March 2, 2010
Dear Friend,

Today, we’re releasing our annual report on the number of active hate and extremist groups in our nation. The figures are alarming, and I’m deeply worried about what this means for our country.

This sign was photographed at a recent demonstration in Washington D.C.

We’ve documented a 244 percent increase in the number of conspiracy–minded, anti–government “Patriot” groups in a single year. Militias — the paramilitary arm of the “Patriot” movement — were a major part of the increase. Like other extremists, “Patriot” groups have been fueled by anger over immigration, the troubled economy and an array of initiatives by President Obama.

This extraordinary growth is cause for real concern. During its 1990s heyday, the “Patriot” movement produced an enormous amount of violence, most dramatically the Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead.

Racist hate groups are at record levels — rising from 926 in 2008 to 932 in 2009. The increase caps a decade in which the number of neo–Nazi, racist skinhead and other hate groups surged by more than 50 percent. We’ve also seen a sharp increase in “nativist extremist” groups — vigilante organizations that actually confront or harass suspected immigrants.

These three strands of the radical right — the hate groups, the “nativist extremist” groups, and the “Patriot” organizations — are the most volatile elements on the American political landscape. Taken together, their numbers increased by more than 40 percent, rising from 1,248 groups to 1,753.

There are already signs of a resurgence of radical–right violence like the kind we witnessed in the 1990s. Right–wing extremists have murdered six law enforcement officers since Obama’s inauguration. Racist skinheads and others have been arrested in alleged plots to assassinate the president. Most recently, a number of individuals with antigovernment, survivalist or racist views have been arrested in a series of bomb cases. And, tragically, a man furious with the government crashed his plane into an IRS building.

With your help, we’ll continue to track and expose these groups’ activities and provide law enforcement with the information they need to keep our communities safe. Thank you, once again, for your commitment to stand with us as we fight the hate that threatens to divide us.

Sincerely,

Morris Dees    Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center

P.S. SPLC President Richard Cohen and Intelligence Project Director Mark Potok will host an interactive webcast and take your questions on this and other SPLC work on March 17th. We’ll contact you soon with details. Also, please visit our updated Hate Map to find out what groups are active in your state.

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thinkprogress.org — Report: White vigilante groups blockaded small towns in post-Katrina New Orleans and murdered blacks.
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Earlier this week, A.C. Thompson of The Nation revealed that after Hurricane Katrina, white vigilante groups patrolled New Orleans, blockaded streets, and shot at least eleven black men. It “was like pheasant season in South Dakota. If it moved, you shot it,” said one vigilante. Color of Change is organizing a campaign to tell Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and state officials to investigate the shootings, as “Louisiana’s broken law enforcement agencies have refused to investigate these crimes.” Watch Thompson’s video on his report:

Color of Change is also sending messages to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder.

Sign the petition here.

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A series of ads in Michigan highlight this year’s roughest political attacks: narrowly aimed shots from small groups. They are not coming with the loud, nationally recognized cannon blast of the type launched by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against Senator John Kerry in 2004, but, rather, as more stealthy, narrowly aimed rifle shots from smaller groups armed with incendiary material.

The advertisements running here (Macomb County, Michigan) against Mr. Obama come from a group called Freedom’s Defense Fund, a political action committee based in Washington that was formed four years ago and raises money from conservatives around the country. The advertisements have stood out because of the group’s connections — including to its paid consultant, Jerome S. Corsi, the author of the highly negative, largely discredited political biography of Mr. Obama, “Obama Nation” — and what local critics say are their racial overtones…

A Mr. Centanni said said Freedom’s Defense Fund, with relatively scant resources to spread nationally, decided it could have the most impact by focusing its presidential efforts here for tens of thousands.

| Google Maps – Macomb County (Surburbs of Detroit, Michigan | Why Macomb? |

“We feel Obama can’t win the presidency without Michigan and he can’t win Michigan without Macomb,” he said. “We’re relatively small, but we’re trying to be effective and relevant.” | Read More |

   Discredited RACIST-BIGOT Jerome S. Corsi

Despite stating that he had apologized for what was described as a “series of bigoted and hateful posts,” Jerome Corsi, author of The Obama Nation, wass scheduled to appear with host James Edwards on the August 17 edition of The Political Cesspool Radio Show [Republican Hate Radio], which, according to its “Statement of Principles,” “represents a philosophy that is pro-White.” In a blog post, Edwards has stated that “interracial sex is white genocide.”

| Read More |

Email Jerome Corsi: jcorsi@worldnetdaily.com

…..Visit The Southern Poverty Law Center — Intelligence Report For More…..| The Nativists — Profiles of 20 Anti-Immigrant Leaders |

De-Bunked!

1. Debunking Jerome ‘Bigot’ Corsi’s Smear Attack Book: ‘The Obama Nation’
2. Unfit for Publication: Corsi’s The Obama Nation filled with falsehoods.
3. Corsi’s Dull Hatchet — Jerome Corsi’s “The Obama Nation” is a mishmash of unsupported conjecture, half-truths, logical fallacies and outright falsehoods.
4. Jerome Corsi is a Racist
5. Jerome Corsi: How a Racist, Conspiratorial Crank Became a Top GOP Anti-Obama Point Man