Overview

James Mason is an American neo-Nazi author and acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Mason’s 1992 book Siege, an anthology of violent pro-Nazi and pro-Manson essays he wrote in the 1980s, has inspired a generation of neo-Nazis who have formed an online subculture devoted to the promotion of Mason, his writings, and Manson.Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group.

George Lincoln Rockwell founded the American Nazi Party (ANP) in 1959.“1967: ‘American Hitler’ shot dead,” BBC News, accessed December 19, 2018, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/25/newsid_3031000/3031928.stm. Mason joined the ANP in the 1960s at the age of 14. Two years later, he dropped out of school to work at the ANP headquarters in Virginia.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml. In 1969, the National Socialist Liberation Front (NSLF) splintered off from the ANP, which had collapsed after Rockwell’s 1967 assassination. Mason joined the NSLF and embraced its calls for political terrorism.Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group. During this time, Mason also formed a relationship with cult leader and convicted murderer Charles Manson. In the 1970s, Mason formed the Universal Order movement with Manson, who designed the movement’s logo, a swastika imposed over scales of justice. Mason wrote of his admiration for Manson and praised him as “a great leader/philosopher.”Matt Lebovic, “Inside ‘Atomwaffen,’ where Blaze Bernstein’s alleged killer trained for race war,” Times of Israel, January 29, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/inside-atomwaffen-where-blaze-bernsteins-alleged-killer-trained-for-race-war/; Adam Lusher, “Charles Manson: Neo-Nazis hail serial killer a visionary and try to resurrect fascist movement created on his orders,” Independent (London), November 20, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charles-manson-death-dead-serial-killer-neo-nazis-resurrect-fascist-movement-cult-family-universal-a8065781.html. Referring to Manson as “the highest authority,” Mason credited the cult leader with directly inspiring Mason to form the movement and creating the name Universal Order.Adam Lusher, “Charles Manson: Neo-Nazis hail serial killer a visionary and try to resurrect fascist movement created on his orders,” Independent (London), November 20, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charles-manson-death-dead-serial-killer-neo-nazis-resurrect-fascist-movement-cult-family-universal-a8065781.html.

Nonetheless, Mason remained involved with the NSLF. In 1980, he took over responsibility for writing and editing the NSLF’s monthly newsletter, “Siege.” Though the NSLF disbanded in 1982, Mason continued to publish “Siege” through 1986, promoting pro-Nazi and pro-Manson ideologies.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group. In 1992, Mason compiled the newsletters into an eponymous book.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml. The book promotes the creation of autonomous terror cells fighting a guerilla war against “the system” under the common banner of the White Liberation Front. Mason praises the Manson Family murders and Dan White—who murdered San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and gay rights leader Harvey Milk—as “direct action.”A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group; Adam Lusher, “Charles Manson: Neo-Nazis hail serial killer a visionary and try to resurrect fascist movement created on his orders,” Independent (London), November 20, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charles-manson-death-dead-serial-killer-neo-nazis-resurrect-fascist-movement-cult-family-universal-a8065781.html. The second chapter of Siege focuses on violent revolution and political terrorism, while other chapters glorify Manson and Adolf Hitler.James Mason, Siege (2015: IronMarch.org), https://ia800604.us.archive.org/26/items/SiegeByJamesMason/Siege-by-James-Mason.pdf.

In 1994, Mason moved to Colorado where he was arrested and subsequently imprisoned on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor stemming from a relationship he had with a 14-year-old girl in Ohio. Mason was imprisoned for three years and then again shortly after his release for parole violations.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml; Jake Hanrahan, Twitter post, April 21, 2018, 7:40 p.m., https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/987838629627289600?lang=en; Jeffrey Kaplan ed., Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right (Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 2000), 193-199.

