Wolves of Vinland
{{Short description|Norse neopagans in Lynchburg, Virginia, US}}
Wolves of Vinland is a Norse neopagan group based in the outskirts of Lynchburg, Virginia.{{cite web|last=Wallace|first=Eric|url=http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/eco-punks-the-wolves-of-vinland-badasses-dare-you-to-re-wild-yourself/|title=Eco Punks: The Wolves of Vinland Baddasses Dare You To Re-Wild Yourself|date=5 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119022642/http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/eco-punks-the-wolves-of-vinland-badasses-dare-you-to-re-wild-yourself/|archive-date=19 November 2015|work=Blue Ridge Outdoors}} In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center added the Wolves of Vinland to its list of hate groups.
History
The Wolves of Vinland raised $3000 on GoFundMe to purchase materials for a Viking-style longhall, and accepted donations from white nationalist organizations such as Counter Currents Publishing. Members of the group routinely post photos of ritual animal slaughter on Instagram. Prior to his resignation from the organization in late 2018, author Jack Donovan was an outspoken supporter of the Wolves, along with Kevin DeAnna, the founder of the now defunct Youth for Western Civilization.{{cite news|last1=Woodruff|first1=Betsy|date=11 November 2015|title=Inside Virginia's Church-Burning Werewolf White Supremacist Cult|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-virginias-church-burning-werewolf-white-supremacist-cult|access-date=8 November 2017}} One member of the group, Maurice "Hjalti" Michaely, served two years in prison after being found guilty of attempted church arson against the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Gainesville, Virginia. The fire did not injure anyone, but caused $1 million in damages to the building.
The group has been compared to Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club and its film adaptation, and members have quoted the work as an influence, specifically the story's antihero Tyler Durden.{{cite web|last=Rodríguez|first=Luis M.|url=http://www.playgroundmag.net/noticias/historias/Lobos-Blancos-kuklux-Club-Lucha_0_1659434048.html|title=Lobos de Vinland: el Club de la Lucha se hizo tribu pagana|language=es|date=9 December 2015|work=Playground Magazine}}{{cite news|last1=Korfhage|first1=Matthew|title=The Far Right's Strange Obsession with Portland Author Chuck Palahniuk|url=http://www.wweek.com/arts/books/2017/10/17/the-far-rights-strange-obsession-with-portland-author-chuck-palahniuk/|access-date=12 November 2017|work=Willamette Week|date=17 October 2017}} Members of the group have been associated with the white power music and black metal scenes in Baltimore, Maryland, and elsewhere.{{cite web|title=Metal Band's Drummer's Longtime Associations With Hate Group Threaten its Future|url=http://idavox.com/index.php/2016/06/21/metal-bands-drummers-longtime-associations-with-hate-group-threaten-the-group/|work=Idavox|date=22 June 2016|publisher=One People's Project|access-date=3 October 2016}}
In 2022, two men with ties to Wolves of Vinland and the Asatru Folk Assembly were arrested and charged with plotting to rob a bank. They reportedly ran a Telegram channel that engaged in militant accelerationist rhetoric.{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/brown-kenna-bank-robbery-operation-werewolf/|title=2 Men With Neo-Nazi Ties Arrested in Armed Bank Robbery Scheme}}
Controversies
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Wolves of Vinland as a "neo-Volkisch hate group"https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/neo-volkisch SPLC. "Neo-Volkisch". Online. Accessed 6 August 2018 and as a "white nationalist group".{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2016/active-hate-groups-united-states-2015#whitenationalist|title= Active Hate Groups In The United States In 2015}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20151119014926/http://www.wolvesofvinland.net/ The group's official website]
Category:White supremacist groups in the United States
Category:Germanic neopagan organisations
Category:Modern pagan organizations based in the United States