December 13, 2020 On December 12, 2020, multiple pro-Trump demonstrations took place in Washington, DC, including one that was organized by white supremacists and another that included extremist speakers on their dais. Later that evening over 100 members of the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys roamed the streets of the city while chanting expletive-laced slogans against Black Lives Matter and Antifa.   The Jericho March The largest event of the day was a prayer…

December 11, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 The only Anne Frank memorial in the United States was vandalized Tuesday, a distressing display of hate that has prompted a police investigation. A report into last year's Christchurch mosque attack found that New Zealand security agencies were "almost exclusively" focused on the threat from Islamist terrorism, and police failed to enforce proper checks on firearm licenses. Facebook is embarking on a major overhaul of its algorithms that detect hate…

December 11, 2020 Above: Screenshots of public officials targeted on the Enemies of the People website In the weeks since the 2020 presidential election, public officials and election workers nationwide have come under attack. Targets include officials who have verified and stood by their state’s election results and those who have implemented new pandemic-related restrictions. These officials have received death threats, as well as visits to their private residences and…

December 04, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Police in New Jersey are investigating an apparent hate crime after the carcass of a dead pig was left on the doorstep of a rabbi’s home in the town of Lakewood. Two online retailers briefly listed shirts for sale with the words “I survived the Holocough” emblazoned on them, referencing a white supremacist meme. A suspected member of the right-wing sovereign citizen movement was arrested at a Boston bus station carrying a gun and…

November 18, 2020 By: Shaya Lerner The Holocaust will be forever remembered as one of the most horrific events of the 20th century. The murder of six million Jews and millions of others carried out by the Nazis and their collaborators was the largest recorded genocide in modern history. There is simply no equivalent event, historical or current, that compares with it.  Despite this, over the past few months, both prior to and after the Presidential election, there have been an…

November 17, 2020 Facebook has been vocal about its recent efforts to suspend and ban hateful, conspiratorial and violent content from its platform. And yet a great deal of extremist content remains. As of November 16, 2020, even a cursory search of Facebook brings up white supremacist, racist and antisemitic pages. The following is a sampling of extremist groups and individuals currently active on Facebook. Antisemites and Holocaust Deniers: TruNews is a fundamentalist…

November 13, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 U.S. Jewish groups, including ADL, and foreign leaders are congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election win. New research from ADL’s Center on Extremism indicates that some extremists are planning to show up at this weekend’s “Million MAGA March” in D.C. A New York City man was arrested Tuesday and is facing federal charges after he allegedly made death threats against…

November 12, 2020 Federal agents with New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Brian Maiorana, 54, of Staten Island on November 10, 2020, charging him with making threatening interstate communications. According to the criminal complaint, Maiorana recently used social media accounts to threaten violence against Democratic politicians, law enforcement officers and social justice protestors. While Maiorana does not appear to have fully committed to an extremist ideology, and many…

November 12, 2020 The social media site Parler, which has become increasingly popular among conservatives, has also attracted a range of extremists. In recent weeks, the site has drawn millions of new users frustrated with what they perceive to be “anti-conservative” bias exhibited by mainstream social media platforms. While the site itself is not extremist, extremists have joined Parler in large numbers alongside millions of mainstream users, creating the potential for…

November 12, 2020 In the weeks leading up to and after the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism (COE) in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society has been releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremists and extremism more broadly are playing in our current political environment. Here's Part 7: Extremists Plan to Attend “Million MAGA March” in Washington, D.C. Who/What:…

November 06, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 As the country waited anxiously for all the votes to be counted in the U.S. presidential election, ADL urged calm and patience and reiterated our longstanding calls that every vote counts and every vote must be counted. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican candidate from Georgia who has espoused the antisemitic QAnon conspiracy theory and employed racist rhetoric during her congressional campaign was elected to the House of Representatives. And ADL…

November 06, 2020 On November 5, 2020, Philadelphia police arrested two men from Virginia, thwarting a possible attack targeting people counting votes from Tuesday’s election at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Antonio LaMotta, 61, and Joshua Macias, 42, were arrested after police received a tip that the men were traveling to Philadelphia to allegedly engage in unspecified criminal activity. Police arrested the two men as they approached officers who were investigating their…

October 30, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Two years after a white supremacist gunned down 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, ADL reflects on the memories of those lost and what we as a nation can do to prevent another tragedy like this. The U.K. Labour Party has suspended its former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after a watchdog report found that the party failed to properly take action against allegations of antisemitism during his time in charge. The FBI arrested a member…