Jon Minadeo | |
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Born | Jon Eugene Minadeo II December 15, 1982 Marin County, California, U.S. |
Other names | Shoobie Da Wop (rapper name), Handsome Truth (social media name) |
Education | Novato High School |
Known for | Goyim Defense League |
Partner | Kelly Johnson |
Part of a series on |
Antisemitism |
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Jon Eugene Minadeo II (pronounced mih-NAH-dee-o) (born December 15 1982) [1][2] also known as Handsome Truth, is an American antisemitic conspiracy theorist, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, indophobe, and former rapper. He is the leader of the antisemitic hate group and conspiracy theory network Goyim Defense League (GDL). He is known for his video platform GoyimTV, banner drops, and his distribution of neo-Nazi propaganda.[3][4][5]
Personal life
Minadeo grew up in northern California, Novato, where he had lived with his mother in various apartments.[6] He dropped out of Novato High School in the early 2000s and later received a GED. He worked at his grandmother's restaurant, Dinucci’s Italian Dinners, in Valley Ford. His family has a Mexican-American background.[7] Sources claim that there was a rupture in his family and that he has rarely held a steady job since leaving the restaurant. In a March 2022 interview with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Minadeo claimed that he does some construction work and that he'd "probably have to leave Petaluma because things are growing so uncomfortable for him."[4][8] In late December 2022, Minadeo and his girlfriend Kelly Johnson moved to Florida.[6][9][10][11] Johnson, a yoga instructor, had been fired from two yoga studios in the Bay Area in March 2022 for her connections with Minadeo and for increasingly bigoted comments.[12][13]
Minadeo has two neo-Nazi tattoos: a Totenkopf on his arm and SS Bolts on his torso.[3]
Acting and rap stints
Minadeo produced two rap albums, "American Man Whore" in 2013 and "Whore Moans" in 2015, under the rapper name Shoobie Da Wop where he rapped about sexual escapades, alcohol and drug use. Prior to that, he appeared in a few independent and short films.[7]
Antisemitism activities
Goyim Defense League
Minadeo is the leader of the Goyim Defense League white supremacist network[14] and the owner-operator[15] of the antisemitic online video platform GoyimTV.[16] The name uses the term goyim, a Hebrew word for non-Jews. He has produced and distributed antisemitic flyers and instructs followers on how to spread antisemitic messages so that they can't be accused of targeting.[17][16][18] He is also known for being affiliated with other white supremacists such as GypsyCrusader and Robert Wilson (also known as "Aryan Bacon").[19]
Minadeo uses the social media moniker "Handsome Truth" and wears a chain with a swastika.[20] In 2019, he filed a fictitious business name statement in California to operate business under the name "Handsome Truth Enterprises".[21]
Banners and flyers
In August 2020, Minadeo did a banner drop over a Los Angeles highway that read "Honk if you know the Jews want a race war."[22][23] In 2022, he shared online a photograph of himself holding a sign reading "Greenblatt suck 6 million dicks", referring to Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League.[20]
In October 2022, he hung a banner above a Los Angeles highway that read "KANYE IS RIGHT ABOUT THE JEWS", referring to Kanye West's antisemitism, prompting criticism from California Governor Gavin Newsom.[16]
On January 28, 2023, Minadeo and three others were cited for littering in Palm Beach, Florida for distributing their flyers to private residences.[10] Law enforcement have said Minadeo's hate speech is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution so there is not much they can do to stop his practices.[24][16]
Jewish congregation
In late February 2023, Minadeo, holding a microphone, was captured flashing Hitler salutes and shouting anti-Semitic language at people leaving a Chabad congregation in South Orlando, including yelling "Heil Hitler" and telling people to "go back to Israel" and asking one person "Sir, do you think you should be put in an oven?"
