White supremacist may pose a threat

UPDATE: December 29. Danny Warner was arrested by local police in Lake Havasu, Arizona without incident. He is being charged with being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, and there are additional charges expected.

A known White supremacist might pose a security threat to Jews or Jewish institutions, probably in the South. He is considered armed and dangerous.

While the available information indicates that he intends to head to the South, it is worthwhile to review your security procedures, especially those dealing with access control and hostile surveillance. See the JCRC resources available at www.jcrcny.org/securityresources.

The ADL bulletin below has some excellent suggestions in their alert.


Anti-Defamation League
SECURITY ALERT

December 28, 2011

We wanted to alert you to a potential security threat involving Danny Lee Warner, Jr., a white supremacist.  In a letter allegedly sent by Danny to his wife last week, he told her, “I’m headed down South to kill some niggers and Jews until the government gets me- hopefully I’ll get enough to make it all worth it before I go.”  Warner has a long history of serious violence and spent most of the last decade in prison in Utah.  While in prison, he was active in the Silent Aryan Warriors (SAW), a white supremacist prison gang.

He was last known to be in Chippewa Falls, WI, where he located after being released from prison.  The letter to his wife was postmarked on 12/19/11 from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  His current whereabouts are unknown. Possible states of destination include: IA, NJ, NY, MT & UT.

He is believed to potentially be armed and driving a red 2002 GMC Envoy, WI license plate #364TFL.  He was born 11/29/1974.  His description is as follows: Male, Caucasian, 6’2’’, 190 lbs, brown hair, hazel eyes, tattoos. Aliases may include: Tyrsegil Bloodketil, Danny Jay Potter, Danny Peterson, or Jody White.  He may use the prison gang moniker of Tombstone or Swift.

He is currently wanted in Wisconsin on probation violation.

Each communal institution should review its security plans and procedures in light of this situation.   Each institution should consider having a plan in place for responding if this person shows up at the institution.   Moreover, each institution should consider reaching out to their local law enforcement contacts to discuss this matter.

If he visits your institution, contact law enforcement immediately, and then ADL.

As always, we recommend using this as an opportunity to review your security policies and procedures and encourage you to do the following:

• Keep your eyes and ears open for anything unusual or suspicious and call law enforcement immediately if you come across something. Unusual behavior should be promptly reported to the police or security personnel.
• Consider not letting anybody you don’t know into your facility, and not allowing any new visitor to your facility roam around unescorted.
• Ensure that your staff members, including newly hired personnel, know what to do in the event of an emergency, and that they know your policy on when to allow persons to enter the facility.
• Make sure to use the security devices you have in place and that access controls are being used properly.  For example, ensure that communications equipment (for instance, walkie-talkies) and video cameras are working and properly used.
• Review and practice security procedures.  In particular, review with all personnel their role in security.  For instance, if vigilance has slipped in mail and package delivery safety procedures, now is the time to revisit this area.
• Renew/establish relationships with local law enforcement and discuss security.  It has been our experience that local jurisdictions are working very hard to maintain close relationships with their Jewish institutions.  If you have not established personal relationships with key police personnel, set up a meeting to do so.
• Trust your instincts. If something strikes you as being out of place or problematic, call the police immediately.

Security is a long-term process that cannot be efficiently or effectively deployed only when there is an alert.   It is important to review security procedures on a regular basis and to be thinking of ways to improve security.

ADL’s security manual – Protecting Your Jewish Institution– and your local ADL regional office are important resources in your security planning.  ADL’s security website is www.adl.org/security.