New York, NY, October 20, 1999 … Anti-government militia groups, far-right religious fundamentalists and violence-prone political extremists are among the hundreds, and possibly thousands of extremists "hoping, expecting or preparing for the worst" as the next millennium nears, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says in a new report.

Y2K Paranoia: Extremists Confront the Millennium examines the varied reactions and expectations of elements on the fringes of society and warns of the potential for violence. The report focuses on anti-government militia and "Patriot" groups with theories of a government conspiracy, certain religious fundamentalists and cults predicting an apocalypse with Jews playing a conspiratorial or Satanic role, and far-right extremists seeking to blame the so-called Y2K bug on Jews and the federal government. Many of the groups are disseminating hate-filled propaganda on the Internet.

"Millennial cults, extremist groups and racial ideologues this year are bringing their assorted baggage to the Y2K happening," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The heightened expectations of the year 2000, mixed together with the widely reported possibility of computer meltdown, have generated a barrage of predictions and hysterical propaganda from those on the farthest fringes of society. While not all of these groups call for explicit action, many of their followers are hoping, expecting or preparing for the worst. We can only hope that these people will not act rashly or violently on their fears and expectations."

• The Prophecy Club – Members are selling books that warn of a government plan to establish an evil dictatorship and imprison "true believers" in concentration camps.

• Aum Shinrikyo – The Japanese cult responsible for the 1995 Tokyo subway attack is predicting Armageddon. Authorities fear the violence-prone group could strike again.

• Gershon Salomon – As leader of the Movement for the Establishment of the Temple, Salomon reportedly has asserted that he and his followers must "liberate" the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, destroy the Dome of the Rock Mosque and build the Third Temple foretold by the prophets.

• Concerned Christians – Authorities believe that the group may resort to violence in the streets of Jerusalem to hasten the Second Coming of Christ. Concerned Christians achieved notoriety last January when its followers were arrested and deported from Israel.

• Yisrayl "Bill" Hawkins – Hawkins, the leader of the House of Yahweh, and his followers are awaiting the return of Jesus in a compound in Abilene, Texas. The group reportedly is stockpiling arms.

• Robert Millar – The leader of a Christian Identity settlement in Muldrow, Okla., Millar’s white supremacist teachings include predictions of a series of disasters after 2000 that will remove the wicked from the earth. The settlement, dubbed Elohim City, reportedly is heavily armed.

• National Socialist White Revolutionary Party – Believes that an impending Russian nuclear, chemical and biological assault on the United States will lead to the forming of a globalist government.

• James Wickstrom – An Identity minister in Michigan with links to Posse Comitatus, a loosely organized group of Identity survivalists, Wickstrom predicts Y2K will bring widespread chaos perpetrated by the "Jew and antichrist world system." He claims there’s a Jewish conspiracy to downplay Y2K and insists the NATO strikes against Serbia were intended to divert attention from an impending world disaster.

• Christian Defense League – The virulently anti-Semitic Christian Defense League in Arabi, La. believes Y2K is actually a Jewish plot to take over the world.

• Church of Israel – Dan Gayman, leader of the Missouri-based Church of Israel, a white supremacist group, predicts civil chaos, especially among "non-whites" whom he singles out from among welfare recipients as the most likely to resort to "unbridled killing" if the Y2K bug results in a temporary suspension of government entitlement programs. He advises followers to keep a "shotgun handy."

• National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP) – Predicts a doomsday Y2K scenario that includes a stock market crash, a run on the banks and general mayhem.

• John Trochman and the Militia of Montana – On his Web site, Trochman repeatedly refers to "secret" military reports that suggest an imminent U.S. government takeover.

• NORFED – Indiana organization claims the computer systems at the Federal Reserve and other world financial institutions will malfunction, causing the international monetary system to collapse.
  
• Col. James "Bo" Gritz – A former Green Beret and presidential candidate for the extremist Populist Party, Gritz has trained hundreds of anti-government zealots to fight a so-called "New World Order."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.