Charles Haywood
Charles Haywood is an American businessman and far-right blogger and commentator.[1][2] He founded Mansfield-King, an Indianapolis haircare manufacturer, which he sold in 2020. He subsequently founded a far-right men's organization, the Society for American Civic Renewal. He has predicted the collapse of the United States and described his desire to become a "warlord" of an "armed patronage network". He has also expressed support for the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[1]
Career
[edit]Haywood was educated at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business,[3] and practiced mergers and acquisitions law.[4] In 2005, he founded Mansfield-King, an Indianapolis-based manufacturer of shampoos, conditioners, and gels[5] that reported revenues of $34.6 million in 2018 and had a forecast revenue of $50 million in 2020.[6] He sold the company to PLZ Aeroscience Corp in 2020.[5][6]
Views and political activities
[edit]Haywood became known as a right-wing writer through book reviews on conservative websites.[4] On his website, The Worthy House, he outlines a political philosophy he calls Foundationalism.[7] He has argued that the replacement of the United States government as presently constituted by an authoritarian regime is inevitable.[4][1] He predicts that the United States government will collapse, and expressed his desire to become a "warlord" of what he calls an "armed patronage network".[1]
Shortly prior to the sale of Mansfield-King, Haywood incorporated the Society for American Civic Renewal (SACR). According to The Guardian, SACR is an invitation-only exclusively male group that aims for a "civilizational renaissance". The group's website describes it as "'raising accountable leaders to help build thriving communities of free citizens' who will rebuild 'the frontier-conquering spirit of America'" and promises to "counter and conquer" the "poison" of "those who rule today".[1] SACR uses a cross-like insignia, described on the website as symbolizing "sword and shield" and rejection of "Modernist philosophies and heresies".[1] Filings show the group owns four lodges, three in Idaho (Moscow, Boise, and Coeur d'Alene) and another in Dallas, Texas.[1]
Haywood has praised the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol as an "electoral justice protest".[1][2] He has described his fortified home as a compound, and said that it requires loyal armed "shooters" to defend it.[2] In a 2023 discussion hosted by Christopher Rufo, he expressed support for forming alliances with white nationalists and dictators in order to "destroy the left", citing Augusto Pinochet and Francisco Franco as examples.[8]
Haywood's views have been criticized by other right-wing American commentators. In 2022, Rod Dreher described him in The American Conservative as "crazy", writing: "Charles Haywood is so filled with hatred of the Left that he happily claims a Nazi sympathizer as his ally".[1][9] In 2023, after the publication of the article in The Guardian about SACR, conservative commentator Glenn Beck condemned Haywood as a "false prophet".[10] He described the organization as "extremely disturbing" and said Haywood is "infiltrating everything".[10]
Haywood has appeared on Michael Anton's podcasts for the Claremont Institute,[4] and written for the Claremont Institute website.[1] He is also chair of the New Tomorrow Political Action Committee, formerly Unify Carmel, a conservative education pressure group in Carmel, Indiana.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wilson, Jason (August 22, 2023). "US businessman is wannabe 'warlord' of secretive far-right men's network". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c Swearingen, Jake (August 23, 2023). "Meet Charles Haywood, a far-right extremist who got rich off shampoo and wants to be a 'warlord' in post-collapse America". Business Insider. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Maximum Leader". The Worthy House. December 31, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Waller, Julian G. (August 29, 2022). "America's Pro-Authoritarian Theorists". American Purpose.
- ^ a b Mills, Wes. "Indy-based Personal Product Package Firm Acquired". Inside Indiana Business. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Orr, Susan (September 8, 2020). "Indianapolis personal care products manufacturer Mansfield-King acquired". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Haywood, Charles (June 17, 2021). "The Foundationalist Manifesto: The Politics of Future Past". The Worthy House. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ Wilson, Jason (October 11, 2023). "'No enemies to the right': DeSantis ally hosts debate hedging white nationalism". The Guardian.
- ^ Dreher, Rod (December 13, 2022). "A New Enemy To The Right". The American Conservative. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ a b Wilson, Jason (August 29, 2023). "Glenn Beck condemns wannabe 'warlord' businessman despite commercial ties". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Valor Classical School makes plans for Hamilton County Opening". The Indianapolis Star. April 8, 2022.
External links
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