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Martyrs, Heroes & Prisoners of War
(If You Believe)

John "Polar Bear" Butler

John "Polar Bear" Butler is a racist skinhead who is sitting in jail for the murder of two Anti-Racist Action members. There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the case, but that John Butler is guilty of murder isn't one of them.

John Butler, along with a couple of accomplices did, on July 4, 1998, most deliberately and cruelly take the lives of Dan Shersty and Lin "Spit" Newborn.

John Edward Butler was born December 25, 1971 in Orange County, California. Las Vegas police officer Greg Damarin, formerly assigned to a gang detail, said he encountered Butler on about 30 occasions and considered him a leader of the Independent Nazi Skins. He was said to be highly respected by other members of that organization. Tensions between the Skinheads and Anti-Racist Action members had been mounting for years. Las Vegas had experienced a major influx in neo-Nazi activity during the 1990's and had quite a problem on its hands with the situation. When speaking of high school while attending Durango High, the same school that had graduated Butler, a young man by the name of John Toddy gave us this insight, ”In school it was socially acceptable to be racist’,” says Toddy. ”The neo-Nazis were seen as cool because they had that image of power. A lot of younger kids looked up to." And that is how it happens.

Dan Shersty was white and Lin Newborn was black. They both believed in all men being equal and both were very much against racism. They died for those beliefs - needlessly and senselessly. Our favorite description of Dan & Spit comes from an article written by Jason Gay:

"IT FEELS LIKE ALMOST EVERYONE under the age of 30 in Las Vegas has a Spit story. From all accounts, Lin Newborn was larger than life - an ebullient, gentle giant with a big mouth and a penchant for good-natured confrontation. ”Spit intimidated people at first, because he had this really boisterous voice and all these piercings,” says one of Spit’s friends.

”But underneath this shell was this, well, teddy bear.” John Toddy, the Vegas ARA activist, says that Spit was practically a legend in the city’s underground youth scene. ”You could be in a room with 20 people in a drab mood, but if Spit walked in, it would immediately lighten up,” Toddy recalled. ”He meant so much to everyone in Las Vegas.” Dan Shersty, in many ways, was a Yin to Spit’s Yang, Laurel to his Hardy. Small and wiry with a quiet manner, not to mention a job in the military, Shersty didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d pal around with a lightning rod like Newborn, who worked in a Vegas body-piercing parlor. But the two quickly became good friends. “Dan had a really cool, laid-back manner,” says Cynthia*, a friend of both men. ”Spit was loud, Dan was quiet. I think they kind of balanced each other out.” Spit and Dan belonged to a scene of Vegas teens and twentysomethings who shared passions for punk and ska music, inventive fashions and simply hanging out. Depending upon whom you talk to, Spit and Dan’s crew numbered between 20 and 50 people. Not everyone

in their scene was an anti-racist skinhead, some were just plain punks; others defied any label. Jenn, for instance, describes herself matter of factly as a ”tattooed and pierced white girl.” Las Vegas is notorious for its lack of options for young people, especially those under 21, but Spit and Dan’s crew usually managed to find a good time. At night, they liked to drink Newcastle Brown Ales at someone’s house, or lounge at the Cafe Copioh, a local coffee shop. A big evening might be a concert at the Huntridge Theater, or an underground gig at a vacant warehouse. Once in a while, someone might host a show in the desert. Indeed, the promise of a social life was a primary reason people were drawn to Spit and Dan’s crew. People liked to get together, drink some beer, mess around a little - just like young people in every corner of America. Rarely did things get serious or out-of-control. When they did, it was usually because of Nazis."

Unfortunately, things got very serious - and very out of control. And yes, it was because of Nazi's. On the afternoon of July 3, 1998, Spit was at work at Tribal Body Piercing. Two women entered the store and one ended up getting her navel pierced. She also told Spit about a party that night. Later, Spit told Dan about the party and they decided to go. It is believed that one of the women was Melissa Hack, John Butler's girlfriend and that she lured the two men into the Las Vegas desert. Dan and Spit told friends that they were going to meet the two girls shortly after midnight. A store receipt showed that they had purchased six packs of beer shortly after 12:30. Between one and two AM, Spit called a friend and left a message that he would talk to her later. At 3:15 AM Lin failed to respond to a page from another friend.

Early on the morning of July 4th, a man driving an all-terrain rain vehicle in the rocky desert of northwest Las Vegas discovered the body of Daniel Shersty. Dan, a 20-year-old Air Force serviceman, was found lying next to his black Chevrolet Cavalier, a shotgun wound in his chest. It was not until two days later that police discovered another body nearby, that of Lin ”Spit” Newborn, 24, Shersty’s close friend. Newborn, too, had been shot to death. Three people were seen leaving the scene - John "Polar Bear" Butler, Melissa Hack, and 19-year-old Joseph Justin and the license plate number was given to the police - the car was registered to Melissa Hack's parents. Eventually, John Butler was arrested and charged with the murders - Melissa Hack was interrogated but no charges were ever brought and Joseph Justin testified against Butler at the trial.

Lin "Spit" Newborn was 24 years old Dan Shersty was 20, and neither deserved to die. Investigators claim that all signs point to them being targeted. This was not a random act of violence. Dan was severely beaten before being shot to death. It appears that Lin was trying to flee his killers - he was shot in the back. Some of us here at Citizens Against Hate know Dan's family and this is highly personal. Butler is not believed to be the sole perpetrator of this horrendous crime, and the others roam free. One relative of Dan Shersty is attacked through cyberspace on a regular basis. Her message boards are hit periodically with pictures of John "Polar Bear" Butler and hateful and insensitive posts about what was done to Dan and Spit in the Las Vegas desert. All that this accomplishes is providing the world with the evidence needed to expose how degenerate these people are. It gives credibility to the work that we and other anti-racist groups do. It assists us in showing all that the defective morals and thought processes of those in the racist groups are often beyond repair and always insidious. The continued victimization of this family is odious to the extreme and despicable beyond belief - yet it is proof positive that we really do have a problem.