Research & Analysis

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 07, 2018 The 2018 midterms were not kind to most of the country’s extremist and bigoted candidates, but a number of them did garner disturbingly high vote counts. More than 1.8 million Americans voted for known extremists and bigots who were running for national offices. In races for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, extremists pulled in, on average, 29% percent of the vote. It’s important to acknowledge that some of these votes – perhaps even…

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 05, 2018 Louis Farrakhan spent Sunday in Iran, according to the English language version of MEHR, an Iranian news agency, spewing anti-American, anti-Israel rhetoric. The Nation of Islam leader, ostensibly in Iran to mark the 39th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, lashed out repeatedly at the U.S. and the Trump administration’s new sanctions against Iran. He reportedly called the U.S. a “big liar” and described the new sanctions as …

November 05, 2018 The Road to Power, a white supremacist and anti-Semitic broadcasting outlet based in Sandpoint, Idaho, continues to ramp up its tactic of robocalling communities nationwide with racist, anti-Semitic and bigoted language. The calls, which have targeted communities in California, Idaho, Iowa, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania, seek to exploit current events by disseminating vile, offensive commentary.  Robocalls are a relatively low-cost and easy means of communicating…

November 05, 2018 “It’s okay to be white” posters were reported on 14 college and university campuses in 12 states last week. The wave of flier postings coincides with a similar campaign that occurred last year at the same time. The “It’s okay to be white” trolling campaign first emerged in October 2017 on 4chan, a  discussion forum infamous for instigating trolling efforts and for the studied offensiveness of many of its posts…

November 05, 2018 UPDATE: On November 3, one week after the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue and six days after going dark, Gab found a new home at Epik.com. In a statement, Epik’s CEO, Robert W. Monster, explained his willingness to host Gab, writing, “De-platforming a haven of free speech is not about left or right.” He also quoted Edmund Burke’s famous warning, “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it,” superimposed…

November 05, 2018 On Friday evening, Scott Paul Beierle reportedly entered a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, and opened fire, killing two women and wounding five other people, four of whom are women. Beierle, who died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, appears to have been a misogynist and a racist. In the hours after the shooting, news reports quickly linked the 40-year-old Beierle, a former high school English teacher and apparent Army veteran, to language frequently…

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 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 According to police and media reports, Robert Bowers allegedly entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday morning, yelling, “All Jews Must Die” as he opened fire. As of Saturday evening, the death toll stood at 11, and several people remained hospitalized. A profile on Gab – a social media site frequented by right-wing extremists – which appears to belong to Bowers, showcases his virulent anti-Semitism. The vast majority of…

October 17, 2018 The Nation of Islam marked the 23rd anniversary of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement on Sunday, October 14th.  The event, held at Detroit’s newly named Aretha Franklin Amphitheater, featured a nearly three-hour long speech from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. His comments touched on topics ranging from Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings to Kanye West’s Oval Office meeting with President Trump, and also…

October 12, 2018 George Soros, multimillonario judío húngaro, filántropo y superviviente del Holocausto, es ampliamente reconocido por financiar causas políticas y sociales progresistas, generalmente a través de donaciones realizadas por sus Open Society Foundations. En consecuencia, Soros se ha convertido en un pararrayos para los grupos conservadores y de derecha que se oponen a que financie causas liberales. Entre la extrema derecha de todo el mundo,…

October 11, 2018 The neo-Confederate South Carolina Conservative Action Council (SCCAC) will hold a “Build the Wall” rally on Saturday, October 13 at the Federal Building in Greenville, South Carolina. They will be joined by members of the Nationalist Liberty Union, a small, relatively new, white supremacist group based in Georgia.   SCCAC is a neo-Confederate organization led by William G. Carter III, who also acts as the editor of the group’s newspaper, The…

September 14, 2018 Right-wing extremists and outspoken bigots are making their presence felt in mainstream American politics, and a record number of them are running for office this year. Around the country, in blue and red states alike, members of the extremist right – including several with ties to white supremacists– are enjoying more exposure today than at any time in recent history. Less extreme but no less troubling are the number of candidates who have expressed anti…