A former neo-Nazi has had his swastika tattoos removed after befriending his black probation officer.
Michael Kent, 38, was involved in a violent white supremacist group in Arizona for 20 years.
During that time he got two swastika tattoos on his chest and the white supremacist motto ‘white pride’ inked on his back.
He says his staunch white supremacy views finally started to change when black parole officer Tiffany Whittier, 45, was assigned to his case.
Michael Kent, 38, had his 20-year-old swastika tattoos removed after befriending his black probation officer Tiffany Whittier
‘If it wasn’t for her I would have seeped back into it,’ Kent told ABC News.
‘She’s much more than that (parole officer). I would think of her more like family.’
Whittier had urged Kent to take down the Nazi flags in his home and replace them with more positive images.
His views towards race slowly started to change and he now works full-time on a chicken farm in Colorado where the majority of his co-workers are Hispanic.
‘Before all this, I wouldn’t work for anybody or with anybody that wasn’t white,’ said Kent.
Kent had two swastika tattoos on his chest (above) and the white supremacist motto ‘white pride’ inked on his back
Kent was involved in a violent white supremacist group in Arizona for 20 years
Kent said his staunch views on race finally began to shift when he befriended his black parole officer Tiffany Whittier
‘(Now) we have company parties, or they have quinceañeras, I’m the only white guy there.’
Kent had his Nazi tattoos covered up recently at Fallen Heroes Tattoo in Colorado. He had been put in touch with the tattoo parlor through Redemption Ink, a non-profit that offers free removals of hate-related tattoos.
It was his first time in a professional tattoo shop given the majority of his tattoos were carried out in prison
‘I’m not here to judge him. That’s not my job to judge. My job is to be that positive person in someone’s life,’ Whittier said.
Kent had his Nazi tattoos covered up recently at Fallen Heroes Tattoo in Colorado. He had been put in touch with the tattoo parlor through Redemption Ink
Whittier had urged Kent to take down the Nazi flags in his home and replace them with more positive images