The Ku Klux Klan Threatened to Decapitate my Dog: How Political Extremists are a Pain in the Ass

The Behind the Scenes Sausage Making of Creating a News Article From Researching the Ku Klux Klan

By Nate Thayer

September 5, 2015

Recently, I have written several articles exposing a Ku Klux leader as working as an undercover operative for the FBI.
Chris Barker, the Imperial Wizard-or national leader-of the most high-profile KKK group in the U.S, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan-is not happy.
The articles on his KKK faction have been published in July, August, and September of 2015.
Prior to publication, I made dozens of efforts-via email, phone calls, and through intermediaries-to contact Barker in order to get his side of the story. It was fruitful, sort of.
I got through to Barker in mid July, when he was organizing a rally in South Carolina in support of Dylan Roof, the young man who shot dead 9 God-fearing black people in a church. We talked on the phone and I outlined the documents and information I had regarding his work as a covert operative for the FBI.
Mr Barker hung up the phone several times, sent me incendiary emails and made threatening phone calls, and has since gone on White Nationalist internet forums to try to denounce the articles and defend his reputation.
(Full disclosure: I am not a fan of Mr. Barker, either, after he threatened to send thugs to my house, hold me hostage, and skin my pal, my dog Lamont, alive and then decapitate him and make me watch. But, since he did so from his personal home phone number, and Barker does not have a driver's license due to a half-dozen arrests for alcohol related traffic offenses, is on federal parole for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon that requires him to get permission to travel out of his home state of North Carolina, and has no idea where I live, I am not worried. I have pissed off far more formidable armies)

On July 16, I sent Chris Barker 48 U.S. government documents which detailed his role as an operative for the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force:
(I have cleaned up Barker's grammar and spelling to make his missives more easily understandable, but they are unedited for content).
From me to Barker July 16:
Hi Chris:
I am attaching a few docs to this email, but I have a lot more, too.
I will call you back after you get a chance to read them. But you can call me anytime. That is my cell number and I am here pretty much 24/7.
All I ask is that you be straight with me. I have no interest in bullshitting you or writing anything inaccurate. I promise what I write will be fair and accurate.
For the same reason, I don't want to be bullshitted.
Best,
Nate

Barker replied with this email message on July 16:
Like I said my name is on none of this shit if your (sic) where who (sic) you say you are you should be able to read that for yourself. It sounds to me after looking into your web-page you are working for that kike Frank Ancona (Anconca is the leader of a KKK group rival to Barker). And you are a member of Traditionalist American Kikes. (a reference to the Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK, Ancona's Missouri-based KKK).

Here is a story for you: how come Franks membership list was posted all over the internet? Because somehow he keeps all his members info on email??? Who is he sending all this info to? Can you figure it out? Take a guess.
Also three of his members in Florida just got caught by the F.B.I and you do not see any of my members going to jail except me. I have had the same Imperial Board for over 5 years now. None of them even have a criminal records.

I do not know what type of game you are trying to play, but where my name is concerned I have a damn good lawyer, if you continue harassing my family. Like I said you might want to dig into your own I.W.'s (Imperial Wizard) backyard first.

Barker then called me on the phone, yelled at me, threatened me, and then hung up on me. I sent him the following email:

Hi Chris:
I am sorry our call got cut short.
What I sent you was only a small portion of the documents I have. It is not me saying anything. Those are documents of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office. If you want to contest their accuracy, I am all ears. Believe me, I am well aware that the feds make shit up and twist info to serve their purposes. I am just trying to get my facts straight.
I mean that.
There are several other issues we did not get a chance to talk about. They include open case files of criminal charges for hate crimes which I have, with named law enforcement sources, which you are a chief suspect, along with (his wife) Amanda and others. There are also open case files on felony charges for larceny and possession of stolen property.
I would like to get your comments on both of these, among others, corroborated, on the record accusations. If they are incorrect, I want to know that.
As for who I am working for, the record is clear I am an independent journalist. I have a 30 year career record which speaks for itself.
Honestly, I couldn't care less about who does what in which Klan. I am not a member of nor partisan to any faction.
Again, I am just looking for the facts. If you want to talk-totally off the record or on or whatever works for you-please just give me a call.
You have my personal cell phone number: 443 205 9162
I have never met Frank Ancona (the Imperial Wizard of another Klan group of which Barker has a long running feud with), just like I have never met you. But if you choose to speak further with me, I will listen to you as I have Frank.
As for the TAK (Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK) three members arrested in Florida, we both know that two of them were first members of the LWK (Barker's Loyalist White Knights) until they left for TAK on their own accord for whatever reasons (They told me they left the LWK because they didn't think Barker's group had sufficient "family values").
I want to talk to you Chris. Just give me a call.
My story-this one-is ready to publish and will be later tonight. I hope if you have anything to add you will email or call me and let me know what that is.
I have no horse in this game. My political views are not part of the story.
I am a serious journalist. You won't find anyone that disagrees with that.
I hope to hear from you.
Best,
Nate
From Chris Barker:
July 16 to me:
i have never done any hate crimes and do not know what you are talking about with open case files on hate crimes or larceny
Barker then sent another email with the subject line 'NUT JOB':

