Council of Conservative Citizens Name: Council of Conservative Citizens Type of Organization: Not-for-profit political Ideologies and Affiliations: Far-right homophobic racist white supremacist white nationalist Place of Origin: Atlanta, Georgia Year of Origin: 1985 Founder(s): Gordon Baum (deceased) Places of Operation: St. Louis, Missouri (headquarters); United States Overview Executive Summary: The Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) is a U.S. not-for-profit organization with a white supremacist and anti-homosexual agenda. The group bills itself as the “only serious nationwide activist group that sticks up for white rights!”1 The CCC grew out of the anti-integration White Citizens’ Councils, also known as the Citizens Councils of America (CCA), which steadily declined in popularity during the 1970s and 1980s.2 In 1985, workers’ compensation attorney and former CCA Midwest field director Gordon Baum and a group of 30 white men created the CCC in Atlanta, Georgia as a successor organization to the CCA.3 At its height in the 1990s, the CCC included some 15,000 members nationwide. 4 The CCC holds protests, rallies, and other events to advocate a white, Christian, and European America. The CCC believes the U.S. government “must reflect Christian beliefs and values” and mass immigration of “non-European and non-Western people” is endangering the United States’ European character.5 The CCC’s website highlights news and claims to educate about so-called “black-on-white violent crime, and in particular, the seemingly endless incidents involving black-on-white murder,” according to the CCC’s president, Earl P. Holt III.6 Dylann Storm Roof, who murdered nine people at a predominantly black church in South Carolina in June 2015, credited the CCC for introducing him to the phenomenon of “brutal black on White murders.”7 The CCC condemned Roof’s murderous rampage and denied he belonged to the group, but it acknowledged he “gleaned accurate information from” the CCC’s website.8 In 2014, the group launched a social-media campaign in protest of the “thousands of anti-white diatribes every minute” on Twitter.9 The CCC has also become vocal in defending the public display of the Confederate battle flag.10 During the 1990s, right-wing U.S. politicians were openly linked to the CCC. Republicans such as Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice, U.S. Senate Council of Conservative Citizens Majority Leader Trent Lott, and U.S. Representative Bob Barr of Georgia addressed CCC meetings and praised its values.11 The Republican Party began distancing itself from the CCC after a 1998 Southern Poverty Law Center report drew national attention to the CCC’s racist views. 12 In recent years, Holt has contributed thousands of dollars to the campaigns of right-wing Republicans such as former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.13 The candidates have returned or donated the contributions to distance themselves from the group.14 Doctrine: The CCC is governed by 14 guiding principles approved in a 2005 Statement of Principles.15 First among these principles is the belief the United States is a Christian nation and its government “must reflect Christian beliefs and values.”16 The CCC opposes “all efforts to deny or weaken” the United States’ “Christian heritage,” including “unconstitutional prohibitions” on school prayer.17 The CCC opposes mass immigration of “non-European and non-Western people” to the United States based on its belief “the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people.”18 The CCC views the United States as “an integral part of European civilization.”19 The CCC supports military force to stop illegal immigration into the country. It opposes “all efforts to mix the races of mankind” and “the integration of the races.”20 The CCC also has a clear anti-homosexual agenda disguised as a dedication to protecting “the structure of the American family.”21 The CCC opposes weakening the traditional family structure “through toleration of sexual licentiousness, homosexuality and other perversions, mixture of the races, pornography in all forms, and subversion of the authority of parents.”22 According to the CCC, the “so-called ‘New World Order’” is staged to abolish individual nations in favor of a one-world government “in which America would vanish and Americans would be enslaved.”23 To prevent this, the CCC advocates an “American First Foreign Policy” that cancels U.S. global alliances, withdraws the U.S. from international peacekeeping missions, and ends all foreign aid.24 As part of this policy, the CCC calls for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and other international organizations. 