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{{Short description|American neo-Nazi (born 1991)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Matthew Heimbach
| image = Heimbach-2015.png
| alt =
| caption = Heimbach in 2015
| birth_name = Matthew Warren Heimbach
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1991|04|08|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Poolesville, Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = 
| other_names =
| occupation =
| education = [[Towson University]]
| years_active =
| known_for = {{Ubl | [[Traditionalist Worker Party]] | [[Unite the Right rally]]}}
| notable_works =
}}

'''Matthew Warren Heimbach''' (born April 8, 1991) is an American [[White Supremacy|white supremacist]] who advocated a [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] ideology. He tried to form alliances between several [[Far-right politics|far-right]] extremist groups.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Days after guilty plea, Matthew Heimbach re-emerges in new alliance with National Socialist Movement|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/24/days-after-guilty-plea-matthew-heimbach-re-emerges-new-alliance-national-socialist-movement|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515154133/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/24/days-after-guilty-plea-matthew-heimbach-re-emerges-new-alliance-national-socialist-movement|archive-date=May 15, 2020|access-date=July 20, 2019|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en}}</ref> In 2018, Heimbach briefly served as community outreach director for the [[National Socialist Movement (United States)|National Socialist Movement]] (NSM).<ref name="Neo-Nazi group new leader">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/neo-nazi-group-s-new-leader-black-man-who-vows-n977956 |title=Neo-Nazi group's new leader is a black man who vows to dissolve it |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=February 28, 2019 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> He founded the [[Traditionalist Worker Party]] (TWP), which ceased operation in March 2018 until early 2020 when Heimbach and Matthew Parrott once again began collaborating on projects such as the "prisoner aid organization",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hay|first=Mark|date=2021-03-13|title=The Twisted Group Focused on Making Nazis Comfy in Prison|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-twisted-group-focused-on-making-nazis-comfy-in-prison|access-date=2021-07-13}}</ref> which was known as the Global Minority Initiative while they were also publicly discussing a relaunching of the Traditionalist Worker Party.<ref>{{Citation|title=Radio Free Indiana - 2021-01-08|url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/l7N9ACooLC38/|language=en|access-date=2021-07-13}}</ref>

Before his arrest, Heimbach had assembled a community of neo-Nazis and anti-Jewish conspiracy theorists in a [[Paoli, Indiana]] trailer park.<ref name="Michel">{{cite web|last=Michel|first=Casey|title=Following affair with mother-in-law, white supremacist heads to jail|url=https://thinkprogress.org/matthew-heimbach-is-going-to-prison-ff5d873f4368/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302111824/https://thinkprogress.org/matthew-heimbach-is-going-to-prison-ff5d873f4368/|archive-date=March 2, 2020|access-date=May 16, 2018|website=ThinkProgress.org|date=May 16, 2018 |publisher=[[ThinkProgress]]}}</ref> Heimbach was considered the leader of this community, and he had received media attention for his role in this regard, but he lost credibility following his arrest in 2018.<ref name=Michel />

Heimbach is a defendant in the ''Sines v. Kessler'' lawsuit which was filed by Integrity First for America, the lawsuit claims that he and other organizers of the 2017 [[Unite the Right rally|Unite the Right]] white supremacist rally in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]], "planned and promoted violence against [a] protected group."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/defendant-files-another-motion-to-be-dismissed-from-rally-lawsuit/article_88a966db-08c1-5a88-b0b2-665642740bf5.html|title=Defendant files another motion to be dismissed from rally lawsuit|last=Progress|first=Tyler Hammel The (Charlottesville) Daily|website=Roanoke Times|date=July 15, 2019 |language=en|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=July 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721002132/https://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/defendant-files-another-motion-to-be-dismissed-from-rally-lawsuit/article_88a966db-08c1-5a88-b0b2-665642740bf5.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Eligon>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/jeff-schoep-white-nationalist-reformer.html |title=He Says His Nazi Days Are Over. Do You Believe Him?|last=Eligon |first=John |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 4, 2020 |access-date=April 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411205810/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/jeff-schoep-white-nationalist-reformer.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, in response to his racist beliefs and his violent actions, Heimbach was [[Excommunication|excommunicated]] from the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].

