Matthew Q. Gebert Explained

Matthew Q. Gebert (born c. 1981) is an American former foreign affairs officer in the U.S. State Department. He was suspended from his position in August 2019 after he was reported as a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Gebert joined the State Department in 2013. His brother reported him to the FBI in June 2019 for his activities. As of January 2020, Gebert was being investigated by the State Department, and was also active in the white nationalist movement.[1]

Personal life, career, and education

Matthew Gebert is the oldest of two brothers and one sister in his family, and he and Michael grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Sterling High School in Somerdale, New Jersey. According to his brother, Matthew listened to hip hop, including the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Voted by his class as "Most Likely to Succeed", Gebert had earlier participated in a student exchange program in Ukraine.

Gebert graduated from George Washington University in 2011.[2] In 2001 he had participated in a study program in Moscow that was sponsored by American University. There he met his future wife, Anna Vuckovic, a Serbian-American student abroad in a study program of Northwestern University. Gebert also took other opportunities later for travel in Eastern Europe.

Gebert and Vuckovic married in 2007, and have children together. In 2012 the couple purchased a home in Leesburg, Virginia (a distant suburb of Washington, D.C.) and lived there until at least 2019.

Gebert joined the U.S. State Department in 2013, as a presidential management fellow, a program intended to develop "potential government leaders".

Radicalization

According to his own account in a white nationalist forum, Gebert became radicalized in 2015. The reasons are unclear, although he had long been interested in Slavic culture and suggested the United States and the Slavic peoples had common interests. Gebert had studied and traveled numerous times in Russia and Eastern Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union.

He became a white nationalist,[3] leading a Washington, D.C.-area fan club of a neo-fascist podcast called "The Right Stuff."[4] He uses the online pseudonym "Coach Finstock",[5] in addition to several others.[6]

Gebert attended the May 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[7]

In a podcast called "The Fatherland" in May 2018, Gebert was quoted as saying: "...[whites] need a country of our own with nukes, and we will retake this thing lickety split."[8] [9] [10] In 2018, Gebert donated $200 to white supremacist Paul Nehlen's election campaign. He has hosted known white nationalists in his home in Leesburg, Virginia.[11] In 2019, he shared an image of a swastika-shaped cookie with the caption: "From our pool party last night. Plate was stacked."[12] [13] The cookies were saved for special guests.

On July 2, 2019, Matthew Gebert's brother reported him to the FBI because: "I saw so much evil in my brother, I could not fucking deal with it".[14] Following an investigation, as of August 8, 2019, Gebert was placed on leave from the State Department.[15] [16] [17] [18]

