The Heritage Front
As seen above,
Wolfgang Droege is the dominant force in the
Heritage Front. But there are several current and former members who are
important figures in the movement.
Kenneth Barker
Kenneth Barker got his fifteen minutes of fame when he received a
one-month jail term in the summer of 1994 for his role in the
Heritage
Front hotline. In fact, Barker is a secondary figure in the Front; he
is an organizer for the Front in Oshawa, and has also helped the group
rent venues for their events. His conviction is based on his founding
of the "Equal Rights for Whites" hotline around the time that the
Heritage Front was shutting down its primary message line.
He has a list of weapons-related charges against him, including
possession of a sawed-off shotgun and careless storage of a firearm.
Robbery and bomb-possession charges were dropped. Barker, a
welder-fitter by trade and a father of two, describes himself as a
"White separatist."
Grant Bristow
Grant Bristow, one of the founders of the Heritage Front, did not
come to prominence until August 1994. There are allegations suggesting
that Bristow received more than $50,000 annually for five years from
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). He allegedly
used his CSIS money to finance the Front starting in 1989. As Bristow
allegedly started working for CSIS several months before the HF was
founded, it is possible that there might never have been a
Heritage
Front without him.
According to an article by Bill Dunphy of the Toronto Sun, Bristow
was supposed to be working as a mole for CSIS while serving as the
intelligence chief and co-director of security for the
Heritage
Front. However, his rather active role in hate activities cast doubt
on whether he was helping or hindering the Front. While his
information helped in the deportation of Sean Maguire, it appears
Bristow may have helped bring the
Metzgers and Mahon into Canada
illegally. Bristow also allegedly ran a programme of harassment
against anti-racists in Canada, providing the Front with personal
information on them. In her testimony, Elise Hategan claimed that
Bristow gave neo-Nazis phone numbers and addresses of anti-racist
leaders. He also is accused of illegally accessing answering
machines and voice mailboxes as part of his hate campaign.
According to a 1994 Canadian Centre on Racism and Prejudice (CCRP)
press release, Bristow and Gerry Lincoln are the real brains behind
the
Heritage Front, and
Wolfgang Droege is merely a figurehead. The
CCRP also reports that Bristow has a long criminal history in the
United States. It is also known that Bristow was one of the Heritage
Front founders that visited Libya at the invitation of Muammar
Qadhafi in l989.
Bristow uses several names, including Grant Bristol, Grant
Briston, Grant Morrison, Rob Taffner, Robert Morris, and has utilized
the first names Rick, Markus and Gerald.
George Burdi
Burdi was the leader of the Canadian branch of the
Church of the Creator (COTC), a violent US-based hate group. There are several links between the Heritage Front and Burdi's organization, including
COTC-provided security at HF events. Burdi has also claimed to be a
member of the Heritage Front himself, and is reportedly a close
colleague of Droege. He also met
David Irving through
Ernst Zundel, with whom he had previously worked. While a student at the University
of Guelph, Burdi tried to start a chapter of
C-FAR at the university.
Although he has not been in the public eye since mid-1993, Burdi was
one of the most visible racists in Canada for several years. He wrote
for Racial Loyalty, and also gave several speeches at racist rallies.
He appeared as a guest on Geraldo as a representative of the
COTC.
In 1993
Burdi was denied entry into the United States after
immigration officials found large quantities of White supremacist
literature in his possession.
George Burdi is best known as the singer for the hate-rock band
RaHoWa (an acronym for Racial Holy War). Using the name the Reverend
Eric Hawthorne, he sang such memorable songs as "White People Awake,"
"Race Riot," and "Third Reich." The band's tape, released by
Resistance Records, featured a cover illustration of a White warrior
standing on top of a dead Black man.
Not content with fantasy violence, Burdi physically assaulted an
anti-racist demonstrator at an Ottawa RaHoWa concert in May of 1993.
The concert which was part of a racist rally, was interrupted by
protesters who stormed the proceedings. It is believed that Burdi
moved home with his parents in the Toronto area following his arrest.
