On the evening of June 24, 2022, “Q,” the anonymous figure whose online posts sparked the widespread QAnon conspiracy movement, re-emerged after more than 18 months of silence.
Firearms Remain the Weapons of Choice for Domestic Extremists
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The ADL Center on Extremism documented 187 incidents from 2012-2021 in which extremists used firearms to commit murder or violently engage with law enforcement. During these incidents, extremists killed 325 people and wounded 252.
Extremists Target LGBTQ+ Community During Pride Month
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With Pride month in full swing, extremists are making news by targeting LGBTQ+ events, groups and people. The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has tracked a spate of extremist activity around Pride celebrations nationwide, fueled in part by the claim that members of the LGBTQ+ community are pedophiles who are “grooming” children.
Young Right-Wing Americans Forging Ties with European Ethno-Nationalists
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In May 2022, young American right-wing activists attended the CPAC Hungary conference and held their own meeting with youth leaders of xenophobic and ethno-nationalist European political parties. This gathering, along with the CPAC Hungary event, demonstrates the interconnectedness of American and European far-right thinking, and highlights the xenophobic, nationalistic rhetoric that is being promoted – and applauded – on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of the young American attendees also have ties to right-wing extremists.
Right-Wing Extremists Eye Leaked Abortion Ruling as Opportunity for Violence
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The May 2, 2022, leak of the draft opinion overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling has animated people on both sides of the abortion debate. And as pro-choice advocates are vowing to protest the potential loss of reproductive freedom, right-wing extremists advocating for -- and in some cases threatening -- violence against them.
Some Nakba Day Events Descend into Support for Violence, Antisemitism
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Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) Day, held on May 15 each year, is marked by Palestinians and their supporters, including many anti-Israel activists, as a day to mourn the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 and advocate for the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees.
Responding to Buffalo Shooting, Far-Right Politicians, Pundits Parrot Extremists
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After news broke of the deadly white supremacist shooting in Buffalo on Saturday, May 14, 2022, extremists, politicians and ideologues offered their takes on the attack.
Striking Similarities Between Gendron and Tarrant Manifestos
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The ADL Center on Extremism has found remarkable parallels and overlap between online manifestos posted by accused Buffalo shooting perpetrator Payton Gendron and Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant. While Gendron’s language is notably more antisemitic than Tarrant’s, entire portions of the texts are identical.
On May 7, 2022, a small group of neo-Nazis stationed themselves outside the entrance to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, waving swastika flags and shouting into a megaphone. Among them was a man who goes by the name “Grandfather” on social media. The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has identified him, with a high degree of certainty, as 74-year-old veteran David Howard Wydner, who has a significant history of antisemitic stunts.
The Rise Above Movement Plants a Flag in the White Power Music Scene
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In January 2022, the white supremacist Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.) announced the creation of Will2Rise Records, a music production company catering to white supremacist artists.
Support for Terror Groups, Negation of Israel’s Existence Mark Quds Day in U.S.
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Some U.S. rallies marking Quds Day, April 29, 2022, included explicit support for terror groups, opposition to Israel’s existence, propagation of the Khazar conspiracy theory and a call to exclude “Zionists” from public life.
Elon Musk Plans to Buy Twitter. Right-wing Extremists Rejoice.
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Right-wing extremists cheered the announcement; they believe Musk will usher in a new era on the social media platform, free from “left-wing” censorship.
Mohammed El-Kurd is a prominent Palestinian activist hired in 2021 as the Palestine Correspondent by the left-wing magazine The Nation. He has published articles and been interviewed in a wide array of media. Unfortunately, even a cursory analysis of his social media and his book “Rifqa” reveals an indisputably troubling pattern of rhetoric and slander that ranges far beyond reasoned criticism of Israel. It is unvarnished, vicious antisemitism. El-Kurd has accused Israelis of…
1. Nicholas Fuentes is a white supremacist leader, organizer and podcaster who seeks to forge a white nationalist alternative to the mainstream GOP. Nicholas Fuentes first gained widespread notoriety in 2017 when he left Boston University after he reported receiving “threats” tied to his attendance at the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the aftermath of Charlottesville, Fuentes found a niche within the alt-right movement…
New Mexico School Shooter Also Fixated on Violence Against Jews
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America’s deadly epidemic of school shootings continued last week, when William Atchison, a 21-year-old gas station attendant, disguised himself as a student and went to Aztec High School in northwestern New Mexico to conduct a shooting spree, something he had fantasized about for some time.
Atchison killed two students, Casey Jordan Marquez and Francisco Fernandez, and shot at a number of others before killing himself, a shocking and tragic turn of events for the people of Aztec…
Have Hate, Will Travel: The Demographics of Unite the Right
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Unite the Right drew white supremacists from at least 35 states, according to new research from ADL’s Center on Extremism. This is evidence of the event’s widespread appeal, and of the ability of these extremists to attract a broad, national audience, who are willing to travel significant distances to express their hateful views. Center on Extremism analysts have identified 200 of the estimated 500-600 individuals who showed up to support Unite the Right. This number does not…
Iranian Commemoration of Al-Quds Day Includes Anti-Semitic and Harsh Anti-Israel Expressions
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by: Shaya Lerner Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, which takes place on the last Friday of Ramadan, was initiated in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, as a show of solidarity with the Palestinians and to assert the Islamic claim over Jerusalem. While events are held around the world, in Iran, it is often marked by a hateful demonstration of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment, manifest in government organized rallies and other activities. Before this…
by: Shaya Lerner Iran’s newest “Holocaust contest” exhibition opened on May 14 in a gallery in Tehran. According to Iranian news reports, the contest received over 864 submissions from participants around the world. Of those, 150 cartoons from 50 countries were accepted, with representation of cartoonists from Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Peru, Syria, Turkey and Yemen, among others. Contest organizer Masoud Shojai Tabatabaei insisted the event was not to…
Iran's Second International Holocaust Cartoon Exhibition Opens On May 14
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by: Shaya Lerner On May 14, 2016, the second international Holocaust Cartoon Contest exhibition will open in Iran, with the first place winner – reportedly to be announced in June – receiving a large cash prize. According to reports in the Iranian press, the May 14th date was chosen to coincide with Nakba Day (catastrophe day), the term used by Palestinian to refer to the events surrounding Israel’s independence in 1948. The contest reportedly received over 800…
In Iran, Holocaust Denial and Mockery are Alive and Well
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by: Shaya Lerner Despite the international community’s reengagement with a more “open” and “moderate” Iran, some things in Iranian society haven’t changed, including the prevalence of Holocaust mockery and denial. While President Rouhani hasn’t touted the issue like his predecessor Ahmadinejad had, recent announcements indicate that the questioning of the Holocaust is very much alive and well within Iranian society. In December, the Tehran…