Trump inspires hate groups, says SPLC report

A YEAR AGO, the headline of the report on hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center read "Hate Groups on the Rise." Sadly, this year's report concludes that hate groups have risen for the second year in a row.

The rise in the number of hate groups in the U.S. corresponds with the radical right getting emboldened by the candidacy of Donald Trump, according to the SPLC's annual census of hate groups and other extremist organizations, released Wednesday (Feb. 15).

“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,” wrote Mark Potok, SPLC senior fellow and author of the report. 

“He kicked off the campaign with a speech vilifying Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers. He retweeted white supremacist messages, including one that falsely claimed that black people were responsible for 80 percent of the murders of whites. He credentialed racist media personalities even while barring a serious outlet like The Washington Post, went on a radio show hosted by a rabid conspiracy theorist named Alex Jones, and said that Muslims should be banned from entering the country. 

"He seemed to encourage violence against black protesters at his rallies, suggesting that he would pay the legal fees of anyone charged as a result,” said Potok.

The most dramatic growth, according to the report, was the near-tripling of anti-Muslim hate groups – from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year.

The growth has been accompanied by a rash of crimes targeting Muslims, including an arson that destroyed a mosque in Victoria, Texas, just hours after the Trump administration announced an executive order suspending travel from some predominantly Muslim countries. The latest FBI statistics show that hate crimes against Muslims grew by 67 percent in 2015, the year in which Trump launched his campaign.

The report, contained in the Spring 2017 issue of the SPLC’s Intelligence Report, includes the Hate Map showing the names, types and locations of hate groups across the country.

The SPLC found that the number of hate groups operating in 2016 rose to 917 – up from 892 in 2015. The number is 101 shy of the all-time record set in 2011, but high by historic standards.

“2016 was an unprecedented year for hate,” said Mark Potok, senior fellow and editor of the Intelligence Report. “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. In Steve Bannon, these extremists think they finally have an ally who has the president's ear.”

The increase in anti-Muslim hate was fueled by Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, including his campaign pledge to bar Muslims from entering the United States, as well as anger over terrorist attacks such as the June massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 9 percent during that same time period, anti-Black hate crimes were up by almost 8 percent and anti-LGBT hate crimes rose by roughly 5 percent.

The overall number of hate groups likely understates the real level of organized hatred in America as a growing number of extremists operate mainly online and are not formally affiliated with hate groups.

Aside from its annual census of extremist groups, the SPLC found that Trump’s rhetoric reverberated across the nation in other ways. In the first 10 days after his election, the SPLC documented 867 bias-related incidents, including more than 300 that targeted immigrants or Muslims.

Also, in a post-election SPLC survey of 10,000 educators, 90 percent said the climate at their schools had been negatively affected by the campaign. Eighty percent described heightened anxiety and fear among students, particularly immigrants, Muslims and African Americans. Numerous teachers reported the use of slurs, derogatory language and extremist symbols in their classrooms.

Here are the main articles in this issue (view full issue):

The Year in Hate & Extremism — by Mark Potok — The radical right was more successful in entering the political mainstream last year than in half a century. How did it happen?
Eye of the Stormer — by Keegan Hankes — Propelled by the Trump campaign and a new focus on the 'alt-right,' the Daily Stormer is now the top hate site in America.
One More Enemy — by Stephen Piggott — ‘Patriot’ groups have long seen the government as their primary enemy. But now, the movement is adopting Anti-Muslim hate.
The Kidnapping of Isabella — by Ryan Lenz — In 2009, a former lesbian in a custody battle fled with her 7-year-old girl. The case still haunts the anti-LGBT movement today.
Attorney for Aryans — by Ryan Lenz — Radical lawyer Kyle Bristow has started a new foundation that aims to become the legal arm of the racist radical right.
The Trump Effect — by Mark Potok — The campaign language of the man who would become president sparks hate violence, bullying, before and after the election.
Hate Map — An interactive display of all 917 active hate groups in 2016.

With the Trump presidency, we fear the normalization of hate and fear could be the direction of the country for the next four years. It is not certain whether he rise in activism and protests against the administration could stem that slide.

One thing seems certain, "The radical right is feeling its oats today in a way that few Americans can remember," says the report. "There are very large numbers of Americans who agree with its views, as sanitized under the deceptive Alt-Right label, although many of them may be less visible than before because they are not affiliated with actual groups. Whether or not the movement grows in coming years, it seems indisputable that its views have a better chance to actually affect policy now than in decades."

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Trump-inspired hate continues to ooze out of America's sewers

Donald Trump's campaign attracted haters.

HATE incidents, acts and crimes continue to spread across our country. There can be no doubt that the rise in these deplorable incidents is the result of the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

During his campaign, Trump aimed his hate-filled vitriol at minorities in general, but especially towards Mexicans and Muslims. Women, Asian/Americans, African/Americans, immigrants of all stripes and the LGBTQ communities were considered fair game for the bigots and mysoginists that saw Trump as their spokesman.