He has not been a public figure in the Canadian hate movement since
that time.
David Maxwell French
David French is best known for his afliliation with the
Nationalist
Party of Canada (NPC). He ran for mayor of Scarborough, Ontario, in
1991 with the backing of the NPC and leader
Don Andrews. It is
reported that French is no longer a member of the party, and that
his primary affiliatlon is now with the
Heritage Front. French was
one of the NPC members who attended the "peace conference" in Libya
in 1989.
French has a long history of atfiliation with violent racist groups.
In 1983 he went to a conference at the Hayden Lake, Idaho compound
of
Aryan Nations. He reportedly has a long-standing affiliation with
the group, and it is also believed that French has extensive
paramilitary training.
Charlene Elise Hategan
In 1985 Hategan moved to Canada from Romania with her family. She
reportedly had a hard time adjusting to a new country, and found her
niche with the Heritage Front after calling their hotline.
HF leaders frequently displayed her to journalists and recruits,
saying that she was the embodiment of the "new generation" of
hatemongers in Canada. Hategan, who goes by her middle name, wrote
several articles for Up Front, and gave speeches to HF rallies
and to other White supremacist crowds. She was charged by police
for defamatory libel and promoting hatred.
Hategan grew weary of the hate, according to the Toronto Sun,
but was afraid to leave the HF because of the abuse and violence
she feared she would encounter. Because of this pressure, Elise
attempted suicide in late 1993. After leaving hospital, she
secretly became an anti-racist while spying on the Front, testifying
against Droege and Schipper in their contempt of court trials
in June of 1994. Hategan is currently in hiding from the Heritage
Front and other White supremacists.
Gerry Lincoln
Lincoln is the founder and editor of Up Front, the monthly newspaper
distributed since January 1992 by the Heritage Front. Although not a
public figure, Lincoln is quite active behind the scenes. He designed
the Heritage Front logo and letterhead, and writes scathingly racist
and anti-Semitic editorials for Up Front. The publication is
distributed to all HF members and others on their mailing list.
However, his activities are not limited to the printing press. In
1989, he went to Libya with several other founders of the
Heritage Front at the invitation of Muammar Qadhafi. He also traveled to
Ottawa for the founding convention of the Northern Foundation. This
conference, although attended by many non-racist conservatives, is
considered to be the first meeting of the Heritage Front founders
in Canada.
Peter Mitrevski
After anti-racists attacked and damaged Gary Schipper's house in
June 1993, several Heritage Front members retaliated with violence.
Peter Mitrevski, a former skinhead, was arrested and charged with
assault in the ensuing melee. However, he has never been convicted
of any hate-related crime.
But Mitrevski is more than hired muscle. He served on the Nationalist
Party's Advisory Council, and was invited to Libya in 1989. Mitrevski
went to Michigan to meet with the Rev. Bob Miles, and traveled to
Georgia to promote the Front at KKK meetings. He and Droege travelled
Canada to form links with other White supremacists in the early days
of the Heritage Front, and is still considered one of the leaders of
the organization.
Gary Schipper
"The voice of the Heritage Front," Gary Schipper was the man behind
the telephone hotline. Born in Canada, he was adopted by a Jewish
family who moved to the United States. As a teenager, he was caught
smoking marijuana by his mother and ran away from home. He spent
several years traveling across the U.S. before returning to Canada.
A 1994 Toronto Life interview revealed that despite a Jewish
upbringing, including a bar mitzvah ceremony, Gary later joined the
Heritage Front, claiming that his parents were unable to convert
his natural Aryan disposition. A self-described "welfare cheat,"
Schipper collected public assistance while earning good wages, at
times making more than $2000 a week as a telephone solicitor.
In 1993 Schipper helped set up the "Equal Rights for Whites"
hotline after the Heritage Front was ordered to discontinue its
telephone message system. In 1994, he was sentenced to two
months in jail for contempt of court. He served six weeks, and is
out of jail pending appeal. If the appeal is denied, he will serve
the final two weeks of his term.
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
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The Supporting Cast (in alphabetical order)