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Intelligence Project Exposes Extremists in Public Life

May 30, 2005

From the Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report

In February, the Center's Intelligence Project published a special website feature on white supremacists active in prominent Washington, D.C., publishing venues. The report revealed that the managing editor of Human Events, a conservative weekly, and The Evans-Novak Political Report, a highly respected newsletter, was also an editor for the anti-Semitic journal, The Occidental Quarterly.

Kevin Lamb, who had served as managing editor of both publications for several years, was also a repeat speaker at extremist conferences, including those of the race-science organization, The New Century Foundation, which publishes the hate newsletter American Renaissance.

Four other members of hate groups—including two journalists who work for the conservative The Washington Times — were also listed as contributors for Human Events. After being contacted by the Intelligence Project, the editor of both publications had Lamb fired, and articles by the other extremists were removed from the publication's website.

The exposé also disclosed the racist views of Marian Kester Coombs, wife of the managing editor of The Washington Times, Fran Coombs. Coombs has seen his wife's columns published in his paper several times, and her articles have also appeared in white supremacist publications. Most of her especially inflammatory writings have appeared in white supremacist venues such as The Occidental Quarterly, which ran her glowing review of a book on "racially conscious" whites by Robert S. Griffin, a member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance. In it, Marian Coombs opined that white men should "run, not walk" to wed "racially conscious" white women and avoid being out-bred by non-whites.

But the Times has also published its share of her extremism.

In one opinion piece in the Times, Coombs described the whole of human history as "the struggle of ... races." Non-white immigration, she wrote in another column, is "importing poverty and revolution" that will end in "the eventual loss of sovereign American territory." In England, Muslims "are turning life in this once pleasant land into a misery for its native inhabitants."

Also working for Fran Coombs is Robert Stacy McCain, a Times assistant national editor and a member of the white supremacist hate group League of the South. McCain is in charge of the paper's "Culture Briefs" feature, into which he has often inserted excerpts of material written by hate groups. At Coombs' direction, McCain has been allowed to cover "Southern heritage" issues for the Times, while citing as experts fellow members of the League. In addition, McCain is the only national reporter to cover four conferences put on by American Renaissance. Until 2004, McCain had never mentioned its controversial nature.

Both Marian Coombs and McCain's articles for Human Events have been removed from that website.

In January, the Intelligence Project posted another special website feature exposing the white supremacist past of Joe McCutchen, who was appointed as chairman of the anti-immigrant initiative Protect Arkansas Now. McCutchen has a track record of extremism, having been listed as a member of the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens in 2001 in its newsletter. McCutchen gave a speech on a panel of the group's 2001 conference where he was joined by two well-known white supremacist immigrant-bashers.

McCutchen has also written anti-Semitic material of his own. In June 2003, he wrote a letter to the Southwest Times Record of Ft. Smith, Ark., claiming "the central government, banking, media (radio/TV) and entertainment are controlled by Jews." Jews also "own the world monetary system," McCutchen declared.

McCutchen is the second reported Council of Conservative Citizens member to lead an anti-immigrant initiative. Virginia Abernethy, an editorial advisor to the group's newsletter, was the head of the advisory board for Protect Arizona Now, a referendum that passed in November. The initiative requires state workers to ask for identification from those applying for social benefits who appear to be immigrants.

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The article appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center at: http://www.splcenter.org

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