Violence by White Supremicists on the rise

[frank ryan]

Right-wing violence has been on the rise

The U.S. has seen a rise in violence by white supremacists, including the murders of 11 people at a Pittsburgh Synagogue last fall. There was also a deadly clash at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, the murders of nine people at a church in Charleston in 2015 and the deaths of six at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012...

What investigators have seen is a steady rise in right-wing extremism.

"We're seeing an increase in the propaganda. Again, when we look at their propaganda, they are borrowing propaganda techniques from other terrorist groups," said John Miller, New York's deputy head of counterterrorism.

ISIS inspired its followers online and now white supremacists are doing the same. Far-right attacks in Europe jumped 43 percent between 2016 and 2017. In the U.S., right-wing extremists were linked to at least 50 murders last year, a 35 percent increase over 2017.

"I would say the majority of it is propagated online. In fact this morning after the attacks, I was seeing celebrations of the attacks online on the anti-Muslim hate sites. It's really disgusting," said Ibrahim Hooper, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Just last month, Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hassan was arrested after prosecutors said he was stockpiling weapons for an attack to fuel a race war.

In October, Robert Bowers killed 11 in a Pittsburgh synagogue. He had posted anti-Semitic messages online leading up to the attack.

The alleged shooter in New Zealand mentioned Bowers in his 74-page manifesto as well as Charleston church killer Dylann Roof. He livestreamed his attack in an effort to keep the cycle of violence going.

"All of these guys watch. They watch the reaction, they watch the tactics of those that went before them. And we ought to acknowledge that there is a rise in sort of nationalism around the world," said Fran Townsend, a former White House Homeland Security advisor.

At the White House, President Trump said he did not see white nationalism as a rising global threat. "I think it's a small group of people that have very, very, serious problems," he said.

Currently, the FBI has about 900 active domestic terrorism cases and that includes cases tied to white supremacists.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-zea...cy-2019-03-15/

[BlueK]

Interesting historical article on the roots of white supremacy in America and how it's manifest in today's politics.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...nalism/583258/

[BlueK]

Then there's this from the NY Times:

The president of the United States suggested last week that his political supporters might resort to violence if they didn’t get their way.

The statement didn’t even get that much attention. I’m guessing you heard a lot more about the college-admissions scandal than about the president’s threat of extralegal violence. So let me tell you a little more about the threat.

In an Oval Office interview with writers from the right-wing news site Breitbart, President Trump began complaining about Paul Ryan. As speaker of the House, Ryan blocked efforts by other House Republicans to subpoena and investigate people on the political left. Trump’s loyal allies in the House “wanted to go tougher,” Trump said, “but they weren’t allowed to by leadership.”

To Trump, the incident was part of a larger problem: “You know, the left plays a tougher game. It’s very funny. I actually think that the people on the right are tougher, but they don’t play it tougher. O.K.? I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump. I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”

his wasn’t the first time Trump had mused about violence, of course. He has talked about “Second Amendment people” preventing the appointment of liberal judges. He’s encouraged police officers to bang suspects’ heads against car roofs. He has suggested his supporters “knock the hell” out of hecklers. At a rally shortly before 2018 Election Day, he went on a similar riff about Bikers for Trump and the military.

I’m well aware of the various see-no-evil attempts to excuse this behavior: That’s just how he talks. Don’t take him literally. Other Republicans are keeping him in check. His speeches and tweets don’t really matter.

But they do matter. The president’s continued encouragement of violence — and of white nationalism — is part of the reason that white-nationalist violence is increasing. Funny how that works.

After Trump’s latest threat, I reached out to several experts in democracy and authoritarianism to ask what they made of it. Their answers were consistent: No, the United States does not appear at risk of widespread political violence anytime soon. But Trump’s words are still corroding democracy and public safety..."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/o...-violence.html

[wapiti]

To Trump, the incident was part of a larger problem: “You know, the left plays a tougher game. It’s very funny. I actually think that the people on the right are tougher, but they don’t play it tougher. O.K.? I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump. I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/o...-violence.html

How is that encouraging violence?

[frank ryan]

How is that encouraging violence?

