In early April, our organization exposed metro Atlanta resident John Lee Clemmer as a member of the white nationalist organization Identity Evropa (IE) and an active racist propagandist operating under the alias “Why Tea”. Clemmer bankrolled an expensive banner action by the white power organization IE on Georgia Tech campus in late 2017. Clemmer also snuck far-Right messages into his science fiction novels and forcefully campaigned against a Black teaching assistant at the University of Georgia.
John Lee Clemmer
We identified “Why Tea” as John Lee Clemmer via leaked discussion logs from IE, which were published by the Unicorn Riot independent media collective. Identity Evropa has now rebranded as the “American Identity Movement” (AmIM). At the time, we did not know whether Clemmer had stuck with the white power organization after its name change, but new evidence establishes that Clemmer has remained in IE/AmIM.
With the publication of our article on Clemmer, we alerted Clemmer’s employers at International Business Machines (IBM), where he was working as a managing consultant for Cloud Identity Services. We also mailed flyers to Clemmer’s neighbors in Smyrna, Georgia, informing them of the racist propagandist in their midst. In response, Clemmer lied and insisted that he had been misidentified.
In May, we updated our article to state that “We have received multiple indications that John L. Clemmer is no longer working for IBM”. We pointedly did not write that Clemmer had been fired.
Now, Unicorn Riot has published a new set of leaked messages from AmIM, providing discussion from that group’s “Dox Support” channel. This channel was established so that members of the racist organization who had been publicly identified could discuss how best to respond. John Lee Clemmer appears in this channel as “Humanbiodiversity”: a scientific-sounding euphemism for racism. In one message, “Humanbiodiversity” discusses “when antifa sent flyers to all my neighbors” and the neighbors’ responses. Due to the timing and details of what occurred, this could only refer to the mailing of John Lee Clemmer’s neighborhood. Elsewhere, “Humanbiodiversity” clumsily switches from writing about his experience in the first person to referring to John Lee Clemmer in the third person. Since Clemmer shared his thoughts in a closed chat exclusively for AmIM members, it is clear that Clemmer stuck with the white nationalist organization IE after it rebranded as AmIM.
In the “Dox Support” discussion, Clemmer/“Humanbiodiversity” revealed on April 20th that his employer had decided not to fire him and had ruled – despite mountains of evidence to the contrary – that there was nothing to link Clemmer to the racist propagandist “Why Tea”. By the time that Clemmer made this comment, our organization had even noted that John Lee Clemmer maintained a playlist of racist propaganda under his own name in addition to his materials as “Why Tea”.
John Lee Clemmer as “Humanbiodiversity” in leaked AmIM chats, April 20, 2019
On April 26, Clemmer/“Humanbiodiversity” stated that he was doing the “deny deny deny thing” to the public. In another comment from May 5, Clemmer disclosed his strategy for the future: “It’s disinformation about reality for me from now on”. Clemmer then joked that he was actually an electrician (rather than an IBM employee).
John Lee Clemmer/“Humanbiodiversity” admits to widespread lying.
Finally, on May 14, Clemmer/“Humanbiodiversity” gloated that “Antifa is now 0 for 2 with me”, having neither got him fired for what he admits were fire-able breaches of his workplace’s code of conduct, nor preventing him from getting a new job. It appears that Clemmer left IBM having received new employment after the company had botched its investigation.
John Lee Clemmer gloats, May 14, 2019
John Lee Clemmer as “Why Tea” on Twitter. Note the date of Clemmer’s all-caps post, which corresponds to Clemmer’s gloating in AmIM “Dox Support”.
With his comments to the “Dox Support” channel, Clemmer revealed just how badly IBM mishandled its internal investigation. While investigating, IBM made no effort to follow up with our organization, for example asking questions about our research or requesting further documentation. Predictably, IBM are now keeping quiet about their clearing of an active racist propagandist.
Now that this sad chapter has concluded, all we can do is publish evidence of IBM mishandling its investigation, and of John Lee Clemmer’s “deny deny deny” strategy about his white power involvement.
If you have further information on Clemmer, his current employment, the American Identity Movement, or other white nationalists in our region, please get in touch.
If you are concerned by the Cooper’s presence at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, please reach out to the private school. We also encourage letters about Cooper to the State Bar of Georgia. Details here.
We always welcome information about Casey Cooper and his white power associates in and around Atlanta, so get in touch if you can help.
The house, located on a quiet, affluent street in the Peachtree Hills neighborhood of Buckhead, Atlanta, does not stand out. The comings and goings at 121 Ridgeland Way NE may not attract much neighborhood attention. However, this house is a hub for racist organizing not just for Atlanta, but for the South and arguably the country. It is owned by Sam Glasgow Dickson, a key player in the white nationalist movement. From this building, Dickson and his associates try to build the white power movement, especially its middle-class face. They also make moves in the Atlanta property market, both enriching themselves and building resources for their cause.
