Neo-Nazi hate groups see the aftermath of September 11 as an opportunity. Groups like the National Alliance claim the terrorist attacks can be blamed on American Jews and their support for Israel. And William Pierce, head of the National Alliance, uses his weekly radio program, American Dissident Voices, to spread his message. During one recent show, Pierce told listeners they "cannot survive by continuing to sit on their hands and watch the Jews destroy the world around them."

One of the country's most notorious racists, Pierce is the author of The Turner Diaries, a hate-filled novel that was a primary inspiration for Timothy McVeigh. With few mainstream outlets available to him, Pierce's message is mostly spread by short wave radio and the Internet. But the Providence area is one of only two places in the country where an ordinary radio is all that's needed to hear Pierce rant about how, after defeating the Jews, "we'll sweep the blacks and the Mestizos and the mongrels away."

WALE (990 AM) broadcasts "the only radio program for white men and women," Saturday afternoons at 4:30 pm. The program is also broadcast on KFNX in Phoenix, Arizona -- which, like WALE, is owned by Francis Battaglia -- who was based in Providence before moving to Phoenix. If you want air a program on WALE, all you need is cash. The station's programming is entirely "leased access," whereby producers pay an hourly fee to rent the station's airwaves. Producers can sell their own ad time if they want to recoup the cost.

WALE's broadcasts run the gamut from UFO enthusiasts and health and financial advisers to groups like the National Roofing Contractors Association. But the acceptance of Pierce's show has put Battaglia under fire from Jewish groups. Glynn Lennox, station manager at WALE, defends the station as "one of the last providers of free speech in the country. One thing we practice is that, whether you agree with the man or not, he has the same rights as you and me." Lennox says the show results in plenty of feedback. "He's got his supporters, and plenty of people who hate him."

Andrew Tarsy, the eastern states civil rights director for the Anti-Defamation League, notes that Pierce has been linked with hate groups in southern Massachusetts which can pick up WALE's signal. He agrees that Pierce has a right to free speech. "But," says Tarsy, "you don't have any obligation as a radio licensee to give space to any one and everyone."

Issue Date: November 23 - 29, 2001