All the symbols depicted in the hate symbols database must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.
Brenton Tarrant is an Australian white supremacist who killed 51 people in shooting sprees at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. His terrorist attack included stratagems designed to inspire other like-minded people to emulate him, including writing a hate-filled manifesto, livestreaming his deadly attack, and decorating with symbols the weapons used for the attack.
Since the Christchurch shootings, other white supremacists have consciously copied Tarrant by conducting their own terrorist attacks. White supremacists have also turned his image into memes. The most common versions involve photomanipulations of screenshots of Tarrant from a moment when he showed his face during his livestreamed attack. Other memes use photos of Tarrant taken after his arrest, or cartoon versions of Tarrant. Typically, such memes are accompanied by other white supremacist symbols or slogans. These Tarrant images are most often found online but occasionally can be found on clothing or in other contexts.
White supremacists have also memeified the faces of other notorious white supremacists, whether as online images or as tattoos or clothing, including Ian Stuart, the lead singer of white power music band Skrewdriver; white supremacist terrorist leader Robert Mathews, and white supremacist mass shooters such as Patrick Crusius and Dylann Roof, among others.
Additional Images
