Two “stormtroopers” of George Lincoln Rockwell’s American Nazi Party were sentenced today to 12 months’ each on the Virginia State convict road work gang, after conviction on charges of assault and battery against a 13-year-old Jewish boy, Ricky Farber. A third Nazi was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
The hard labor imposed by Juvenile Court Judge Hugh Creeger upon Robert Garber, 31, and Richard Braun, 26, represented the maximum which could have been imposed for assault and battery. They are the most severe sentences yet imposed on members of the Rockwell group by any court in the nation.
The convicted Nazis are to begin their sentences on the convict road gang at once. The case was heard in Juvenile Court because, under Virginia law, it has jurisdiction over all offenses involving anyone under 18. Nazi leader Rockwell was present with many of his followers.
The judge declined to hold the two Nazis for grand Jury action. Rather than waiting for next October, the judge ruled there was adequate evidence to press immediate simple assault misdemeanor charges. He said the case did not constitute a felony, so that instantaneous action on misdemeanor charges could be taken and sentence imposed.
Garber and Braun were arrested July 11, after Ricky’s father swore warrants against them. Ricky told the judge how the Nazis had pursued him in the street, dragged him to the Nazi headquarters, handcuffed and otherwise abused him. Non-Jewish boys who witnessed the episode corroborated the testimony.
A large crowd of indignant citizens was present in the court house. Meanwhile, other Rockwell “stormtroopers” placed anti-Jewish hate sheets on windshields of cars parked in the court house area. Present in the crowd were clergymen of various faiths, leaders of civic, labor, women’s, school, and other groups.
Meanwhile, additional street-fighting here, involving Rockwell’s “stormtroopers” and youths, has resulted in the arrest of three Nazis and one 17-year-old anti-Nazi. Police reported that patrolmen saw two Nazis scuffling with the 17-year-old. Officers interceded, arresting two of Rockwell’s men, Charles Belveridge and Roy James; as well as the boy. All were charged with disorderly conduct. The boy claimed he was assaulted, and swore out a warrant against James.
Later, a 16-year-old-boy, in another incident in an Arlington street, reported he was attacked by a Nazi “stormtrooper,” Anthony Wells.
Wells was the third Nazi member sentenced today. He was convicted of assaulting a 16-year-old boy on a street here last night. In addition to being given jail sentence, he was fined $100. A fourth Nazi, James, also arrested after a street altercation last night, was acquitted.
In imposing sentence on Braun and Garber, Judge Creeger made known it was the maximum he could impose. He told the Rockwell men: “What I feel about your exploits and what your organization stands for, I have tried to divorce from this trial as much as possible.” Braun and Garber both appealed. They were taken to jail pending action on the appeal.
ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD SEEKS TO OUST ROCKWELL’S HEADQUARTERS
Forty Arlington community leaders, mainly non-Jews, joined today in an Emergency Citizens’ Committee to find legal ways to rid Arlington County of Rockwell’s American Nazi party and its “stormtroopers,” headquarters and “barracks.”
Inflamed to action by the growth of the uniformed Nazi group and its increasing audacity and terrorism, the citizens organization includes church, business, labor, school, and women’s leaders. Mrs. Charles E. Planck was named to head the committee, which will press for educational and legal efforts to get nazism out of Arlington county.
One of the community leaders, Mrs. Kathryn Stone, said that the community could no longer tolerate the Nazi menace. Other leaders insisted that responsible Arlingtonians would no longer permit their community to be the site for a rallying “headquarters” of nazism and an anti-Semitic “revival reminiscent of Hitler’s early days.”
Members of the Arlington County Board called for additional laws, if necessary. The board held an extraordinary session. Board member Ralph Kaul said he was shocked to learn the true extent of Nazi depradations. Board chairman Leo Urbanske indicated the board would insist that legal authorities act militantly to protect the community.
Authoritative county sources said: “While there has been a lot of talk in nearby Washington about free speech and so forth, this Nazi gang has sought to hide under a cloak of civil liberties while growing stronger and more daring.”
The issue this week became a main topic among civic and church groups of all denominations. The reaction was described as one of being “fed up with a growing nest of Nazis beginning to act like a private army, even trying to ‘arrest’ and imprison people.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
