Cherry Hill Man Shuts Down Business Selling White Supremacist Merchandise

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A South Jersey man who owned and operated a company that sold white power music and paraphernalia is closing down his longtime business.

Steven J. Wiegand, of Cherry Hill, announced he was shutting down his business, Micetrap Distribution Inc., in a post on his website dated Aug. 22.

“I am proud to say that I built this business from practically nothing and formed a company that I believed stood for everything our 1st Amendment was established for,” Wiegand said in the post. “But in doing this, I have endured personal issues and sacrifices that very few would have been strong enough to endure. But, I can no longer continue on with the passion and enthusiasm that made the business the success that it became.”

He went on to say that he has always been attacked from all sides of the spectrum. He called shutting down his business an attempt to find his owns self peace.

“When my business is gone, the violence will still continue between the left and the right, but I will know in my heart that I am not associated with it in any way. I am going out on my own terms while sales are increasing at a rapid pace, simply to pursue a happier, less stressful life that also spares my friends and the neighborhood I love,” Wiegand said. “After the recent issues in Charlottesville, Virginia, it has forced me to take a long, deep look into myself. And after speaking with friends and neighbors, I can no longer be aligned with the violence (from all sides) that I have always been against.”

He concluded by saying that while he will no longer be taking additional orders, those who have ordered merchandise will still receive their orders. He also said he doesn’t know what will happen to his remaining merchandise or the countless domain names he owns.

Wiegand launched whitepride.com back in 1996, changing the name to Micetrap in 1998, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s watch list of the Top 40 Leaders of the Radical Right, dated 2013. His stated goal was to "build the largest and best selection of quality pro-White items at the most affordable prices possible.”

The announcement comes shortly after he told philly.com he isn’t a white supremacist. He claimed to be a businessman who believes in the right to free speech.

His company’s online store included music, books, clothing, patches, buttons, keychains and confederate items. His collections include an “Anti-Antifa” t-shirt, “Heritage Not Hate” confederate flag shirt and shirts celebrating Odinism, an ancient religion dedicated to the Norse Gods that has been adopted by white supremacists.

In 2001, he acquired 14 Word Press, a white supremacist website, from terrorist David Lane and his wife, who described Wiegand as a personal friend and supporter, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
He found himself at odds not just with people who took offense to his business, but also with members of the white supremacist community.

After he provided incriminating evidence concerning the leader of the White Victory Skins movement to authorities, very few people within the White Supremacist movement have associated with him, according to torhantifa.org. Torch Antifa is a network of people dedicated to confronting facism and oppression. He has also come under fire for selling images he didn’t create through his business.

In announcing the closing of his business, Wiegand said it was time to focus on spiritual peace.

“I pray that this country I love with all of my heart can heal it's divides,” he concluded.

See related: Cherry Hill Man Who Sells White Supremacist Merchandise Says He Isn't Racist

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