Kevin Alfred Strom was born in Anchorage, Alaska in 1956. After encouraging his hatred of communism, a high school teacher informed him about the John Birch Society where Strom reputedly first met members of the National Alliance led by the neo-nazi William Luther Pierce and abandoned the JBS because, he said, members of the society were forbidden to discuss race. Via Pierce, Strom learned of such notions as ZOG, White supremacy and the Civil rights movement was degenerate. He began to work for Pierce after graduating from high school In 1982, Strom became a member of the NA, a group described as antisemitic, racist, and neo-Nazi.
Activism until 2007
In 1991, he founded and frequently delivered the American Dissident Voicesradio broadcasts which were produced and broadcast by the NA. In 1995, he founded and edited Free Speech magazine, which was published by the Alliance as an adjunct to its radio program. In early 2002, shortly before his death from cancer on July 23, the Alliance's founder, William Luther Pierce, named Strom editor of National Vanguard magazine and media director for the Alliance. Pierce also named Strom editor of the Alliance's monthly Bulletin. During the weekend of April 16–17, 2005, Strom and several others were expelled from the National Alliance because of a dispute with the new Alliance leader Erich Gliebe. The expelled former Alliance members, led by Strom, formed their own organization which they called National Vanguard. As he had previously done for the National Alliance, Strom now delivered weekly Internet radio broadcasts for National Vanguard and titled them American Dissident Voices but they were often delivered 1–3 weeks late. These broadcasts effectively ceased with his departure from National Vanguard. Strom was briefly the managing editor of The Truth at Last newspaper during 2005. Several sources have described this tabloid as being highly antisemitic and racist, because it often referred to Africans as an inferior race. Strom's boss at The Truth at Last, Edward Fields, is a former Grand Dragon of the New Order Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Strom was a close associate of University of IllinoisClassics professor and nationalist writer Revilo P. Oliver, who has been described as "one of America's most notorious fascists" and, according to B'nai Brith Canada, was "a long time proponent of antisemitism". Strom was chosen by the Oliver estate to be the archivist and publisher of Oliver's papers after Oliver committed suicide in 1994. In 2002, Strom published Oliver's book, The Jewish Strategy. Strom is a former broadcast engineer and holds amateur radio license WB4AIO. Between 1983 and 1991, a pirate radio station named Voice of Tomorrow operated on shortwave and mediumwave frequencies, and broadcast openly racist and neo-Nazi material. According to Strom's ex-wife, Kirsten Kaiser, Voice of Tomorrow was operated by Strom.
Arrest, conviction, prison and release
On January 4, 2007, Strom was arrested in Greene County, Virginia, on charges of possession of child pornography and witness tampering. The Grand Jury later added the charges of receiving child pornography and of seeking to coerce a 10-year-old into a sexual relationship. At the October 2007 federal trial on charges of "attempting to coerce a 10-year-old girl into a sexual relationship by sending her anonymous gifts, driving past her house and writing lyrics to love songs declaring his desire to marry her", and of witness intimidation, Judge Norman K. Moon threw out both charges due to lack of evidence of actual solicitation of sex, but added that Strom, then in his early 50s, had engaged in questionable conduct. At the plea hearing on January 14, 2008, Strom pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in exchange for the other charges to be dropped, and was held at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail while awaiting sentencing. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison in April 2008. Strom told the court before being sentenced that he was "not a pedophile" and was "in fact the precise opposite of what has been characterized in this case," saying he had been "unwillingly" possessing 10 images of child pornography and that those came from an online forum he had visited which had been "flooded with spam," which included "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children that he deleted. The judge of the case responded: "Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you're saying you're innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me." Strom also claimed he was a victim of domestic violence, which was confirmed by his alleged attacker. Strom was released from prison on September 3, 2008, at which point he resided in Earlysville, Virginia.
Return to activism
Kevin Strom announced the opening of the new National Alliance on December 28, 2013 and is continuing broadcasts of American Dissident Voices in the original format, from a compound under construction in Tennessee with a group of original followers of William Pierce.
"True Rulers" quotation
The statement "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" is often falsely atributed to Voltaire, the French Enlightenment philosopher. However, the phrase is believed to originate from an essay by Strom first published in 1993: "All America Must Know the Terror that is Upon Us". He wrote: "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?".
Personal life
Strom had three children with his first wife, Kirsten Kaiser. Since their marriage ended, Kaiser has spoken about her life with Strom in several interviews. She has also written a book, The Bondage of Self, on her experiences with Strom and the National Alliance.