25 The CCC also opposes globalized law enforcement, international tribunals, and the extradition of U.S. citizens.26 Despite its dedication to the “Christian heritage” of the United States, the CCC professes support for the personal liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, including freedom of religion.27 CCC leaders frequently reference their rights to free speech. For example, residents of Blue Springs, Missouri, complained in 2012 about the CCC distributing copies of its newspaper. Baum told local media, “If they don’t like it, they can throw it in the recycling bin. We have a right to freedom of speech.”28 The group also supports the right to bear arms and protection of states’ rights. 29 The CCC calls for the abolition of U.S. government agencies “that tyrannically interfere with personal liberty and dignity, private property, the sanctity of the family, and ethical conduct.”30 This includes the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, and Health and Human Services, among others.31 The CCC also holds that hate-crime laws are a “dangerous and frightening step toward government Thought Control” that punishes “thought and expression” rather than actual criminal behavior.32 Education is the responsibility of families and local communities, the CCC believes. It opposes sex education, as well as “multiculturalist” and “Afrocentric” curricula.33 The group also views federal aid for education is an attempt to “brainwash children with political propaganda.”34 Organizational Structure: Earl P. Holt III serves as the CCC’s president. The group maintains nationwide chapters, which are governed by a national leadership board. In addition to president, the CCC’s 2013 990 tax form also lists the positions of treasurer and vice president, as well as a 19-member volunteer board of directors.35 Financing: The CCC is a registered not-for-profit organization under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The group has set up donation forms on its website, www.conservative-headlines.com. The CCC also charges an annual membership rate of $36. According to the CCC’s 2013 990 tax return, the group received $67,250 in contributions in the 2013 calendar year.36 The CCC incurred $56,865 in expenses that year and recorded 2 Council of Conservative Citizens net assets of $10,831.37 The CCC’s 2013 budget included $29,016 for the dissemination of educational and informational materials, $18,020 for civil rights, social action, and advocacy programs, and $9,314 for written materials.38 Between 2009 and 2013, the CCC received approximately $377,000 in contributions.39 Recruitment: In 2010, late CCC founder Gordon Baum called the group’s members largely “conservative independents.”40 He also said the CCC includes rabbis, blacks, mixed-race persons, and a Japanese Shinto adherent.41 When a new member joins, the CCC provides him or her a range of incentive gifts, including a membership card, a booklet on Martin Luther King Jr. Day penned by deceased CCC editor Sam Francis and the late Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, a DVD on what the CCC considers the origins of American liberalism, an annual newsletter, and a subscription to the CCC’s quarterly newspaper, the Citizens Informer. 42 The CCC has also distributed copies of the Citizens Informer in residential communities to draw attention to its cause.43 The CCC invites visitors to its website to join the group in order to help the CCC defend “white rights.”44 There, the CCC allows viewers to see excerpts of its quarterly newspaper, as well as blogs, photos and videos supporting the CCC’s agenda. The site boasts of victories against the Anti-Defamation League and illegal immigration. 1 “More Info,” Council of Conservative Citizens, accessed July 7, 2015, http://conservative-headlines.com/more-info/. 2 “Council of Conservative Citizens,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed July 8, 2015, http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/council-of- conservative-citizens. 3 “Council of Conservative Citizens,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed July 8, 2015, http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/council-of- conservative-citizens. 4 “Council of Conservative Citizens,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed July 8, 2015, http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/council-of- conservative-citizens. 5 “Statement of Principles,” Council of Conservative Citizens, accessed July 6, 2015, http://conservative-headlines.com/introduction/statement-of-principles/. 6 Earl Holt, “Statement by President of the Council of Conservative Citizens,” American Renaissance, June 21, 2015, http://www.amren.com/news/2015/06/statement-by- president-of-the-council-of-conservative-citizens/. 7 Brendan O’Connor, “Here Is What Appears to Be Dylann Roof’s Racist Manifesto,” Gawker, June 20, 2015, http://gawker.com/here-is-what-appears-to-be-dylann- roofs-racist-manifest-1712767241. 8 Earl Holt, “Statement by President of the Council of Conservative Citizens,” American Renaissance, June 21, 2015, http://www.amren.com/news/2015/06/statement-by- president-of-the-council-of-conservative-citizens/.