State Dept. Official From VA Called White Nationalist: Report

LEESBURG, VA — A U.S. State Department official from Leesburg has been placed on leave after he allegedly led a local chapter of a white nationalist organization, hosted white nationalists at his home and published white nationalist propaganda online, according to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Matthew Q. Gebert, 38, started working for the department’s Bureau of Energy Resources in 2013, according to an archived George Washington alumni magazine cited in the report produced by SPLC’s Hatewatch program. He worked on energy issues involving Pakistan and India during his time there, former co-workers told Politico.

Gebert was placed on leave after the Hatewatch program reported that he allegedly used the pseudonym “Coach Finstock” on white nationalist forums and hosted parties at his Leesburg home for others with similar views. Two U.S. officials familiar with Gebert's situation confirmed to NBC News that he is on leave, but did not say when he left his desk or speculate on when, or if, he might return.

According to Hatewatch, Gebert used his pseudonym on social media and podcasts to express a desire to build a country for whites only. “[Whites] need a country of our own with nukes, and we will retake this thing lickety split,” the report quoted Coach Finstock as saying on a May 2018 episode of The Fatherland, a white nationalist podcast. “That’s all that we need. We need a country founded for white people with a nuclear deterrent. And you watch how the world trembles.”

Under his pseudonym, Gebert also attended white nationalist events and helped lead a Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia-based organizing chapter of Michael Peinovich’s The Right Stuff network called “D.C. Helicopter Pilots,” Hatewatch reported. It cited Peinovich among the most influential figures of the contemporary racist right.

After publishing the investigation, people sent photos and information to Hatewatch about Gebert and his wife, Anna Vuckovic, who allegedly went by the alias “Wolfie James” to post racist and anti-Semitic content online. Last Friday, Hatewatch posted a photo of Gebert at a white nationalist event in Charlottesville, Virginia, in May 2017. Gebert appears in the photo wearing sunglasses, a white polo shirt and khaki pants. Co-workers and a family friend confirmed his identity to Hatewatch.

Twitter archives revealed clues about their identities, Hatewatch determined. At least one Coach Finstock account, @TotalWarCoach, led Hatewatch to expired handles that use elements of Gebert’s real name, including @MQGeb and @MQGebert.

Former State Department officials were surprised security screenings had not flagged Gebert’s involvement with the hate groups, according to Politico. A state department spokesperson said that while they couldn’t comment on personnel issues, the department is “committed to providing an inclusive workplace.”

Gebert knew his connections to white nationalism could end his career, according to an August 2017 episode of The Fatherland cited in the Hatewatch report. “There are bigger things than a career and a paycheck, and I don’t want to lose mine,” Gebert said as Coach Finstock. “I am prepared to lose mine. Because this is the most important thing to me in my life … in tandem with my family, of course.”