== Early life, education, and family ==
Heimbach was born in [[Poolesville, Maryland]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neo-nazi-matthew-heimbach-bogus-white-ethnostate_n_5a745c5fe4b01ce33eb1d720|title=The Neo-Nazi Has No Clothes: In Search Of Matt Heimbach's Bogus 'White Ethnostate'|date=February 2, 2018|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=April 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420135611/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neo-nazi-matthew-heimbach-bogus-white-ethnostate_n_5a745c5fe4b01ce33eb1d720|url-status=live}}</ref> Heimbach's parents, Karl and Margaret Heimbach, are public school teachers whose political affiliation he describes as [[Mitt Romney]]-style Republicans. Heimbach says his views on race and immigration were formed early on by the writings of [[Pat Buchanan]], especially his book ''[[The Death of the West]]'', and particularly Buchanan's [[paleoconservative]] writing in ''[[American Renaissance (magazine)|American Renaissance]]''. As early as his entrance to college, [[Towson University]], he had begun to take in the writings of [[Jared Taylor]], a self-described "[[race realism|race realist]]".<ref name=":2" />

In 2013 Heimbach received a Bachelor of Science in History from Towson University.

Heimbach met his former wife Brooke at an American Renaissance conference.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/05/03/after-family-fiasco-twps-matthew-heimbach-may-spend-summer-jail-0|title=After family fiasco, TWP's Matthew Heimbach may spend summer in jail|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=April 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413202906/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/05/03/after-family-fiasco-twps-matthew-heimbach-may-spend-summer-jail-0|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Ideology ==
The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] has commented that Heimbach is "considered by many to be the face of a new generation of white nationalists."<ref name=":SPLCprofile">{{cite news|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/matthew-heimbach|title=Matthew Heimbach|work=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=March 22, 2020|archive-date=April 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414060229/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/matthew-heimbach|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Counter Extremism Project, "Heimbach's platform is based around the idea that the white race has been disadvantaged because of [[globalism]] and [[multiculturalism]], which he has largely blamed on a [[Antisemitic canard|global Jewish conspiracy]]. Heimbach claims that white unity is necessary because the Jews hate all white people equally."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/matthew-heimbach|title=Matthew Heimbach|date=October 30, 2018|website=Counter Extremism Project|language=en|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=December 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229052346/https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/matthew-heimbach|url-status=live}}</ref> To promote his anti-Semitism, Heimbach publicly supported [[Terrorism|terrorist]] organizations such as [[Hamas]] and [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]] writing that there should be "a unity between those who struggle against the Zionist State and International Jewry here in the West and those on the streets of [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], [[Syria]], and [[Lebanon]]. We face the exact same enemy, one who doesn't care if they kill our women, children, and elderly. We are facing a truly [[Satanism|Satanic]] enemy."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Matthew Heimbach Marks Return With Vicious Anti-Semitic Essay|url=https://www.adl.org/blog/matthew-heimbach-marks-return-with-vicious-anti-semitic-essay|access-date=2021-07-13|website=Anti-Defamation League|language=en|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713130408/https://www.adl.org/blog/matthew-heimbach-marks-return-with-vicious-anti-semitic-essay|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Heimbach has forged ties with nationalist groups from other countries, like Greece's far-right nationalist party [[Golden Dawn (political party)|Golden Dawn]].<ref name=":2" /> As the leader of the Traditionalist Worker Party, Heimbach visited European far-right organizations in Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Russia. The [[Russian Imperial Movement]], an organization that was declared a [[Foreign terrorist organization|Foreign Terrorist Organization]] by the United States Department of State in 2020,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Donati|first=Jessica|date=2020-04-06|title=U.S. Labels Russian White Supremacist Group as Global Terrorist|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-labels-russian-white-supremacist-group-as-global-terrorist-11586202978|access-date=2021-07-13|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> had extensive ties with Heimbach. Meetings between the Russian Imperial Movement and the Traditionalist Worker Party were called "the first time that we had a meeting on the U.S. soil of the American white nationalists and then the members of the Russian far right nationalist community." The United Kingdom government banned Heimbach from entering the country in October 2015 because his extremist rhetoric could incite violence.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/theresa-may-bans-us-segregationist-from-uk-for-neo-nazi-remarks|title=Theresa May bans US segregationist from UK for 'neo-Nazi' remarks|last=Elgot|first=Jessica|date=November 4, 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 21, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=April 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426142018/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/theresa-may-bans-us-segregationist-from-uk-for-neo-nazi-remarks|url-status=live}}</ref>