The State Department officially revoked his security clearance in July 2020, ending his government career. Gebert filed a lawsuit against the DoS demanding financial reparations and restoration of his security credentials in 2024. In March of that year, the U.S. District Court of Washington, DC dismissed all of Gebert's claims for good. (https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2022cv2939-47)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: White Nationalist State Department Official Still Active in Hate Movement. Hayden. Michael Edison. January 30, 2020. Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200131023858/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/01/30/white-nationalist-state-department-official-still-active-hate-movement. January 31, 2020. January 30, 2020.
  2. News: It Seems a White Nationalist Managed to Pass the State Department's Background Check. Owen. Tess. August 10, 2019. August 12, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190812044340/https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/mbmjxv/it-seems-a-white-nationalist-managed-to-pass-the-state-departments-background-check. August 12, 2019. Vice News.
  3. News: State Department Official Moonlit as a White Nationalist Leader and Attended Charlottesville, Report Says. Owen. Tess. August 7, 2019. August 8, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190808231830/https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/bjw88a/state-department-official-moonlit-as-a-white-nationalist-leader-and-attended-charlottesville-report-says. August 8, 2019. Vice News.
  4. News: State Department worker unmasked as white supremacist, civil rights group says. Williams. Abigail. August 7, 2019. August 8, 2019. live. https://archive.today/20190808040426/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/state-department-worker-had-secret-other-life-white-nationalist-right-n1040101. August 8, 2019. NBC News. Siemaszko. Corky.
  5. Web site: State department official alleged be behind white nationalist terror-supporter pseudonym: "[Whites] need a country of our own with nukes"]. Doctorow. Cory. August 7, 2019. Boing Boing. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190808141502/https://boingboing.net/2019/08/07/dc-helicopter-pilots.html. August 8, 2019. August 8, 2019.
  6. Web site: Matthew Gebert: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Winikoff. Janet. August 10, 2019. Heavy.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190812045256/https://heavy.com/news/2019/08/matthew-gebert/. August 12, 2019. August 12, 2019.
  7. Web site: White Nationalist State Department Official Surfaces in Photographs. Hayden. Michael Edison. August 9, 2019. Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190818162647/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/08/09/white-nationalist-state-department-official-surfaces-photographs. August 18, 2019. August 12, 2019.
  8. Web site: U.S. State Department Official Involved in White Nationalist Movement, Hatewatch Determines. Hayden. Michael Edison. August 7, 2019. Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190815034121/https://www.splcenter.org/gebert. August 15, 2019. August 8, 2019.
  9. News: US State Department official exposed as a white nationalist organizer: report. Reed. Brad. August 7, 2019. Raw Story. August 8, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190808100544/https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/us-state-department-official-exposed-as-a-white-nationalist-organizer-report/. August 8, 2019.
  10. News: State Department suspends employee with white nationalist links. Wroughton. Lesley. August 8, 2019. Yahoo! News. October 22, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190809135005/https://news.yahoo.com/state-department-suspends-employee-white-001910160.html. August 9, 2019. Reuters. Rigby. Bill.
  11. News: Reports: Alleged white nationalist State Department employee lives in Leesburg, hosted events at his home. Times-Mirror Staff. August 9, 2019. Loudon Times-Mirror. August 12, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190812053023/https://www.loudountimes.com/news/reports-alleged-white-nationalist-state-department-employee-lives-in-leesburg/article_518d323a-baaa-11e9-a58c-034db8aea524.html. August 12, 2019.
  12. State Department Staffer Suspended After Being Outed as Contributor to White Supremacist Forums. Dickson. E. J.. August 8, 2019. Rolling Stone. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190818210722/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/matthew-gebert-hatewatch-report-white-supremacy-state-department-869051/. August 18, 2019. August 18, 2019.
  13. News: Their Northern Virginia neighbor apparently saved his swastika cookies for special guests. Dvorak. Petula. September 26, 2019. The Washington Post. October 22, 2019. live. https://archive.today/20191003043639/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/their-northern-virginia-neighbor-apparently-saved-his-swastika-cookies-for-special-guests/2019/09/26/191875d4-e077-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html. October 3, 2019. limited.
  14. Web site: Brother Says He Reported White Nationalist State Department Official to the FBI. Hayden. Michael Edison. August 15, 2019. Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190818210354/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/08/14/brother-says-he-reported-white-nationalist-state-department-official-fbi. August 18, 2019. August 18, 2019.
  15. Web site: An Alarming Weekend of White-Nationalist Activity. Stieb. Matt. August 11, 2019. New York Magazine. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190814120613/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/an-alarming-weekend-of-white-nationalist-activity.html. August 14, 2019. August 12, 2019.
  16. News: State Department confirms alleged leader of white-nationalist group is an employee, won't say if he'll be fired. Choi. David. August 7, 2019. Business Insider. August 8, 2019. Haltiwanger. John.
  17. News: State Department official on leave after civil rights group accuses him of being involved in white nationalist movement, source says. Hansler. Jennifer. August 9, 2019. August 12, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190813103856/https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/politics/matthew-gebert-splc/index.html. August 13, 2019. CNN.
  18. News: State Department suspends energy staffer linked to white supremacist group. Lefebvre. Ben. August 8, 2019. Politico. September 12, 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190810052904/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/08/state-department-energy-employee-white-supremacist-group-1642628. August 10, 2019. Toosi. Nahal.

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