It's threatening violence. It he doesn't get his way, these wonderful people might just start perpetrating violence. That is what he is saying. You can't be so dumb you don't see that. Then again you did whine about how the media's "harrassment" of Trump, a man whom supposedly you don't support, should be illegal.

[frank ryan]

More modern day civil war talk or meming from GOP rep. Steve King. He's one of the worst. After this past election cycle he finally lost committee assignments, but that's too little too late.


Rep. Steve King Shares Violent Civil War Meme

In another reminder of his inability to hold back from sharing offensive ideas and statements, Rep. Steve King of Iowa posted a meme on Saturday to an official Facebook account that seemed to revel in the idea of people in more conservative states killing those in more liberal states in an armed conflict.

“Folks keep talking about another civil war,” the meme said. “One side has about 8 trillion bullets, while the other side doesn’t know which bathroom to use.”

King captioned the image with a smirking emoji. “Wonder who would win….” he wrote.

King has since removed the Facebook post, but many social media users captured it in a screenshot before he decided to do so....

King, a notably racist member of Congress, has in the past openly voiced support for white supremacist ideas. An incomplete list of things he has said and done includes calling white people the “subgroup of people” who have contributed the most to the world; tweeting that “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies;” blaming immigrants for ISIS and Ebola; displaying the Confederate flag, despite his state, Iowa, not having been a part of the Confederacy; blaming abortion for killing “millions” of white babies; and complaining that for every child of undocumented immigrants “who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

In January, King finally appeared to have crossed a line for his own party when he voiced explicit support for white supremacy. “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?” King told the New York Times. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” Soon after he made the statement, his party stripped him of all his committee assignments.

After Saturday’s post, King’s Facebook page went on to share posts mocking feminists for being “confused”; joking that Democrats have literally never solved a problem; for some reason defending the racist YouTube star Pewdiepie along with President Donald Trump and Candace Owens, all of whom were either criticized for fomenting Islamophobia or mentioned in the New Zealand shooter’s manifesto; and arguing prison shanks prove that gun control is pointless.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...-war-meme.html

[BlueK]

How is that encouraging violence?

beat the crap out of that guy! I'll pay your legal bills!

Funny that someone actually took him up on that a few weeks later.

He encourages violence, sometimes more directly than others. It's hard to imagine your response is serious.

[wapiti]

Then again you did whine about how the media's "harrassment" of Trump, a man whom supposedly you don't support, should be illegal.

I made no such argument (or "whine"). But I am not surprised that you would interpret it that way as you always take things to the extreme.

[Jarid in Cedar]

How is that encouraging violence?

I take it that you only read the part BlueK quoted and not the whole article.

[Commando]

Trump always talks like a mob boss. "Sure would be a shame if my people got angry if things get too out of hand with the democrats..." "Maybe my 2nd Amendment people would do something about Hilary.."


Can't stand this guy.

[frank ryan]

Cuddling up with these sorts of outlets is aiding and abetting bigots and wackos by legitimizing them.

Donald Trump Jr gives interview to far-right conspiracy website known for antisemitic and racist articles

The TruNews archive reads like a greatest hits collection of far-right conspiracy theories, a veritable potpourri of Nazi references and fear mongering about secret cabals.

In articles and broadcasts past, the site has claimed the Las Vegas shooting, which was the deadliest in modern US history, was carried out by a secret death squad from a "gay/lesbian Nazi regime" and asserted that white Americans are being pushed out of their country by a "brown invasion." Numerous articles on the site have declared Mr Obama a "demon from hell" – or worse. After Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston in 2017, TruNews declared the storm punishment for the city's "affinity for the sexual perversion movement."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8846706.html

[frank ryan]

Haven't seen this guy and his group covered. But those hateful cosplayers who been kidnapping undocumented immigrants apparently also planned to assassinate Obama and Clinton. And yes, the leader is a total Trump fanboy. I'm sure Trump will discourage these kind of folks. He claims he talks to Trump, but I don't believe that.