Mason’s writing garnered little attention and he remained out of the public eye after his incarceration. But in 2015, a group of users on the now-defunct fascist web forum IronMarch discovered Siege and began to promote it on the forum.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group,” ProPublica, January 26, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/california-murder-suspect-atomwaffen-division-extremist-hate-group. These members formed the Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a virulent neo-Nazi network suspected in multiple U.S. murders. AWD openly embraces Nazi and satanic imagery and rhetoric based on Mason’s Nazi beliefs and fealty to the late cult leader Charles Manson.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group,” ProPublica, January 26, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/california-murder-suspect-atomwaffen-division-extremist-hate-group; Kelly Weill, “Satanism Drama Is Tearing Apart the Murderous Neo-Nazi Group Atomwaffen,” Daily Beast, March 21, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/satanism-drama-is-tearing-apart-the-murderous-neo-nazi-group-atomwaffen; Sonneinkreig Division, Gab account, accessed August 16, 2018, https://gab.ai/skd; “Worldview,” Universal Order, accessed August 16, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/worldview/. In 2015, AWD members republished Mason’s book online.Jessica Schulberg and Luke O’Brien, “We Found The Neo-Nazi Twitter Account Tied To A Virginia Double Homicide,” Huffington Post, last updated January 5, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicholas-giampa-neo-nazi-teenager-murder-girlfriends-parents-virginia_us_5a4d0797e4b0b0e5a7aa4780. In July 2017, a group of IronMarch users claimed they had met with Mason, which led to their creation of a website for Mason’s writings called Universal Order at https://siegeculture.biz/. The group included a user nicknamed Rape, the pseudonym of AWD’s reported leader, John Cameron Denton.James Poulter, “The Obscure Neo-Nazi Forum Linked to a Wave of Terror,” Vice News, March 12, 2018, https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/437pkd/the-obscure-neo-nazi-forum-linked-to-a-wave-of-terror. Accused murderer and AWD member Sam Woodward also claimed to have met Mason. AWD chat logs revealed that members frequently praised Mason and posted his writings and picture.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group. Using Amazon’s self-publishing tool CreateSpace, AWD has republished Siege and published new Mason writings, which they sell through Amazon.Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html.

The Siege Culture/Universal Order website.

So-called Siege Culture has developed into an online subculture of its own based on the Universal Order website and social media dedicated to Mason’s writings. The Siege Culture/Universal Order website is dedicated to Mason and his Universal Order movement. It includes links to a version of Siege on the Internet Archive and hosts essays by Mason, his Siegecast podcast, and links to various other neo-Nazi content. Its library includes neo-Nazi and white supremacist literature such as Mein Kampf and The Turner Diaries by William Luther Pierce, as well as books on Satanism, the occult, and fantasy like The Lord of the Rings.Universal Order, accessed December 20, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/. The Worldview section of the site declares that the page is “something that James Mason attempted to put into form himself, but due to circumstance, he never implemented it. This changed in the year of 2017, when the Atomwaffen Division discovered and met James Mason,” which led to “a new course of action for SIEGE.”“Worldview,” Universal Order, accessed August 16, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/worldview/. The page administrators deny that Mason runs Universal Order, though he is cited as the author of blog posts and podcasts on the website.“Contact,” Universal Order, accessed August 16, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/contact/.

The podcast section of Siege Culture/Universal Order, featuring podcasts by James Mason

The library section of Siege Culture/Universal Order, featuring images of Mason and Charles Manson, the Universal Order logo designed by Manson, and pro-Nazi, white supremacist, and fantasy literature.

In addition to the website, Mason’s followers have created Twitter, YouTube, and other social media accounts.SIEGE Culture Gab account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://gab.ai/SIEGECulture; SIEGE Culture Twitter account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://twitter.com/siegeculture_?lang%3Den; SIEGEWAVE YouTube account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3oRnYKTvOHg5hyFuC-RCWA; Read SIEGE YouTube account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdh4N2bPSIWn5Bbfyc8bIVQ. As of December 20, 2018, the Read Siege YouTube channel hosted 48 videos and has received more than 25,000 views since its creation in 2017.Read SIEGE YouTube account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdh4N2bPSIWn5Bbfyc8bIVQ. The SIEGE Culture Twitter account had 650 followers as of the same date.SIEGE Culture Twitter account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://twitter.com/siegeculture_?lang%3Den.

The Read SIEGE YouTube channel.

In line with Mason’s racist, violent ideology, AWD members have been linked to at least five U.S. murders since 2017. Among the most prominent was the January 2018 murder of gay, Jewish college student Blaze Bernstein, allegedly by AWD member Sam Woodward.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group,” ProPublica, January 26, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/california-murder-suspect-atomwaffen-division-extremist-hate-group. In December 2018, the FBI arrested Washington state white supremacist Dakota Reed after he made several posts on Twitter threatening violence against Jews and Muslims. Reed also posted about Siege.“Washington White Supremacist Arrested for Threatening Mass Killings of Jews and other Minorities,” Anti-Defamation League, December 17, 2018, https://www.adl.org/blog/washington-white-supremacist-arrested-for-threatening-mass-killings-of-jews-and-other. Suspected AWD member Nicholas Giampa, who allegedly killed his girlfriend’s parents in December 2017, praised Siege, Adolf Hitler, and anti-Semitic violence on Twitter.Jessica Schulberg and Luke O’Brien, “We Found The Neo-Nazi Twitter Account Tied To A Virginia Double Homicide,” Huffington Post, January 4, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicholas-giampa-neo-nazi-teenager-murder-girlfriends-parents-virginia_us_5a4d0797e4b0b0e5a7aa4780.

