Students protest as University of Georgia reinstates neo-Nazi faculty member

Athens, GA – Students at the University of Georgia are protesting the school’s continued employment of a neo-Nazi. On January 15 and February 3, students and community activists rallied on campus to oppose the re-instatement of UGA employee George Haynie III following a brief period of administrative leave. Haynie, a staff member in the College of Engineering, was outed as a member of the Aryan Freedom Network (AFN), a Texas-based neo-Nazi organization.

On October 26, 2024, Haynie and his wife hosted AFN’s annual gathering – known as “Aryan Fest” – at their home in Lexington, Georgia. This gathering, which featured a swastika-burning and a fundraiser selling Third Reich-themed merchandise, was exposed by Atlanta Antifa. Antifa further revealed that Haynie and his wife, Shannon, operate a state-sanctioned “emergency pregnancy center” through which they shelter desperate, pregnant (white) women and subject them to neo-Nazi indoctrination.

The university placed Haynie on administrative leave before returning him to work on December 18, 2024. According to an email sent to engineering students, Haynie “acknowledged that the event had taken place on property that he and his wife co-owned but denied any direct involvement.” UGA decided that Haynie’s conduct did not violate its non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy because it was hosted off campus and constituted protected political speech.

On February 3, students organized under the name Athens Against Hate to stage a student walkout and rally on campus. They demanded that UGA fire Haynie, that UGA President Jere Morehead and his administration participate in a public forum to address community concerns over employing a neo-Nazi organizer, and that UGA increase funding for programs benefiting students from oppressed communities.

UGA’s failure to act, or even to address, the student body beyond the engineering school about this issue is a stark contrast to its crackdown on pro-Palestinian students. The university is currently facing a federal civil rights complaint filed by the Georgia chapters of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Students for Justice in Palestine for “extreme differential treatment of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students, students perceived to be Palestinian, and students associated with or advocating for Palestinians.”

The complaint highlights that in 2024 students demonstrating against genocide were suspended without proper notice, locked out of on campus housing, fired from campus employment, and barred from graduation.

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