Neo-Nazi website Stormfront forced offline 'by its own host'

Web forum appears to be under legal dispute or lined up for deletion

Samuel Osborne
Monday 28 August 2017 09:31 BST
Comments
Stormfront was established by a former Ku Klux Klan leader in 1996
Stormfront was established by a former Ku Klux Klan leader in 1996 (Chet Strange/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

One of the internet's oldest and most popular major white supremacist sites has been shut down by its website host.

Stormfront went offline on Friday, with a web service tracking site ownership reporting the site's domain status as "under hold".

The category suggests the website is under legal dispute or lined up for deletion, the USA Today network reported.

Nazi shouts "Hey n****" and fires gunshot at counter-protester in Charlottesville

Network Solutions, the site's host, has also prohibited the web forum from being updated, transferred or deleted.

The prohibition will prevent the site's owners from re-creating it on another domain, meaning if it is deleted, they would have to start from the beginning.

Before it disappeared, the site hosted a series of discussion boards used by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and boasted more than 300,000 registered members in 2015.

It was established by a former Ku Klux Klan leader in 1996.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law claimed responsibility for the site's removal after it had "taken action against Stormfront."

The committee's executive director, Kristen Clarke, told USA Today: "Their website is a vehicle used to promote racially-motivated violence and hate.

"Following our efforts, Network Solutions has pulled the site," Mr Clarke added. "And while bringing down one site won't terminate their efforts, it will make it a little more difficult for white supremacists to sow hatred."

It comes two weeks after the white supremacist website Daily Stormer was also shut down and forced to retreat onto the dark web.

The site had praised the death of Heather Heyer, an anti-racist protester killed at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in