121 Ridgeland Way NE. (Can you see a subtle algiz rune on the exterior too, or are we trippin’?)
Our prior coverage of long-time white nationalist leader Sam Dickson includes a detailed article from last year on “Right-Wing Gentrification Gangs.” Apart from some background information and setting out Dickson’s importance within the broader white nationalist movement, we will not duplicate that earlier material here. This article has two purposes. First, we are updating our earlier coverage of Dickson and his white power associates. Second, by setting out five names associated with the Ridgeland Way property in Buckhead, we aim to provide a more complete picture of what goes on at the space, and how this activity fits within the white nationalist movement regionally and nationally.
The House
According to Fulton County property records, 121 Ridgeland Way NE was purchased in Sam G Dickson in 1997, then transferred in 2009 to “Hickory Hill 1185”, which is one of many companies operated by Dickson. Although the property itself is listed as 121 Ridgeland Way NE, four mail boxes numbered 115, 117, 119 and 121 outside the property indicate different residents there.
Mail boxes outside 121 Ridgeland Way.
While the building appears smaller from the front, the Ridgeland house has three floors, as is visible from the back.
We suspect that the proximity of the Ridgeland Way house is one reason why Atlanta white nationalist and far-Right speaking events often take place in Buckhead restaurants.
Individuals Linked to 121 Ridgeland Way NE
We will discuss five individuals linked to the 121 Ridgeland Way building. Of these, four are either residents or have been residents until recently. The fifth person, Casey Jordan Cooper of Identity Evropa, lived at the Ridgeland Way building last year and early 2018, but may have moved.
Sam Glasgow Dickson
Sam Dickson speaking at the American Renaissance white nationalist conference.
While Sam G. Dickson also owns property in Florida, the Ridgeland Way address is Dickson’s base in Atlanta. Dickson has been involved with organized white nationalism and the far-Right for decades. In 1978, Dickson ran for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia on a segregationist platform. As a lawyer, Dickson repeatedly worked for Klan members. Dickson has been involved in a string of racist organizations, such as the Council of Conservative Citizens (which trace back to the White Citizens’ Councils opposing civil rights), the secretive Charles Martel Society (Dickson is listed as Director), and the Holocaust-denying Barnes Review (he is on their Board of Contributing Editors).
In April, Dickson spoke as usual at the American Renaissance conference, which took place in Tennessee. American Renaissance is a major “suit and tie” white nationalist gathering. Dickson has attended these events since the very first American Renaissance conference in 1994 and has spoken at every conference. This year, Dickson’s speech addressed the “crash in morale” among white nationalists following “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville last August, and argued for white nationalists to take an oppositional stance toward the existing political system, which Dickson portrayed as hostile.
By looking over Fulton County property records, we have discovered that Samuel Jared Taylor — the founder of American Renaissance — is yet another racist figurehead who Dickson had Atlanta property dealings with in the past. However, Taylor no longer seems to own property in the city, at least under his own name.
Evan Thomas Anderson
Identity Evropa propaganda poster: Evan Anderson speaking at May 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville
The last year has produced evidence of what we already suspected: Evan Anderson is playing the role of Dickson’s younger protégé in Atlanta property dealings and Anderson is deeply involved with Dickson’s day-to-day business affairs. Recent property records list Evan Anderson as a “member” of Dickson’s “Hickory Hill 1185” as well as “Belfare, LLC” companies.
Earlier this year, Anderson established the company “Good Earth Properties, LLC” in Georgia, using the address “117 Ridgeland Way NE” (an address which is part of the 121 building) on his filing with the Secretary of State.
Shawn David Young
Shawn Young, photo from election-night white nationalist gathering in leaked Alt-Right messages
Shawn Young has been an associate of Dickson’s for many years. Young appears, for example, in 2011 property records transferring a property in Lakewood Heights to one of Dickson’s companies.
From 2011 Fulton County “Deed to Secure Debt” between Sam Dickson’s “Hickory Hill 1185” and American Renaissance white nationalist leader Samuel Jared Taylor: document notarized by John Weatherman and witnessed by Shawn Young.
John Weatherman is listed as owning rental property in Fulton and Dekalb Counties. He also works as an agent for others owning rental property in these counties.
In a group photo from Identity Evropa’s first national conference in Burkesville, Kentucky during March of this year, Cooper stands beside the organization’s leader Patrick Casey, a visual cue that Cooper is a respected leader within the racist organization. Another white nationalist who we have written about extensively, Patrick Nelson Sharp, is on the other side of IE leader Patrick Casey. Because Cooper, Evan Anderson and Dickson all lived in the same building, it is hardly surprising that Sam Dickson was invited as a key speaker when Identity Evropa held its national conference.
Photo from Identity Evropa national conference, March 2018. Cooper is circled. Note also Evan Anderson on right.
Conclusion
With this article, we have discussed Sam Dickson and four other individuals linked to Dickson’s Ridgeland Way building in Peachtree Hills, Buckhead in Atlanta. We discussed both ideological white nationalist activity as well as the business ventures associated with this address. We hope this material usefully updates and supplements our writing from last year about white nationalist gentrifiers in Atlanta.
Since the Ridgeland Way building we have discussed is such a hive of activity, we still have much to learn about it. Please get in contact if you know more about residents or visitors at the building, or about other activities coordinated from this space.