and another thing if i worked for the government like you say wouldn't I already know about these open cases and now my wife to: she has never done nothing bad in her life. I have been in this movement now 18 years so go figure.

Email reply from me July 16:
Chris:
I am not saying anything. It is the U.S. government saying you work for the U.S. government, according to U.S. government documents.
I don't really give a shit whether you are or you aren't working for them. I do care whether it is true or not.
Aside from the documents I sent you, I have the same and additional documents which specifically name you several dozen times, by name, as working with the JTTF between August 2012 on forward with the JTTF.
That is one of a number of issues I have documentation regarding you, which will be in the news story.
I would still like to talk to you to hear your side of the story. My only interest is being accurate. If you also want to make sure you are accurately portrayed, just give me a shout.
But I have more than enough already to go to print.
It is up to you, really.
Whatever you choose, please don't bullshit me. My bullshit radar is pretty well oiled.
If you want to talk confidentially, no worries. Whether you believe it or not, you can trust me. I just want to get the facts straight.
I promise you, it is in your interest to add anything you want to clarify the facts I have obtained so far.
The story will be published tonight. After that, there is no going back. You can answer the questions now, or answer them afterwards.
Call me anytime,
Nate
Barker did not reply to the email nor answer phone calls in which I left messages urging him to give me a call back if he wanted.
I received no reply, and sent another email on July 17:

Chris:
I am doing a follow-up article on you to today's piece. Please call me if you have a change of heart and want to have a conversation about issues we have and have yet to talk about.
Best,
Nate
443 205 9162

Barker became alarmed when the article was published. It can be read here:

http://www.nate-thayer.com/patriot-games-kkk-leader-and-undercover-fbi-agent-heads-south-carolina-confederate-flag-rally/
From Chris Barker to me July 17:
What you wrote is very incorrect and we do need to talk about the real facts and not made up bullshit that you posted. i ask you to remove that till Amanda and i can speak to you and get the facts right.
From me to Chris Barker July 17:
Hi Chris: I will call you now. I am all ears. We can talk either off or on the record-whatever works for you. My only interest is getting the facts straight. If I have written anything inaccurate, I will not only take it down, I will write I was wrong. I only ask you accord me the same respect.

From Barker to me July 17:
i called you from my self phone 336-xxx-xxxx
From me to Barker:
Got it. Am calling now
(The telephone call made no progress and Barker refused to answer any questions regarding his work as a federal informant)
Barker refused to answer numerous other emails and telephone calls made to his personal cell phone, his wife's cellphone, their home landline number, and their Klan 'Hotline' number.
Another article was published July 19. I informed him of it then by email:
Hi Chris:
The article is out, under first publishing. It will be republished elsewhere tomorrow.
If you have any additions or corrections or thoughts etc, please just give me a shout-either by email or phone-no matter what time of day.
I am sorry you chose not to respond to the specifics of some the parts of the story. It is still your choice.
If you have clarifications, just give me a ring.
Best,
Nate
On August 19, I emailed him again, after Barker appeared at a public U.S. court federal trial-in the form of videotapes of Barker wired up in audio and video by the FBI and identified by name as a Klan leader and FBI 'confidential witness' and played to a jury-against a man who he collaborated with who was charged (and found guilty) of attempting to build and use a radioactive 'weapon of mass destruction':

