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New York Prison Guard Fired for Trying to Spread White Nationalist Propaganda

John Metz was an active member of the alt-right hate group Identity Evropa, and discussed real-life activism in the group’s Slack channel.

A former New York State prison guard was accused of spreading white nationalist propaganda through the prison network, according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. John Metz, 34, was terminated from his position at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in 2019 over his membership in the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, newly obtained documents show. Metz allegedly corresponded with the hate group on Slack, where he discussed coordinating “real-life activism with the group.” Two former inmates, including one who did time at Shawangunk, said the documents Metz spread were likely intended to recruit guards and inmates into the white supremacist network. A source who spent 20 years at the facility told the outlet that he remembered Metz as “weird,” nicknamed by the inmates as “Hills Have Eyes.” Identity Evropa is one of the most prominent racist alt-right groups in the country, and members of the group marched alongside Klansmen and neo-Nazis at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.