Heimbach called for the dissolution of the United States of America under the pretense of supporting self-determination for different ethnic and religious communities, going so far as to declare "Death to America."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Heimbach Flusters Movement Elite With Calls For 'Death To America'|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2014/11/18/heimbach-flusters-movement-elite-calls-death-america|access-date=2021-07-13|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en}}</ref> He stated that Americans should "stop fighting a culture war. Just declare both sides victors, and in your respective region, do what you think is best."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-07-24|title=I had lunch with a right-wing white nationalist group. Here's what I learned|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-white-nationalists-20160724-snap-story.html|access-date=2021-07-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2014, Heimbach was photographed at a [[SlutWalk]] protest brandishing an [[Russian Orthodox cross|Orthodox cross]] as a weapon against anti-racist protestors.<ref name="Kelaidis2016"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Jon |title=East of Eden |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2014/east-eden |access-date=July 24, 2021 |work=Intelligence Report |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |date=Winter 2014 |language=en}}</ref> In 2016, Heimbach was formally received into the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]. Following online circulation of the photos, Heimbach was [[Excommunication|excommunicated]] from the Church several weeks later.<ref name="Kelaidis2016">{{cite web |last1=Kelaidis |first1=Katherine |title=How Orthodox Christianity Became the Spiritual Home of White Nationalism |url=https://religiondispatches.org/how-orthodox-christianity-became-the-spiritual-home-of-white-nationalism/ |publisher=[[Religion Dispatches]] |date=30 November 2016 |language=en |access-date=December 1, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108204832/https://religiondispatches.org/how-orthodox-christianity-became-the-spiritual-home-of-white-nationalism/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kelaidis2020">{{cite web |last1=Kelaidis |first1=Katherine |title=White Supremacy and Orthodox Christianity |url=https://ocl.org/white-supremacy-orthodox-christianity-dangerous-connection-rears-head-charlottesville/ |publisher=Orthodox Christian Laity |access-date=1 December 2020 |language=en |date=18 August 2017 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107231436/https://ocl.org/white-supremacy-orthodox-christianity-dangerous-connection-rears-head-charlottesville/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Following his excommunication, Heimbach received communion from a sympathetic noncanonical Romanian church.<ref name="Kelaidis2016"/>

