December 16, 2016 What’s the easiest way to spot a white supremacist? The answer used to be pretty easy: You look for Klan robes or a swastika tattoo. But the recent rise of the clean-cut, besuited Richard Spencer and the alt-right has challenged these conventions, and parallels a movement within white supremacist circles to re-brand their cause – eliminating easily identifiable symbols in favor of a new, “kinder, gentler” image, an attempt to make…

December 08, 2016 On December 6, 2016, to the delight of some Texas-based white supremacists, Richard Spencer  brought his “America belongs to white men” rhetoric to the Texas A&M campus. Spencer was not on campus as a guest of the university, but rather spoke in a privately rented room rented by Preston Wiginton, a neo-Nazi and former racist skinhead. Wiginton was not the only white supremacist to attend the event; several Texas-based white…

by: Marilyn Mayo December 07, 2016 The alt right wants to reach the young people of America. To this end, some groups, as well as anonymous individuals, have posted racist fliers on campuses across the county promoting white identity and heritage. The fliers try to appeal to white college students by focusing on alleged dangers facing white Americans, including demographic changes and “white guilt.” The alt right is a loose network of people and groups that promote white…

by: Jessica Reaves December 01, 2016   It has been one year since the December 2, 2015 attack on a workplace holiday party in San Bernardino, California, that left 14 dead and 22 others seriously injured. The perpetrators, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, had allegedly discussed their commitment to extremism in private emails, and law enforcement found copies of Inspire magazine, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's English-language propaganda magazine, at their residence. Reports…

by: Marilyn Mayo December 01, 2016 There has been a lot of debate lately about whether media outlets should use the term “alt right.” Some argue that the term whitewashes or normalizes a grouping that is, at its core, racist and anti-Semitic.  The problem is not so much with the term “alt right” but in how people define or not define it.  It is crucial that whenever the term “alt right” is used, it be defined clearly and put in the proper context. …

by: Oren Segal November 29, 2016   Update – 11/30/2016: ISIS claimed credit for the attack through its Amaq news outlet on November 29, calling Artan a “soldier” of the Islamic State. ADL has written about what it means when ISIS claims credit for attacks here. Law enforcement officials have not yet ascribed a motive to yesterday’s attack at Ohio State University but both the choice of weapons and social media posts by the alleged perpetrator, Abdul…

by: Jessica Reaves November 14, 2016 In new issues of their English-language propaganda magazines, both Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIS reiterate calls for attacks against Western civilians. Although both magazines were released in the days after the election, they were likely compiled well in advance and do not address the U.S. presidential elections or results. AQAP released the 16th issue of Inspire Magazine, its flagship English-language propaganda magazine, on…

by: Jessica Reaves November 11, 2016 In the week following Donald Trump’s election, there has been a sharp spike in reports of racist and anti-Semitic graffiti and vandalism, including widespread use of swastikas and other Nazi imagery. This is a small sample of the graffiti, vandalism and harassment that has been reported since Tuesday. Racist graffiti, vandalism and harassment Signs outside a church in Silver Spring, Maryland, were defaced over the weekend of November 12…

by: Jessica Reaves November 10, 2016 Not surprisingly, an array of white supremacists, including those associated with the alt right, are celebrating Donald Trump’s win in the presidential election. These extremists are not just reveling in Trump’s victory, they feel they played a role in helping him achieve the highest office in the land. Some, believing that they have been in the vanguard of promoting white interests, are rejoicing that whites working- and middle-class whites…

by: Jessica Reaves November 10, 2016 As the world weighs in on the results of the U.S. presidential election, media groups associated with foreign terrorist organizations are adding their voices as well. Several propaganda outlets are exulting in Donald Trump’s victory, expressing hope that he will lead the U.S. toward destruction. Some hope he will force Muslims to choose extremism over a hostile West. Others have taken a more moderate stance, claiming that there is no difference…

by: Jessica Reaves November 03, 2016   A social media campaign is calling for the boycott of Chobani yogurt and targeting Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya for his support of refugees around the world. Ulukaya is a Muslim Kurd who grew up in Turkey and has built a hugely successful business that employs thousands of people in New York State and Idaho. The campaign against him reflects the twin threats of anti-immigrant bigotry and anti-Muslim extremism. In 2015, the image of a Syrian…

by: Oren Segal October 02, 2016 Approximately 25 members and supporters of the “White Lives Matter” movement protested Saturday, October 1, outside the Anti-Defamation League offices in Houston, Texas. The small group of white supremacists gathered to voice their anger at the ADL for a multitude of perceived slights including not labeling the Black Lives Matter movement a hate group. In early September, the ADL published an article describing “White Lives Matter”…

by: Jessica Reaves September 22, 2016 ISIS supporters are attempting to capitalize on the September 17 and 18 attacks in the U.S. – bombs placed in locations in New York and New Jersey and a stabbing in a Minnesota mall – with a new hashtag campaign on social media. The campaign began on September 20 but has yet to achieve levels of participation seen in previous ISIS hashtag campaigns. The campaign, which uses an Arabic-language hashtag that translates to “In the heart of…

by: Jessica Reaves September 21, 2016 Bombs in New York and New Jersey on September 17th and 18th and an unrelated stabbing attack on September 17th in Minnesota serve as reminders of the domestic threat posed by individuals motivated by Islamic extremism. These attacks come amid propaganda from groups including ISIS and Al Qaeda increasingly encouraging Westerners to commit attacks with any means at their disposal.   The bombs placed in Manhattan’s Chelsea…

September 20, 2016 Update – 10/03/2017: On the evening of October 1st, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas from the 32nd floor of his Mandalay Bay hotel room, killing at least 59, and wounding more than 500. ISIS’ media outlet, Amaq, claimed Paddock was a “soldier of the Islamic State,” and that he had “converted to Islam months ago.” While such wording is reminiscent of claims for attacks inspired by the group, the FBI has…

by: Mark Pitcavage September 15, 2016   In what may be the most recent attempt at violence against police officers by someone angry over the highly publicized police killings of black men across the United States in recent years, a Phoenix man allegedly rammed his vehicle into a trio of police officers standing outside a convenience store. A police-obtained video from the incident, which occurred on September 12,  shows a vehicle allegedly driven by Marc LaQuon Payne, 44,…