Congressman Steve King was heavily criticized this weekend after sending out a tweet that implied a support for white nationalism. The tweet was sent out in praise of Geert Wilders, a far-right Dutch politician who has made a name for himself with strong anti-Islam and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies. https://t.co/4nxLipafWO

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) March 12, 2017

As Elliot Hannon of Slate very concisely pointed out: “it is hard to read that any other way than it was written. It is an apparent, explicit call to protect white ‘culture and demographics’ from immigrants. It’s the type of rhetoric that you might find at a Klan rally.”

Speaking of the Klan, King was almost immediately applauded by a former Imperial Wizard of the KKK, David Duke:

GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!! #TruthRISING https://t.co/oDFel8JDrP

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) March 12, 2017

In the wake of the 2016 elections, white nationalism has been on the rise, or at the very least, coming out of the shadows. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there has been a “resurgence in white nationalism.” Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC, explained:

Trump’s run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man’s country. Several new and energetic groups appeared last year that were almost entirely focused on Trump and seemed to live off his candidacy. The country saw a resurgence of white nationalism that imperils the racial progress we’ve made, along with the rise of a president whose policies reflect the values of white nationalists.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The number of hate groups in the U.S. in 2016 doubled for the second consecutive year, reaching an almost historic high, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s annual census of hate groups and other extremist organizations. The SPLC points to Donald Trump’s rise to power as the main culprit.

“Trump’s run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man’s country,” said the SPLC.

Trump’s way of talking about immigrants; the selection of openly racist, anti-LGBT, and anti-Muslim appointees for his cabinet; the tweeting of inaccurate facts; and his threats to ban Muslim immigration are all contributing factors, says the SPLC.

According to the nonprofit civil rights organization, the radical right was more successful in entering the political mainstream last year than it has been in almost 50 years. In 2016 there were 917 documented hate groups, which is only about 100 fewer than the all-time high of 1,018 that was recorded in 2011. Unsurprisingly, most of the hate groups created were specifically anti-Muslim–from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year, a 197 percent increase.

The most dramatic growth in the number of hate groups was the near-tripling of anti-Muslim hate groups: from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year pic.twitter.com/4NKwfbHW3h

— SPLC (@splcenter) February 15, 2017

Immediately after the election there was also a surge in hate crimes; 1,094 incidents were reported in the first 34 days of the Trump Administration. Approximately 37 percent of those incidents directly referenced either Donald Trump, his campaign slogans, or his remarks about sexual assault. Noticeably, the largest share of Trump-related incidents by far were anti-woman at 82 percent.

Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, told NBC News that hate groups have been on a steady rise since 2014. According to Beirich, it’s easy nowadays to find the groups thanks to the internet, and the fact that they want to spread their message.

On the topic of Trump’s immigration ban, Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said, “What used to be a fringe, extremist ideology of anti-Muslim ideology has now moved from the fringe of society to the center of powers in the White House.”

“With a president whose policies reflect the values of white nationalists, extremists think they finally have a voice in the White House” pic.twitter.com/Sm1IrZTDXO

— SPLC (@splcenter) February 15, 2017

The survey also found that schools were also negatively affected by the campaign. After the election, the group’s researchers interviewed 10,000 educators and found that eighty percent said they had noticed more fear and anxiety among their students, particularly immigrants, Muslims, and African Americans. Many teachers reported that students used slurs, derogatory language and extremist symbols in school as well.

Only time will tell what the long term effects of Trump’s politics and presidency will be, but the short term ones are already proving to be quite scary.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit legal advocacy group focused on fighting against hate groups and intolerance in American society, recently announced that there was a surge in hate groups in 2015, as well as a rise in “patriot” groups. The SPLC reported that there were 892 active hate groups in 2015, a 14 percent increase from the year before. These findings track well (and depressingly) with the contentious–and in some cases, hateful–rhetoric being consistently employed in the current 2016 primaries.

This reported rise actually comes after the number of hate groups has been steadily decreasing for some time, roughly the last decade or so. The SPLC warned that this growth in hate groups comes in part from the events of 2015–including several highly publicized terrorist attacks and the issues of national security, racism, and policing that have been front and center in the 2016 primary debates. The report stated:

The demonization of Muslims, Latinos, immigrants and others became commonplace in 2015. Presidential candidate Donald Trump made headlines with a call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration and his description of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers. He even cited a bogus ‘poll’ by the Center for Security Policy that falsely claimed that a quarter of American Muslims support violent jihadists such as the members of the Islamic State.