Mason continues to author blog posts and host podcasts on the Universal Order website. AWD leader Denton claims he owns the distribution rights to Mason’s writings and that Mason “passed the torch to us.”Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html.

On February 26, 2020, federal authorities arrested Denton in Montgomery, Texas, for his alleged role in multiple swatting conspiracies. Swatting is a harassment tactic that involves misleading dispatchers with information on an imminent threat in a specific location, leading authorities to respond in full force, including a SWAT team response.“Two men arrested in Montgomery County linked to hate group with history of violence,” KHOU 11, February 26, 2020, https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/hate-group-based-in-montgomery-county-has-history-of-violence/285-d08cc091-c237-4df3-9a43-5df9fbad91c1; “Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Arrested for Swatting Conspiracy,” U.S. Department of Justice, February 26, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-atomwaffen-division-leader-arrested-swatting-conspiracy. Four other AWD members were also arrested for sending anti-Semitic and racist threats to journalists.Tess Owen, “The FBI Just Arrested a Bunch of Neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Members,” Vice, February 26, 2020, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bvgy9a/the-fbi-just-arrested-a-bunch-of-neo-nazi-atomwaffen-members. On March 9, 2020, an alleged audio recording by Mason announced AWD would immediately disband due to increasing pressure from legal authorities. Mason further declared that anything found on the Internet in the future claiming to be from AWD was fake. Vice confirmed the authenticity of the message with multiple sources familiar with Mason’s voice.Ben Makuch, “Audio Recording Claims Neo-Nazi Terror Group Is Disbanding,” Vice, March 14, 2020, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdnam/audio-recording-claims-neo-nazi-terror-group-is-disbanding.

On June 25, 2021, Canada added Mason to its list of designated terrorist entities. Mason is only the second individual to be added to Canada’s list, after Canada designated Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in 2005. According to the Canadian government, Mason was designated for providing ideological and tactical instruction on how to operate a terrorist group to listed entities, i.e., Atomwaffen Division.“Government of Canada lists four new terrorist entities,” Public Safety Canada, June 25, 2021, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2021/06/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities.html; “Currently Listed Entities,” Public Safety Canada, accessed June 25, 2021, https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx.

On July 25, 2020, a group of former AWD leaders announced the reorganization of AWD into the National Socialist Order (NSO). NSO leaders claimed they learned from the mistakes of AWD, pointing to a lack of ideological cohesion. The NSO leaders further claimed they had built the NSO with a new leadership dedicated to creating an “Aryan, National Socialist world by any means necessary.”“National Socialist Order Announcement!,” American Futurist, July 25, 2020. NSO announced itself on the newly created American Futurist website. The website’s language mirrors that previously found on the Siege Culture website, the now-defunct site administered by Iron March members that hosted Mason’s writings. The site’s administrators claim the site is not a reorganization of AWD or any other group. According to the site’s administrators, its purpose is to “spread the message and ideas of James Mason” and American Futurism,“About Us,” American Futurist, accessed January 6, 2021. which they define as “Fascism based on Anti-Tradition; or, to put it better, anti-modern Jew-influenced traditions.”Texas Pete, “Why Do We Call Ourselves American Futurists?,” American Futurist, May 18, 2020.

