By: Rod Swift
Re: Report on Hate Groups

More hate groups on the rise.

Remember, lots of these are right-wing Christian groups.

Enjoy...

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03:02 PM ET 03/04/97

US report says violent extremists groups on rise


            MONTGOMERY, Ala (Reuter) - Violent extremist groups have
grown in number and vehemence since the Oklahoma City bombing
two years ago, an organization that monitors hate crime activity
in the United States warned Tuesday.

            The Klanwatch Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center
said at least 858 so-called Patriot groups were active in the 50
U.S. states last year, including 380 armed militias. The figures
represented a six percent rise in the number of groups
identified by Klanwatch in 1994 and 1995.

            The Montgomery-based organization, which distributes
statistics on hate-crime activity to U.S. law enforcement, said
101 militias and their support groups had ties to white
supremacist and anti-Semitic organizations.

            In a report entitled ``Two Years After: The Patriot Movement
Since Oklahoma City,'' Klanwatch warned that extremists have
begun to develop a nationwide intelligence network and have
increased their use of phony financial claims against public
officials in a practice known as ``paper terrorism.''

            A coalition of militias spanning 14 states distributed
intelligence-gathering guidelines to members in February, the
report said. Recommended activities ranged from scrutinizing
news reports to persuading utility workers to divulge
information on their employers' security procedures.

            Meanwhile false liens and fabricated financial statements
have been filed against selected victims in the public sector by
renegade judicial bodies known as ``common-law courts.'' In 1996
about 112 such self-proclaimed courts were operating in 34
states.

            ``The Patriot movement is firmly entrenched in this
country,'' Klanwatch director Joe Roy said.

            ``A winnowing process has taken place since Oklahoma City.
While casual adherents have abandoned the cause, new groups have
been formed to take their place. What remains are true believers
who are isolated from the political mainstream and committed to
an extreme anti-government agenda.''

            Federal investigators suspect a cell of rightwing extremists
was behind recent bombings of an abortion clinic and a gay and
lesbian nightclub in Atlanta. The incidents injured about a
dozen people.

            There have been no arrests in either bombing. Last July's
Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which left two dead and more
than 100 injured in downtown Atlanta during the Summer Games,
also remained unsolved.

            The Klanwatch report warned of more violence in the future,
including the possibility of biochemical attacks, and pointed to
a declining percentage of American voters as evidence that
Patriot groups would continue to have large pools of alienated
citizens from which to recruit new members.

 ^REUTER@
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