Understanding the threat: SPLC resources on Sikh attack, rising extremism
The murderous attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin this past Sunday by neo-Nazi skinhead Wade Michael Page was just the latest in a series of terrorist incidents and plots by the radical right in recent months and years. It comes in the midst of explosive growth on the radical right – growth fueled by America’s increasing diversity, its economic problems and the election of the nation’s first black president.
The murderous attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin this past Sunday by neo-Nazi skinhead Wade Michael Page was just the latest in a series of terrorist incidents and plots by the radical right in recent months and years. It comes in the midst of explosive growth on the radical right – growth fueled by America’s increasing diversity, its economic problems and the election of the nation’s first black president.
Earlier this year, the Southern Poverty Law Center documented a third straight year of extraordinary growth that has swelled the ranks of extremist groups to record levels. The SPLC is now tracking 1,018 hate groups – a 69 percent increase since 2000.
In addition, the SPLC has documented a powerful resurgence of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement, which in the 1990s led to a string of domestic terrorist plots, including the Oklahoma City bombing. The number of Patriot groups, including armed militias, grew by 755 percent in the first three years of the Obama administration – from 149 at the end of 2008 to 1,274 in 2011.
Following is a list of SPLC resources related to the shooting in Wisconsin, the rise of extremism, the neo-Nazi skinhead movement and the racist music scene.
Resources:
SPLC coverage of the Sikh temple shooting
White supremacists react to Sikh massacre
SPLC report: As election season heats up, extremist groups at record levels
Terror from the Right
A chronology of plots, conspiracies and racist rampages since the Oklahoma City bombing.
Racist Skinheads: Understanding the Threat (pdf)
A special edition of the SPLC Intelligence Report
Skinheads and Law Enforcement video
Racist music
A look at the racist music scene – SPLC reporting and resources.
Q&A with former DHS analyst Daryl Johnson
The author of a 2009 DHS report on the threat of domestic terrorism from right-wing extremists tells how his unit was gutted after criticism from the right.
Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in
Radicalization and Recruitment (pdf)
A 2009 DHS report on the threat of domestic terrorism from right-wing extremists.