Avowed anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism differentiated Heimbach and the Traditionalist Worker Party from many other American far-right groups. Heimbach stated that "For us, to be truly anti-capitalist is to be a nationalist. Nationalism is a bulwark against capitalist exploitation and globalism."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bavis|first=Lauren|title=White nationalist group seeks to form separate community in Paoli|url=http://www.hoosiertimes.com/herald_times_online/hto_now/white-nationalist-group-seeks-to-form-separate-community-in-paoli/article_6fb9d64b-d01b-56d8-a9fc-b46f6834dfb9.html|access-date=2021-07-13|website=The Hoosier Times|language=en|archive-date=November 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118174054/https://www.hoosiertimes.com/herald_times_online/hto_now/white-nationalist-group-seeks-to-form-separate-community-in-paoli/article_6fb9d64b-d01b-56d8-a9fc-b46f6834dfb9.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Heimbach identified at the time as a [[Strasserism|Strasserist]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news2share.com/start/2018/12/02/matthew-heimbach-expelled-from-national-socialist-movement-source-says/|title=Matthew Heimbach Expelled From National Socialist Movement, Source Says|last=Fischer|first=Ford|access-date=July 28, 2019|archive-date=November 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110194154/http://news2share.com/start/2018/12/02/matthew-heimbach-expelled-from-national-socialist-movement-source-says/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2020, Heimbach published an open letter saying he was "pulling back" from the white nationalist movement. He has since clarified that his beliefs have not moderated, and has launched a website to fundraise for White nationalist and “National Socialist” prisoners.<ref name="In From the Cold">{{cite journal |last=Burley |first=Shane |date=May 11, 2022 |title=Can You Ever Trust a Former White Nationalist? |url=https://politicalresearch.org/2022/05/11/can-you-ever-trust-former-white-nationalist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106230529/https://politicalresearch.org/2022/05/11/can-you-ever-trust-former-white-nationalist |archive-date=May 11, 2022 |access-date=May 2, 2023 |journal=Political Research Associates }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Not So Reformed |url=https://politicalresearch.org/2022/04/01/not-so-reformed |access-date=2023-05-02 |journal=Political Research Associates |date=April 2022 |language=en |last1=Kelly |first1=Megan |last2=Decook |first2=J. }}</ref>

He is now member of the Patriotic Socialist Front, an appears during the [[Rage Against the War Machine]] with a [[National Bolshevik Party|National Bolshevik]] flag.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-19 |title=Neo-Nazis Who Organized Deadly 'Unite the Right' Rally Claim They're In "Communication" with 'Anti-War' Protest Leaders in DC |url=https://itsgoingdown.org/neo-nazis-claim-anti-war-protest-dc/ |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=[[It's Going Down]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Far-right involvement ==
The Traditionalist Youth Network (TYN) was established in May 2013 by Matthew Heimbach with Matt Parrott as an offshoot of a "[[White Student Union (Towson University)|White Student Union]]" which was active on the [[Towson University]] campus.<ref name="ADLProfile">[http://www.adl.org/combating-hate/domestic-extremism-terrorism/c/traditionalist-youth-network.html Traditionalist Youth Network] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119101420/http://www.adl.org/combating-hate/domestic-extremism-terrorism/c/traditionalist-youth-network.html |date=January 19, 2017 }}, [[Anti-Defamation League]] (February 7, 2014).</ref>

In January 2015, the TYN established the Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) as its [[political party]] prior to the 2016 elections, and a small group of candidates from the [[far right|far-right]] ran under its banner.<ref name="Hankes">Keegan Hankes, [https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/10/19/meet-new-wave-extremists-gearing-2016-elections Meet the New Wave of Extremists Gearing Up for the 2016 Elections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721004340/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/10/19/meet-new-wave-extremists-gearing-2016-elections |date=July 21, 2019 }}, Southern Poverty Law Center (October 19, 2015).</ref> The party stated that it stood against "economic exploitation, federal tyranny, and anti-Christian degeneracy".<ref name="Hankes" /> The Traditionalist Worker Party promoted itself as being a working-class and "left-leaning" neo-Nazi organization more akin to the original [[Sturmabteilung]] than more common far-right ideological beliefs of most post-war white supremacists. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks [[Extremism|extremist]] groups, [[List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups|designated]] the Traditionalist Worker Party as a [[hate group]]. The group went dormant in March 2018 following Heimbach's arrest but has begun a relaunch as of July 2021.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Michel />

