John Patler

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John Christ Patsalos (born January 6, 1938), formerly known as John Patler, is an American former neo-Nazi and cartoonist who was convicted of the August 25, 1967, assassination of American Nazi Party (ANP) leader George Lincoln Rockwell. He was formerly close to Rockwell and worked on producing the ANP's propaganda, particularly cartoons, in their publications. Born in New York City in 1938, Patsalos had a violent childhood, with his father killing his mother when he was five years old. He was convicted of several crimes in his youth and treated for mental health issues. He expressed antisemitic attitudes by his late teens, and joined the neo-Nazi group the American Nazi Party in 1960. He was an artist and graphic designer for the ANP's periodicals. Patler briefly left the ANP in 1961 and formed a similarly named splinter group, the American National Party, with his close friend Dan Burros, as well as a neo-Nazi magazine, Kill! He and Burros had a falling out a year later and in 1962 Patler returned to the ANP. Patler's ethnic Greek heritage caused some strife within the party and contributed to a minor schism between those neo-Nazis who advocated a more expansive idea of "master race", and the "Hitler purists" who viewed this as heretical. Patler idolized Rockwell but also blamed him for the problems in Patler's life caused by his adherence to neo-Nazism. Rockwell eventually kicked him out of the party for his instability, and causing division in March 1967. Patler murdered Rockwell in August of that year, and received a sentence of 20 years in prison for first degree murder. He was paroled in 1975, though returned to prison after violating his parole. He later left the neo-Nazi movement.