Hate Crimes and Terrorism in the United States - Hate And Terrorist Groups

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil-rights advocacy group, reported that 751 hate groups were active in the United States in 2003, up 6 percent from 708 in 2002 and an increase of 64 percent from the 1990 figure of 457. The SPLC categorizes these groups as Ku Klux Klan (with 158 active groups in 2003), Neo-Nazi (149), Racist Skinhead (39), Christian Identity (31), Black Separatist (136), and Neo-Confederate (91). In addition, there were 147 other hate groups that espoused a mixture of beliefs and doctrines. The large rise in Black Separatist groups (from 82 in 2002 to 136 in 2003) made up much of the gain in active hate groups. The SPLC states that many of these groups may have already been in existence, but their counting methods of these groups improved. (The SPLC makes clear that organizations it considers to be hate groups are not necessarily involved in or advocate violent or criminal activity.)

Klan groups are generally related to the Ku Klux Klan in racist ideology if not in organization. The Klan militantly advocates white supremacy. Neo-Nazi groups also generally embrace white-supremacy doctrines. Not all Skinheads are racist or belong to an organized group; only Skinhead groups espousing racial hate doctrines are included in the list. Christian Identity groups are basically racist, anti-Semitic religious organizations opposed to anything they view as a threat to their faith, particularly Jewish people. Black Separatists are ideological groups that support or promote racially based hate and the separation of the races.

Through the 1990s hate groups increasingly used computer technology to spread their doctrines. In 2003, according to the SPLC, there were 497 hate sites on the Internet, a 12 percent increase from 443 in 2002. The nature of Internet sites and their establishment is such that a single individual may post a Web site and appear to be a large organization.

Militia Groups

Members of the militia movement believe it is imperative they prepare to defend themselves against the federal government and other assumed enemies. On weekends many militias practice military maneuvers to defend themselves against federal troops. They practice survival skills so they can outlast an occupation. Others refuse to pay taxes or appear in court. They frequently resist arrest. Many are members of the Identity religion, a sect that believes whites are God's chosen people and that the federal government is satanic and must be fought as a religious obligation. Many fear the influence of public schools and choose to home-school their children.

While militias have been active in the United States for over a generation, it was the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, a crime attributed to Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both thought to be militia members, that made most Americans aware of their activities. Law enforcement authorities believe that militias are a growing threat to the American people. They fear the paranoid and xenophobic (fearing or hating strangers or foreigners) tendencies of many of these groups will lead to more violence and destruction.

Militia members generally describe themselves as patriots trying to save the nation from an enemy unrecognized by most other Americans. This enemy might be the so-called "New World Order," a unified world government, usually aligned with the United Nations. The North American Free Trade Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) are also considered evidence of efforts to create a one-world government.

Other perceived enemies include African-Americans and Jews, who threaten what the groups consider essential American values. Many recognized racist organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan, also espouse anti-government rhetoric. In fact many anti-Semitic groups consider the United States a Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG), with Jews occupying and controlling the government and media. Other militias believe themselves the only true Christians and refer to Biblical scripture to justify their beliefs and actions.

Some groups include members who are neither racist nor anti-Semitic, but who believe the federal government is dangerous to individual freedom. Most militia groups consider the federal government an enemy whose goal is to take away individual rights and/or draw the United States into a world government. Therefore, in order to save national sovereignty, they must destroy the federal government.

Militia leaders and members point to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (PL 103-159), commonly known as the Brady Bill, as evidence of the government's attempts to limit individual rights. The Brady Bill requires a waiting period to purchase handguns. Militias also cite governmental blunders in 1992 at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, where authorities shot and killed the son and the wife of militia leader Randy Weaver, and in 1993 at the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas, which contributed to the deaths by fire of dozens of cult members. These events are accepted as evidence of the continuing federal government campaign to destroy individual freedoms. The federal government's environmental policy is seen as a further attempt to restrict individual freedoms.