That article can be read here: http://www.nate-thayer.com/disgraced-kkk-leader-became-a-key-fbi-operative-in-radioactive-ray-gun-plot/
Hi Chris:
I called you earlier today and left voice messages regarding the current federal trial in New York State of Scott Crawford who you met with while working as an informant for the FBI JTTF. As you might know, the FBI tape recordings of you wired up meeting with Crawford in August 2012 and October 2012 while working for the FBI were played in court this week, and the federal government identified you by name and as the IW (Imperial Wizard) of the LWK and as a FBI informant.
I am doing a story on the Crawford trial which will detail your role in the case and would very much like to talk to you to get your thoughts, clarifications, comments on the issue.
Please contact me at this email or 443 205 9162 before 0800 hours tomorrow. That is when the story will be published.
Chris, I have no beef with you and no axe to grind or any horse in this race. I am just looking to get my facts straight and make sure you have every opportunity to comment however you want.
Feel free to call me anytime.
Best,
Nate Thayer

After I wrote the article detailing that Barker had appeared in a federal courthouse on videotape as a FBI prosecution witness (and named as Chris Barker the Imperial Wizard of the Loyal White Knights of the KKK), Mr. Barker had to defend himself among the White Nationalist community, which includes the Ku Klux Klan, who do not take kindly to federal government informants among their ranks.
Barker then went on white nationalist public forums, including the most widely read, Stormfront.org, after numerous other KKK groups and others posted my now published articles:
Barker wrote on Stormfront:
"It is amazing no one has heard of these recordings but you and that poser news blogger who is not even in the media Nate Thayer would love to hear them though. Think about it Edomite ( Edomite is a pejorative White Supremacist term for Jews. Some White Supremacists contend Jews are not God's chosen ones, but from "the race of Edomites" who descend from the line of Jacob's brother, Esau, whose name was later changed to "Edom," a word meaning red) If I worked for the FBI would they even let that slip out would they not want to keep me low profile I always thought you Jews had bigger brains then us Aryans Mr Zimmerman.
Another KKK member named Zimmerman (who is not a fan of Barker) had posted the articles I wrote and responded to Barker:
Zimmerman: " If you where half as smart, and a little more sober, you would find out that Zimmerman is a German name, derived from the German word Zimmermann meaning carpenter. But keep trying to dig out of this hole."
Barker: "Not trying to dig out of any hole just read the damn articles your self one moment. It says I work for ZOG (Zionist Occupied Government, referring to the US federal government). The next moment it says I am wanted by ZOG for hate crimes. Now on the name Zimmerman it is used by Germans and Jews a like.The photos of you going around on the internet of you kissing that baby you look dark as a sand nigger kike to me. I would rather be called a FBI pig then a jew….."
Barker then responded to details in my article which show him having been arrested more than 40 times for crimes including malicious arson, weapons possession, larceny, burglary, possession of stolen goods, and innumerable other alcohol related criminal complaints:
I do not care if i have a criminal record. Name an Imperial Wizard who did not have one. Lets see Simmons had one; H.W.Evans went to prison for 5 years; Robert Shelton one year in prison; Virgil Griffin was locked up several different times; I.W. Ray Larsen; Dale Reusch Imperial Wizard of Ohio; Calvin Craig; and Bob Scoggins. The only Imperial Wizards I do not trust is (sic) the ones who do not have a criminal record.
To another White Nationalist who posted the article, Barker wrote:
Any one with any sense and half a brain cell can see through this article and it is a lie by Mr. Ancona and his friend who happens to be a member. First off the article says I work for the F.B.I and then later the A.T.F.and even further in the article it says I work for the J.T.T.F. I do not think you can work under three different branches of government.
It also says I can not attend rallies due to my probation. The thing is if I worked for the government they would have me at all rallies taking names and setting people up. Another way you can tell it is a fake is anyone who has been in the Klan long enough knows the media gives no Klansman a break or even prints half of what he says. But in this article the guy praises Frank Ancona and the T.A.K. No true media praises the Klan.
Just like the other month Ancona put out an article claiming I am Gay and leaving my wife. I have been with my wife 18 years more than I can say for some people. This article shows me one thing and that is we are getting under Frank Ancona's skin and will continue. Because we do not hide in the shadows we are the True Invisible Empire Loyal White Knights KKK. ■

Originally published on nate-thayer.com (Sep 2015). Recovered via the Wayback Machine.