The Aryan Freedom Network is an American neo-Nazi group that is based in Texas, and it has chapters in 25 U.S. states. AFN has kept itself active by holding private events, joining public demonstrations and distributing fliers. AFN is led by Tonia Sue Berry, Dalton Henry Stout and his father, George Bois Stout, an arms dealer who is based in De Kalb.[2][1] According to the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) and Dallas News, AFN significantly contributed to Texas leading in white supremacist propaganda distribution.[3][4][5]
Ideology
According to The Forward, AFN describes itself as engaging in a "racial holy war based on the ideas of White Racial Supremacy and establishing an Aryan Homeland for our People." and "on the hunt" for communists in Texas. The group also shares videos of dozens of members engaging in armed training and shooting mannequins with stars of David painted on them.[6][1] The group's members must be "100% of White European ancestry, including: Nordic, Slavic, Mediterranean, Celtic or Germanic background”.[7]
Actions
AFN holds an annual "White Unity Conference". AFN has held multiple anti-LGBT "anti-grooming demonstrations". In 2022, AFN organized at least 12 private gatherings in multiple states, including Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Idaho and Nebraska. In January 2023, AFN announced "Aryan Fest," a white supremacist music festival. In one anti-LGBT event, armed AFN members menaced Grand Prairie drag show attendants.[1][4][8]
In 2022, AFN also organized an event in Hayden, Idaho, in the former headquarters of Aryan Nations.[9] Both AFN and Aryan Nations also share an ideological affinity for antisemitic Christian Identity.[10]
AFN is led by Dalton Henry Stout (also known as "Brother Henry"), Tonia Sue Berry, and Stout's father, George Bois Stout, a De Kalb-based arms dealer.[2][1][12] According to the Anti-Defamation League, Berry and Dalton Stout married in 2020, but appear to have divorced in April 2022.[13] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Stout's family leads De Kalb's Ku Klux Klan chapter.[12]
AFN is the latest white supremacist group Dalton Stout has established in recent years. Prior to 2018, Stout led a Klan group. In April 2018, he claimed to have joined the white supremacist League of the South (LS), appearing next to LS founder Michael Hill at a Knights Party event in Arkansas. He also attempted to establish and promote a skinhead group before forming AFN.[13]
