This identification was originally posted to X by @Slick1922 in collaboration with Late Night Anti-Fascists.Information was sourced legally from publicly available material.
Meet neo-Nazi John Joseph Kelly aka “Boilerplate” of Chicago, Illinois and Sarasota, Florida! Johnny Kelly has been identified as one of the torch bearers at the Unite the Right as well as an NSM and TWP associate. #IgniteTheRight#TWPNorthFaceUTR
Pictured: John Joseph Kelly
We believe our reporting on Johnny Kelly is in the public interest due to evidence of his participation in the torch rally and involvement in violence at Unite the Right. Several Charlottesville attendees have already been charged for burning an object with the intent to intimidate. In several photos and videos, John Kelly is seen wielding a torch and acting aggressively.
John Kelly wore the same hat during the daytime Unite the Right rally and nighttime torch march.John Kelly can be seen holding a torch on the right. (Photo by Zach D. Roberts)John Kelly and his torch were captured on Baked Alaska‘s video of the event.
Source: Unicorn Riot Discord LeaksJohn Kelly visibly shoving someone with his shield at Unite the Right.
But how did we find him?
In the Discord leaks provided by @UR_Ninja, a user by the name of “boilerplate” identified himself as the guy carrying the “blue lives matter” flag at Unite the Right. In the video linked above his comment, John Kelly can be seen leading a group of white supremacists through a crowd which broke into violent fighting; several white supremacists were later indicted in relation to this fight.
Boilerplate indicating that he is the man carrying a “blue lives matter” flag in a video linked before his comment.John Kelly pictured in the video linked, carrying the thin blue line (“blue lives matter”) flag.Another photo of John Kelly carrying the flag.
In Discord, “boilerplate” confirmed that he was from Chicago, and that he was friends with Shane Duffy aka “AltCelt” who was also from Illinois.
We had a face and a location, but needed a name. Thanks to a tip and a whole lot of nazis with this guy in their Facebook mutuals, we found and verified a match to John Joseph Kelly of Chicago, IL and Sarasota, FL.
Photos Johnny Kelly posted of himself to Facebook.
John Kelly’s face has been floating around the internet for some time. Some may recognize him as one of the men shouting “You will not replace us” at the start of the @frontlinepbs documentary on Charlottesville.
Screenshot: John J. Kelly can be seen shouting “You will not replace us!” at the beginning of the PBS Frontline documentary ‘Documenting Hate: Charlottesville‘ produced by A.C. Thompson.
We were also able to find John Joseph Kelly of Chicago performing a Nazi salute in the group photo with Matt Heimbach, Shane Duffy, and plenty of other white supremacists.
Pictured from left to right: Zach Wade, Cesar Arvelo Santos, Craig Spaulding, Garon Joseph Archer, Adam Rice, Matt Heimbach, Johnny Kelly, Clay Pinkston, Shane Duffy, and a few others behind a combination Confederate and Nazi Sonnenrad flag.
After Unite the Right, Johnny Kelly was present at the White Lives Matter rally in Shelbyville, Tennessee in which he carried a flag for the Nationalist Socialist Movement. In a video, you can see his face among a crowd of Nazis and Klansmen chanting the Nazi Germany slogan “Blood and Soil.”
John Kelly on the right holding a flag for the Nationalist Socialist Movement (NSM). (Source)
Another image of John Kelly holding the NSM flag, captured by Daniel Shular
Back home, John Kelly joined up with Patriot Front and the Midwest Alliance in downtown Chicago in an attempt to co-opt the March for Life gathering for white supremacists. Someone organizing the event didn’t seem to like the optics of Nazis in their gathering and attempted to kick them out.
John complaining about his removal from the square at the Chicago March for Life, 2018.
Johnny Kelly is former military and is still actively posting racism on his social media. Although his recent location is based between Illinois and Florida, this guy travels with his hate and violence. Please share for awareness.
