REX TILLERSON DID CORRECTLY CALL THE PRESIDENT AS HE SAW HIM

 HATE GROUPS HAVE INCREASED ACROSS THE COUNTRY

 

…The Ku Klux Klan, pictured back in 1938, is the most well-known extreme group in the U.S.

 

72 hate groups and 51 extreme anti-government groups operate in California

 

Why am I not surprised, but in our state of California, there were 72 hate groups and 51 extreme anti-government groups operating in the state.  This is according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which compiles lists of such groups annually.

The SPLC tracked 838 hate groups and 566 anti-government groups across the U.S. in 2020.

So, what does it mean to be an extremist group?

Hate groups are collectives that denigrate other groups of people for personal characteristics they cannot change such as race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation, according to SPLC.

For example, the Ku Klux Klan, originally formed in the wake of the Civil War and then revived in the early 20th century, is the most notorious hate group in the United States. It is known for extreme acts of violence against Black people and is recognizable from its white robes, hoods and cross burning.

Hate groups include organizations who have not conducted any criminal activity or other illegal actions based on their beliefs.

Awareness around the knowledge of extreme anti-government groups grew in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021 when such groups stormed the Michigan Capitol Building on April 30, 2020, and the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.  These groups, often militias or so called, paramilitary outfits, express negative attitudes toward the government or toward the concept of any government in general.  Many members of these groups buy into those conspiracy theories you can get from places like the Fox network, that falsely claim that the government has been taken over and therefore not legitimate.

Many of these groups hold overlapping ideologies and those extremist groups take many forms. Here is a breakdown of each type of group and where they operate in California, as of last year:

General Hate Groups

The SPLC defines general hate groups as those that "peddle a combination of well-known hate and conspiracy theories, in addition to unique bigotries that are not easily categorized," according to the organization's website.

— True Nation Israelite Congregation: Los Angeles

— Tony Alamo Christian Ministries: Canyon Country

— Sicarii 1715: San Diego, Long Beach, San Francisco

— Proud Boys: Sacramento, Anaheim, Modesto

— Official Street Preachers: Los Angeles

— Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge: Los Angeles, Oakland

— Israel United In Christ: Los Angeles, Sacramento, Bakersfield

— House of Israel: Inglewood

— Great Millstone: Los Angeles

— European-American Evangelistic Crusades: Sheridan

— Chick Publications: Ontario

— Black Riders Liberation Party: Los Angeles

— The Realist Report: Long Beach

— Nation of Islam: Compton, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles

— Institute for Historical Review: Newport Beach

— Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust: Mill Valley

White Nationalist

White nationalist groups base their viewpoints around the false, unfounded idea that nonwhite people are inferior to white people.

— The Base: Statewide

— Rise Above Movement: Huntington Beach

— Right Brand Clothing: Anaheim

— Patriot Front: Statewide

— Our Fight Clothing: Statewide

— Occidental Observer: Laguna Hills

— National Reformation Party: Statewide

— Koschertified?: Statewide

— International Conservative Community: Statewide

— Counter-Currents Publishing: San Francisco

— American Identity Movement: Sacramento

— American Freedom Party: Los Angeles

Radical Traditional Catholicism

Groups that believe in Radical Traditional Catholicism are antisemitic and generally adhere to extremely conservative beliefs around the social roles of women. These groups arose in opposition to the Second Vatican Council, which modernized the teachings of the Catholic Church in the 1960s.

— Tradition in Action: Los Angeles

Racist Skinhead

Skinhead groups are a type of white supremacist group similar to neo-Nazis. Adherents typically wear shaved heads, black boots and tattoos like swastikas or other symbols of hate. These groups are still active today but largely peaked in the 1980s.

— Western Hammerskins: Statewide

— Nationalist Women's Front: Statewide

— Golden State Skinheads: This group has two chapters, one for Northern and one for Southern California

— American Front: Statewide

Neo-Völkisch

Neo-Völkisch groups glorify a vision of Viking Era living that centers around ethnocentrism, hypermasculinity and a rejection of modernism. This ideology has roots in a similar movement that arose in what is now Germany and Austria in the 19th and 20th centuries.

— Viking Brotherhood: Statewide

— Ásatrú Folk Assembly: Statewide 

Neo-Nazi

Neo-Nazis profess a hatred primarily for Jewish people, but also for nonwhites and LGBTQ people. Neo-Nazis idolize Adolf Hitler.

— White Aryan Resistance: San Jacinto

— Atomwaffen Division: Statwide

Anti-Muslim

 ny groups opposing Muslims grew in the U.S. following the Sept. 11 terror attacks despite the fact that the perpetrators of those attacks practiced a fanatical, militant interpretation of Islam rather than mainstream interpretations of the religion. Many of these groups falsely claim that the U.S. legal system is being supplanted with Shariah Law, or Islamic religious law.

— Soldiers of Odin: Statewide

— Glasov Gang Productions: Los Angeles

— David Horowitz Freedom Center: Sherman Oaks

— Counter Jihad Coalition: Santa Monica

— American Freedom Alliance: Encino

— ACT for America: Corona, Mission Viejo, Los Angeles, Laguna Woods, San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley

Anti-LGBTQ

Anti-LGBTQ groups vilify people who do not identify as heterosexual and falsely claim LGBTQ people are threats to society.

— Verity Baptist Church: Sacramento

— Save California: Sacramento

— Pacific Justice Institute: Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Ana

— MassResistance: Torrance, San Diego, Downey

— First Works Baptist Church: El Monte

— Chalcedon Foundation: Vallecito

Anti-Immigrant

 Anti-immigrant groups profess xenophobic ideology and typically support racist ideas in general.

— San Diegans for Secure Borders: San Diego

— Californians for Population Stabilization: Ventura

Anti-Government

The SPLC maintains a separate list of anti-government groups:

— III% Defense Militia: Statewide

— III% United Patriots: Sacramento Valley, Sunnyvale

— American Patriot Vanguard: Statewide

— American Patriots Three Percent: Statewide

— California State Militia: Bay Area, Central, Northern, Sacramento, Southeast, Southern

— California Three Percenters: Sanger

— The Constitution Club: Hemet

— Constitution Party: San Leandro

— DEMOCRATS AGAINST U.N. AGENDA 21: Santa Rosa

— Eagle Forum: Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Rosa

— Educate Yourself: Costa Mesa

— The Foundation: Walnut

—HISAdvocates.org:

__HISAdvocates: Costa Mesa

— Jeremiah Films: Los Angeles

— Liberty Under Fire: Taft

— National Assembly: Statewide

— Oath Keepers: Anaheim, Central, Huntington Beach, Northern, Victorville

— Outpost of Freedom: Los Molinos

— People's Rights: Statewide

— Reign of the Heaven's Society: Ontario

— State of Jefferson Formation: Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Lassen County,

Mariposa, Nevada County, Placer County, Siskiyou County, Sonora, Stanislaus County,

Sutter County, Tehama County, Trinity County, Yuba County

— Tenth Amendment Center: Los Angeles

— The Three Percenters-III%ers: Statewide

— United States Justice Foundation: Ramona

— We Are Change: Fresno, San Francisco

 

It’s all pretty amazing and shows what kind of trouble our democracy is in today.

Copyright G. Ater 2021