New Mexico Border Militia Leader Allegedly Said Group Planned to Assassinate Obama, Clinton

The border militia leader who was arrested in New Mexico over the weekend on weapons charges allegedly said that his far-right group was training to kill prominent Democratic figures because of their “support of Antifa.”

According to an arrest warrant for Larry Mitchell Hopkins, witnesses told authorities that he’d said the United Constitutional Patriots were training to “assassinate” liberal billionaire George Soros, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama.

The 69-year-old and his armed militia, which spreads conspiracies and searches for asylum seekers on the border, have been accused of illegally detaining migrants. Hopkins was arrested Saturday on charges of possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon, which is punishable by a “term of imprisonment exceeding one year.”

Witnesses also told authorities in Oct. 2017 that the group “had its ‘base’ at Hopkins’s residence, was supported by approximately 20 members, and was armed with AK-47 rifles and other firearms,” the arrest warrant states.

During a search of his property, the FBI found 10 guns in Hopkins’ “office,” which he claimed were owned by Fay Sanders Murphy, his “common law wife.” Hopkins told authorities there were two more guns in his bedroom—a shotgun and a handgun—and another handgun in his kitchen. All told, the FBI seized nine guns from Hopkins’ home as evidence, including shotguns and long rifles.

Saturday’s arrest marks the third time the militia leader has been arrested on weapons charges. In 1996, he was convicted for possessing a loaded firearm in Michigan. In 2006, he was also convicted in Oregon of felony possession of a firearm and criminal impersonation of a peace officer.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/larry-...-obama-clinton

[frank ryan]

Coast Guard officer accused of making hit list targeted Supreme Court justices, feds say

The filing doesn't name the two justices and two company executives but says Hasson searched online for their home addresses in March 2018, within minutes before and after searching firearm sales websites.

"The defendant conducted an internet search for 'are supreme court justices protected' approximately two weeks prior to searching for the home addresses of the two Supreme Court justices," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom wrote in a footnote.

In November 2017, according to the prosecutor, Hasson searched for "please god let there be a race war." And the defendant did an internet search for guns with a search term that used a racial slur for blacks in March 2018 before visiting firearm sales websites.

Prosecutors have said Hasson appeared to be planning attacks inspired by the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage. Windom said "it cannot go unnoticed" that the terrorist who perpetrated the deadly New Zealand mosque attacks in March also was a "devotee" of Breivik.

In 2017, Hasson sent himself a draft letter he had written to a neo-Nazi leader and "identified himself as a White Nationalist for over 30 years and advocated for 'focused violence' in order to establish a white homeland," prosecutors said.

That letter also refers to "Missouri," a person with whom Hasson has a "long history," Windom wrote. In 1995, according to federal prosecutors, Hasson and "Missouri" went to a home in Hampton, Virginia, where the homeowner arrived by car and asked them why they were there. The victim identified Hasson and Missouri as "skinheads."

"Missouri," wearing a black jacket with Swastika patches, aimed a handgun at the victim's face and pulled the trigger, according to a police report cited by prosecutors. When the gun didn't fire, "Missouri" beat the victim with it.

"Chris Hasson was standing there with the suspect when this occurred," Windom wrote.

Investigators found 15 guns, including seven rifles, and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition at Hasson's basement apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland, prosecutors said. Hasson's Feb. 27 indictment also accuses him of illegal possession of tramadol, an opioid painkiller.

Prosecutors claim Hasson drew up what appeared to be a computer-spreadsheet hit list that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and presidential hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris. Several network TV journalists — MSNBC's Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNN's Chris Cuomo and Van Jones — also were mentioned.

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-...ices-feds-say/

[frank ryan]

Our Enemies Are the Same People: San Diego Synagogue Shooter Inspired by New Zealand Anti-Muslim Massacre

Two weeks before a man walked into a Poway, California, synagogue and shot four people, killing one, an arsonist tried to burn down a nearby mosque. The same man likely committed both crimes. In a 4,000-word manifesto reportedly posted online by the synagogue shooter, a 19-year old San Diego man named John Earnest who was taken into custody on suspicion of committing the synagogue killing, claimed responsibility for the mosque arson in the nearby town of Escondido. He had done the arson in honor, he said, of the mass murderer who had recently killed 50 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand. “I scorched a mosque in Escondido with gasoline a week after Brenton Tarrant’s sacrifice and they never found shit on me,” he wrote in his manifesto.

