George Burdi, also known as George Eric Hawthorne (born 1970), is a Canadian musician, publisher, traditionalist, mysticist, and a white power musician who became known for his role in white nationalist organizations. He led the Canadian branch of the World Church of the Creator, which formed an alliance with the now-defunct white nationalist organization Heritage Front. In addition, Burdi performed with the white power band RaHoWa. Burdi was convicted of assault causing bodily harm in 1995, and was sentenced to one year in prison. Upon his release from prison, Burdi claimed to have renounced racism. By 2017, he had resumed promoting extremist views and producing white nationalist music. Early life Burdi was born in 1970 to a Ukrainian mother and Italian father, both of whom were immigrants. Activism Burdi came into contact with the white nationalist movement through the father of his then German girlfriend. He became an active White nationalist at the age of 18, and by the age of 21, was the leader of the Canadian branch of the World Church of the Creator, which at its peak had fewer than 20 members. During this period, he wrote a number of articles for the Church of the Creator newspaper, Racial Loyalty, using the name "Rev. Eric Hawthorne" (including the January 1992 cover story, "Enter the Racial Holy War"). He has been credited with helping to secure the survival of Creativity after the death, in 1993, of its founder Ben Klassen. RaHoWa Using the pseudonym "Reverend George Eric Hawthorne", Burdi formed the racist band RaHoWa in 1989. The band's name was derived from the phrase Racial Holy War. RaHoWa was one of the biggest hate-rock bands throughout the 1990s. Burdi was also the founding president of Resistance Records, which was the distributor for his band, and other white nationalist bands. The company also operated a web site, and published a magazine, Resistance, which covered the white nationalist music scene. Reckzin incident In Ottawa, on May 29, 1993, after a RaHoWa concert which was picketed by Anti-Racist Action protesters, Burdi and the leader of the White nationalist Heritage Front, Wolfgang Droege, led their supporters on a march to Parliament Hill, chanting "sieg heil", making racist remarks, and giving the Hitler salute. At Parliament Hill, the two addressed their followers. Burdi then led the group to the Chateau Laurier, where he led a charge across the street to confront protesters. During