Far right activist KrisAnne Hall appears to be venturing into new territory. The Florida-based, self-proclaimed “constitutionalist” is slated to appear August 10 at the “Florida State Sovereignty” conference hosted by the Florida League of the South in Lake City. Hall is scheduled to share a podium with League of the South national President Michael Hill and the white nationalist group’s Chief of Operations, Isaac “Ike” Baker.
The Wellborn, Florida-based Hall is no stranger to far right nationalists. She was fired from her job as state assistant attorney over conflicts concerning her far-right activity. She has appeared at Tea Party events; her work is ubiquitous on the website of the nationalist paramilitary group Oath Keepers; and, she has shared a podium with the likes of militia advocate, and former Graham County, Arizona Sheriff, Richard Mack. In 2016, Hall inserted herself into negotiations during the armed occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in southern Oregon by nationalist militia activists.
Hall’s place among such groups is well earned, the self-described “original intent” practitioner having staked out legal arguments that appeal to groups ranging from the Tea Party to nationalist paramilitaries like Oath Keepers to the hardcore racists of the white nationalist movement. Hall, for instance, has defended the nullification doctrine which claims that states can override federal legislation they deem unconstitutional; pressed a hardline Second Amendment position; and argued that Roe v. Wade is unconstitutional.[1]
Hall has also assailed the birthright citizenship enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Slightly different from those arguing that the birthright provision should be removed, Hall argues that the birthright citizenship clause doesn’t actually provide citizenship for all born on U.S. soil, even drafting a mock executive order for President Donald Trump to that end. Elsewhere Hall argues that the “natural born citizenship” required in the Constitution for eligibility to be president is also not met by being born on U.S. soil or having just one U.S. citizen parent. Under this argument, Hall fallaciously claims that Kamala Harris, Barrack Obama, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were not “natural born citizens” and, therefore, ineligible to run for president. Hall holds that Kamala Harris is an “anchor baby” and is only a U.S. citizen if she was at some point naturalized. Harris was born in Oakland, California to a Tamil mother and Jamaican father, both immigrants.[2]
For the purpose of clarity, the 14th Amendment clearly states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside” [italics added].
While many Tea Party groups, Oath Keepers and their fellow travelers are known for expressing bigotry, particularly in the form of assailing immigrants and Muslims, they usually do not openly declare the tenets of white nationalism and/or white supremacy.
Not so for Hall’s upcoming podium-mates.
The League of the South (LOS) is a notorious white nationalist group that was heavily involved in the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. League of the South president Michael Hill’s name appeared on posters promoting the event and Hill encouraged LOS supporters to attend so as to not “miss out on the fun.” The League, Hill and then-League Chief of Staff Michael Tubbs were defendants in lawsuits related to the event, a gathering of white nationalists, national socialists, and militia groups that saw anti-fascist Heather Heyer murdered when James Alex Fields drove his vehicle into a crowd protesting the event.
Michael Tubbs had previously served four years in prison for stealing weapons while in the military. Tubbs had planned to bomb Jewish and black-owned businesses in Florida, according to a complaint filed by Integrity First for America. As a result of one lawsuit, the League of the South and Tubbs would sign a consent decree barring their return to Charlottesville “as part of a unit of two or more persons acting in concert while armed with a firearm, weapon, shield, or any item whose purpose is to inflict bodily harm to any demonstration, rally, protest, or march.”
In the wake of Charlottesville, Michael Hill felt the need to pen “A Note to My Critics”:
“But yes, we have radicalized by openly and directly addressing the Negro (and general dark-skinned) Question and the Jew Question. We are de facto and openly professed White/Southern nationalists, meaning that we seek to restore the South to the dominance of the White man and to make it our own ethnostate for our posterity. And because most Southerners (particularly evangelical Christians) are still reluctant to take to the streets to defend their civilization, we have made alliances with other radicals who are willing to stand with us in public.”
The “radicals” with whom the League of the South “made alliances with” included national socialist groups such as Vanguard America and the now-defunct Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) (recall that the name of Adolph Hitler’s party was the National Socialist German Workers Party, or Nazi party, for short). When TWP collapsed following leader Matthew Heimbach’s arrest on domestic violence charges, Hill extended “an offer to those former TWP members who are looking for another nationalist home in the wake of this sad development…We will gladly welcome you into our ranks as League members.”[3] A few days later, Isaac Baker posted that several members of the TWP met with the League:
If Hill’s words make clear that the basis of the League’s alliance with national socialists is rooted in white nationalism and anti-Semitism, this picture of Kentucky-based LOS Operations Director Isaac “Ike” Baker offers up at least 1,000 words.
Elsewhere, Isaac Baker has used his own words, quoting the infamous 14 Words of racist murderer David Lane, refering to Jews as “demonic,” and pining for a “Final Solution in all its beautiful glory.” As Baker puts it, “I don’t even try to be peaceful, its not in my nature and the Gods I follow do not require it of me.”
KrisAnne Hall has, to date, avoided open alliances with known white nationalists and national socialists. However, such coalitions are not unprecedented – recall that the 2017 Charlottesville rally included militia organizations such as the Pennsylvania and New York Light Foot Militias. These organizations also signed consent decrees like those of the League of the South.
This terrain has been travelled before. It remains to be seen how deep in the muck of white nationalism, national socialism, and vicious anti-Semitism KrisAnne Hall wants to sink.
[1] See Hall, Krisanne. The Inalienable Right to Life. https://krisannehall.com/index.php/resources/articles/245-the-inalienable-right-to-life; Hall, Krisanne. A Lesson On Gun Control. https://krisannehall.com/index.php/resources/articles/175-a-lesson-on-gun-control; Hall, Krisanne. CNN & Nullification Misinformation; https://krisannehall.com/index.php/resources/articles/158-cnn-nullification-misinformation.
[2] See Hall, Krisanne. Birth Right Citizenship and the Constitutution. The Krisanne Hall Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQkqstyjdw; [2] See Hall, Krisanne. The Constitutional Eligibility of Harris for POTUS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CBlOG8XDWQ; Hall, Krisanne. Executive Order Enforcing the Constitution & 14th Amendment to Limit Citizenship as Therein Defined. The Liberty Beacon.
November 5, 2018. https://www.thelibertybeacon.com/executive-order-enforcing-the-constitution-the-14th-amendment-to-limit-citizenship-as-therein-defined/; Hall, Krisanne. Principles & Purpose of the Natural Born Citizen Limitation. https://krisannehall.com/index.php/resources/articles/165-principles-purpose-of-the-natural-born-citizen-limitation.
[3] See Hill, Michael. Statement on Matthew Heimbach and TPS. March 14, 2018. https://leagueofthesouth.com/statement-on-matthew-heimbach-and-twp/
