124 Results

Back

Colorado White Supremacist Arrested for Plotting to Blow Up Synagogue

Article

November 05, 2019 Update: February 26, 2021: A federal court sentenced Richard Holzer to 19.5 years in prison. Update: October 15, 2020: The Justice Department announced that Richard Holzer, 28, pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and explosives charges for plotting to blow up the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado. According to a DOJ press release, Holzer faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the hate crime charge…

November 05, 2019

Hate Crime Laws: The ADL Approach

Tools and Strategies

All Americans have a stake in effective response to violent bigotry. Hate crimes merit a priority response because of their special impact on the victim and the victim's community. Failure to address this unique type of crime could cause an isolated incident to explode into widespread community tension. The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. These crimes may effectively intimidate other members of the victim's community,…

November 02, 2019

Shooting in Halle, Germany: What We Know

Article

October 10, 2019 On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of Jewish calendar, the synagogue in Halle, Germany was attacked. A terrorist with a shotgun tried unsuccessfully to enter the synagogue, where approximately 80 congregants were worshiping. After his failed attempt at the synagogue, he began shooting at nearby individuals, killing two people and wounding two others, none of whom were affiliated with the synagogue. According to news reports, Stephan Balliet, a 27-year-old German…

October 09, 2019

President Accuses Jewish Dems of ‘Disloyalty’; Arrest in OH JCC Threat; CA Students Sing Nazi Song

Article

August 23, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 President Trump accused Jews who vote for Democrats of having “great disloyalty” – invoking a centuries old anti-Semitic trope. An avowed white nationalist was arrested for threatening to attack a Jewish community center in Youngstown, OH. And in California, members of a high school water polo team were seen on video giving the Nazi salute and singing a Nazi song. Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate, and…

August 23, 2019

Man Arrested for Bomb Plot Listed Synagogue, LGBTQ Bar and ADL as Potential Targets

Article

August 16, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 A man in southern Nevada was arrested after investigators uncovered his plot to attack an LGBTQ nightclub, a local synagogue and the regional ADL office with firearms and explosives. A white supremacist group distributed anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic fliers at Seattle-area synagogues as part of a coordinated propaganda effort. And over 100 tires were slashed in a predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in NJ. Read on for more on these headlines,…

August 16, 2019

Two Years Ago, They Marched in Charlottesville. Where Are They Now?

Article

Update: Just days after Unite the Right’s 2nd anniversary, white supremacist and Charlottesville attendee James Patrick Reardon Jr., of New Middletown, Ohio, was arrested for allegedly making threats to the Youngstown, Ohio, Jewish community center. Reardon was charged with telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing for allegedly posting an Instagram video of a man shooting a semi-automatic rifle with sirens and screams in the background. The video was captioned, &ldquo…

August 08, 2019

Mass Shooting in El Paso: What We Know

Article

On Saturday morning, August 3, 2019, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and at the adjacent Cielo Vista Mall. The death toll is believed to be at least 20, and several dozen people are reportedly injured. The alleged shooter, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. The FBI has reportedly opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the shooting, while Texas authorities are investigating the…

August 04, 2019

Exposing the Sale of Far-Right Hate on Amazon

Article

August 02, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 A new report from ADL reveals extremist items, including those promoting white supremacy, are widely available for purchase on Amazon, despite the company’s terms of service against such products. The alleged gunman responsible for killing three at a California food festival promoted a book cited by white supremacists on social media shortly before opening fire. The NonProfit Times is out with their annual “Power and Influence Top 50,”…

August 02, 2019

White Supremacist Terrorist Acts, Conspiracies and Plots against Jews

News

May 13, 2021 Over the past 25 years, numerous white supremacists have targeted the Jewish community in the U.S. through terrorist acts, conspiracies and plots. Here is a selection of significant incidents from 1994 through 2021. Assumption, Illinois, 2020: Federal agents charged Randall Burrus with weapons offenses in connection with an alleged white supremacist plot to attack a synagogue or mosque. This is linked to the April 15, 2020 incident involving John Michael Rathbun in…

May 13, 2021

Letter to The Wall Street Journal Responding to Inaccurate Column on Hate Crime Statistics

Media Watch

The following letter was submitted to The Wall Street Journal in response to "Hate Crime Hoaxes Are More Common Than You Think" (June 26, 2019). This appeared in the Journal's print editions on July 11, 2019. To the Editor: Jason Riley’s suggestion that false hate crimes are being amplified by civil-rights organizations and others who “have a vested interest in exaggerating racial tensions” is deeply offensive and flat-out wrong (“Hate Crime Hoaxes…

