Defense Contractor Will ‘Look Into’ White Supremacist It Allegedly Employs – By Sara Boboltz (huffingtonpost.com) / July 5 2018
Northrop Grumman initially refused to offer comment on the news organizations’ report.
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said Thursday that it is “taking immediate action to look into” a report that an employee with a government security clearance is active in a violent white supremacist group.
“We do not tolerate hatred or illegal conduct and we condemn racist activities in any shape or form,” the company said in a statement to HuffPost.
A joint PBS Frontline and ProPublica project to identify those who participate in white supremacist demonstrations across the United States yielded the name of one man filmed beating a black counterprotester at last summer’s deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The alleged employee, Michael Miselis, was identified through photos, videos, social media posts and a visit to his Lawndale, California, home, reporters for PBS and ProPublica said. He is a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles, who also works as a systems engineer for Northrop Grumman, according to the news organizations, which cited interviews with “several” unnamed current and former Northrop employees.
Michael Miselis took part in the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. So far, it hasn’t damaged his standing at the defense contractor, Northrop Grumman. New from FRONTLINE and @ProPublica: https://t.co/kMVCBfwx0Y pic.twitter.com/FvDx3zqcMk
— FRONTLINE (@frontlinepbs) July 5, 2018
Several unnamed California law enforcement officials also told reporters Miselis is a known member of the Rise Above Movement, a Southern California-based group whose members stand against what they call the “destructive social influences” of liberals, Muslims, Jews and immigrants.
The Northrop employees claimed their employer was aware of Miselis’ affiliations and had done nothing.
The U.S. government’s Office of Personnel Management, which is involved in bestowing security clearances, referred PBS and ProPublica to Northrop Grumman for comment.
The defense contractor declined to supply a comment to reporters before the article was published Thursday morning.
Hours later, the company issued a statement on Twitter and by email, saying that his alleged actions run “counter to our values.”
Northrop Grumman was recently made aware of alleged employee actions that are counter to our values. Northrop Grumman is absolutely committed to the highest levels of ethics & integrity in all that we do, & ensuring that our workplace reflects our values of diversity & inclusion.
— Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) July 5, 2018
We do not tolerate hatred or illegal conduct and we condemn racist activities in any shape or form.
We are taking immediate action to look into the very serious issues raised by these reports.
— Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) July 5, 2018
“Northrop Grumman is absolutely committed to the highest levels of ethics & integrity in all that we do, & ensuring that our workplace reflects our values of diversity & inclusion,” the statement continued.
R.A.M. members regularly practice martial arts and strength training. The Anti-Defamation League says the group’s recruitment videos center on violence, cutting between showing members brawling in the streets and working out.
In Charlottesville, Miselis had bandaged his hands in apparent preparation for conflict. He wore a red “Make America great again” hat backward. Footage shows him throwing a counterprotester to the ground before punching him, PBS and ProPublica said.
The outlets say they also spotted Miselis in footage taken from a violent 2017 rally in Berkeley, California. There, he was seen wearing goggles as a defense against pepper spray as he punched counterprotesters.
