White Supremacist Propaganda Widespread In VA, DC, Elsewhere

VIRGINIA — White supremacists in Virginia and the District of Columbia contributed to a record number of propaganda reports in 2020, according to a new report released last week by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Extremism.

Nationwide, white supremacist propaganda — defined as posters, flyers, and graffiti that are anti-Semitic, racist, and anti-LGBTQ+ — was recorded 5,125 times in 2020, according to the report, almost twice the number of incidents recorded in 2019.

The ADL recorded propaganda incidents in every U.S. state except Hawaii last year.

The highest number of incidents were reported in Texas, Washington, California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, according to the report.

Virginia ranked 11th in the number of incidents categorized as hate or white supremacist rhetoric, right behind No. 10 Maryland.

In the Commonwealth, 249 incidents of white supremacist propaganda were reported in 2020. Reports ranged across the state, from Arlington, Reston and McLean to Fredericksburg, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton, Richmond and Charlottesville.

Three groups were responsible for over 90 percent of the propaganda nationwide, the report said. In Virginia, most items were distributed by the Texas-based Patriot Front, with lesser activity by the Ku Klux Klan and the Nationalist Social Club, which was founded in Massachusetts.

The majority of the incidents in Virginia were linked to the Patriot Front, which the ADL describes as a white supremacist group formed by disaffected members of another white supremacist group, Vanguard America, in September 2017, in the wake of the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A manifesto posted to the group’s website soon after it formed called for a “return to the traditions and virtues of our forefathers.” The manifesto also made clear that non-whites were not “Americans.”

The main reports of Patriot Front activity were the distribution of white supremacist propaganda and graffiti. Many of the group's actions involved distributing American flag themed stickers with the QR code for Patriot Front and text that read: "For the nation against the state" and "Patriotfront.us." Many of their fliers had the themes: "America First," "America is not for sale," and other pieces said "Not stolen conquered," and "Reclaim America."

Propaganda stickers distributed at George Mason University displayed American flags with an embedded QR code leading to Patriot Front’s website. Other stickers included slogans such as "America first" and "Reject poison."

At Northern Virginia Community College in Woodbridge the Patriot Front left fliers that read: "For the nation against the state," "Not stolen conquered," and "Patriotfront.us."

A small number of white supremacist reports were tied to the Loyal White Knights, Ku Klux Klan group, and the neo-Nazi group National Alliance.

The Loyal White Knights, based in Pelham, North Carolina, is the largest and the most active Klan group in the country with about 100 members. According to the ADL its members harbor neo-Nazi beliefs. In addition to being anti-black, anti-immigration, anti-Muslim, and homophobic; they are also virulently antisemitic.

The Klan group distributed propaganda in New Kent County that read: "Most whites insist on making heroes and saints of criminal Blacks, while demonizing the police - most whites are idiots!!!"

An unknown person or group that may have ties to the KKK has distributed propaganda in the past year across Virginia that read: "The original Boys n the hood" and "Invisible Empire Ku Klux Klan."

14first, a white supremacist organization, distributed fliers in a Norfolk residential neighborhood that read, "No n-----s no Jews the Mexicans must go too help us stop race mixing."

SEE ALSO: Hate Groups In MD: Map Shows Hate And Racist Organizations

The District of Columbia reported 30 white supremacist incidents in 2020. Activity was led by the Patriot Group; Revolt Through Tradition (a neo-Nazi group); and the New Jersey European Heritage Association, an alt right group the distributed propaganda at the Million MAGA March.

In addition, anti-Semitic fliers from Peter J. Cojanis were distributed throughout DC residential neighborhoods that read: "COVID-19 Jews international conspiracy."

The remaining propaganda distributions nationally — roughly 7 percent of the national total — were linked to a range of neo-Nazi groups including 14 First, Folks Front, National Alliance, and the now-defunct Moonkrieg division, in addition to white supremacist groups including the Hundred Handers and now-defunct American Identity Movement.

Despite a nationwide increase, the number of incidents reported on college campuses decreased, falling from 630 incidents in 2019 to 303 in 2020. This was likely due to coronavirus closures and restrictions, the report said.

The overall findings from the ADL report underscore a recent uptick in harassment and violence against Asian Americans since the coronavirus crisis was declared a pandemic in March 2020.

New data by Stop AAPI Hate reported 3,292 hate incidents against Asian Americans in 2020. After surveying more than 3,300 Asian Americans, researchers found that 68 percent had experienced verbal harassment between March 19, 2020, and February 2021. Eleven percent reported being physically assaulted.

Instances of Asian American hate originated in every U.S. state, the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islander) report said. The highest number, however, was reported in California — nearly 45 percent of all reported hate incidents happened in the Golden State.

Behind California was New York with just under 15 percent of incidents and Washington state with 4 percent.