PHOENIX – A neo-Nazi group led by a man recently released from prison has been distributing fliers across Southern Oregon that call for white unity, deny the Holocaust happened and demand that illegal immigrants return to Mexico.

Andrew Lee Patterson, 29, identifies himself as the state leader of the National Socialist Movement, Oregon Unit, and said he has been a “storm trooper, first class” with the movement for about six months.

Other unit leaders from around the state selected him as leader based on his active involvement, he said in an interview with the Mail Tribune newspaper of Medford. Patterson said he and his staff in Phoenix coordinate activity around the state, while a local unit focuses on recruiting and Southern Oregon issues.

Patterson described the group as “normal people with a legitimate cause – surviving as a race.” He said more than 2,500 fliers have been distributed in parking lots around Southern Oregon.

Police have been keeping an eye on the group, and have detected an increase in activity in recent weeks, Medford Police Lt. Tim Doney said.

About a month ago, the group was asked to stop distributing literature at Home Depot in Phoenix, where a city ordinance bars distributing handbills without the permission of property owners except during special events, such as parades, Phoenix Police Chief Derek Bowker said.

In 2003, Patterson and two fellow Oregon Army National Guard soldiers attacked two homeless men, calling them a “disgrace to the white race,” and an East Indian motel owner in what police called hate crimes.

Patterson, who had been sent home early from a peacekeeping mission because of a discipline problem, was discharged from the Guard following the assault conviction.

“People call me a hatemonger, but I care about my community, my culture and my race,” he said.