Neo-Nazi Indicted for Bombs is Son of Movement Stalwart
A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted Jeffery Harbin, 28, of Apache Junction, Ariz., on three counts of possessing explosive devices. Harbin, who has ties to the neo-Nazi (NSM) and was formerly a member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, had in his possession 12 grenade-like improvised explosive devices. They were built with PVC pipe and filled with black powder, ball bearings, and an improvised fusing system.
The indictment alleges that Harbin unlawfully transported one of the devices. He was pulled over by law enforcement while driving his pickup truck on January 14 in Apache Junction. Dennis K. Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, told ABC15 News that 鈥淛effery Harbin built these IEDs in such a away as to maximize human carnage.鈥� If found guilty, Harbin faces up to 10 years in prison for each count and the possibility of a $250,000 fine.
Neo-Nazi sympathizer and former NSM member , currently one of Arizona's most visible self-appointed border patrollers, claimed that he personally recruited Harbin into the NSM, but that he himself is no longer a member of the group. When asked by ABC15 News in Phoenix if he knew what Harbin was planning to do with the bombs, Ready replied that things are still under investigation, and that the reporter 鈥渨ould have to talk to the feds and see what their official statement is鈥ut I will say that domestic terrorism is real.鈥� An NSM spokesman contacted ABC15 News reporter Christopher Sign and informed him that Jeffery Harbin was 鈥渘o longer with鈥� the NSM.
Jeffery isn鈥檛 the only Harbin to be involved in the neo-Nazi movement. He is the son of , who has been active in white nationalist causes for years. In 1999, the senior Harbin was listed as the Phoenix contact for a new chapter of the racist in the Citizen Informer, the group's newspaper. The CofCC, which evolved directly from the pro-segregation White Citizens Councils of the Jim Crow South, has referred to African Americans as 鈥渁 retrograde species of humanity.鈥�
In 2001, Jerry Harbin became the coordinator for the Phoenix chapter of the (NA), at that time one of the most dangerous and best-organized neo-Nazi groups in the country. Harbin's chapter was active through 2005, when it switched to a chapter of National Vanguard (NV). In 2006, Harbin at the neo-Nazi Winterfest in Phoenix, which was hosted by the wife of Jesse Curnow, Arizona Coordinator for the white supremacist . By 2007, Harbin was no longer with NV, and instead turned his attention to other, perhaps more benign activities, like being the adjutant and choir director of the Phoenix camp of the .
Repeated calls to Jerry Harbin for comment were not answered.
