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Posted: April 21, 2003
On March 23, 2003, three members of the racist Keystone State Skinheads were arrested in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for assaulting an African-American man.
According to police, Antoni Williams, a 26-year-old Black man from Scranton, was walking home in the early morning when he encountered three men-Keith Carney, 21, Steve Smith, 31, and Steve Monteforte, 33, all from Pennsylvania-who allegedly asked him if he had ever been "beat up by a skinhead." The men, who were arrested on felony ethnic intimidation charges, allegedly shouted racial slurs and threw a brick at Williams.
Keystone State Skinheads
Keystone State Skinheads symbol, from above
The Keystone State Skinheads, made up of skinheads from Pennsylvania and other mid-Atlantic states, began meeting informally in the fall of 2001. Since then, they have grown considerably in numbers and activity. They formalized their organizational structure following a 2002 white supremacist rally in York, Pennsylvania, attended by members of many prominent white supremacist groups.
The group's goal, according to its Web site, is to "unite all racially aware skinheads in the state of Pennsylvania" and to "establish Pennsylvania as one of the most racially active states in America." The group regularly organizes skinhead concerts and claims to have chapters in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Altoona, Greensburg and Wilkes Barre/Scranton.
Carney, who was being held in Lackawanna County Prison, is a carpenter and a former member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance. In December 2001, he was arrested for posting National Alliance leaflets on the Vietnam War memorial in Philadelphia. He is also associated with the racist Eastern Hammerskins, another white supremacist skinhead group.
Smith, who also has a history of racist skinhead activity, is an associate of Charles Juba, who heads the Pennsylvania faction of the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations.
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