Left Coast Right Watch first reported on Ashley Drago’s marriage to David Ryan Drake, who was convicted of manslaughter in 2007 for a racially motivated stabbing. After being released from prison and finding it difficult to maintain employment because his name was easily tied to his neo-Nazi beliefs, he legally changed it to Aleksander Drago.
The Dragos are both allegedly involved in a local neo-Nazi club that is part of a larger network of extremist organizations aimed at recruiting younger men. These “active clubs” have harassed the LGBTQ+ community and spread antisemitism.
Ashley Drago did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
A review of the active club the pair are alleged to be a part of shows posts including direct allusions to fascism and promotions of other known white nationalist organizations.
Ashley Drago is a member of the Arizona Army National Guard, where she plays saxophone for the 108th Army Band and has been pictured in Instagram photos posted by the Army. The band was slated to perform for Gov. Katie Hobbs earlier this week at a Memorial Day service; the Governor’s Office declined to comment if she was a part of the service.
However, researchers at Left Coast Right Watch informed Hobbs’ office of Drago’s neo-Nazi ties before the event, which a spokesman said were quickly forwarded to National Guard leaders, who are now investigating Drago.
“Governor Hobbs condemns hate and extremism and takes this report very seriously,” Hobbs spokesman Christian Slater said in an emailed statement. “Extremism has no place in the military. Once the Governor’s Office became aware of the National Guard member’s alleged beliefs, the information was shared with the state’s National Guard to conduct a thorough investigation in accordance with standard policies and procedures.”
For two years, Drago has been a part-time music instructor at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale. But officials from Deer Valley Unified School District said she will no longer teach at the school.
“Prior to joining the District, she underwent and passed a background/fingerprint check,” the Deer Valley Unified School District said in an emailed statement to the Arizona Mirror. “During her tenure at MRHS, there were no reports of, or concerns related to, her sharing any sort of ideology with students or staff. Ms. Drago has completed her employment contract with the school for the 23-24 school year and is not scheduled to return in the fall.”
Married to a neo-Nazi killer
Ashley Krogstad and Aleksander Drago married in May 2021 in a ceremony that was overseen by an organizer of the neo-Völkisch Asatru Folk Assembly, according to reporting by LCRW. Other members of the SPLC-designated hate group were present.
Photos archived by LCRW of Asatru Folk Assembly’s Telegram channel show Aleksander Drago wearing a shirt that read “RWDS," which is an acronym for “Right Wing Death Squad.”
In 2006, he attended a party in Cave Creek wearing neo-Nazi regalia, including a swastika armband, and used a six-inch blade to stab 18-year-old David Michael Scarano to death after Scarano mocked Drago’s outfit.
Scarano, who was of Mexican, Native American and Italian heritage, was unarmed. A 911 dispatcher heard Drago use racial slurs against Scarano before killing him.
While in prison, Drago would reach out to the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization he claimed to represent, asking for a new uniform and saying in a recorded jail call that he didn’t feel sorry for Scarano, according to documents obtained by LCRW.
After his release, it appears that Drago continued meeting with other far-right extremist groups with connections to Skinheads and prominent neo-Nazi groups. Drago has also been a part of a local Arizona active club that held meetups that included celebrating Adolf Hitler’s birthday and swastika-themed baked goods, according to LCRW.
Ashley Drago appears to be behind a Telegram account associated with the Arizona active club that pushes “TradWife” beliefs. The TradWife Movement aims to instill ideas of the 1950s housewife, but have many beliefs that are rooted in white supremacist ideology.
LCRW found that she can be seen in multiple posts made by the account.
The account has made references to white nationalist talking points and made antisemitic comments while posting symbols used by neo-Nazis.
Photos of Ashley Drago appear in numerous photos of the 108th Army Band, including one of her wedding overseen and attended by white supremacists.
This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