Following the model of other white supremacists such as [[George Lincoln Rockwell]] and [[Richard B. Spencer|Richard Spencer]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-10-20|title=Richard Spencer speech at Florida campus sparks mass protest|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41683713|access-date=2021-07-13}}</ref> Heimbach organized speaking engagements at American universities,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Crocker|first=Rachel Ohm and Brittany|title=White nationalist talk at UT draws about 45 and 250 protesters for peaceful event|url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2018/02/17/white-nationalist-talk-university-tennessee-matthew-heimbach/343307002/|access-date=2021-07-13|website=Knoxville News Sentinel|language=en-US}}</ref> causing mass protests by both students<ref>{{Cite web|title=Department of Sociology {{!}} The University of Tennessee, Knoxville|url=https://sociology.utk.edu/newsitem.php?news_id=1090|access-date=2021-07-13|website=sociology.utk.edu}}</ref> and community members. Heimbach is alleged to have met with Republican Party strategists and operatives in January 2017 during the inauguration of Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Tenold|first=Vegas|date=2017-01-23|title=When the White Nationalists Came to Washington|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/140053/white-nationalists-came-washington|access-date=2021-07-13|issn=0028-6583}}</ref>

On January 8, 2021, Chicago's [[NPR]] radio station [[WBEZ]] reported that Heimbach had participated in an attempted coup at the [[United States Capitol]] on January 6, 2021. The caption to WBEZ's photo of insurrectionists confronting [[U.S. Capitol Police]] outside the [[United States Senate chamber|Senate chamber]] identified "Neo-Nazi Matthew Heimbach (second from left wearing a blue mask)."<ref name=WBEZ1>{{cite web|url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-bizarre-outfits-at-the-capitol-werent-just-costumes-they-were-a-message/0ac8c1d1-fcba-441f-81af-0fd34dd53383 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210109034453/https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-bizarre-outfits-at-the-capitol-werent-just-costumes-they-were-a-message/0ac8c1d1-fcba-441f-81af-0fd34dd53383 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2021-01-09 |title=The Bizarre Outfits At The Capitol Weren't Just Costumes. They Were A Message. |publisher=[[WBEZ]] |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 9, 2021 |last=Yousef |first=Odette}}</ref> However, WBEZ later amended its story with an editor's note including Heimbach's denial and his assertion that he was in Tennessee with his family on January 6. In its update, WBEZ removed Heimbach's name from their photo caption.<ref name=WBEZ2>{{cite web|url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-bizarre-outfits-at-the-capitol-werent-just-costumes-they-were-a-message/0ac8c1d1-fcba-441f-81af-0fd34dd53383 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210110020129/https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-bizarre-outfits-at-the-capitol-werent-just-costumes-they-were-a-message/0ac8c1d1-fcba-441f-81af-0fd34dd53383 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2021-01-10 |title=The Bizarre Outfits At The Capitol Weren't Just Costumes. They Were A Message. |publisher=[[WBEZ]] |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 9, 2021 |last=Yousef |first=Odette}}</ref> Also on January 8, [[Fox News]] identified Heimbach as having been "captured posing for photographs" during the [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol]].<ref name=Fox1>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-white-nationalist-identified-capitol-siege |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210108164547/https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-white-nationalist-identified-capitol-siege |url-status=dead |archive-date=2021-01-08 |title=Indiana white nationalist at Capitol riot identified in photos |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 9, 2021 |last1=Musto |first1=Julia}}</ref> Fox News subsequently deleted that story<ref name=Fox2>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-white-nationalist-identified-capitol-siege |title=Indiana white nationalist at Capitol riot identified in photos |publisher=[[Fox News]] |last1=Musto |first1=Julia |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 8, 2021}}</ref> and ran another by the same reporter, stating that "social media posts" had suggested Heimbach "took part in Wednesday's storming of the U.S. Capitol," but not mentioning Fox's own, withdrawn article to that effect.<ref name=Fox3>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/capitol-protests-social-media-posts-denied |title=Man decries social-media posts linking him to Capitol protests |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 9, 2021 |author=Musto, Julia}}</ref> On January 8, [[Mashable]] reported that "there is no proof that Heimbach was at the Capitol" on January 6.<ref name="Internet sleuths">{{cite web|url=https://mashable.com/article/capitol-attack-jason-tankersley-matthew-heimbach-misidentification/ |title=Internet sleuths misidentified some of the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol |publisher=[[Mashable]] |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 9, 2021 |author=Binder, Matt}}</ref> Brian McCreary, a resident of Massachusetts, was arrested in February 2021 for his participation in the January 6th protest and was identified by police as the individual who had previously been mistaken for Heimbach.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-13|title=Man In Blue Mask Arrested In Capitol Coup Attempt Is Not Man WBEZ Previously Id'd|url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/man-in-blue-mask-arrested-in-capitol-coup-attempt-is-not-man-wbez-previously-idd/7fafaf7f-8568-4abe-b23a-76a32a4f1556|access-date=2021-07-13|website=WBEZ Chicago|language=en}}</ref>

