Jeff Hall, Neo-Nazi Leader of 'National Socialist Movement,' Shot Dead in Riverside Home; 10-Year-Old Son in Police Custody
Updated after the jump with Hall's son booked at juvenile hall on suspicion of murder.
National Socialist Movement 32-year-old Jeff Hall
The National Socialist Movement lost its SoCal chapter's fearless leader today in a bizarre at-home shooting that Riverside Police Department investigators seem to be blaming on Jeff Hall's 10-year-old son. His wife and four other children were likewise at the house when he was killed.
The New York Times reports that the 10-year-old was detained after cops responded to neighbors' reports of gunfire at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. A neighbor also told the Times she "saw several guns being removed from the home."
In his role as leading white supremacist of the neo-nazi group NSM, Hall has been known to make his point while armed and dangerous. From the Southern Poverty Law Center:
On June 19, 2010, NSM members J.T. Ready, Jeff Hall and about eight other individuals (some of whom were not NSM members) congregated in Arizona's Vekol Valley. Hall described the goal of their operation as to "fight the [Mexican drug] cartels and reclaim the land." Armed with pistols and high-powered rifles, the group led patrols through the desert and "secured" an abandoned building. They claimed to have apprehended three illegal immigrants attempting a border crossing, although this has not been independently confirmed.
Hall was an active anti-immigration bigot. He was planning another civilian border patrol for this month, the Times reports, which he announced at a Saturday-afternoon NSM meeting -- just before his death later that night.
He said at the meeting: "This is a very active area right now. You guys get your Glocks cocked and get ready to rock. We're going to the border. That's how we do it."
The 32-year-old SoCal resident's NSM colleagues memorialized him on their website yesterday, calling him "a loving Father of five children, a family man, and a dedicated American Patriot" and claiming that "his children were his life."
The victim also ran for the Western Riverside Municipal Water District board in November. Though he lost to the incumbent, NSM reports that Hall netted 30 percent of the vote despite his antagonistic party affiliation. The memorial continues:
"He touched the lives of so many people, and was a tremendous inspiration to everyone around him. His energy and devotion to our Folk and Nation knew no bounds. Jeff Hall will be greatly missed by us all. ... In life he was a giant amongst men, constantly putting others before himself."
Here he is at a 2009 rally:
Update: Hall's 10-year-old was "booked at juvenile hall for investigation of murder," and there are no other suspects, reports KTLA. Hall was allegedly bleeding out on the family couch when police arrived.
Spooked-out neighbors talked to the Riverside Press-Enterprise about the neighborhood's strangest family:
"Honestly, I feel like it's over," said Juan Trejo, who lives across the street from Hall's home. "It was scary here. Hopefully we'll never see any of them again."Trejo described a Halloween party at the home last year, when Hall flew a swastika flag from the home and guests wore KKK hoods. Trejo said Hall lived there with his wife and several children, one of whom called his son a "beaner" when the boy skateboarded near the Hall home.
The Press-Enterprise reports that Hall's five surviving children are all under the age of 12. An LA Weekly commenter called Haileen claims to be the shooter's cousin, and says:
"Yeah my cousin shot him. He doesnt know better. From what he hears whenever they have meetings is that its okay to be racist and to shoot people. ... Being around his dad has taught him things. I bet my cousin didn't even know what was going on."
Update: Riverside police Lieutenant Ed Blevins confirms that the 10-year-old -- Hall's oldest child -- is booked for murder. Blevins says the family's three youngest children are with his current wife, but the 9-year-old and 10-year-old are from a previous marriage. So the child shooter was living with his step-mom.
Originally posted April 2 at 9 a.m.
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