Traditionalist Youth Network Files Another Amicus Brief
The Traditionalist Youth Network (TYN), a white nationalist group that works to promote 鈥渨hite identity,鈥 two weeks ago. This time, they鈥檝e filed in in which several gun advocates and a sporting goods store are battling a 2013 state law that bans the possession or sale of assault weapons. The case is currently on appeal.
Matt Parrott of TYN that the 鈥渂rilliant and dedicated legal team鈥 of the organization filed the brief in the Fourth Circuit court to support the Second Amendment because, without that, we鈥檙e all apparently lost as a result of 鈥渢his government鈥檚 ongoing campaign to reduce us to disarmed, brainwashed, and godless homo economicus 诲谤辞苍别蝉.鈥
This isn鈥檛 the first time the Traditionalist Youth Network has filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit. Earlier this year, the group in Michigan that dealt with marriage equality. In that brief, TYN wanted to defend the 鈥渟anctity of marriage鈥 from 鈥渃ulture distorters.鈥
In the four-page Maryland brief, TYN claims it has 鈥渂ecome one of the fiercest defenders of traditional values in the United States of America鈥 and that it is 鈥渁n extremely active pro-European socio-political identity movement that was founded and is controlled by well-informed young activists.鈥 The group strongly opposes, the brief says, 鈥渁ny attempt by governmental actors to infringe upon the traditional right of our people to keep and bear arms.鈥
Toward the conclusion, the brief veers off into a rant about 鈥淐ulture Distorters鈥 who are 鈥渟tretching the Constitution to invent rights that don鈥檛 exist,鈥 like the right to have an abortion, to engage in sodomy, or view pornography.聽 Therefore, TYN is submitting this brief because 鈥渟hots are being fired in America鈥檚 Culture War and the organization has the enemy of freedom鈥攖he Culture Distorter鈥攊n its sights and wishes to shoot down unconstitutional legislation that disarms our people.鈥
The brief lists attorneys as lead counsel and as co-counsel. Bristow was the attorney who filed the first TYN amicus brief in March. He has a law practice in Michigan, and rose to notoriety as a student at Michigan State University, where he led a chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. While in that role, Bristow invited prominent white nationalists to speak at the campus, and spearheaded anti-immigrant and anti-LGBT campaigns that were so virulent that the 人兽性交 took the unusual step of naming the chapter a hate group. While in law school, Bristow published his novel , which plays out white supremacist revenge fantasies against Jewish professors, Latino and American Indian activists and staffers of a group modeled on the 人兽性交.
In a strange twist, Bristow has also taken cases in so-called 鈥渞evenge porn,鈥 claiming that it鈥檚 a product of liberalism and that the majority of the victims鈥攚hose nude photos are posted online by vindictive exes鈥攁re white blonde women.
Van Dyke is a neo-Confederate lawyer and long-time associate of Bristow, whose website bills his firm as 鈥溾 (Van Dyke is the only attorney listed at the firm). He once attended Michigan State but transferred to the University of Dallas. While still at Michigan State in 2000, he was charged with domestic assault, possession of a banned weapon, and firearm safety violations. The case was dismissed and in 2007, Van Dyke attempted to have the records sealed, but a judge in 2008.
Like Bristow, Van Dyke has taken on revenge porn sites, but in July, , which is encryption software, alleging a 鈥渃onspiracy鈥 between Tor and Pinkmeth, a revenge porn site. The lawsuit drew , who didn鈥檛 appear to understand what Tor is, and then it drew the attention of 4chan and . Van Dyke eventually dropped the lawsuit against Tor, but not before he engaged in Twitter wars with Pinkmeth in which he issued thinly veiled threats (screenshots ).
On October 6, attorneys for the appellants in the Maryland lawsuit and motion to TYN鈥檚 brief, requesting that it be opposed and that the court deny TYN鈥檚 motion. 鈥淭YN,鈥 the response argues, 鈥渁ppears to be using its brief to advocate positions that are far beyond the scope of this appeal,鈥 and 鈥淭YN鈥檚 proposed brief adds nothing relevant for the Court鈥檚 consideration.鈥
Seems about right.