One of the most ridiculous examples of white supremacist talking points seeping into the mainstream last year was the belief in a “white genocide” in South Africa. Far-right South Africans have been in contact with U.S.-based white supremacists since at least 2017 in order to both solicit donations and spread the false message that white South Africans are under siege from the black majority.

In particular, Suidlanders spokesman Simon Roche had appeared on racist podcasts and spoke at white power conferences. He attended the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, and even had a brief affair with a young Neo-Nazi activist named Vanessa Carlisle. Roche had evidently hoped this U.S. tour would result in the media and politicians taking notice.

And for a brief while it looked like his hard work paid off. White nationalist activist Lauren Southern produced a deceptive movie on the subject called Farmlands, and Fox News host Tucker Carlson railed against South African land reform, which he denounced as “racist.” It finally culminated in a tweet by President Trump in which he claimed to have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “closely study” the situation.

Months later and the momentum around the issue of “white genocide” in South Africa seems to have fizzled. But that hasn’t stopped the Suidlanders from continuing to coordinate with white supremacists in the U.S. Recently Rich Hamblen, a member of the Neo-Confederate hate group League of the South (“LoS”), visited with Suidlanders founder Gustav Z. Müller.

During their meeting Hamblen gave Müller an LoS flag and the two shook hands. Müller posted a photo of it on his Twitter account and wrote that a meeting had been held between himself and a “representative of a US Christian conservative patriotic organisation.” He added that their discussion was “fruitful” and that he and the Suidlanders “look forward to further engagement over the coming months.”

Archived here.

On the January 5, 2019 episode of The Political Cesspool, host James Edwards described the photo as that of “two men joined in a very firm and manly handshake,” and said “that picture’s one that speaks a thousand words.” He asked Hamblen, a guest on the show, what it was like giving him that flag. Hamblen said it was “great” and that he had dinner with Müller twice — though on one occasion there were three other unnamed Americans there.

https://twitter.com/JamesEdwardsTPC/status/1081733759156793345

Archived here.

He claimed his meeting with Müller lasted three hours, and that Simon Roche was present at the meeting. Hamblen told Edwards that he asked Müller “how the League [of the South] can help Suidlanders right now.” Müller told Hamblen that the best way to help would be to “facilitate” Simon Roche’s next U.S. tour starting “on the 10th” (presumably of January).

Roche will apparently be making another series of appearances on white supremacist media outlets, but most disturbing was Hamblen’s claim that Roche will be meeting with members of Congress. Hamblen encouraged listeners to contact their elected representatives and urge them to take action on behalf of white South Africans. He added that the Suidlanders are “placing a lot of faith in Donald Trump” because of his August 2018 tweet.

H/T Michael Bueckert