The Rise of Far-Right Extremism in the United States

Introduction 

Far-right extremism is primarily linked to movements or groups in United States are driven by hate. The focus of their hate can be on certain ethnicities, racial groups, or religious affiliations. Most of these groups are anti-government and will openly express their displeasure for government activities ( Fahey & Simi, 2019) . Across America, the rise in these groups has resulted in increasing instances of right-wing terrorism activities. Initially, the target of such acts of violence were African Americans, but after the 9/11bombing of the World Trade Center, the Islamic population in the US also became the target of these attacks by white supremacists. On the other hand, Islamic extremists have also radicalized American citizens, leading to an increase in violent activities by these individuals.  

Opposing view: Far-Left Extremism 

Far-left extremism refers to a revolutionary process intended to bring about societal change without following the established legislative or judicial procedures. Often, far-left extremists tend to act contrary to the provision of the law and are often viewed as radicals rather than reformists. Mudde (2017) promotes the view that, within the United States, those in agreement with the far-left extremists are often of the view of a revolution taking place within their countries. Additionally, they have the quest of getting their way and abolish capitalist ideologies. The abolishment of capitalism tends to counter the capability of the populace to realize the American dream, which seeks to ensure that each American scores a measure of success in what he or she does. Those in support of far-left extremists are more educated besides being young people who have many revolutionist ideas. They would tend to destabilize the status quo, favoring the older generations and stifle the capability of the young people to grow and realize their aspirations. In some cases, the actions that are promoted by those subscribing to such ideologies lead to terrorism, which then calls for the involvement of the Department of Homeland Security. 

However, there are also opposing views of far-left extremists. Those promoting the ideologies are never comfortable with the status quo and spark debate on the social reforms that need to be undertaken for an equitable society. Additionally, the thinking fights for the equal rights of the social groups that the community deems as being the disadvantaged lot. The principle of egalitarianism is the primary guide of those subscribing to the ideology. 

Two Positions on Far-Right Extremism 

The first position on the issue of far-left extremism is that, it presents ironic qualities in the way through which it is carried out in society. Those subscribing to the ideology tend to promote the assertion that what they are fighting is evil, and all their actions are right (Chermak & Gruenewald, 2015). Their end tends to justify the means. While some recognize that they may act contrary to the legal provision, their quest for realization of change is the guiding factor. Such then creates an opportunity for the abuse of legal structures and the creation of anarchy, which is not suitable for the creation of a strong moral fabric within the society. According to Chermak and Gruenewald (2015), actions of the far-left extremists are often intended at intimidating those holding the status quo and do not give room for new ideas from those who would be opposing their actions. 

The second position is that far-left extremism spurs social change that would then lead to progress being realized in society. For example, the fight for environmental protection by far-left extremists would lead to the undertaking of all possible actions that would lead to the protection of the benign environment. Such action would avoid going through the long and bureaucratic process that is established within the judicial systems of a country. The gaining of social change is often to the benefit of the entire country. The extremists who are ideological in what they do and have the quest to bring about social good are ideal in bringing about positive development in public policy utilized by a country. 

Causes and Evidence of Far-Right Extremism in the US 

Various factors have contributed to the increase in far-right extremism in America. These include: 

The widespread use of social media and the internet 

Initially, it was difficult for right-wing extremists to air their views on various issues and get the support that they needed. Based on this, groups of extremists were spread out in small numbers across the US, and this prevented them from coming together and combining their resources to spread their agenda. However, this has changed with the increased use of the internet, especially social media platforms. These provide an opportunity for extremists to reach out and communicate with others, issue statements about their views, which are then widely circulated, and to organize protests across the country. Most importantly, social media provides an ideal opportunity for extremists to recruit new members to join their causes and raise money for extremist activities. 

Examples of extremist campaigns that have effectively used the internet to create awareness for their causes include the Fourteen Words campaign by David Lane, a white supremacist (Virchow, 2017). According to Lane, it is necessary to safeguard the interests of white children since the influx of various nationalities in America is a direct threat to them.  

Some of the popular platforms for these extremists include YouTube, whereby they post videos on their agenda and Twitter, where hashtags are created to gain support for a particular cause. Both of these sites have been used by Islamic extremist groups to recruit more members into their organizations. Groups like Al-Qaeda use such platforms to get new members, offer training, and also to intimidate their enemies by releasing propaganda videos regularly.  

The ability to travel around the world which enables people with similar interests to meet. 

