Former Hillsdale County GOP Chair wears lapel pin resembling Nazi symbol

Corey Murray, Hillsdale Daily News
·2 min read
9

HILLSDALE — A video has surfaced of a prominent Hillsdale attorney wearing what appears to be a Nazi symbol.

Daren Wiseley reportedly shared the video on his Snapchat account. It depicts him filming himself and a skull pin on his shirt lapel that some say is a Totenkopf, a symbol of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (most commonly referred to as the SS).

A screenshot of the video was shared with The Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 7.

A video of Daren Wiseley, a Hillsdale attorney, reportedly shared to his Snapchat, shows him wearing what appears to be a Totenkopf lapel pin, a symbol of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (most commonly referred to as the SS).
A video of Daren Wiseley, a Hillsdale attorney, reportedly shared to his Snapchat, shows him wearing what appears to be a Totenkopf lapel pin, a symbol of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (most commonly referred to as the SS).

In the mirrored image — common with Snapchat when using a front-facing camera — a skull and crossbones lapel pin closely resembling the Totenkopf is clearly visible on the lapel of Wiseley’s jacket.

The Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism reviewed the image and confirmed it to be a Totenkopf, a Nazi "Death Head."

The Totenkopf was resurrected post-World War II by white supremacist organizations in America as a symbol because of its importance to the SS, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Wiseley, a former assistant prosecutor in Hillsdale County, texted a statement to The Hillsdaly Daily News late Tuesday night.

"Then, of course, there are those that simply want to smear me," Wiseley stated. "I will never bend the knee to the PC mob or bow to the thought police. They can say or do whatever, I really don't care.

"I'm going to preserve the truth, so it's not lost for the next generation — even if I'm the last man on earth doing so. And nothing they say will stop me."

“It may be that this guy mistook it,” ADL Michigan Regional Director Carolyn Normandin said. “It could be that (Wiseley) is ignorant of what this symbol represents.”

Normandin added it's important for political leadership at all levels, local to federal, to take serious and significant steps to prevent and address extremists in government.

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“It is imperative that both liberal and conservative voices come together to ward off a common threat,” Normandin said. “Every American who believes in democracy, the rule of law and civil rights — regardless of their political affiliation — must remain vigilant.”

The Nazi SS Totenkopf
The Nazi SS Totenkopf

Wiseley’s name first appeared on the local political scene when he announced his candidacy for the 58th District Representative seat in 2020; Andrew Fink won that election.

Wiseley was then named chair of the Hillsdale County Republican Executive Committee and served until November 2022, when he stepped down in the midst of a growing rift between America First Republicans and the Leininger faction of the Hillsdale County Republican Party.

— Corey Murray is the Public Safety Reporter for The Hillsdale Daily News, Sturgis Journal and The Daily Reporter. Contact him by email at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Former Hillsdale County GOP Chair wears lapel pin resembling Nazi symbol in screenshot