Following the gunning down of fifty people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, by a white nationalist gunman, an Eastern Washington far-right radio host called for the elimination of Islam from the United States.
The broadcaster, pseudonymously known as John Jacob Schmidt, used an episode of the Radio Free Redoubt podcast to express his anti-Muslim bigotry. Attempting to deflect against charges of Islamophobia, he told his audience, “We don’t want Islam in America. Islam does not belong in America, has no place in America. I’m just going to say it.”
“We don’t want Islam in America. Islam does not belong in America, has no place in America. I’m just going to say it.”
He went on to add that he had a “phobia” of Americans who “shrug” away his position on eliminating Islam from the United States.
Much the remainder of episode 19-13 of the podcast was spent downplaying the Christchurch attack, floating the idea that it may have been a “false flag” conspiracy, and repeating other Islamophobic conspiracies.
This is not the first time Schmidt attacked Muslims on the Radio Free Redoubt podcast or on his radio show broadcast on the American Christian Network’s Spokane affiliate KTW 630AM. He has called Islam “demonic,” promoted Islamophobic activists like Pamela Gellar, and regurgitated countless anti-Muslim conspiracy theories on his programs.
Nor is this the first time Schmidt has provided cover to white nationalists. On Radio Free Redoubt, Schmidt promoted the cause of the Suidlanders, a white South African survivalist group founded in 2006 to prepare for what they believe is an impending race war. Schmidt has interviewed Suidlander leader, Simon Roche, multiple times on his program. Roche and his group took credit for spreading the “white genocide” myth around the globe, which made Roche popular in American white nationalist circles. During his 2017 US tour, Roche was a featured speaker at the 2017 conference of the white nationalist think-tank, American Renaissance.
Schmidt has become a fixture at inland northwest militia, three percenter, and prepper events. He is also an activist in the effort to split the state of Washington in two. Radio Free Redoubt regularly advertises the so-called “Liberty State” state secessionist effort, and Schmidt is an ardent supporter.
