Given the recent shooting at the Holocaust Museum of an African-American guard, Stephen T. Johns by a known racist and anti-Semite, James von Brunn, we have decided to revisit some of our own work on the rise of Hate Crimes following the ascendancy of Barack Obama through the nearly two years of campaigning and now the presidency. The color of his skin, his foreign name and the belief by many that he is Muslim, despite ample evidence to the contrary, have all contributed to the rise in vitriol on an expanding number of hate websites, as well as among some news commentators .

Most groups monitoring the situation feel that the number of hate crimes has gone up, but there is no hard data supporting these claims across group. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has posted A Wave of Hate: Ideologically Motivated Violence Against Jews and Others in America , listing some of the most egregious plots, conspiracies and attacks against Jews and others so far in 2009. We first marked the trend of an increase in hate groups, websites and hate crimes in an article by Liz Carey’s in our first weeks online. Carey, who wrote several articles for the site, is an award-winning journalist in Anderson, SC, who has covered the Klan and other extremist groups in the United States. In light of the growing chatter of these groups, we have decided to revisit her article and that period, which now seems like light years away. Here is an abridged version of her article:

Obama has been under secret service protection, [earlier than any other candidate,] according to reports. At least five men across the country have been arrested for threatening or plotting to assassinate the presidential candidate. Three were arrested during the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Shawn Adolph, 33; Tharin Gartrell, 28, and Nathan Johnson, 32 were all described as well-armed white supremacists, although officials dismissed any threat as the “racist rantings of drug addicts.” U.S. Attorney Troy Eid called the men's plans, "more aspirational, perhaps, than operational.”

In Miami, police arrested in August Raymond Hunter Geisel, who was reported to have told a classmate in his bail bondsmen class, “If he gets elected, I’ll assassinate him myself.”

In North Carolina, on Aug. 1, Jerry M. Blanchard, 48, was charged with knowingly and willfully threatening to kill, kidnap and inflict bodily harm upon a major candidate for president. He was arrested after witnesses told federal authorities they overheard him threatening to assassinate Obama in July.

These few individuals are not the only ones giving voice to threats; some organized white supremacists groups have spoken out as well. Ray Larson, an International Imperial Wizard with the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, during an interview with Fox News Chicago predicted Obama’s death if elected. “I’m not going to have to worry about it because somebody else down South is going to take him out,” he said. “He’ll be shot sure as hell.”

Even overseas, many openly express concern about Obama’s chances of becoming a target. In February, Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, told a Swedish newspaper that an Obama presidency would be short-lived. "He would probably not last long, a black man in the position of president. They would kill him," she said.

She was not specific in who “they” were.

But an African American president is also a change some white supremacists say they look forward to – as a means to recruit members to their cause. “Obama will be a clear signal for millions of our people,” said David Duke, former Louisiana congressman and Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. “Obama is like that new big dark spot on your arm that finally sends you to the doctor for some real medicine. … Obama is the pain that lets our body know that something is dreadfully wrong. Obama will let the American people know that there is a real cancer eating away at the heart of our country and Republican aspirin will not only not cure it, but only mask the pain and make you think you don’t need radical surgery… My bet is that whether Obama wins or loses in November, millions of European Americans will inevitably react with new awareness of their heritage and the need for them to defend and advance it.”

On Stormfront, the web site forum for the White Nationalist Community, threads discussing Obama say his presidency is what the country needs to bring more people to see the white supremacist views on life. “I think Obama will win,” posted ONeil14, of Binghamton, NY. “And all of these (white) antis who talk about how much they will laugh in our faces when he does, won't be laughing for long. … Maybe Obama is right; maybe we do need his kind of change. Maybe it will wake these idiots up.”

Additional Resources:

Daily Intel: Holocaust Museum Shooting Rekindles Old Debate

Museum Suspect's Writings Had Not Triggered a Probe

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