Travelling around the world has been made easier in the last decade with the introduction of cheap flights and collaborative agreements among different countries. While these steps have been taken to increase commerce and tourism activities, they have provided an opportunity for extremists to travel and exchange ideas with individuals with similar views around the world. Some of these groups were previously confined to the US, but they have reached out and broadened their connections, improved their extremism tactics, and become more hardened in their stance (Kurzman & Schanzer, 2015) . A dangerous result of such meetings is that it enables groups to learn improved counterintelligence strategies, which allows them to evade detection by relevant authorities. 

An example relates to the white supremacist organization, RAM (Rise Above Movement). The group has members in the US, but it also has followers in Italy, Germany, and Ukraine. In 2018, members of the group traveled to these countries to meet other followers, and pictures of these interactions, together with their slogans, were posted on social media (Lyons, 2018) . The members also met with a paramilitary unit in Ukraine that uses its combat experience to provide training for groups with extremist agendas across the world. Based on these travels, extremist groups have been able to increase the scope of their activities, which has resulted in more regular and violent attacks across America. 

Current trends in the US, such as increased immigration of foreigners in the US and election of an African American president.  

Various occurrences in the US have taken part to the increased activity of extremist organizations in the US. Such incidences have enabled these groups to gain more supporters who feel that they should campaign against such happenings. One of these is the election of President Barack Obama. According to white supremacists, United States should be ruled by a white president, and the election of an African American was against all their beliefs. Given that thousands of supremacists across the country shared such views, it provides an ideal basis for them to mobilize their supporters and attract new members. They also spread propaganda and held marches to show their displeasure for the turn of events.  

Another recent trend that has fueled the growth of the extremist groups in the US is the influx of immigrants into the country. Certain radical groups feel that as more immigrants, especially Mexicans, are coming into the country, they are reducing opportunities for white Americans and causing insecurity. Based on such beliefs, extremist groups have taken an active role in patrolling the borders to look for immigrants who are sneaking into the country. Finally, the election of President Trump has significantly boosted the activities of extremist groups with his slogan ‘Make America Great Again.’ Some utterances by President Trump, such as regarding illegal immigrants, have been supported by white supremacists who believe the president will remove the rot in the society (Williford, 2018).    

Consequences of Far-Right Extremism in America 

Increased violence in the US 

Across America, there has been an increase in violence that is attributed to far-right extremist groups. These incidences caused deaths of hundreds of individuals in the United States. Government data shows that between 2008 and 2017, the number of deaths arising from the actions of Islamist extremists was around 100, while deaths resulting from far-right movements were over 300. A unique aspect of these statistics is that it shows the changing trends in violence within America. While foreign-born individuals were previously held accountable for terrorist attacks, this has changed, and most of these attacks are being carried out by US-born citizens ( Fahey & Simi, 2019).   

Within the year, there have been multiple shootings in United States, in Gilroy, California, and El Paso, Texas. In the Gilroy incident, a teenage shooter gunned down three individuals before he was eventually shot by the police. The El-Paso incident also involved a young man who killed around twenty people before the authorities arrested him (Taylor, 2019) . A similarity of both of these incidences shows that hate-filled messages were apparently written by the shooters before they carried out their respective attacks. The response by the authorities to deal with these incidences has been to criminalize some extremist groups like the KKK. However, while joining these groups has become illegal, sharing the same ideologies supported by such individuals is still legal, leading to the rise in far-right extremist rates. 

A shift in the priorities of law enforcement officers 

After 9/11, the attention of law enforcement agencies in United States was drawn to the rise of Islamist extremist groups outside the country. One approach adopted to deal with these cases was increased budgetary allocation for anti-Al-Qaeda activities. The result was the US invasion of Middle Eastern countries and the subsequent killing of Osama Bin Laden. However, while this strategy seems to have been successful in dealing with external threats, it failed to account for internal threats. While the number of attacks against America has significantly reduced, there has been an increase in attacks that originate within the borders of the country. Based on this, law enforcement agencies have been forced to shift their focus from external to internal threats (Smith, 2018). 

The result has been the adoption of new strategies such as community policing, which enable extremist individuals to be identified before they make any move. In the past, most US extremists have publicly made proclamations about their intentions and then gone ahead to carry out attacks. Steps have, therefore, been taken that will ensure such individuals are identified once they make such public statements, and they are investigated and apprehended.  Additionally, the Obama administration approved several federal grants to assist in the rehabilitation of extremists. However, most of these grants were canceled by the Trump administration, which indicates that despite the steps being taken to deal with the issue, it is still being given a low priority by the authorities.   