The congregation's Rabbi, Yosef Konikov, said of the group "What they're accomplishing is actually the opposite of what they think they’re accomplishing." and that "It only strengthens us, strengthens the Jewish resolve, and the Jewish people around the world get more support from the goyim. So if they're listening: Thanks."[25]
Arrests
In September 2022, Minadeo was arrested in Poland under hate speech laws after he and Robert Wilson demonstrated in front of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp; his swastika necklace and computer were confiscated.[26][27][20] While in Poland, Minadeo filmed himself accosting a South Asian tourist on the sidewalk for four minutes, using racial stereotypes, accusing him of invading Europe, and telling him to return to India.[28] Minadeo was arrested on 26 June 2023 for disorderly conduct and public disturbance at Temple Beth Israel in downtown Macon, Georgia during an antisemitic protest he organized.[29]
In November 2023, Minadeo was sentenced to 30 days in jail after being convicted of throwing anti-Semitic pamphlets from his truck. He was tried on a charge of littering, which carried a maximum sentence of 30 days.[30]
Omegle
Minadeo regularly runs shock-jock live-streams on Goyimtv where he baits children and teenagers on the live online video chat website Omegle, some from minority backgrounds, and shouts racist insults at them. Minadeo also reads comments of viewers who donate, raising hundreds of dollars during streams.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "California Birth Index, 1905-1995". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- ^ Cravey, Beth Reese. "What we know about 2 of the leaders in recent antisemitic activities in Jacksonville". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ a b "Goyim Defense League". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ a b c "The Bay Area Roots of a Neo-Nazi Propaganda Group". KQED. February 14, 2023. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Fiallo, Josh (November 9, 2022). "Cops ID Neo-Nazis Accused of Hanging Antisemitic Banners Around Jacksonville". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Stutman, Gabe (December 16, 2022). "The antisemitic propaganda group Goyim TV has relocated to Florida, an emerging hotspot for extremists". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Kapnick, Naomi Feinstein, Izzy. "Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "I interviewed an antisemitic internet hatemonger face-to-face. Here's why". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. March 21, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Scanlan, Dan (November 4, 2022). "Candlelight vigil fights back against a rash of antisemitic messages in Jacksonville". WUSF Public Media. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ a b Balmaseda, Liz (January 29, 2023). "Palm Beach police cite 4 with 'littering' antisemitic material; fourth incident in county this month". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Paquette, Danielle (April 20, 2023). "The Florida sheriff vs. the neo-Nazi 'scumbags'". The Washington Post.
- ^ Stutman, Gabe (February 26, 2022). "Berkeley yoga instructor fired for links to 'Goyim TV'". Jweekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Bote, Joshua (March 1, 2022). "Popular Bay Area yoga instructor fired over boyfriend's ties to group promoting 'virulent antisemitism'". SFGATE. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Kanye West named antisemite of the year". The Jerusalem Post. December 12, 2022. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Scanlan, Dan (November 3, 2022). "Police confronted antisemitic protesters on I-10, report shows". WUSF Public Media. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Barber, Phil (October 25, 2022). "Petaluma man's antisemitic stunt draws Newsom's ire". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Barber, Phil (February 26, 2022). "Antisemitic handouts linked to Petaluma rapper". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Antisemitic GDL network grows larger as violence against Jewish Americans abounds". WBUR-FM. March 15, 2023. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
- ^ "Robert Frank Wilson of the 'Goyim Defense League'". StopAntisemitism. May 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Notorious US antisemite arrested in Poland over offensive banner at Auschwitz". The Times of Israel. September 7, 2022. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Public Notices" (PDF). The Community Voice. July 14, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ Stutman, Gabe (August 24, 2020). "Petaluma man behind antisemitic banners in Los Angeles". Jweekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Extremist hate group continues to deliver anti-Semitic flyers to American Jews". New York State Senate. August 22, 2022. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Barber, Phil (March 3, 2022). "Petaluma man's hate speech has people on edge. Why can't police do anything about it?". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ LKeene (February 22, 2023). "Why this Chabad rabbi wants to thank the antisemites on his lawn". The Forward. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ Stutman, Gabe (September 5, 2022). "Petaluma neo-Nazi reportedly arrested in Poland after Auschwitz protest". Petaluma Argus-Courier. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Stutman, Gabe (September 4, 2022). "Polish police arrest Minadeo during white supremacist tour of Europe". Jweekly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Manga, Dhiren (September 2, 2022). "Indian Man racially abused by US Man in Poland". DESIblitz. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ Montalto, Anthony (June 24, 2023). "'Not going to let them win': Anti-Semitic protesters demonstrate at Macon synagogue, fliers appear in Warner Robins neighborhoods". WMAZ. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
MACON, Ga. — A South Florida man is out of jail after being arrested Friday during an antisemitic protest in downtown Macon. After 13WMAZ interviewed Jon Minadeo II, Bibb deputies arrested him for disorderly conduct and public disturbance. They say he kept shouting obscenities through a bullhorn after he was asked to stop.
- ^ Nbc6 • • (November 2, 2023). "Neo-Nazi group founder sentenced to jail for distributing antisemitic flyers". NBC 6 South Florida. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Further reading
- Goyim Defense League report at the Anti-Defamation League
- March 2022 interview by The Press Democrat
- The Florida sheriff vs. the neo-Nazi ‘scumbags’ article at The Washington Post with several paragraphs describing Minadeo