John Patler

John Patler (born January 6, 1938) is an American former neo-Nazi who was convicted of assassinating American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell on August 25, 1967.

Patler was born John C. Patsalos in New York City to Greek parents. When Patler was five, his mother was shot and killed by his father, after she moved to Patler's grandmothers house along with her son George and Patler himself shortly before she was killed; he was sent to Sing Sing Prison. His brother George was born in 1939. His father was released on parole in 1953 and after his grandmother died, Patler and his brother were sent to the Bronx and lived with him. Both brothers spent 2 weeks at the Youth House after his father was facing child abuse charges, but were subsequently released back into the custody of their father. Shortly after, he joined a street gang and allegedly murdered one of his friends at the age of 16.

Patler served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1958 to 1960, when he was honorably discharged on grounds of "unsuitability" after being arrested at a Nazi Party rally.

He joined the American Nazi Party in 1960 and shortly changed his name to Patler to make it sound more like "Hitler". Patler later became a captain in the American Nazi Party and the editor and cartoonist for the party's magazine, Stormtrooper. However, he was expelled from the Party in March 1967 for alleged "Bolshevik leanings" after disagreeing with Rockwell about some of the party's policies. Patler later described his relationship with Rockwell in very endearing terms, stating "I loved him like a father and he loved me like a son". In his last known letter to Rockwell, Patler wrote "I don't think there are two people on earth who think and feel the same as we do. ... You are a very important part of my life. I need you as much as you need me. Without you there is no future".

On August 25, 1967, George Lincoln Rockwell was shot and killed while getting into his car, which was parked in front of a self-service laundry at an Arlington, Virginia, shopping center. The weapon used in Rockwell's killing was a 7.63mm Broomhandle Mauser pistol. Patler was arrested half an hour later about a mile from the scene of the shooting.

Patler was convicted of first-degree murder on December 16, 1967 by an Arlington jury and subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison by Arlington Circuit Court Judge Charles Russell. Patler was paroled from prison in 1975, after having served eight years of his sentence. After later violating his parole, he received an additional six-year sentence.