"First, between Jan. 1, 2007 and Oct. 31, 2009, the
FBI reported that white supremacists were involved in 53 acts of violence — 40 assaults, seven murders, and three incidents of arson or intimidation — directed primarily against blacks in the U.S., representing a noticeable rise in such incidents. Though they were classified as “racially motivated” crimes, there is little doubt that these are, in fact, examples of far-right, albeit low-level, terrorism. Meanwhile, the
Southern Poverty Law Center registered what it described as “
explosive growth” in the number of white supremacist hate groups and conspiracy-minded, anti-government “Patriot” groups after 2008. In 2012, these kinds of groups hit an all-time high of 1,360.
This rise in right-wing political violence is clearly associated with the election of America’s first black president, his re-election and efforts by the right to stymie Barack Obama’s efforts to govern the country. Indeed, the unprecedented intransigence of legitimate GOP opposition to Obama on everything from
judicial nominees to
health reform and the
debt ceiling demonstrate a basic unwillingness on the part of the right to negotiate with the president and the Democrats on anything or even concede that the Obama White House has a
constitutional right to govern via executive orders, as past presidents have commonly done."
America s Forecast More Right-Wing Terror