Operation Red Dog
 | The article'slead sectionmay need to be rewritten.(May 2022) |
| Operation Red Dog | |
|---|---|
| Type | Attemptedcoup d'état |
| Locations | Intended target:Dominica Arrest location:New Orleans,U.S. |
| Planned by | Patrick John,Wolfgang Droege,Don Black,Mike Perdue, Sydney Burnett-Alleyne,James Alexander McQuirter |
| Target | Government ofEugenia Charles |
| Date | 27 April 1981 |
| Outcome | Plot thwarted by theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms |
| Casualties | None |
Operation Red Dogwas the code name of an April 27, 1981,military filibusteringplot byCanadianandAmericancitizens, largely affiliated withwhite supremacistandKu Klux Klangroups, to overthrow the government ofDominica.They planned to restore formerPrime MinisterPatrick Johnto power. The chief figures included American Klansman Mike Perdue, German-Canadianneo-NaziWolfgang Droege,American white supremacistDon BlackandBarbadianweapons smuggler Sydney Burnett-Alleyne.[1]After the plot was thwarted by US federal agents inNew Orleans, Louisiana,the news media dubbed it "Bayou of Pigs",after the failed 1961Bay of Pigs invasionin Cuba.[1]
The leader Mike Perdue and six other men pleaded guilty to violation of theNeutrality Act;two others were found guilty by a jury.[2]The men each received three-year prison sentences.[3]Another man linked to the plot committed suicide after being implicated as a financier.[4]
Perdue claimed former Texas GovernorJohn Connallyand CongressmanRon Paul(R-TX) knew about the plot, butUnited States district judgeLansing Mitchellstated that neither had any connection to the plot and refused to subpoena them.[5]
Mission[edit]
On April 27, 1981, Droege and eight other men, including CanadianJames Alexander McQuirterand AmericanDon Black,who later founded the white nationalist websiteStormfront,were arrested by federal agents in New Orleans as they prepared to board a boat supplied withautomatic weapons,shotguns,rifles,handguns,dynamite,ammunition,and a black and whiteNazi flag.
The plan was to charter a boat to Dominica and rendezvous via rubber boats with Patrick John and his makeshift army. The genesis of the idea came from long-time Klan member Perdue, who was introduced in 1979 to Droege. That summer, Perdue outlined his plan to overthrow the government ofGrenadaand set up several lucrative businesses. After their meeting, they determined that Droege would locate funds and resources. Croatian-CanadianDon Andrewswas initially involved, but after Perdue changed the target island toDominica,Andrews withdrew. Klansmen Arnie Polli and Roger Dermee were paid US$3,000 to visit Dominica and make a preliminary reconnaissance. German-Canadian neo-NaziMartin K. Weichewas allegedly a financial backer of the plot, along with James White of Houston and L. E. Matthews of Jackson, Mississippi.[6]
In February 1981, the captain and crew backed out. Perdue approachedMichael S. Howell,a local boat captain andVietnam Warveterand. Perdue said that theCentral Intelligence Agencyneeded his boat for a covert operation. Howell then contacted the USBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms(ATF). On April 25, John was arrested in Dominica. When Perdue learned of the arrest and that their plans were no longer secret, he insisted that the mission should continue. On April 27, the group, including three undercover ATF agents, met at the predetermined location, loaded the van and proceeded to a marina where local police were waiting for them.
