Kaleidoscope Staff Reports
Recently, the Kaleidoscope reported on Jeremiah McGuire’s, a graduate student in computer science, role as the Alabama state coordinator for the recognized white supremacist group, Identity Evropa by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
McGuire is the second known student at UAB who has been associated with white supremacy.
In an exclusive interview, Jeremiah McGuire sat down the Kaleidoscope to offer more context in his role in Identity Evropa. Read the Kaleidoscope’s previous reporting here.
McGuire said he wants people to know he is not a white supremacist anymore.
“I sorted myself out of it,” McGuire said. “I realized that I did not hate everybody and everything. I didn’t want to live a hateful life [anymore].”
McGuire said he left the group in March*, before the discord leaks of members of Identity Evropa were leaked by the nonprofit media organization, Unicorn Riot.
Yesterday, the UAB Students for Diversity and Campus Safety, released flyers throughout campus that read, “Know Your Local Fascist” with McGuire’s headshot along with some of his comments leaked on discord. The flyer also read, “No Tolerance for Racists in Our Community!”
McGuire said he first joined the organization in March 2017 because of “a general mixture of disenchantment and curiosity.”
McGuire served as the Alabama state coordinator for Identity Evropa, where he was responsible for collecting dues of each member and connecting to larger events that were hosted by the organization.
“It was a place to direct a very specific type of anger,” McGuire said. “And it was directed towards those who weren’t deserving of that anger.”
The original group Identity Evropa, however, does not exist anymore. The group was rebranded shortly after the group’s discord chat were leaked. The leader of the organization has launched a newer version of the group, called the American Identity Movement (AIM), according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“It’s a tremendous burden to wake up every day and hate everyone and everything,” McGuire said.
When asked about how he would like to address his friends who are people of color and may be feeling betrayed from his previous ideologies, McGuire said;
“I apologize for any harm I’ve caused you. I’ll be apologizing for a long time. And that’s something I’m okay with.”
McGuire also said he hopes his people will be understanding of him and others like him and recognized that people can change.
“As difficult as it is, if you’re willing to be patient with them, you will change their mind far better than them being angry [at them],” McGuire said, “Martin Luther King once said, ‘Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.’ It’s often when we deserve things the least, we need them the most.”
For those who may still hold the same ideologies as McGuire, he had a message for them as well.
“You don’t need to only choose political extremes,” McGuire said. “There is a resource [nonprofit organization] called Life After Hate and it’s made up of former members of hate groups and they help people leave them.[I wanted] people who are maybe having that kind of ideation and want to stop but don’t know how [have a source to go to].”
*Correction made. Initial article stated McGuire left in February, before the leaks happened.
