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In response, Hill has announced the formation of another paramilitary outfit. An examination of some of Hill鈥檚 recent miscalculations, particularly the placement of the LOS 鈥渘ationals鈥� building in a rural Alabama backwater, provides some context as to why doubling down on this strategy seems unlikely to produce different results.

The League of the South lists its 鈥渙ffice鈥� at a Killen, Alabama PO Box, near Hill鈥檚 current home. The 鈥淎labama LS cultural center and headquarters鈥� is located over 200 miles away, along Highway 231 in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Some might assume the site of the 鈥渘ationals building鈥� was chosen for its historical significance. A mere half-hour drive down the road is the Alabama state capitol, where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the first president of the Confederate States of America (CSA), presently marked by a blue, six-pointed star. A stone鈥檚 throw away is a historical marker commemorating from where the telegraph ordering the shelling of Fort Sumter was sent.

Such a location, near the heart of the CSA, would surely resonate with those seeking to bring about a second southern secession. Hill鈥檚 true motive for the location, however, appears to be based much less on symbolic association with the CSA or kinship with rural WASPS than a prudent real estate decision.

Business records for the LOS headquarters list the property as the physical address for the William Lowndes Yancey chapter of the League of the South. Chairman Mike Whorton, a longtime LOS member and associate of Hill鈥檚 operates a real estate practice down the road. Whorton and the Yancey Chapter frequently host 鈥渏amborees鈥� at the site, which has two signs 鈥� fixed wooden and digital 鈥� displaying advertisements for the League.

The building itself is a tan affair with a gable roof, set back from Highway 231 on a small plot of property. Astride the main entrance are two flagpoles sporting the Confederate Battle Flag (CBF) and the Alabama State Flag. Interestingly enough, Hill and the Yancey chapter have elected not to fly the 鈥淪outhern Nationalist鈥� banner adopted by the League and other neo-Confederates in recent years.

Once a year, the structure boasts an event of a decidedly more militant tone than Whorton鈥檚 alcohol-free 鈥渏amborees鈥�. Every July, LOS members from across the South congregate at the site for their 鈥渘ational conference,鈥� an opportunity to listen to speeches from League members and to protest 鈥淪outhern Demographic Displacement鈥� and 鈥淛ihad In Dixie鈥� at the remote intersection of Highways 231 and 14.

Eyewitness accounts from years past paint a bland picture of the social scene at LOS nationals. Outside of the conference, members generally socialize in motel rooms and parking lots, eschewing Wetumpka鈥檚 limited selection of bars, chain restaurants and the local Native American casino (for reasons that should be obvious).

As Hatewatch has previously reported, a group of younger LOS members broke from the 2016 Nationals conference to host a splinter protest at an LGBTQ Pride Parade on the steps of the Alabama capitol. While Hill and the Old Guard of the League retreated to the air conditioned nationals building to warble 鈥淒ixie鈥�, Hill鈥檚 younger membership apparently sought out more exciting entertainment.

Youth In Revolt

Prior to the construction of its 鈥渘ational headquarters鈥� the League held conferences throughout the south. Michael Cushman, the League鈥檚 former South Carolina chairman, described his role in planning League events in a post on his new Southern Future blog titled 鈥�.鈥�

鈥淚 put a lot of time, effort and money into promoting the League several years ago. And my approach got us a ton of exposure in the media. I led numerous public demonstrations and was happy to do so. 聽I sought to make us a mainstream political vehicle for the Southern people, our faith and values.鈥�

Cushman left the League after butting heads with Hill over militant rhetoric in the wake of the Charleston shooting. It appears that Hill鈥檚 inclination toward rural retreats also played a role. Cushman recently emerged from a self-imposed activism hiatus to attend and speak at the inaugural 鈥淎tlanta Forum,鈥� an event organized by the neo-Confederate splinter faction of Mike Enoch鈥檚 The Right Stuff (TRS).

Another Southern Nationalist expat turned 鈥淎lt-Right鈥� mouthpiece, Brad Griffin, also spoke at the event. In a post outlining future plans for public events, Griffin, writing on his blog Occidental Dissent under then pen-name Hunter Wallace, stated:

鈥淕reg Johnson is going to be hosting a series of private, invitation-only meetings in the Northwest. I鈥檓 planning to do the same thing here in the Southeast. Every other month we will host an Alt-South meeting somewhere in order to expand our network. It will be like the League of the South鈥檚 various protests, but without the street action.鈥�

Griffin was for a time a staunch advocate of the League鈥檚 strategy of staging public protests. While he has not updated the 鈥淓vents/Activism鈥� tab on Occidental Dissent since August of 2013, Griffin wrote on 鈥溾�� in March of 2014 and participated in LOS protests as recently as 2016. Rifts between Griffin and Hill were visible at the time of that protest at LOS Nationals and have only become more pronounced. Since the 2016 election, Griffin has denigrated Hill for disagreeing with him over the usefulness of Trump鈥檚 candidacy. No longer limiting himself to Occidental Dissent, Griffin has begun writing under his pen name for Richard Spencer鈥檚 new Alt-Right blog.

Griffin鈥檚 willingness to buck rank within the League and join forces with effete urbanite Spencer makes sense, given that Griffin has himself benefitted socially from venturing outside of his home in Alabama鈥檚 rural black belt. It was at the Council of Conservative Citizen鈥檚 (CofCC鈥檚) 2013 Conference in Winston-Salem, NC that Griffin met his wife-to-be, Renee Baum, daughter of CofCC co-founder Gordon Baum.

A Rural Solution to Urban Strife

Realizing that his organization has lost appeal among the youth, Hill has announced the formation of a Southern Defense Force (SDF). With the SDF, Hill is recycling the threat of paramilitary action by the League, previously used under the guise of the 鈥淚ndomitables鈥�.

Hill鈥檚 stated intent for the 鈥淪outhern Defense Force鈥� (SDF) is to combat 鈥渢he leftist army 鈥� Antifa (Anti-Fascists), Black Lives Matter (BLM), and other assorted radical organizations.鈥�

Hill nests his justification for the SDF in the larger narrative of a mass conspiracy of left-wing violence, largely in response to growing tensions and protests surrounding the inauguration of President Trump and his wave of anti-Muslim executive orders.

Hill correctly identifies the major flashpoints as occurring in 鈥渕ajor urban areas and college/university campuses.鈥�

What comes next is a bit of a stretch.

鈥淚t鈥檚 only a matter of time until they move 鈥� into smaller cities and towns, the suburbs, and ever [sic] some rural areas.鈥�

Hill鈥檚 posturing belies the fact that the 2016 election revealed a substantial gulf between liberal metropolitan areas and the vast swathes of less populated land between that went to Trump. Given this demographic distribution, it seems highly unlikely that there is a significant body of Soros-funded, left-wing extremists in Wetumpka, Alabama capable of mustering a violent street gang.

The League has announced its July 2017 鈥淣ationals Conference鈥� to be held once again at its remote 鈥渃ultural center and headquarters鈥�. While the aging membership reclines on folding chairs inside an air-conditioned room, black-clad members of the SDF (formerly 鈥淚ndomitables鈥�) will patrol the grounds, ever alert for Antifas among the pine trees.

The League鈥檚 鈥渘ationals building鈥� presently stands as a monument not to Hill鈥檚 vision of a new South, but to the mistaken calculation that led him to locate the physical and symbolic heart of his organization in a remote locale and to close his ears to the fresh ideas of younger members.