There are a wide range of groups included on the list, from all sides of the political spectrum, including “neo-Nazis, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, Klansmen and black separatists.”

SPLC releases new count of hate groups operating in America via @getgln https://t.co/pGkZ2dEZhE pic.twitter.com/3NcSTwImuE

— dorothy cook (@jcbme) February 18, 2016

There has also been more attention on “patriot” groups, which the SPLC reported are growing as well. Earlier this year, a “patriot” group took over a wildlife refugee in Oregon and conducted a roughly month-long standoff with federal authorities.

Check out fellow Law Streeter Mike Sliwinski’s explanation of the Oregon situation here.

While SPLC’s report is helpful, and certainly concerning, it is worth noting that it isn’t necessarily able to fully summarize the spread of hate in the United States. Many people are being radicalized online–a group to share or act on your views may not be necessary when there are chat rooms and blogs readily at your disposal. The SPLC recognizes that, however, pointing out to Dylann Roof as an example of someone who was radicalized without being part of a physical group. Heidi Beirich, the SPLC’s Intelligence Project Director has stated, “It could be that in 10 years a hate map, a hate list, doesn’t make any sense because people aren’t in groups anymore.”

But for  now, the SPLC continues to track hate groups across the U.S.–and given the fact that they appear to be growing, it’s certainly a laudable undertaking.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Conversion therapy is a discredited practice that has been used on those who identify as LGBT. California has banned conversion therapy–even though challenges to the ban made it all the way to the Supreme Court. New Jersey has also outlawed the practice. Now, conversion therapy has hit a bump in another court, albeit a very interesting one. Conversion therapy practices are going to have a very hard time operating in New Jersey after a ruling by the consumer fraud court.

Conversion therapy is based on the idea that homosexuality, or basically anything that is not heterosexuality, is a “disorder” that can be cured. That’s, of course, an antiquated, unscientific, and horrifying view. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM (the guide to classifying psychological disorders) in 1973, but that just means that people can’t be diagnosed with any sort of disorder related to homosexuality.

What the DSM removal didn’t do was prevent anyone from calling homosexuality a disorder–there was no law against that. So conversion therapy practice capitalized on that discrepancy and advertised that they could “cure” anyone who identified as LGBT. In a lawsuit that was decided this week, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a suit against the New Jersey-based Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH). SPLC brought the suit on behalf of four men who claim that they were subjected to awful treatment by JONAH. They report details incidents of abuse, or reenacting past abuse, and role-playing abuse.

The suit was brought under the contention that JONAH advertising classified homosexuality as a disorder, which violates the Consumer Fraud Act. Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr. ruled that it did violate the CFA. This is a groundbreaking ruling in an interesting context because it is the first time that an American court of any kind has ruled that homosexuality isn’t a mental disease. Bariso also ruled that in addition to incorrectly characterizing homosexuality as a mental illness, JONAH also defrauded consumers by advertising that they had “success” statistics. He had earlier ruled that JONAH could not bring forward expert witnesses who would argue in favor of conversion therapy, because their theories would be outdated and refuted.

The SPLC applauded Bariso’s decision; David Dinielli, the SPLC’s legal director stated:

For the first time, a court has ruled that it is fraudulent as a matter of law for conversion therapists to tell clients that they have a mental disorder that can be cured. This is the principal lie the conversion therapy industry uses throughout the country to peddle its quackery to vulnerable clients. Gay people don’t need to be cured, and we are thrilled that the court has recognized this.

This judgment was made as part of an ongoing lawsuit in which the plaintiffs are seeking damages for the abuse levied against them. The trial will be this summer; this ruling is just part of preliminary matters. Eventually it will be up to a jury to decide. That being said, these preliminary matters are a great step in the right direction. Hopefully the men wronged by JONAH will get the ruling they deserve.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Prominent religions worldwide preach many similar ideals, some of which include exhibiting kindness to others and living a peaceful life. Although these religions have vastly different teachings, they generally urge followers to be good and fair to one another. However, religious extremist groups claiming to adhere to certain religious ideals often distort the teachings of their faith in order to justify violent acts. Some of the groups at large in the United States today include al-Qaeda, Yaweh ben Yaweh, al-Fuqra, The Army of God, and the Klu Klux Klan. These groups, among several others, have all taken the teachings of different religions and mutated them into extremist ideologies used to condone violence.

