Custody Battle Over White Separatist Twins

Saturday, June 03, 2006

June 2, 2006 -- There was bitter custody battle Friday in a Valley courtroom with two young white supremacists at the center of it all. The twins have gained national attention for their hate-filled concerts.

The parents of the Gaede twins have been in a bitter custody dispute. The girls' father thinks they are being poisoned by their mother, a self-professed white seperatist.

The battle over the twins came to a head Friday inside a Fresno courtroom.

The father of the girls admits he hasn't been the best dad and wanted a second chance, but the judge ruled the Gaede twins would remain in the custody of their mother, the woman who manages their career as a white separatist singing group.

They've been billed as a valuable recruiting tool for the white nationalist movement.

Lynxe and Lamb Gaede — the 13-year-old twins from Fresno County — perform at white supremacist gatherings around the country. Together, they are called "Prussian Blue" and are managed by their mother, April Gaede.

In 2002, she admitted being part of a local group, "The National Alliance" that distributed racist leaflets in Fresno.

"I'm a racist ... I believe there are differences in races. Everybody's a racist. There are two kinds of people. Those who deny being racist, and then the honest folks," said April Gaude.

She divorced the twins' father in 1997. The divorce papers accuse him of domestic violence and drug abuse.

But Kris Lingelser says he's a changed man, and wants custody of the girls to teach them there's a better way to live, "I would hope that they could see a white separatist attitude, where whites and blacks and Mexicans and everybody needs to live in their own separate universe is not healthy."

"It's not what this country is about, it's not what I'm about. I would just hope that they could see that," said Lingelser.

But the judge ruled their mom, April Gaede would retain custody and could keep the girls at her new home in Montana.

Gaede wasn't talking to the media, but last year she claimed to be raising her girls like any other parent — according to her beliefs.

"All children are espouse their parents beliefs. If we were Christians, they would maybe be singing Christian rock songs. But we're not. We're white nationalists and so of course, that's a part of our life and I share that part of my life with my children," she said.

For Kris Lingelser, there was some consolation. The judge ruled he could have limited visits with the girls in Montana.

Friday's custody hearing had been scheduled last week, but the attorney representing the girls' father, Kim Aguirre, is the same attorney who claims he was shot and wounded on his way to court in another custody case.

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