Olomouc, Czech Republic: boxing tournament used as cover for international meeting of neo-Nazis in the local Sokol gym

The event was organized by an association called The Nationalists (Nacionalisté), the chair of which, Erik Lamprecht, has previously been associated with the Workers’ Party and has stood trial for neo-Nazism. The informal group Concerned Olomouc (Znepokojená Olomouc) informed the Romea.cz news server of the event.

The international boxing tournament, the location of which was kept secret until the last moment, finally took place at the TJ Sokol Černovír complex. Activists noted the arrival of participants in vehicles with license plates from Austria, Germany and Hungary.

According to the Concerned Olomouc group, the gathering was not just a sporting event, but mainly an international networking opportunity for organizations with a history of antisemitism, far-right activity, and racial violence. “This is the fourth time the neo-Nazis have held the tournament, but it is the first time they have done so in Olomouc. However, it is clear who they are. The Nationalists, formerly the ‘National and Social Front’, are firmly based in antisemitism and the dissemination of hatred. Lamprecht, as their leader, previously worked in the Workers’ Youth – an affiliated organization of the former Workers’ Party – but his roots are in the neo-Nazi hooligan group Johny Kentus Gang (JKG), and by extension its youth group, the Cheeky Boys. JKG has a very, very rich history of various kinds of violence, especially in Brno,” explains Eliška N., a member of the loose association of Olomouc residents who have decided to draw attention to the event in a press release sent to the Romea.cz news server before it took place.

“Given the nature of these neo-Nazis – for instance, Lamprecht himself has repeatedly stood trial – he wishes to remain anonymous,” the Concerned Olomouc press release states. The Aktuálně.cz news server reported that Martin Novák, one of the organizers of the “Virtus et honor” event, responded that: “We strongly reject the derogatory term neo-Nazis. We consider ourselves nationalists.”

Lamprecht, the Workers Party, and the tradition of neo-Nazi marches

Erik Lamprecht has indeed been a long-standing figure in far-right structures in the Czech Republic. In the past he was active in the Workers’ Youth, ran as a candidate for the Workers’ Social Justice Party, and has repeatedly convened right-wing extremist May Day marches in Brno.

According to Aktuálně.cz, Lamprecht has previously been tried for promoting neo-Nazism when, during one of the marches, he carried a banner with the slogan “Europe, rise up” – a variant of the Nazi slogan “Germany, rise up!”. According to the Concerned Olomouc press release, The Nationalists maintain contacts with European neo-Nazi organizations on Telegram.

For instance, The Nationalists have participated in a march to honor General Lukov in Sofia that has been repeatedly banned by the Bulgarian authorities. Supporters of both the Austrian and Slovak far-right, of the German group Die Heimat (The Homeland), and of the Légió Hungária (Hungarian Legion), regularly participate in Czech boxing tournaments.

“Légió Hungária crystallized from the most extreme members of Mi Hazánk Mozgalom (MHM, Our Homeland Movement), a party fighting for a white Hungary without Roma and Jews, to which many members of the already ultra-right Jobbik defected when they found it not radical enough,” the Concerned Olomouc press release reads.

Boxers wearing Nazi symbols and political activists. Who is behind the tournament?

The organizing team of the “Virtus et honor” tournament is also connected to the Slovak neo-Nazi scene, including through the bare knuckle boxing scene, the supporters of fights without gloves – specifically through boxers such as Michal Záhradník. “Záhradník has a Nazi Black Sun tattooed on his elbow – a symbol directly based on a mosaic by the Nazi Heinrich Himmler – and during his matches he promotes another Slovak neo-Nazi, tattoo artist and fighter, Michal ‘Panzer’ Petriš. He chose his nickname and the name of his tattoo studio after a Nazi German tank,” the Concerned Olomouc press release states, adding that both men fight in the Králi ulice (King of the Street) tournaments, an organization that engages in mutual promotion with Zdeněk Pernica’s Czech brand, Redneck Fight.

Pernica was previously a member of the Brno hooligan group Johny Kentus Gang, has been active in the “Decent People” (Slušní lidé) movement there, and has tried to break into politics in cooperation with the CIvic Democratic Party (ODS). “This year’s move of the tournament to Olomouc signals the revival of the local neo-Nazi hooligan scene, which has a history of racist attacks, especially from 10-15 years ago. The Olomouc combat sports scene is associated with figures such as Dominik ‘Max’ Děreš or Tomáš Suchánek, who were convicted in 2015 for a brutal joint attack on a young Romani man,” summarizes another of the Concerned Olomouc residents, who wishes to remain anonymous.

According to the Concerned Olomouc press release, both Dominik “Max” Děreš and Tomáš Suchánek operate in the Olomouc combat sports environment, training at Spider Box and Muay Thai Olomouc, which, according to eyewitnesses, are also frequented by other far-right sympathizers. The police, which monitored Saturday’s event, did not record any violations.

“We did not have to deal with any illegal actions in connection with this event,” police spokeswoman Ivana Skoupilová told the daily newspaper Olomoucký deník on Saturday evening.