Pharos-Tribune

Local News

April 22, 2008

Candidate speaks at Nazi rally

Tony Zirkle, a Republican candidate for Indiana’s 2nd congressional District, spoke before a large picture of Adolf Hitler Sunday, at a gathering hosted by the American National Socialist Workers Party.

Flanked by individuals wearing Nazi swastika armbands, and standing next to a swastika flag, Zirkle was pictured on the group’s Web site holding aloft a Seventh Day Adventist book.

The gathering, according to the ANSWP Web site, was held to celebrate the 119th anniversary of Hitler’s birth. Zirkle is pictured under a headline which reads “56 White Activists celebrate the birth of Adolf Hitler in Chicago.”

“I’ll speak before any group that invites me,” Zirkle said Monday. “I’ve spoken on an African-American radio station in Atlanta.”

Zirkle said the neo-Nazi group’s invitation “gave me an opportunity to witness to them,” and said he handed out numerous copies of a 19th-century book of Adventist prophecy called “Desire of the Ages.”

“I don’t really know much about them,” Zirkle said of the swastika-clad ANSWP members. “When the press attacked me on the segregation issue, they invited me to speak.”

Speaking along with Zirkle at the rally were a former German SS officer, a former congressional candidate from Illinois, and Bill White, the commander of the organization, according to the ANSWP Web site.

Goshen businessman Luke Puckett, who is also seeking the Republican nomination in the 2nd District race, circulated the Web link and copies of the pictures to the media Monday.

Puckett attached a quote to those e-mails, and his press secretary, Kyle Bailey, said the campaign would not commentfurther.

“I cannot believe that in 2008, anyone could think so backward,” Puckett wrote.

Zirkle’s appearance at a neo-Nazi function follows a string of controversial statements by the Crown Point attorney, including the suggestion that racial segregation could serve a useful purpose, and that convicted child sex offenders should be executed by the guillotine.

Zirkle has also attempted to draw media coverage to his campaign by changing his middle name to a cypher and publicly tearing up copies of adult magazines.

The ANSWP Web site said Zirkle spoke at the Chicago event on his past experiences “prosecuting Jewish and Zionist criminal gangs involved in trafficking prostitutes and pornography.”

“They were concerned with respect to prostitution and the targeting of young, white women,” Zirkle said of the Nazi group.

Zirkle went on to say that “Jews were basically prominent in getting the pornography industry started in the United States.”

Asked if he was worried that some might be offended by his appearance at a neo-Nazi event, Zirkle compared his appearance to former President Jimmy Carter going to speak to the Palestinian group Hamas.

“I understand that’s the risk people who want to be statesmen have to take,” Zirkle said.

Asked for his personal opinion on Hitler, Zirkle paused for a moment.

“Obviously, I never knew him,” Zirkle said. “I think he was a mass murderer, and from what I’ve heard in the media, I also understand that in his own mind, he was standing up against the injustices practiced against his country.”

Zirkle said Hitler was initially successful at reducing crime, “and the economy certainly improved,” but ultimately served to warn others that absolute power corrupts.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News
  • memorial Not forgotten

    A plaque in Mount Hope Cemetery near a flag pole dedicated to those from Logansport and Cass County who served in the World War reads: “Let those who come after see that these men shall not be forgotten.”

    May 28, 2012 1 Photo

  • LHS freshmen ace algebra ECA

    Logansport High School administrators were “ecstatic” last week over results from the statewide algebra I end-of-course assessment that showed passing marks for all the freshmen who took the exam.

    May 28, 2012

  • Logan man hands Indy 500 winner milk

    Logansport resident Dave Forgey remembers listening to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio as a kid while his cousins and siblings would gather for a picnic.

    May 28, 2012

  • 2012 Lewis Cass graduation

    May 27, 2012

  • Carlos Paul Leal Former LPD officer Leal turns himself in

    Former Logansport police officer Carlos Paul Leal was arrested Friday afternoon on charges of theft, and officials Saturday said the counts stem from two separate investigations.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • 9-1-1 dispatchers will soon be able to text

    Cass County dispatchers will be able to text callers starting this summer — a move that is reflective of where emergency communication services are heading nationwide.

    May 27, 2012

  • Anderson Tours1.JPG Andersons officials predict consistent demand for corn

    Farmers, elevator operators and other business associates joined local officials and community leaders to hear from the company’s president and its ethanol group president about industry progress since the plant was built.

    May 27, 2012 2 Photos

  • Former LPD officer arrested, accused of theft

    Former Logansport police officer Carlos Paul Leal was arrested Friday afternoon on two charges of theft, according to information obtained today by the Pharos-Tribune.

    May 26, 2012

  • No jail for driver in fatal hit-and-run

    A 25-year-old Logansport man admitted Thursday to leaving the scene of a deadly wreck last year, but he will not serve any time in jail as the result of a plea agreement.

    May 25, 2012

  • Board backs 51 percent spike in utility rates

    For Paul Hartman, the issue facing the Logansport Stormwater Management Board is pretty simple.

    May 25, 2012

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Featured Ads
More pharostribune.com
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
AP Video
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
Poll

The U.S. Postal Service is scaling back hours at about 13,000 post offices across the country so that it can keep open about 3,700 post offices it had targeted for closing. Do you support this plan?

Yes
No
Not sure
     View Results

eEdition