The Jacksonville Shooter Was Not a Lone Nut

There is a large local community of Nazis and a global tradition of white supremacist terrorists that place the Jacksonville shooter in context

One of the traditions that we, as Americans, seem to have developed around mass shootings is a desire to not investigate the perpetrators very much. There are a wide variety of reasons for this. On the political right, the argument is that analysis is an attempt to politicize the issue without working towards a real solution. In other media, the argument is that naming and analyzing the motives of these mass murderers is giving them the notoriety that they want. The most prominent reason, however, is just exhaustion. For the last three years, there have been more than 600 shootings on average. In 2023, as of August 27th, we have already passed 470 mass shootings. While many of these shootings are not politically motivated in the same way as the Jacksonville shooting (in 2022, there were 25 domestic extremist-linked mass killings), the simple fact is that the average American does not want to keep up with or think about these shootings any more than they have to.

Ignoring these shooters is burying our heads in the sand, and is doing nothing to prevent copycats, as demonstrated by the Jacksonville shooter. Further, it is notable that in 2022, all 25 mass killings linked to domestic extremists were linked to far-right political beliefs, especially white supremacist beliefs. Since the strategy of ignoring it has done nothing to stop these shootings, maybe an actual attempt to understand the political community the Jacksonville shooter found himself in can shed some light on what inspires these mass shooters, and provide some path towards actually dealing with this problem.

The Jacksonville shooter did not see himself as acting alone. On the actual day he was the only one shooting, but the man who committed this murder saw himself acting in a tradition of white supremacist terrorism from around the world. Looking at his gun is simple proof of this. Like both the Buffalo and Christchurch shooters, the Jacksonville shooter covered his weapon with white supremacist messages and names of other racist killers he saw himself as a successor to.

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sheriff-identifies-shooter-jacksonville-florida-who-killed-3-people-2023-08-27/)

(Source: https://forward.com/fast-forward/558813/swastikas-gun-killer-racist-jacksonville-shooting-racially-motivated/)

This man saw himself not as an individual acting alone against the world, but rather as one of many fighting for this white supremacist vision of the world, in which the United States would become a white ethnostate. While it is clear that anybody who engages in a mass shooting like this is dealing with severe mental issues, dismissing them out of hand as an issue of individuals who are lonely and experiencing mental illness is not enough to understand the issue that is driving this. There is a developing tradition of white supremacist stochastic terrorism in the United States and other nations, and this needs to be addressed head on.

Beyond the issue of the other mass shooters that inspired the Jacksonville shooter, there is also a local political element. The swastika that he emblazoned on his rifle may be a vile symbol to most Americans, but in Jacksonville the swastika has also recently appeared projected onto a building by a local neo-Nazi group.

(Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/jacksonville/comments/10c6vk6/what_the_fuck_is_going_on_in_jacksonville/)

This neo-Nazi group, called National Socialist Florida, have been recruiting heavily in recent years. There have been numerous events where these Nazis have felt comfortable publicly carrying those same swastikas, alongside other political messages, such as the flag for Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

This may seem like a standard case of political extremists latching onto a larger political figure to gain some notoriety. However, the response of some officials has been curious. Rather than condemning the neo-Nazis, DeSantis said that people asking him to condemn them were attempting to smear him, although other political figures like Rick Scott – whose name wasn’t included on any of the symbols the group carried – was more than happy to condemn the group without fearing that doing so would imply responsibility. This is especially worrying considering the fact that the DeSantis campaign, until recently, employed a man who spewed antisemitic messages and likely produced a DeSantis campaign video that included the Nazi symbol of the Sonnenrad. This staffer wasn’t fired until after his messages were leaked, and considering that a total of 40% of the staffers were fired due to the campaigns underperformance at the same time, it is questionable if he was let go for his Nazi beliefs, or just because of the campaigns issues.

Other officials have similarly been shockingly calm about the appearance of open Nazis across Florida. Earlier in Jacksonville, when a Nazi group waved antisemitic banners from a bridge the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office went to talk with them. After this, the officer “thanked the group for their cooperation and apologized for taking up so much time.” When governors refuse to denounce neo-Nazis, and the local police are so friendly with them as to apologize for taking up the time of people spouting anti-semitic messages, is it any wonder that these Nazis find themselves emboldened? It is not a coincidence that these neo-Nazis are proceeding to the logical, exterminationist conclusion of their beliefs at the same time as those in power seem desperate to demonstrate that they do not take issues with the spreading of Nazi messages and beliefs.