After Hatewatch Story, Maryland Military Engineer is Suspended
The U.S. Army is not commenting on its decision to suspend with pay one of its chemical and biological research engineers while he is investigated for his reported close ties to two racist groups espousing white nationalist views.
John Stortstrom, a mechanical engineer who worked for the Army at its Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) in Maryland, was suspended May 28 after published reports disclosed he was among 150 white nationalists who attended the conference in early April in Tennessee. American Renaissance is a journal dedicated to race and intelligence, with a heavy focus on the 鈥減sychopathology鈥 of black people. Its editor has written that black people are incapable of sustaining any kind of civilization.
Stortstrom also has been a member of (YWC), a far-right student group started about five years ago that now appears to be defunct.聽 Simultaneously, Stortstrom served as vice president of the Route 40 Republican Party Club, based in Edgewood, Md., which recently sponsored an appearance by , president of the racist White Student Union at Towson University.
Stortstrom鈥檚 racist affiliations were first reported by the anti-racist organization (OPP). The group鈥檚 site included a photo of Stortstrom with the caption, 鈥淓ngineer. Republican. Racist. Military bomb maker.鈥 His racist affiliations 鈥 while he works with a security clearance at a U.S. military chemical and explosive facility 鈥 subsequently were explored in articles that appeared on and .
Stortstrom was put on administrative leave, with pay, on May 28 as a result of the article published on 人兽性交鈥檚 Hatewatch blog, ECBC spokesman Don Kennedy told for a story published on July 4.
鈥淜ennedy would not give any more details about the allegations against Stortstrom, except to say the investigation is ongoing,鈥 the newspaper reported. 聽The spokesman 鈥渁lso declined to comment on any free speech implications of the action taken by the ECBC.鈥
鈥淎n article came out in the Southern Poverty Law Center and it got back to management, and obviously an investigation was put under way and he was put on administrative leave,鈥 Kennedy is quoted as telling the newspaper.
The newspaper reported that Stortstrom did not respond to E-mail and phone requests for comment, and also declined comment when reached through an acquaintance last week.
While avoiding public comment, Stortstrom does appear to be taking steps to erase and remove details of his various affiliations from Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
On a YouTube video that was publicly available in May, he said his job at the Aberdeen Providing Ground is 鈥渢o provide engineering and chemical expertise to customers in support of obscuration, non-lethal, riot control and incendiary munitions.鈥 It wasn鈥檛 clear if the military authorized him to post a video detailing his work with explosives as a government engineer.
Stortstrom also discussed his work with the military鈥檚 M-106 鈥渂ursting grenade鈥 that fills the air with a 鈥渢itanium dioxide cloud鈥 after being thrown to provide concealment in 鈥渁 sniper-defense scenario.鈥
In reporting on the investigation of Stortstrom, OPP posted a with the heading:聽 鈥淚f you hang around with the likes of white supremacists like Matthew Heimbach and the American Renaissance crowd, you are going to raise flags if you are also working for the military! That's just the way it goes.鈥