Northrup Investigating White Supremacist Employee With Security Clearance
Image by Getty Images
By Aiden Pink July 5, 2018
The major defense contractor Northrup Grumman said Thursday that it is “taking immediate action” in response to a report claiming that one of its employees who possesses a security clearance from the Department of Defense is also a member of a violent white supremacist group.
ProPublica and Frontline reported earlier Thursday that systems engineer Michael Miselis, who works in a computer modeling and simulation group within Northrop’s aerospace division, is a member of the violent group Rise Above Movement (RAM) and marched in the white supremacist rally last year in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The ProPublica/Frontline report identified Miselis as having pushed an African-American protester to the ground and beating him in Charlottesville, and also wrestled and punched protesters at a Trump rally in Berkeley, California.
Northrup did not respond to multiple requests for comment for the story, but current and former employees say that the company knew about his involvement with RAM and actions in Charlottesville.
“Northrop Grumman was recently made aware of alleged employee actions that are counter to our values,” the company tweeted after publication of the story. “Northrop Grumman is absolutely committed to the highest levels of ethics & integrity in all that we do, & ensuring that our workplace reflects our values of diversity & inclusion. We do not tolerate hatred or illegal conduct and we condemn racist activities in any shape or form. We are taking immediate action to look into the very serious issues raised by these reports.”
RAM is small, with only around 20 members, but is filled with former felons and recruits from Nazi skinhead organizations, according to the report.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
