Oelwein, IA – Neo-Nazi flyers pushing the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory with antisemitic rhetoric were found hanging in an Oelwein city park in northeast Iowa recently.
The “Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory”, long promoted by hate groups on the fringes of society, is now being pushed to more mainstream right-wing networks, emboldening such groups.
Crew 319 describes itself on a recently created Telegram channel as “a national socialist activist group based in Iowa.” The hate group features the Nazi swastika in its logo and is apparently behind at least two flyers recently posted in Oelwein’s City Park.
Nickie Michaud Wild, a professor at Upper Iowa University in Fayette who teaches about hate groups, shared the flyers with Iowa Starting Line after another woman posted them in a private Oelwein group.
Oelwein Police said Monday no arrests had been made yet in any of those incidents.
One flyer shows the swastika prominently and quotes former terrorist leader David Lane’s “14 Words,” otherwise known as the white supremacy slogan. The other flyer describes the incorrect theory that people who followed Judaism had “complete control” of various American television stations, which also had several incorrect and outdated titles and even names for supposed “owners” of the different stations.
The flyers also link to Crew 319’s Telegram channel, which had just seven subscribers as of Monday. The hate group said it was “actively recruiting in Iowa.” The number of people who had seen posts, listened to music tracks by a Neo-Nazi artist, and watched videos in the channel, however, was as many as 176.