Click here to see our infographic on religious extremist groups

Christianity to Justify Discrimination and Violence

The Phineas Priesthood is a prime example of a group that twists religious concepts to justify hateful acts. Claiming to be servants of Christ, Phineas Priests believe that in order to carry out God’s will, they must strive for a completely white North America. The group targets Jews, those with mixed-race backgrounds, and anyone else they consider “undesirable.” Individuals professing to be Phineas Priesthood members have used Christianity as an excuse for committing terrorist activities such as bombing, robbery, murder and arson.

The Klu Klux Klan strives for similar goals and defends its actions by saying they are following Christian ideologies. The Klan believes in an entirely Christian and white North America. Though the number of members in the Klan has dwindled since its foundation many years ago, they still have at least 500 members. Just recently in Florida, a police officer was fired from his position after his ties with the KKK were discovered.

Another group that associates with Christianity, but focuses less on adhering to its teachings, is the Sheriff’s Posse Comitatus. This group does not openly use Christian values to defend its actions, but rather calls itself anti-government as well as racist, and has been known to associate with the Klu Klux Klan. Although its members have not committed many high-profile crimes aside from the 1974 assault of an I.R.S. agent, many have been convicted of tax evasion, weapons possession, and attempting to circulate counterfeit bills.

The Army of God, another clandestine group calling itself Christian, believes in preventing abortion by any means necessary. This includes murdering doctors who perform the procedure. The group defended the actions of member Paul Hill, who allegedly murdered abortion doctor John Britton. They claimed, “his actions are morally justified if they were necessary for the purpose of defending innocent human life. Under these conditions, Paul Hill should be acquitted of all charges against him.” This extremist group even provides a how-to manual for its members, explaining how to execute attacks on abortion clinics using bombs, gas and other means. One of the highest profile crimes carried out by an Army of God member occurred in 2001, when Clayton Waagner sent over 550 anthrax threat letters to clinics and signed them with the name Army of God.

Defending Islamic Ideals at All Costs

There are two major groups operating in the United States that use Islamic teachings to justify their violent acts. One such group, Al-Fuqra, has been linked to “shoe-bomber” Richard Reid. Even more infamous is al-Qaeda, which operates out of the United States, in addition to other countries around the world. The philosophies of both groups are ones of “defensive jihad,” a term defined as the defense of Muslim communities at all costs. Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, encouraged each Muslim to fight what they consider to be attacks on Muslims across the world. The extremist group aims to overthrow governments that they believe oppress their Muslim citizens and replace them with genuine Islamic governments. They also stand strongly against all Western influences.

The Jewish Extremist Justifications

The only major Jewish extremist group that operates in the United States today is The Nation of Yahweh. Yahweh ben Yahweh formed the group, which had a relatively large following in Florida during the 1980s. They believe that blacks are the true Jews and that their founder is the messiah. Ben Yaweh often ordered members to murder his perceived enemies, who were mainly white. Eventually, he formed a group called “The Brotherhood.” In order to become a member of his cult, young men had to kill a “white devil” and bring a body part back. The group is far less active today following the death of ben Yaweh in 2007.

Other Spiritual Reasoning

One group that follows multiple ideologies and has an operating base in the United States is called Aum Shinrikyo, also known simply as Aleph. The group, formed in 1984 by a Japanese man named Shoko Ashara, adheres to Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and New Age ideologies, as well as some elements from other religions. Ashara encouraged his followers to confront the Japanese establishment. The group members have used their spiritual beliefs to justify murder. Aum Shinkrikyo members have not conducted any noteworthy attacks in the United States, despite having a base here. However, the group has wreaked havoc in Japan on multiple occasions. In 1994, members conducted a sarin gas attack which killed seven people. Perhaps the most infamous Aum Shinrikyo attack occurred in 1995 in Tokyo when the group released sarin nerve gas, killing twelve people and injuring over 5,000 others on the metro.

Many religious extremist groups,  such as the Klu Klux Klan, have their own websites to further explain their ideologies. One of the keys to preventing the expansion of these violent groups is to reduce the sympathy potential members feel for their respective causes. Revealing the twisted nature of their allegedly “justified” reasoning by which they commit crimes could be a way to reduce the desire to join. The United States also has organizations that work to alert the public about the statuses of such hate groups. Hopefully through education and awareness, religiously justified violence will one day be a thing of the past.

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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