Matthew Heimbach

Heimbach, who is of German descent, was born in Poolesville, Maryland.[9] Heimbach's parents, Karl and Margaret Heimbach, are public school teachers whose political affiliation he describes as Mitt Romney-style Republicans. Heimbach says his views on race and immigration were formed early on by the writings of Pat Buchanan, especially his book The Death of the West, and particularly Buchanan's paleoconservative writing in American Renaissance. As early as his entrance to college, Towson University, he had begun to take in the writings of Jared Taylor, a self-described "race realist".[9]

Heimbach met his former wife Brooke at an American Renaissance conference.[9][10]

The Southern Poverty Law Center has commented that Heimbach is "considered by many to be the face of a new generation of white nationalists."[11] According to the Counter Extremism Project, "Heimbach’s platform is based around the idea that the white race has been disadvantaged because of globalism and multiculturalism, which he has largely blamed on a global Jewish conspiracy. Heimbach claims that white unity is necessary because the Jews hate all white people equally."[12]

Heimbach has forged ties with nationalist groups from other countries, like Greece's far-right nationalist party Golden Dawn.[9] The United Kingdom government banned Heimbach from entering the country in October 2015 because his extremist rhetoric could incite violence.[12][13] Heimbach identified as a Strasserist.[14]

In April 2020, Heimbach published "In From the Cold: Why I Left White Nationalism," in which he described his gradual "pulling back" from the white nationalist movement, ultimately seeking to "acknowledge the wrong-headedness and counterproductive nature of extremist movements and the mentality that goes along with them."[15]

The Traditionalist Youth Network (TYN) was established in May 2013 by Matthew Heimbach with Matt Parrott as an offshoot of a "White Student Union" which was active on the Towson University campus.[16]

In January 2015 the TYN established the Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) as its political party prior to the 2016 elections, and a small group of candidates from the far-right ran under its banner.[17] The party stated that it stood against "economic exploitation, federal tyranny, and anti-Christian degeneracy".[17] The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, designated the Traditionalist Worker Party as a hate group. The group ceased operation in March 2018 following Heimbach's arrest for assaulting his then father-in-law, Matt Parrott, in a domestic violence altercation.[1][4]

On January 8, 2021, Chicago's NPR radio station WBEZ reported that Heimbach had participated in an attempted coup at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. The caption to WBEZ's photo of insurrectionists confronting U.S. Capitol Police outside the Senate chamber identified "Neo-Nazi Matthew Heimbach (second from left wearing a blue mask)."[18] However, WBEZ later amended its story with an editor's note including Heimbach's denial and his assertion that he was in Tennessee with his family on January 6. In its update, WBEZ removed Heimbach's name from their photo caption.[19] Also on January 8, Fox News identified Heimbach as having been "captured posing for photographs" during the January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.[20] Fox News subsequently deleted that story[21] and ran another by the same reporter, stating that "social media posts" had suggested Heimbach "took part in Wednesday's storming of the U.S. Capitol," but not mentioning Fox's own, withdrawn article to that effect.[22] On January 8, Mashable reported that "there is no proof that Heimbach was at the Capitol" on January 6.[23]

In July 2017, Heimbach pled guilty to second-degree disorderly conduct for an incident when he repeatedly pushed an anti-Trump protester at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky.[24] He received a suspended prison sentence, a fine, and an order to attend anger management classes.[25] In 2018, Heimbach was sentenced to 38 days in the Louisville jail for violating the terms of his probation.[25][24]