an abbreviation for “Racial Holy War” — the group is non-violent.

Loder said he has received several calls of interest since beginning the leafleting campaign.

“We try to instill values and morals in white people’s heads,” Loder said. “We placed it in the newspaper boxes because many people use the newspaper, and we thought they would like to read some form of racial activism.”

In spite of LoderÂ’s claims, the group nationwide has been linked to several violent acts against Jews and non-whites since its creation in 1973, including three synagogue arsons in Sacramento in 1999 and a subsequent racially motivated shooting rampage in Illinois.

The group, according to the Anti-Defamation LeagueÂ’s Web site, was one of the worldÂ’s fastest growing hate groups in the 1990s and is known for aggressive leafleting and recruitment campaigns.

However, ADL spokesman John Bernstein said the groupÂ’s leaflet campaign has historically been as much about intimidation as it has recruitment.

“They do it to intimidate the community,” Bernstein said. “They attempt to give the impression that they have a larger following than they may have, and use that to intimidate minorities in the areas targeted.”

Recorder Publisher Mark Fazzone on Monday reiterated the newspaperÂ’s stance against the use of its conveyances for the dissemination of racist propaganda. The recently appointed publisher said the paper is considering legal action to halt the distribution.

“We are seeking legal advice from our attorneys on the next step to gaining compliance from these individuals to cease and desist from using our tubes to distribute their propaganda,” Fazzone said. “It will not be tolerated.”

Loder said he would counter with legal action of his own.

“It’s not illegal to put anything in newspaper boxes,” Loder said. “The Church of the Creator practices legality, and we will fight it legally in court.”