year’s end, 45 people in America had
been killed in “violent jihadist attacks”
since the Al Qaeda massacre of Sept. 11,
2001, just short of the 48 people killed
in the same 14-year period in “far right
wing attacks.” (Unlike the ADL, the foundation does not count non-political violence by extremists.)
The impact of terrorism goes far
beyond the body count. Violence motivated by racial, ethnic or religious animus fractures society along its most
fragile fault lines, and sends shock
waves through entire targeted communities. More hatred and fear, particularly of diversity, are often the response.
Several political figures have harnessed
that fear, calling for bans on mosques,
Muslim immigrants and refugees fleeing
violence in the Middle East. And terror
can breed hate crimes, as evidenced by
a string of physical attacks on mosques
and Muslims, particularly after a jihadist couple in San Bernardino, Calif., murdered 14 people in December.
From start to finish, the year 2015 was
remarkable for its terrorist violence, the
penetration of the radical right and its
conspiracy theories into mainstream
politics, and the boost far-right ideas
and groups received from pandering
politicians like Donald Trump. And the
HATE GROUPS 1999–2015
676
708
751
situation appears likely to get worse, not
better, as the country continues to come
to terms with its increasing diversity.
What’s Going On?
Eight years after the election of our first
black president, two years after the birth
of the Black Lives Matter movement, and
half a year after same-sex marriage was
legalized, Americans are arguably as
angry as they have been in decades.
The bulk of that anger is coming from
beleaguered working-class and, to a lesser
extent, middle-class white people, especially the less educated — the very same
groups that most vociferously support
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AP PHOTO/UNION COUNTY, FLA., SHERIFF’S OFFICE/ ALACHUA COUNTY JAIL (KKK); AP PHOTO/JOHN LOCHER (BUNDY)
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
MARCH 24
MARCH 25
A longtime racist skinhead named Steven Snyder
robs a bank in Wausaukee,
Wis., murders a man as
he hijacks a car a half hour
later, and shoots to death
a pursuing state trooper
even as the trooper fatally
shoots him. It is unclear
what Snyder, who has a
20-year history of violence
and onetime ties to the
neo-Nazi National Alliance,
may have been planning.
Authorities in St. Louis,
Mo., arrest David Michael
Hagler, seizing a stockpile
of 20 guns and thousands
of rounds of ammunition. They cite informants
who describe Hagler as