AWD seemingly reorganized on November 8, 2021, when a self-proclaimed group of former AWD members posted an announcement on the National Socialist/fascist website Das Paradies of an AWD revival to provide guidance to the broader fascist movement. The announcement called Mason’s March 2020 statement disbanding AWD “now officially defunct” and “nothing more than a bad memory.”“Atomwaffen Division Reactivation,” Das Paradies, November 8, 2021. The posting also emphasized AWD and NSO are separate organizations.“Atomwaffen Division Reactivation,” Das Paradies, November 8, 2021. A November 9 post on the American Futurist site condemned the new AWD and announced the American Futurist and Mason no longer supported Das Paradies. According to the post, Mason was furious about the new AWD. American Futurist editor-in-chief “Texas Pete” claimed the new AWD was run by a former member and an associate of AWD founder Brandon Russell, but Russell was not involved. American Futurist editors allegedly helped build the Das Paradies website, which its founders had promoted as a survivalism and camping website. According to Texas Pete, the Das Paradies founders misrepresented themselves to American Futurist and Mason to get their endorsement.Texas Pete, “Atomwaffen Returns?,” American Futurist November 9, 2021. The same day, the new AWD announced on Das Paradies it was severing ties with the NSO, American Futurist, Mason, and Russell. According to the November 9 AWD announcement, “AWD can NEVER be disbanded again by ANYONE. Anyone trying to claim that the Atomwaffen Division is disbanded or fake is nothing more than a coward trying to hinder our efforts.”Atomwaffen Division, “Cutting Ties,” Das Paradies, November 9, 2021.

On November 12, the American Futurist released a video of Mason condemning the new AWD as a “stupid action on the part of one lone nut” that threatened to put other former AWD members in legal jeopardy from “the enemy government.”“James Mason Denouncement Video,” 12:02, Odysee video, posted by “The American Futurist Official,” November 12, 2021. Mason condemned “the enemy media” for spreading the “lie” of a new AWD.“James Mason Denouncement Video,” 12:02, Odysee video, posted by “The American Futurist Official,” November 12, 2021. He reiterated that AWD had retired “with all honor” in 2020 and it would continue to live in legend like the American Nazi Party and the National Socialist Liberation Front.“James Mason Denouncement Video,” 12:02, Odysee video, posted by “The American Futurist Official,” November 12, 2021.

In January 2022, members of the new AWD joined members of The Base for a winter survival training exercise. According to The Base, participants shared their “knowledge of bushcraft and lifted one another up to new heights ultimately increasing our capabilities as a cohesive unit and as brothers in arms.”The Base, Telegram channel, January 30, 2022. American Futurist severed ties with the NSO on September 7, 2022. Its announcement accused “bad actors” of taking over the organization on behalf of the British neo-Nazi Satanist group the Order of the Nine Angles (ONA or O9A) and promoting “Satanism and Child Rape.”“Breaking Ties with the NSO,” American Futurist, September 7, 2022. According to the American Futurist, these bad actors attempted to remove NSO co-founder Ryan Arthur because of his opposition to Satanism. The American Futurist declared the NSO to be “dead.”“Breaking Ties with the NSO,” American Futurist, September 7, 2022. On September 12, Arthur announced on the American Futurist site that a group of former NSO members had created a new organization, the National Socialist Resistance Front (NSRF).“The Founding of the NSRF,” American Futurist, September 12, 2022. The following month, on October 30, American Futurist announced it was severing ties with Mason. According to the announcement, Mason had accused Arthur of purposefully not uploading Mason’s content, stealing, lying, and other misdeeds. Allegedly the issues began in April 2022. American Futurist leaders claimed they disproved all of Mason’s accusations against Ryan. A few weeks later, American Futurist leaders discovered an alleged affair between Mason and the wife of an NSO member. American Futurist leaders decided at that point to begin drawing down their focus on Mason’s works, while not entirely severing their relationship with Mason.Texas Pete, “James Mason: The Fall,” American Futurist, October 30, 2022.

According to the American Futurist statement, Mason had begun making negative, false statements about “AWD heroes” Cameron Denton and Kaleb Cole, blaming them for “almost getting him in trouble” and accusing them of almost causing him to go back to prison.Texas Pete, “James Mason: The Fall,” American Futurist, October 30, 2022. According to the American Futurist, returning to prison as one of Mason’s greatest fears. The October 30 announcement also accused Mason working with a former NSO member named Zackary, a.k.a. “Wulfrik,” to build a new website without his supporters at American Futurist. The announcement further accused Wulfrik of being a known pedophile who had been expelled from NSO prior to its takeover by ONA. As a result, the American Futurist announced it would continue to sell and promote Siege but would sever its relations with Mason. The American Futurist declared it was time to “move away from” Mason and the “cult of personality” his followers had built around him.Texas Pete, “James Mason: The Fall,” American Futurist, October 30, 2022. The announcement did not address the future of the NSRF.

Also Known As

• James Nolan Mason“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml.