by: Oren Segal March 07, 2016 On March 12, the Anti-Defamation League will play a key role at the first South by Southwest (SXSW) Online Harassment Summit.  In a series of panels at this day-long event, the Summit will focus attention on various manifestations of hate online, including everything from cyberbullying to the sale of offensive merchandise to hate speech on social media to online extremist recruitment and propaganda.  The overarching goal will be to identify the most…

by: Mark Pitcavage March 04, 2016 Updated March 22, 2016, to reflect additional charges and defendants. In early March, federal prosecutors in Las Vegas announced charges against 14 anti-government extremists from a variety of states in connection with a 2014 armed standoff between the federal government and supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy at Bundy’s ranch.  Prosecutors added additional defendants later in the month.  As of March 22, 19 people have been indicted…

by: Oren Segal March 02, 2016 The Loyal White Knights (LWK) had every intention of holding a “White Lives Do Matter” protest on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at Pearson Park in Anaheim, California. But before the event could kick off, a bloody brawl erupted between Klan supporters and counter-protesters. Klansmen, barely able to exit their cars, were suddenly swarmed by counter-protesters who wrestled Bill Hagan, the California LWK’s Grand Dragon, to the ground. Other Klan…

by: Oren Segal February 29, 2016 Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan made anti-Semitic accusations of Jewish governmental control while praising presidential candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 Sav­iours’ Day ser­mon at the NOI’s Mosque Maryam in Chicago on February 28. While Part 1 of Far­rakhan’s 2016 Sav­iours’ Day ser­mon last week at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena largely avoided the topic of Jews, in Part 2 of his ser­mon…

by: Marilyn Mayo February 28, 2016 Updated March 2, 2016 White supremacists have been enthusiastic supporters of Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president in June 2015 with bigoted remarks about Mexican immigrants. Subsequent remarks from Trump about banning Muslim immigration to the U.S served to solidify that support. White supremacists believe that Trump is voicing their own xenophobic and bigoted views toward immigrants and non-whites. David Duke, a racist and anti…

by: Oren Segal February 23, 2016 Holocaust denier Bradley Smith, the founder of the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH), died on February 18, 2016, his 86th birthday. Smith’s lasting impact is apparent in his peers’ reaction to his death – and in the continued efforts of the organizations he created to promote dangerous Holocaust denial theories. Smith’s acolytes and fellow Holocaust deniers rushed to eulogize him in the days following his death. Smith…

by: Oren Segal February 18, 2016 Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Far­rakhan was provided with an opportunity to promote his typical anti-Semitic conspiracy theories last week in Iran. Farrakhan was a “special guest” at multiple high-level events and met with current and former Iranian government officials including Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati. Farrakhan was also reportedly the guest of honor at a ceremony unveiling a new…

by: Mark Pitcavage February 09, 2016 Rock musician and right-wing activist Ted Nugent surprised many of his followers on February 8 when he posted to his Facebook page a blatantly anti-Semitic graphic that labeled a dozen prominent supporters of gun control measures as Jews and asked “So who is really behind gun control?” The graphic was one that had circulated in white supremacist circles for several years before Nugent gave it new life, telling his followers to “Know…

by: Oren Segal February 02, 2016 Update: 3/17/2016 - In March 2016, the Cyber Caliphate Army, a pro-ISIS hacking group, released so-called "kill lists" with the names, addresses and contact information of law enforcement officers in New Jersey and Minnesota. The information was uploaded to a file sharing site and to Telegram. The original version of this post was also updated on 2/19/2016. 2015 saw an unprecedented number of attacks on law enforcement officials by U.S. residents motivated by…

by: Mark Pitcavage February 02, 2016 On January 26, 2016, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, one of the anti-government extremists involved in the January 2 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters near Burns, Oregon, was fatally wounded by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers during an attempt by the OSP and the FBI to arrest Finicum and a number of key occupiers.   Finicum, along with occupation leader Ammon Bundy and others, were traveling in two vehicles to…

by: Oren Segal January 27, 2016 On January 2, a loosely organized group of armed anti-government extremists led by Ammon Bundy seized control of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters buildings located near the town of Burns in remote southeastern Oregon.  They later named themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. On Tuesday, January 26, Ammon Bundy and several others were arrested by federal and state law enforcement officers during a traffic stop near John…

by: Marilyn Mayo January 26, 2016 Two leaders of the white supremacist movement, Paul Mullet of Bainbridge, Ohio, and Billy Roper of Mountain View, Arkansas, have joined forces to form a new group, Divine Truth Ministries and its "political arm," the Nation of True Israel.  Both men have struggled for years to establish themselves in the movement and to recruit followers. Mullet and Roper practice Christian Identity, a virulently racist and anti-Semitic religion. They believe not only…

by: Oren Segal January 26, 2016 After the firing of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, some social media users responded by posting vehemently anti-Israel, and some anti-Jewish, personal attacks against Blatt, who holds both Israeli and American citizenship. Hostile verbal attacks on individuals for being Israeli citizens or supporters of Israel appear to have become more commonplace in recent years both online and offline as well as some look to demonize the…

by: Marilyn Mayo January 14, 2016 William Johnson, the head of the white supremacist American Freedom Party (AFP), has paid for a series of robocalls and radio time in Iowa in support of Donald Trump’s candidacy. In a recent interview on CNN, Trump disavowed the robocalls but said that “people are angry at what’s going on.” On the calls, Johnson urges people to support Trump while referring to  himself as a farmer and a white nationalist. The calls also include a…