Increased numbers of people joining extremist groups 

Across the US, more people are joining extremist groups as there is widespread discontent among the population. According to these individuals, United States seems to be committing its resources to other causes apart from working to increase the opportunities for white Americans. One factor that has contributed to this increase is the First Amendment laws, which give all Americans freedom of speech. Supporters of various extremist movements are therefore able to share their ideologies, and when questioned, they state that the constitution protects their freedom of speech (Sullivan, Freilich & Chermak, 2016) . The impact of this is that more people can listen to extremist groups, and since they share similar sentiments, they readily join them. 

On the other hand, the widespread availability of guns has also contributed to the problem. Gun laws in the US are relatively weak, and this makes it possible for almost everyone to own a gun. It is these guns that give extremist groups a feeling of power, and they purchase them and use them to commit crimes that support their agenda. In the absence of these weapons, most of their activities would be limited to verbal confrontations, and few people would join these groups because their actions will be considered futile. Finally, proclamations by leaders, particularly Republicans, have also fueled the increase in people joining extremist groups. When President Trump publicly says that immigrants are welcome, many individuals translate these statements to mean that actions against these people are acceptable. More people will then join these groups and readily engage in violent activities.  

Solutions for the problems 

Based on the increase in far-right extremist activities in the US, various solutions can be used to deal with the problem.  

Increased capital allocation by the authorities for initiatives to deal with far-right extremist groups 

As noted earlier, the financial distribution of legal agencies to deal with far-right extremist groups has not been given a priority in the past. Legal agencies, especially the Federal government, have consistently laid out more emphasis on international extremist groups. The result is that radical groups can operate in full visibility of law enforcement agencies, and attention is only drawn to their activities when they engage in violence. Based on this, the government must increase the financial allocation of domestic agencies, enabling them to purchase the same equipment that has been used in the last decade to monitor and track down extremist groups in other countries. 

Similarly, such groups can be placed in the same classification as international groups like Al-Qaeda. Law enforcement agencies should also be trained on the strategies used by these groups to recruit and radicalize members, which will lead to the development of preventive measures to effectively handle these groups. Examples of these measures include the use of informers in areas that are highly likely to support these groups, which will lead to the identification of their leaders and their arrests. 

Changing the legislation to decriminalize extremist ideologies that are likely to cause violence 

Many supporters of extremist ideologies will always claim that they have freedom of speech, which is a legal right to say whatever they want without being held accountable for their words. An example is when an individual makes anti-Semitic statements in a public setting. While their words might have a negative effect on specific individuals within the vicinity, such persons cannot be arrested unless they cause actual bodily harm against the target subjects of their statements. In this regard, the law should be changed, whereby making hate-filled speeches and posts on social media illegal. 

The effect of this would be that individuals will think twice before they can make any public statements that can be considered as hate-speech. It will also lead to the decline of extremist groups since meeting to discuss hate-filled topics will lead to prosecution by the authorities. Most importantly, it should be made clear that while freedom of speech is guaranteed in the US, this should not be used as a platform to discriminate against other people, regardless of their ethnic, religious, or racial background. When such laws are formulated and implemented, it becomes difficult for extremist groups to thrive.  

Focusing on entire groups instead of individuals when extremist groups engage in crime. 

One of the strategies that America used against international extremist groups was to focus on the entire organization. The result was that sympathizers of these groups were attacked, which led to the disruption of both food and weapon supplies. Similarly, United States also attacked the communication channels of these groups, which made it impossible for them to coordinate their activities. Such strategies are highly effective when dealing with well-organized groups around the world. However, in the US, whenever a member of an extremist group is involved in violent activities, the authorities will focus on only these individuals and ignore the role played by the entire group. 

An ideal approach that should be adopted by legal authorities when dealing with these groups is to focus on the whole group whenever one of their members commits a crime. In this way, groups that radicalize their members will be deregistered, and in case of violent activities, the leadership of these groups will be prosecuted. The objective of this strategy would be to inform extremist groups that they are liable for the actions of their members, and violence will not be tolerated.   

Conclusion 

  There is a rise in far-right extremists in the US; most of these belong to groups that are keen on disrupting the social order and political landscape. An opposing view to far-right extremists is far-left extremism. Some of the causes of right-wing extremism in the US include the widespread application of internet and social media platforms, the ability of people to travel across the world easily, and recent events in the US, such as the election of an African American president that infuriate white supremacists. Consequences of far-right extremism include an increase in violence by these groups, more people joining extremist groups, and a shift in the priorities of law enforcement officers. Finally, solutions to this problem include Increased capital allocation by the authorities for initiatives to deal with far-right extremist groups, changing the legislation to decriminalize extremist ideologies that are likely to cause violence, and focusing on entire groups instead of individuals when radical groups engage in crime. 

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