Old-Line White Supremacists Try To Jump On ‘Alt-Right’ Bandwagon

Image by Twitter
An older generation of white supremacists are piggybacking on the “alt-right” as a way to stay relevant — but the tactic might not work out in the long run, according to a new blog post from the Anti-Defamation League.
Former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke, for example, has latched himself to the “alt-right” through affiliations with internet celebrities like Richard Spencer. And Kyle Rogers, the longtime webmaster for the Council of Conservative Citizens, created a new site featuring alt-right memes like Pepe the Frog, presumably in the hopes of drawing new followers. Others have adopted the internet slang “alt-right” — like the concept of “red-pilling,” the “awakening” of the masses to their movement’s doctrines.
This isn’t the first time an older generation have tried to bolster their ranks with younger white nationalists.
In the 1980s, white supremacists tried to appeal a new generation of racist skinheads — with mixed results.
While many racist skinheads absorbed concepts and ideas from these would-be tutors and leaders, the ADL writes, more often than not, they formed their own separate groups. The same thing could happen today.
“If the ‘alt-right’ survives, it may well evolve similarly,” the ADL writes, “disappointing older white supremacists hoping for a supply of new recruits to their groups.”
Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 3
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 4
Culture How two Jewish names — Kohen and Mira — are dividing red and blue states
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ‘Another Jewish warrior’: Fine wins special election for U.S. House seat
-
Fast Forward A Chicagoan wanted to protest Elon Musk — and put a swastika sticker on a Jewish man’s Tesla
-
Fast Forward NY attorney general orders car wash to stop ripping off Jews with antisemitic ‘Passover special’
-
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.