== Lawsuits and criminal convictions ==
In July 2017, Heimbach pled guilty to second-degree disorderly conduct for an incident when he repeatedly pushed an anti-Trump protester at a [[Donald Trump]] campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/06/20/matthew-heimbach-released-jail-after-probation-related-trump-rally/718260002/|title=White nationalist who shoved woman at Trump rally released from jail|website=The Courier-Journal|language=en|access-date=July 23, 2019|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107231426/https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/06/20/matthew-heimbach-released-jail-after-probation-related-trump-rally/718260002/|url-status=live}}</ref> He received a suspended prison sentence, a fine, and an order to attend anger management classes.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/15/what-we-know-matthew-heimbach-indiana-white-nationalist-who-helped-promote-charlottesville/568805001/|title=What we know about Matthew Heimbach, Indiana white nationalist who helped promote Charlottesville|website=Indianapolis Star|language=en|access-date=July 21, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408054841/https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/15/what-we-know-matthew-heimbach-indiana-white-nationalist-who-helped-promote-charlottesville/568805001/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, Heimbach was sentenced to 38 days in the Louisville jail for violating the terms of his probation.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

=== ''Sines v. Kessler'' lawsuit ===
{{see also|Sines v. Kessler}}
In October 2017, Heimbach was listed as a defendant in ''[[Sines v. Kessler]]'', the federal civil lawsuit against various organizers, promoters, and participants of the 2017 [[Unite the Right rally]]. The trial began on October 25, 2021, and the jury reached a verdict on November 23.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lavoie|first=Denise|date=October 25, 2021|title='Unite the Right' rally's planners accused in civil trial|url=https://apnews.com/article/crime-violence-lawsuits-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-ca2329e483476a1af2f14e23aeae6670|access-date=October 25, 2021|website=[[AP News]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":422">{{Cite news|last=Paul|first=Deanna|date=November 23, 2021|title=Charlottesville Trial Verdict: Jury Finds Prominent White Supremacist Leaders Liable|language=en-US|work=[[Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/charlottesville-trial-verdict-jury-finds-prominent-white-supremacist-leaders-liable-11637698395|access-date=November 23, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> Heimbach and all other defendants were found liable for [[Conspiracy (civil)|civil conspiracy]] under Virginia state law, and ordered to pay $500,000 in punitive damages. The jury were [[Hung jury|deadlocked]] on the two other claims pertaining to Heimbach, which argued he and other defendants had engaged in a federal conspiracy to commit racially-motivated violence.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Weill|first=Kelly|date=November 23, 2021|title='Unite the Right' Trial Ends With White Supremacists Paying Millions for Violence|language=en|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-supremacists-found-liable-for-dollar25-million-in-damages-over-deadly-unite-the-right-rally|access-date=November 23, 2021}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Alt-right footer}}
{{Neo-Nazism}}
{{Unite the Right rally}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heimbach, Matthew}}
[[Category:1991 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Activists from Indiana]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American political party founders]]
[[Category:American anti-capitalists]]
[[Category:American conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:American neo-Nazis]]
[[Category:Christian fascists]]
[[Category:Criminals from Indiana]]
[[Category:National Bolsheviks]]
[[Category:People convicted of domestic violence]]
[[Category:People excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Strasserism]]
[[Category:Towson University alumni]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Kentucky]]

Matthew Heimbach - Revision history

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