White Supremacists Numerology Explained

Law enforcement officials in Tennessee have arrested two white supremacists who planned to assassinate Barack Obama, the New York Times reported Monday. The skinheads had a scheme to attack the presidential candidate while wearing white tuxedos and top hats. They also intended to murder 88 people and behead 14 African-American children—numbers that “have special significance in the white power movement,” according to the Times. What’s the deal with these skinhead numbers and fashion choices?

88 and 14. As the Times article explained, the number 88 represents the phrase “Heil Hitler,” because H is the eighth letter in the alphabet. White supremacists are also fond of the number 18 to represent the initials A.H. (Other tight-knit groups use a similar code: The Hells Angels, for example, are attached to the number 81.)

The late David Lane, a member of the Ku Klux Klan and co-founder of a white-power revolutionary group, detailed his philosophy in an article called “88 Precepts.” (Precept No. 11: “Beware of verbose doctrines.”) The number 14 refers to a 14-word mission statement he wrote while propagandizing from federal prison: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”