"Hate groups. Are they back? Or did they ever leave." by Daniel E.
https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map
(Above is a map showing the 940 hate groups around the United States)
Shown in the map, there are 940 hate groups alone in 2019. Each state is shown by a different color of red based on how many hate groups are in each state. In our own state of Arkansas, we have 15 different hate groups. There is everything from ACT for America (Anit-Muslim), to Shieldwall Newtwork (White Nationalist). It seems like the more hate groups are based in the south. With the leading nationwide hate group is Black Seperationist.
Each year since 1990, the SPLC has published an annual census of hate groups operating within the United States. The hate map, which depicts the groups' approximate locations, is the result of a year of monitoring by analysts and researchers and is typically published every January or February. It represents activity by hate groups during the previous year.
Since 2017, 55% increase in white nationalist hate groups. 43% increase in anti-LGBTQ hate groups in 2019. 2,421 flyering incidents in 2019 from these hate groups. It is believed that a rise in these hate groups are from the 2016 election.
These hate groups are doing things that are causing trouble. They are having lawsuits against them, criminal charges pending, and murdering innocent people. Former president candidate Elizabeth Warren was putting a plan together to combat white nationalism. But with the First Amendment being an issue, the courts are dismissing these cases since they are protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment.
Last year the FBI has made racially motivated violent extremism a “national threat priority” and placed it on the same level of combating ISIS. FBI director Christopher Wray said “He said the FBI is placing the risk of violence from such groups "on the same footing" as threats posed to the country by foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS and its sympathizers”. His statements indicate the FBI is just as concerned about racially-motivated violent extremists, including white supremacists, as it is about the threat posed by homegrown violent extremists inspired by foreign terrorist organizations.
The FBI netted about 107 domestic terrorism arrests in fiscal year 2019, on par with the number of international terrorism arrests. Justice Department sources have said to expect more federal arrests targeting white supremacists, including those with ties to "nationalist" organizations in Europe, Ukraine and Russia. The FBI's more than 200 Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which work with state and local law enforcement around the country, "to have domestic terrorism squarely in their sights. In many cases, perpetrators can move quickly from rhetoric to violence, Wray said.
"They choose easily accessible weapons — a car, a knife, a gun, maybe an IED they can build crudely off the internet — and they choose soft targets," Wray said. "That threat is what we assess is the biggest threat to the homeland right now."
With the upcoming election, do you think it will cause a higher amount of hate groups in the US?
Could this harm people running in the 2020 election?
Do you think the FBI will combat these hate crimes?
Work Cited
Donaghue, Erin. “Racially-Motivated Violent Extremists Elevated to ‘National Threat Priority,"
FBI Director Says.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 10 Mar. 2020,
www.cbsnews.com/news/racially-motivated-violent-extremism-isis-national-threat-priority-fbi-director-christopher-wray/.
“Hate Groups.” AP NEWS, apnews.com/Hategroups.
“Hate Map.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 19 Mar. 2020, www.splcenter.org/hate-map.
This news is shocking to me. I will research this topic more. To me, these hate groups seem to be just very small groups of crazy people, not a movement across the nation. There was a “KKK rally” in Boston last year that was widely publicized and protested, but less than ten people actually participated in it. It seems that they seek attention and not an actual hate movement. I have seen crazy people on the internet, and the most popular hate group as of now seems to be anti Israel, so as you can guess, they hate President Trump with a passion. The idea that Trump’s win would cause more hate groups is laughable because we just had a black president and Trump still has black people around him. We should be aware of hate groups, but we should not give them credit or act like they are having a huge impact which gives them more attention and power.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Woolsey
DeleteI did not know that there were this many hate groups were active in America, I figured it was just a couple of people with very little organization between them being angry on the internet. I did not know that these groups are still active in modern America killing innocent people, I think that these hate groups will affect the election because of them shouting about the person who they dislike, although I think they will actually turn more people away from their candidate.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the idea of hate groups in the United States is not taken seriously enough by the people currently in power, and those that support them. I also do not think it is a coincidence that there was a 55% increase in white supremacy groups following the 2016 election, as the same tone used in those groups is reflected in popular platforms. I would hope that in the upcoming election, people will prioritize their morals and not choose fear and hate that can fuel these groups.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about the amount of hate groups there are. It's crazy to think about how the U.S was based on the statement that all men are created equal but in 2020 it still doesn't reflect that. The FBI would intervene if it is serious enough like you said. There's no reason that people should be putting others in risk just because they aren't alike in some way.
ReplyDelete