Morning Briefing: Buffalo Mass Shooter Plagiarized 'Manifesto,' Antisemitism Associated with 'Conspiracist View of the World'
The writings of the White Supremacists Buffalo mass shooter were “derived from hate content he consumed online,” and antisemitic attitudes are associated with a “conspiracist view of the world.'
Morning Briefing: The writings of the White Supremacist mass shooter behind the racist attack at the Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in Buffalo, New York were “derived from hate content he consumed online,” according to a study published by Montclair State University.
The study found that the at least 82% of so-called manifesto was plagiarized, and that “56% was taken from manifestos of other white nationalist attackers.”
Antisemitic attitudes are most strongly associated with a “conspiracist view of the world, a desire to overturn the social order, and a preference for authoritarian forms of government,” according to a study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) published a report which “analyzes the rise in white supremacist recruitment and violence and the painful and profound impact that white supremacy has on targeted communities, especially on young people.”
In Montgomery County, Maryland, an electronic traffic sign in “construction zone was apparently hacked to display a racist message.” This is similar to another incident of hacking interstate sign in Alabama.
Canadian prosecutors recommended that Gabriel Sohier Chaput, an infamous neo-Nazi propagandist who was found guilty of willfully promoting hatred, should “serve three months of jail time with two years of probation,” however, Judge Manlio Del Negro responded that the sentencing recommendation “trivializes the crime.”
Must Reads
Kaleigh Rogers and Mary Radcliffe report that “Over the last decade and a half, the number of mass-casualty events each year has remained relatively flat. In 2006, for example, there were 38 mass-casualty events in the U.S., resulting in the deaths of 183 people, according to the USA Today/AP/Northeastern database. In 2021, there were 35 events, resulting in the deaths of 172 people; there were also an average of 31 mass-casualty events for each year from 2006 through 2021. Yet despite the total number of mass killings staying static, the number of events with extremist ties has increased, resulting in a higher percentage of extremist-linked mass killings.” [FiveThirtyEight]
Ben Makuch reports that Christopher Pohlhaun, “known to his followers as ‘The Hammer,’ has recently emerged as one of the more public and militant figures in the world of online American neo-Nazism. With confirmed links to Riley June Williams, the January 6 attacker who allegedly stole a laptop from Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office, Pohlhaus moved to Maine last year and began building a property for an all-white community where his Blood Tribe could ‘train.’ This year, Pohlhaus and his group made headlines for twice showing up to drag events in Ohio and allying with NSC-131, another underground neo-Nazi group based in New England that recently threatened a New Hampshire drag story hour. At his last Ohio protest in April at a fundraiser for LGBTQ+ youth in Columbus, Pohlhaus, who never saw combat as a Marine, paced with his masked followers as they waved a swastika flag and did the ‘Sieg Heil’ salute to eventgoers.” [The Intercept]
Lou Ferreira and Khatondi Soita Wepukhulu report “the Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have both been lauded for their LGBTIQ-friendly workplaces. But tax filings uncovered by openDemocracy show nonprofit foundations linked to the banks have also funded ultraconservative groups fighting to roll back civil rights for the queer community worldwide. From 2017 to 2020, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation handed out more than $390,000 to eight such organisations who between them have resisted same-sex marriage laws and anti-discrimination protections for LGBTIQ people, challenged contraception and abortion access, and sought to ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans people.” [openDemocracy]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Narratives of the Right delivers weekly analysis of the current narratives in far right online spaces and promoted by right-wing media; and Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right.