While not all of his supporters fall into those categories, some of his most outspoken support came from the alt-right, white nationalists, fascists and racist groups such as the KKK and people who don't believe in equality for women.

RELATED:

• Trump's America off to a scary start 
• Hate groups on the rise

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that hate incidents spiked immediately after the election. Over 700 "reports of hateful incidents of harassment around the country" in the week between Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, reads the SPLC report.

Although less in frequency compared to the first half of November, acts based on  continue to spring up, unprovoked in most cases. For victims of hate, one act is too much.

Sleeping elder attacked on subway: "A hate-filled straphanger punched a 63-year-old Asian man on a Midtown train after asking him, 'Why don’t you go back to your own country?'" authorities  told the Daily News  on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

The victim was asleep on the Manhattan-bound F train about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday when the suspect, described only as a Hispanic-looking man in his 30s, got on at the Jay St. station in Brooklyn Heights, witnesses told cops. When the victim awoke, the train was nearing the Bryant Park-42nd St. Station.

The suspect, seated next to him, made his hateful remark. Then he spit on the victim and pummeled him in the face and body before running away. The victim suffered minor injuries.

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'Go back to your country!' In San Diego, New Americans Museum staff found two anti-immigrant messages scrawled near the entrance over this weekend.

Patrons found the messages Saturday morning on both walls of the entrance to the museum in Liberty Station.

One message read, "Too much immigration! Go back to your country. This one is ours!" The other message read, "Over population & crowding by immigration!"

Museum Executive Director Linda Sotelo said she was concerned about who would see the messages.

“We have young children coming through these exhibitions — children who are diverse. We have over six schools at Liberty Station," Sotelo said. "Many of our children are children of color. They’re all very diverse. For them to feel unwelcome in their own country, it’s unacceptable.”

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Letter sent to California mosques threaten 'extermination:' A photocopied letter was sent to several mosques in Calfiornia over the Thanksgiving weekend saying Trump will exterminate all Muslims. 

A letter sent to a mosque in San Jose that references the election of Donald Trump says the President-elect will do to Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews, reports ABC7 News.

The letter calls Muslims “vile and filthy people” and “children of satan.”

“It was disturbing to the fact that some of our parishioners were a little bit worried,” San Jose's Evergreen Islamic Center Board President Faisal Yazadi said.

The letters were identical, according to Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He said Trump’s “irresponsible, hateful rhetoric” during his campaign has resulted in “a level of vulgarity, vile hatred and anger among many self-proclaimed Trump supporters,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I’m not saying (Trump) created racist people,” Ayloush said. “He normalized it. While he might say he’s not responsible, and I respect that, I remind President-elect Trump that he has a responsibility to act as a president for all Americans.”

"We urge local law enforcement authorities to work with Muslim community leaders to ensure the safety of all houses of worship," CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said in the statement. "Our state's political and religious leaders need to speak out against the mainstreaming of Islamophobia that we are witnessing in California and nationwide."

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Museum staff trains on how to respond to anti-immigrant remarks: A New York City history museum that celebrates immigration to the United States is giving its guides new training to help them deal with an increase in hostile remarks among visitors about immigrants, according to a report from the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

New York's Tenement Museum has long organized tours for small groups with the stated mission of enhancing the public's appreciation for the role immigration plays in shaping the United States' national identity.

But with elections having stirred passions nationwide over the topic of immigration and refugees, museum employees say they are confronted with an unprecedented number of negative comments by visitors about today's migrants.

The previously infrequent incidents now occur every day, museum officials say.

"People will now share stronger opinions about whether or not they think immigrants are sort of bleeding (the country), they're taking too much that other people should have, or they're taking our jobs," said Miriam Bader, the museum's director of education.

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A sad scene earlier this week at a Pittsburgh mall: A man who police said was speaking with slurred speech, staggering and smelled of alcohol has been arrested for allegedly beating an Indian/American man sitting next to him in a bar, reported WTAE.

Ankur Mehta told police he was on his tablet with his ear buds on.

According to investigators, Burgess began making racial slurs and calling Mehta “a sand n**ger” and (expletive) Muslim.

“Things are different now,” Burgess is quoted as saying to Mehta. “I don’t want you sitting next to me, you people”

Mehta is not Muslim, but the incident as described by police follows a disturbing pattern of bigotry.

“We believe this is just the latest incident in a spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes since the November 8 elections,” said the Council of American Islamic Relations in a statement.

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Delta apologizes for outburst on airplane: Not particularly anti-AAPI but pretty offensive nontheless was this rant by a Trump supporters getting onboard a Delta flight. He wasn't provoked and knew he was being taped by a fellow passenger. Delta banned the unnamed passenger from all future flights. The airline also issued an apolgy to the passengers and gave them a free tickets for having to put up to this man's aberrant and offensive behavior.

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We didn't include all the "Go-back-to-your-country" sort of taunts suffered by AAPI on campuses, at work or just walking down the street. There are too many of them to enumerate.