The connection between these two crimes screams at us to pay attention.

Earnest’s manifesto is a stomach-churning blend of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, with justifications for violence liberally mixed in. He leaves no ambiguity about who inspired him.
In the past six months there have been three mass shootings at houses of worship in Western countries — two targeting Jews and one targeting Muslims. In each case the ideology has been the same. The shooters were driven not just by white supremacy, but by a bigoted conspiracy claiming whites are being demographically “replaced” by ethnic minorities. Earnest’s manifesto is a stomach-churning blend of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, with justifications for violence liberally mixed in. He leaves no ambiguity about who inspired him. “Tarrant was a catalyst for me personally,” he wrote, referring to the New Zealand mosque shooter who left behind a similar manifesto. “He showed me that it could be done.”

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/28/...-islamophobia/

[frank ryan]

Military Investigating 4 More Servicemen For Ties To White Nationalist Group
That’s 11 members of Identity Evropa who are under investigation by the U.S. armed forces.

A lance corporal in the Marines, a master sergeant in the Air Force, a specialist in the Army, and a private in the Minnesota National Guard have been identified as belonging to Identity Evropa, an organization listed by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist group.

There are now a total of 11 Identity Evropa members known to be under investigation by the U.S. military. Last month, HuffPost found seven other U.S. servicemen were being investigated over their connections to the group.

The investigations, which could last for months, are looking into whether the 11 servicemen violated military rules regarding discrimination and extremist activity. All 11 could face expulsion from the armed services, or even be court martialed and potentially sentenced to time in prison.

Members of Identity Evropa, like many other white nationalist groups, have long used the messaging platform Discord to chat with one another. Last month the independent media collective Unicorn Riot obtained Identity Evropa’s Discord messages and published them online.

Identity Evropa was founded by an ex-Marine named Nathan Damigo, who served in the Iraq War. After returning to the U.S., Damigo robbed a cab driver, whom he mistook for being Iraqi, at gunpoint. He spent four years in prison — where he was further radicalized after reading a book by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke — and formed Identity Evropa upon his release.

The group’s members helped organize the violent and deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the group has been busy ever since attempting to recruit new members, particularly on college campuses.

The new revelations offer further proof that the U.S. military has struggled to keep extremists out of its own ranks.

Just this past February, federal authorities arrested Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson, who prosecutors allege corresponded with an unnamed white nationalist leader as he stockpiled firearms and compiled a hitlist of leftists and media figures he planned to kill as part of a plot to establish a “white homeland.”

In January, a former Marine and Iraq War veteran named Curtis Allen was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his part in a bomb plot targeting Muslims in Kansas. Allen belonged to an anti-Muslim militia group called “The Crusaders.”

Last year 22-year-old Brandon Russell — a Florida National Guard soldier and a leader of a murderous neo-Nazi group called The Atomwaffen Division — was sentenced to five years in prison after authorities discovered explosive materials in his garage. (They also discovered a framed photo of Timothy McVeigh in Russell’s bedroom. McVeigh, a U.S. Army veteran, was executed for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people.)

Ed Beck is a former Marine and Iraq War veteran who in recent years has worked to expose fascists in the ranks of the U.S. military. He says the military needs a better screening process for recruits. Many of the 11 Identity Evropa members in the military were “open about their beliefs on social media.”

“A brief, even semi-educated investigation would’ve been enough to raise suspicions and bar them,” Beck said. “These repeated failures should make everyone deeply skeptical of the military’s stated attitude toward white power and right-wing extremism.”

Still, the problem of white nationalists in the military is much larger than the 11 Identity Evropa members identified over the past month. A Military Times poll in 2017 found that nearly 25 percent of service members have encountered white nationalists within their ranks. An FBI report on extremism in the military, which analyzed case files from 2001 to 2008, found over 200 military personnel or veterans who were active members in white supremacist groups.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white...b0764d31dd839c