July 10, 2019

ADL HEADLINES: Congress Holds Hearing on the Rising Threat of White Nationalism

Article

April 12, 2019 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 Congress holds a hearing on the growing threat posed by white nationalism and increase in hate crimes; anti-vaccination advocates are misappropriating Holocaust imagery to push their agenda; and Airbnb reneges on its decision to de-list properties in the West Bank. Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate this week, and the latest info about ADL around the country. 1 A Flood Online of Hate Speech Greets…

April 12, 2019

Coalition Letter to Indiana Governor Regarding Inclusive Hate Crime Legislation

Letter

March 13, 2019 In a letter to the Governor of Indiana, ADL and a broad coalition of national civil rights advocacy organizations expressed deep concern with Senate Bill 12, which if enacted, would create a weak, vague and unacceptable state bias crime law. March 7, 2019 The Honorable Eric J. Holcomb Office of the Governor 200 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 Dear Governor Holcomb: We, the undersigned organizations, are part of a broad-based coalition of…

March 13, 2019

Washington White Supremacist Arrested for Threatening Mass Killings of Jews and other Minorities

Article

December 17, 2018 FBI agents and Snohomish County deputies arrested a Washington state white supremacist last week for allegedly making threats to carry out mass killings of Jews and other minorities. Dakota Reed, 20, of Monroe, Washington, was charged with malicious harassment—Washington’s hate crime statute—and making bomb threats. Authorities also seized a cache of firearms, ammunition and white supremacist propaganda from Reed’s residence. The…

December 17, 2018

Racist Skinheads Charged in Washington State Hate Crime Attack

Article

December 13, 2018 On December 9, a group of eight individuals associated with the racist skinhead movement were arrested in Lynnwood, Washington, for allegedly assaulting and shouting racial slurs at the DJ at the Rec Room Bar. The DJ, a black man, was reportedly punched and stomped on during the altercation. Each of the eight individuals faces malicious harassment hate crime charges for their alleged role in the assault. Those charged in the assault include Travis David Condor of…

December 13, 2018

Another White Supremacist Uses Gab to Share Violent, Racist Fantasies

Article

November 15, 2018 In a chilling postscript to Robert Bowers’ murderous October shooting spree at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, authorities in Washington, D.C., arrested Jeffrey Raphiel Clark, Jr., 30, an on-line associate of Bowers. The November 9 arrest came after family members contacted law enforcement out of concern that Clark might become violent. Clark was charged with illegal transportation of a firearm across state lines, possession of an illegal high-capacity…

November 15, 2018

How Conspiracy Theories Can Kill

Article

November 14, 2018 “HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” declared the post on the social media site Gab, “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” Just minutes later, Robert Bowers, who is believed to be the author of that post, entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and opened fire on congregants, allegedly shouting &ldquo…

November 14, 2018

Tree of Life Shooting Revives “Optics” Debate Among White Supremacists

Article

November 06, 2018 Robert Bowers appears to have referenced “optics” on social media prior to allegedly opening fire at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. His comments -- “Screw your optics, I’m going in.” -- and extremists’ reaction to them highlight a division that has dogged the white supremacist movement since August 2017’s violent “Unite the Right” rally. Following the shooting rampage, Matt Parrott, co-founder of the now…

November 06, 2018

Standing Together to Support the Community

Article

by: Jonathan Greenblatt November 05, 2018 A week ago, most of us had never heard of the Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. Now we’ll never forget it. And as Shabbat approaches, it’s hard to know what to feel. Shabbat always brings peace and comfort. But last week, when gunfire and violence tore apart one congregation’s morning service, it shattered that comfort and peace for all of us. This week, can Shabbat bring us some consolation? Let…

November 05, 2018

White Supremacists' Anti-Semitic and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments Often Intersect

Article

October 27, 2018 The last post made to the social networking account believed to belong to Robert Bowers, the suspect in Saturday’s deadly shooting spree at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, claimed that “HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” The post, made just a short time before the attack on the…

October 27, 2018

"The Jews Should Count Themselves Lucky." Extremists React to Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

Article

October 27, 2018 Extremists reacted quickly and vocally to Saturday’s shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Some celebrated the killings as “another holiday to add to the calendar,” others blamed the Jewish community for inciting the violence and praising the apparent perpetrator for his decisive action. Still others bemoaned the media coverage of the “false flag” distraction from the incoming “caravan” of Central American immigrants and refugees. …

October 27, 2018