Women, African/Americans, Latinos and LGBTQ people have also shared their share of hate attacks. One of the most inexplicable examples is in the video below. What is it about Trump supporters that they feel that it is open season on minorities and women, toss civility out the window, and feel that it is socially OK to vent their hatred so openly and without fear or apologies.

An angry Trump supporter goes on wild racist rant inside store:  White 'Trump supporter' goes on epic racist rant at black store workers repeatedly calling one 'an animal' because they offered her a $1 bag instead of a free one.

The incident took place at Michaels department store in Chicago on Thanksgiving Eve and was recorded by shopper Jessie Grady. In her Youtube video, which gone viral, another customer is seen screaming and hurling profanities at staff

The enraged woman, who is white, repeatedly calls a black cashier 'an animal.' She later calls police to complain that she had been discriminated against by 'two black women'

The unnamed shopper declares she voted for Donald Trump, saying: "You want to kick me out because of that? And look who won!"

(AsAm News contributed to this post.)

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REPORT: U.S. hate groups increase as campaign rhetoric incites anger, fear

From the cover of the the Year In Hate and Extremism report of the SPLC.

I NEVER expected the election of Barack Obama as President to bring racial harmony to our country, but I also didn't expect the vitriol of hate that has arisen by putting an African/American in the White House.

Seven years after Obama's election, hate appears to more intense than ever. In its annual Year In Hate and Extremism report, the Southern Poverty Law Center said the number of U.S. hate groups increased to 892 last year, up from 784 in 2014. SPLC officials said so-called “Patriot” groups that are antigovernment grew like the group who took over a bird refuge in Oregon grew from 874 in 2014 to 998.

Of the 892 incidents of hate, 38 of them were directed at Asians and/or Asian/Americans: from racist epithets to racist graffiti to beatings. Fifty incidents occurred against Muslims, which could include any number of racial groups, including Asian Muslims.

“While the number of extremist groups grew in 2015 after several years of declines, the real story was the deadly violence committed by extremists in city after city,” said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the SPLC and editor of the Intelligence Report. “Whether it was Charleston, San Bernardino or Colorado Springs, 2015 was clearly a year of deadly action for extremists.”

This growth came amid a series of lethal terrorist attacks by extremists. In June, a white supremacist murdered nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. In December, Islamist radicals killed 14 people at a work party in San Bernardino, California – just days after an anti-abortion extremist killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. These were just the worst of numerous other attacks and foiled extremist plots reviewed in this issue.

“After seeing the bloodshed that defined 2015, our politicians should have worked to defuse this anger and bring us together as a nation,” Potok said. “Unfortunately, the carnage did little to dissuade some political figures from spouting incendiary rhetoric about minorities. In fact, they frequently exploited the anger and polarization across the country for political gain.”

The nonprofit also noted an uptick in anti-Muslim behavior, which it linked to terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, and the hateful speech from Republican presidential candidates.  

Vanita Gupta, who heads the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, also noted during a White House address said:

"Similar to what we saw after 9/11, in recent weeks following the terrible and tragic attacks in San Bernardino and Paris — and amidst a ratcheting up of divisive rhetoric around religious intolerance —community members and advocates have reported an uptick in hate-related incidents targeting Muslim/Americans, as well as those perceived, rightly or wrongly, as being Muslim," he said.

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump opened his campaign described the Mexicans coming to America as criminals and rapists. He also called restrictions for allowing Syrian refugees and the temporary halt of any Muslim immigraition. 

Standard talking points from all the remaining GOP Presidential candidates on immigration include the deportation of over 11 million undocumented immigrants and overturning the executive actions of President Obama that would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. and a long path to citizenship for their parents.

SPLC President Richard Cohen notes that "[o]ver 60 percent of the people who support Trump believe that President Obama is a secret Muslim and wasn’t born in this country." The report points to the presidential election cycle as one of the primary reasons for the rising number of hate groups across the U.S., saying last year was marked by a level of hate speech in mainstream politics not seen in decades.

The report states that "Donald Trump’s demonizing statements about Latinos and Muslims have electrified the radical right, leading to glowing endorsements from white nationalist leaders such as Jared Taylor and former Klansman David Duke. White supremacist forums are awash with electoral joy, having dubbed Trump their 'Glorious Leader.'"

The report also noted that the number of black separatist groups, which it categorizes as hate groups, has risen from 113 in 2014 to 180 in 2015.

"We think that the growth of these groups is due almost entirely to the very dramatic attention that has been paid over the past year to police violence against black men," said SPLC Senior Fellow Mark Potok. The group simultaneously notes the number of active Ku Klux Klan groups increased to 190 in 2015 after falling between 2013 and 2014.

In general, Potok said, he would describe 2015 "as a year that very nearly approaches the political upheavals of 1968 — a time of real trial for this country."

SPLC officials deny allegations hurled at it by critics that the center's real targets is the viewpoints expressed by conservatives.

"The Southern Poverty Law Center was born, and still lives today, to essentially defend the 14th Amendment," Potok said, referring to the amendment that guarantees citizens of all races equal protection under the law.