Abigail Shimniok

The night before UW-Whitewater’s new semester, a Neo-Nazi organization calling themselves “Blood Tribe” gathered outside a residence hall at around 6 p.m. on Jan. 21.
The university said the group yelled racist chants outside of Knilans residence hall, lighting flares and projecting swastikas on the side of the building. In videos recorded by UW-Whitewater students, members of the Neo-Nazi group could be seen wearing red jackets and chanting, “There will be blood” and “We are everywhere.”
UW-Whitewater Chancellor Corey King released a statement after the demonstration. “The actions of the group last night are abhorrent and go against our core values,” King said. “At UW-Whitewater, we strive to create a safe community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We take pride in our Warhawk family. We reject hate in all its forms.”
UW-Whitewater’s Black Student Union President, Jaelyne White, stated that the demonstration was “blatant racism and intimidation towards our student body.”
The Neo-Nazi group is not believed to be made up of UW-Whitewater students and is not affiliated with the university.
The incident at Whitewater comes just two months after a Neo-Nazi faction carrying “Blood Tribe” symbols marched on capital grounds in Nov. of last year. The group was seen carrying flags with swastikas on them and performing a salute that was originally used at Nazi political rallies.
The Anti-Defamation League has identified Blood Tribe as a Neo-Nazi organization that promotes hardline white supremacist views and “openly directs its vitriol at Jews, ‘non-whites’ and the LGBTQ+ community.”
College campuses across the United States have spikes in the recorded number of bias incidents following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza.
The rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses nationwide has prompted the U.S. Department of Education to open a federal probe into the issue as of Nov. of last year.