A Neo-Nazi and National Front organizer renounced his ties to the far-right groups after 40 years and shockingly came out as not only gay but also has a Jewish heritage.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Kevin Wilshaw acknowledged that being gay and a Nazi with a Jewish background was a bit of contradiction. According to him, he joined the groups in an effort to find comradery after being a bit of an outcast.

“I didn’t have many friends at school, I wanted to be a member of a group of people that had an aim, and I thought getting involved in that kind of thing would be comradeship,” he explained.

Wilshaw joined the National Front in the '70s and became a regional organizer by the age of 20. He continued to become what he called a "freelance extremist," working with a variety of fringe groups over the years.

"I saw people being abused, shouted at, spat at in the street - it's not until it's directed at you that you suddenly realize what you're doing is wrong," he told the news station.

Wilshaw also opened up about his mother and her Jewish ancestors. In his application to join the Front, he had written about his hatred of "the Jews."

“That term, ‘the Jews,’ is the global faceless mass of people you can’t personalize,” he told News 4. “That’s the generalization that leads to 6 million people being deliberately murdered.”

Wilshaw said he's now able to recognize acceptance from such groups were based on lies, that they were "hollow." He added that he feels "appallingly guilty" over his stance and the rift it has caused with his loved ones. Wilshaw also admitted to acting out in self-defense but denied ever physically attacking someone based on their ethnicity or religion.

“I’d never do that, but I have seen incidents where people were singled out because they were black by a group of people. It turned my stomach. I rejected that, I pushed it to the back of my mind.”

Mr. Wilshaw was arrested for vandalizing a mosque in Aylesbury in the early 1990s – and in March this year he was arrested for online race hate offenses. Wilshaw was an extremist as recently as the start of this year. He joined the BNP after being part of the National Front and flirted with dangerous fringe groups like the Racial Volunteer Force.

“I really do feel guilty,” Wilshaw said on his change of heart. “I really do, not only that, this is also a barrier to me having a relationship with my own family, and I want to get rid of it, it’s too much weight.”

“I want to do some damage as well, not to ordinary people but the people who are propagating this kind of rubbish – want to hurt them, show what it’s like for those who are living a lie and be on the receiving end of this type of propaganda. I want to hurt them," said Wilshaw.

Source: nydailynews.com