White Supremacist Propaganda at Historic Levels, Says ADL Following Neo-Nazi Incident on East Side
GoLocaLProv News Team
White Supremacist Propaganda at Historic Levels, Says ADL Following Neo-Nazi Incident on East Side
The latest data comes amid a surge in antisemitic hate fliering in January and February targeting at least 15 states nationwide.
It also comes following the incident on the East Side of Providence in February in which Neo-Nazi protesters descended on the Mt. Hope neighborhood, as members of the socialist bookstore Red Ink read the Communist Manifesto.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe community held a rally following the incident to decry the hate.
The ADL data also comes on the heels of public art in Providence being defaced with white supremacist propaganda.
Data Released
Last year marked the second-highest level of incidents reported since ADL began tracking such data – with an average of about 13 incidents per day in 2021, and nearly double the 2,724 cases reported in 2019. In 2020, the use of propaganda distributions as a tactic peaked at 5,125 incidents nationwide.
ADL’s Center on Extremism tracks the distribution of racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ fliers, stickers, posters, banners and stenciled graffiti by various members of far right and white supremacist groups. The 2021 report found that at least 12 known white supremacist groups were behind hate propaganda efforts last year, affecting Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire.
“White supremacist propaganda accelerates recruitment efforts and spreads fear by targeting specific groups, including Jewish, Black, Muslim and LGBTQ+ communities and non-white immigrants,” said Robert Trestan, ADL New England Regional Director.
“The efforts that these groups unleash to garner exposure for their twisted cause is staggering. They go from community to community, state to state, hoping to lure new members. Their message is often intentionally disguised, intended to inspire and incite people to act, thus creating the potential for increased hate crimes. This trend is alarming and must be stopped. We encourage the public to learn more by visiting our website and reporting incidents at www.adl.org/reportincident."
New England in Focus
In 2021, hateful propaganda appeared in every state in ADL’s New England region: Massachusetts (271), Vermont (80), Rhode Island (76), New Hampshire (38), and Maine (20). Patriot Front and Nationalist Socialist Club (NSC) were the most active groups across the region. Massachusetts was the fourth most targeted state in the country.
ADL’s H.E.A.T. Map provides a visual representation of the propaganda distribution efforts by geographic location and can be used to highlight other specific trends. (For reporting purposes, ADL counts an incident where multiple or hundreds of fliers are canvassed across a neighborhood on a given day as a single incident).
And propaganda has continued to be a go-to tactic for white supremacist groups in 2022. According to ADL’s Center on Extremism, in just the past few weeks, dozens of additional incidents have been reported in 15 states, on college campuses and across entire neighborhoods.”
Most of those incidents were perpetrated by the virulently antisemitic Goyim Defense League, whose fliers blame Jews for spreading COVID, threatening the “white race” through increasing diversity, and having too much power, among other hateful tropes.
Propaganda from Nationalist Social Club (NSC) decreased in 2021, dropping 53 percent, down from 102 distributions in 2020 to 48. The group’s propaganda is explicitly white supremacist and often presents its membership as a “white defense force” with territorial claims to New England.
In March 2021, the NSC claimed a six-state geographic area that includes New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut and Vermont, and announced they would no longer have chapters outside the New England area. The majority of NSC’s 2021 propaganda distributions were in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
NSC held the most (21) flash demonstrations. Often directly protesting their perceived enemies, NSC’s 2021 events included a demonstration in front of the Holocaust memorial in Boston, a protest of “Divisive Concepts” outside a school board meeting in New Hampshire, a protest outside a progressive bookstore in Massachusetts, and an anti-LGBTQ protest outside the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in New Hampshire.
National Incidents
Key findings from the ADL’s 2021 report include:
Throughout 2021, at least 38 white supremacist groups distributed propaganda, but three groups – Patriot Front, New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA) and Folkish Resistance Movement (FRM formerly known as Folksfront) – were responsible for 91 percent of the activity.
As was the case in both 2019 and 2020, Texas-based Patriot Front was responsible for the vast majority of propaganda distributions. As revealed in their communications, these high propaganda numbers were driven by a weekly propaganda quota, which members are required to meet. Patriot Front was responsible for 3,992 incidents in 2021, more than 82 percent of the national total.
ADL recorded 352 propaganda incidents that included overt antisemitic language or specifically targeted Jewish institutions, marking a 27 percent increase from 277 such incidents in 2020. A number involved targeting Jewish institutions directly, such as stickers proclaiming “Hitler was right” attached to a menorah outside a California synagogue in October.
There were at least 183 incidents of white supremacist banner drops on highway overpasses and other high visibility locations, a 40 percent increase from the 130 recorded in 2020.
In 2021, ADL documented 108 white supremacist events, more than double the 53 events held in 2020, and the most events recorded in any of the past five years. Nearly half of the white supremacist events were privately planned unannounced flash demonstrations. Patriot Front held the two largest flash demonstrations in 2021, including a July event in Philadelphia and a December demonstration at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
There were 232 incidents of white supremacist propaganda distribution on college campuses, marking a steep decline from 630 in 2019. Though dozens of white supremacist groups distributed propaganda in 2021, there were no large campaigns focusing on targeting campuses, potentially because of the pandemic and lack of students on campus. Patriot Front was responsible for 190 of the 232 on campus incidents.
“Antisemitic and racist propaganda has shock value but limits the risk of individual extremists’ exposure,” said Oren Segal, Vice President of ADL’s Center on Extremism. “It’s disturbing that white supremacists and antisemites can mobilize supporters quickly to target neighborhoods in multiple states. This activity is more coordinated than ever before, often incubated and amplified online, and communities need to be prepared.”
About ADL
ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of antisemitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is the first call when acts of antisemitism occur.
A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education and fighting hate online, ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate. More at www.adl.org.