On June 21, 1981, lawyer J.W. Kirkpatrick ofMemphis,linked to the coup attempt by court testimony, killed himself with a shotgun. Perdue testified that he'd received $10,000 from Kirkpatrick to finance the assault on Dominica. Kirkpatrick was the brother-in-law of former congressional representativeE.C. 'Took' Gathings(D-AR). Friends said that Kirkpatrick had extremely conservative political views, as did the former congressman, and thought the coup would prevent a communist takeover. One colleague said Kirkpatrick was a "super-ultra-ultra-ultra-conservative," who "thought the country was going to hell in a hand-basket."[4]Perdue also testified that he used $70,000 collected from businessmen to purchase weapons, dynamite and other military equipment, and to pay for reconnaissance trips to Dominica.[7]
In 1984, during an interview by Barbados's dailyNation Newspaper,Sydney Burnett-Alleyne, one of the leaders of the plot, was asked if the group had planned to overthrow the government ofBarbadosand install John as prime minister there as well. He responded:
He could have become prime minister, although that was not the real reason behind my plan of action. I wanted to add the land mass of Dominica to that of Barbados and also to be able to undertake an industrial project of considerable size.South Africanresources, millions of dollars, were available to me to be used for such a project. But Patrick John didn't do what was supposed to have been done. But more than that, I became incensed when I found out he was giving away Dominican land to Americans. He lost an important opportunity to be a central figure in the history of the Caribbean.[8]
A book about the plot,Bayou of Pigs,by Canadian journalist Stewart Bell, was published in August 2008.[9]
See also[edit]
- Abaco Independence Movement
- Frederick Newton
- Knights of the Golden Circle
- Republic of Minerva
- Ku Klux Klan in Canada
- The Nine Nations of North America
References[edit]
- ^abA, C (October 4, 2006)."Tull: Tell us about coup rumours".Nation Newspaper.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-06.Retrieved2009-10-04.
- ^"2 GUILTY IN NEW ORLEANS FOR PLOT ON DOMINICA INVASION",The New York Times,June 21, 1981
- ^"KLANSMEN GET 3-YEAR TERMS",Boston Globe,July 23, 1981
- ^ab"Lawyer left suicide note - UPI Archives".UPI.Retrieved2024-01-03.
- ^"JUDGE DENIES CONNALLY SUBPOENA IN TRIAL OF 3 ALLEGED MERCENARIES".New York Times.June 14, 1981.Retrieved13 August2022.
- ^Associated Press, "Named at trial over coup bid, lawyer kills self",The Globe and Mail,June 23, 1981
- ^"Prosecutors look toward financial backers of coup attempt - UPI Archives".UPI.Retrieved2024-01-03.
- ^Staff Writer (1984-04-02)."Interview with former arms dealer, Mercenary Leader"(PDF).Barbados Nation Newspaper (February 13, 1984).US Military Intelligence - Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). pp. 20–24. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 4, 2011.Retrieved2008-01-01.
- ^Bayou of Pigs: The True Story of an Audacious Plot to Turn a Tropical Island into a Criminal Paradise,by Stewart Bell, John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Further reading[edit]
- Frühling, Hugo; Tulchin, Joseph S. (2003)."Dominica and Other Early Cases".Crime and violence in Latin America: citizen security, democracy, and the state.Woodrow Wilson Center Press.pp. 239–241.ISBN0-8018-7384-3.Retrieved2009-10-04.
- Baker, Patrick L. (1994)."Politics".Centring the periphery: chaos, order, and the ethnohistory of Dominica.McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 182–186.ISBN0-7735-1134-2.Retrieved2009-10-04.
- "Bayou of Pigs - A coup that fizzled".Time Magazine.Time Inc. 1981-05-11. Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2008.Retrieved2009-10-04.
- Staff Writer (1984-04-02)."Interview with former arms dealer, Mercenary Leader"(PDF).Barbados Nation Newspaper (February 13, 1984).US Military Intelligence - Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). pp. 20–24. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 4, 2011.Retrieved2008-01-01.
- Gane-McCalla, Casey (2012-01-20)."Ron Paul Was Implicated In Failed White Supremacist Island Invasion".newsone.Retrieved2012-01-23.
- Cups Up: How I Organized a Klavern, Plotted a Coup, Survived Prison, Graduated College, Fought Polluters, and Started a Business (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography): Malvaney, George T.: 9781496816795: Amazon: Books.