May 01, 2017  Updated: 9/5/18 Has the simple thumb-and-forefinger “OK” hand gesture become a common white supremacist hand sign?  Not quite, but it has become a popular gesture used by people across several segments of the right and far right—including some actual white supremacists—who generally use it to trigger reactions, or what they would describe as “trolling the libs.” This is thanks to a 2017 hoax campaign started by members of the…

April 19, 2017 Police in Fresno, California, arrested a suspected gunman on April 18 after he allegedly killed three people in a shooting spree in downtown Fresno (and may be responsible for a fourth, earlier murder as well). The victims of the gunman, Kori Ali Muhammad, were all white and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said that Muhammad had given “very detailed” information to them following his arrest that led police to believe his acts had been a hate crime. Dyer…

April 14, 2017 UPDATE: Auburn University has cancelled Richard Spencer’s speech due to safety concerns.   The creation of a white supremacist group at Auburn University and the upcoming speech there by white supremacist Richard Spencer on April 18 are prompting concern at the school and in the surrounding community. Though it is not clear if the two events are directly related, they do have common themes.  The group created at the school—the Auburn White…

March 24, 2017 On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued new guidelines for the use of electronic devices on certain airlines and aircraft bound to the U.S. from eight majority-Muslim countries: “Electronic devices larger than a cell phone/smart phone will not be allowed to be carried onboard the aircraft in carry-on luggage or other accessible property. Electronic devices that exceed this size limit must be secured in checked luggage.” The DHS release states…

March 21, 2017 The irony was thick this week when a Massachusetts rabbi wrote a blog piece musing about the dangerous effects of online trolling, citing the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer as a prime perpetrator. A Daily Stormer writer immediately pounced, posting a story ridiculing the rabbi’s concern and encouraging readers to, yes, troll her via Twitter (he provided the rabbi’s handle) “to thank her for spreading degeneracy among the Jews, or for helping spread our fame…

March 20, 2017 While ADL has documented nearly 120 incidents of white supremacist activity at college campuses across the country, racists have turned their attention to another group they want to attract—high school students. Between January and March of this year, there have been four incidents of white supremacists targeting high schools with fliers. It is not unusual for white supremacists to target young people who have not yet matured and are susceptible to new ideas. The…

March 07, 2017 On March 2, Olympia police arrested racist skinhead Frank Glen Cole, Jr., 32, for an alleged armed robbery that occurred on December 29, 2016. He also faces weapon charges. Cole, who has an extensive and felonious criminal history, is a member of the Hakenkreuz Skinheads (HSH), and the latest of several persons associated with the gang to be arrested in recent months. Another HSH associate, Daniel Brett Rowe, 32, of Richland, was arrested in August 2016 for allegedly…

March 06, 2017 Updated: June 09, 2017 White supremacists are engaged in unprecedented outreach efforts on American college campuses – another sign that these hate groups feel emboldened by the current political climate.   Throughout the 2016-17 school year, students, faculty and staff on 110 American college campuses were confronted by 159 incidents of racist fliers and stickers, as well as numerous on-campus appearances by white supremacists and…

March 03, 2017 Federal and New York authorities announced on Friday that Juan Thompson of Missouri had been charged in connection with threats made to a number of Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) across the country. Thompson has been charged with making the threats as part of a campaign of stalking “a former romantic interest.”  William F. Sweeney, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Division, said that Thompson’s harassment campaign…

February 21, 2017 In light of bomb threats aimed at Jewish institutions, anti-Semitic fliers posted at campuses, the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, and the lashing out at a Jewish reporter by President Trump, anti-Semites are having a field day.  Each time a Jewish person or institution is targeted, anti-Semites believe they are winning the battle against what they allege is Jewish domination of the country. Most recently, anti-Semites alleged that Jews themselves are…

February 21, 2017 Label 56, a white supremacist e-commerce app, was removed from Google’s play store this week after ADL notified the platform of the app’s connections to a racist skinhead website. The app acts as a sales platform for the Label 56 website, a leading white power music label. The website, which sells books, clothing, flags, jewelry and stickers, also distributes racist podcasts. The e-commerce website behind the app started operations in…