White Supremacist, Antisemitic Propaganda Rises In VA: Report

VIRGINIA — Propaganda efforts by white supremacist groups reached a five-year high nationwide in 2022, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. In Virginia, 471 separate incidents in which antisemitic, racial and otherwise hateful material was distributed were among 6,750 reported nationwide last year.

That an increase from the 422 hate incidents reported in Virginia in 2021.

The distribution of racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ fliers, stickers and banners, images, posters or graffiti increased 38 percent from 2021 nationwide, and has increased fivefold since 2018, according to the report. Antisemitic propaganda alone more than doubled in 2022, rising to 852 incidents from 352 incidents in 2021.

The ADL H.E.A.T. Map shows Hawaii was the only U.S. state that didn’t report a single incident of white supremacist propaganda last year. The highest levels of activity were in Texas, followed by Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Utah, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia.

In Virginia, the reported incidents included:

• Antisemitic Incidents: 69
• White Supremacist Propaganda: 402

Antisemitic symbols were discovered at Dominion High School in Sterling on Dec. 2 and Dec. 8, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said one symbol was written in a bathroom on Dec. 2 while additional symbols were found carved into a desk on Thursday.

A Menorah car parade organized and hosted by the Chabad of Bethesda on Dec. 18 stopped at the trail, where the anti-Semitic graffiti was found. The parade also stopped at Walt Whitman High School, where the words “Jews Not Welcome” were found Dec. 17 defacing the school sign.

Antisemitic symbols were discovered at Dominion High School in Sterling on Dec. 2 and Dec. 8, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said one symbol was written in a bathroom on Dec. 2 while additional symbols were found carved into a desk. Police noted that the suspect is a 13-year-old boy.

Hate crime laws in Virginia provide protections based on race, religion and ethnicity, along with sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.

Under Virginia law, a hate crime is any act of intimidation or harassment, physical violence, or vandalism, where the acts are motivated by animosity based on race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

The perpetrators of hate crimes target someone based on an identity they hold or the community that they belong to, with the intention of instilling fear in or intimidating that whole community, said Equality Virginia. The impact of a hate crime is greater than just the effect it has on the person targeted and their immediate circle.

You may be a victim of a hate crime under Virginia law if you are targeted because of your race, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability, national origin, or homelessness.

A hate/bias incident includes:

• Verbal abuse/slurs
• Distribution of hate literature in public spaces
• Displaying hate material on one’s own property

The Attorney General’s office lists multiple resources for hate crimes survivors, and can also help you report a hate crime or connect you with survivor resources that can support you following a crime. You can contact them at human_rights@oag.state.va.us or 1-855-NOH8VA1 (1-855-664-8821).

Propaganda campaigns, intended to frighten and harass those who see the hateful messages, are limited-risk operations by white supremacist groups that give a few people an outsized voice, the report said.

At least 50 different white supremacist groups and networks distributed propaganda in 2022, the report said. Three of them were responsible for 93 percent of the activity:

Patriot Front, whose members espouse white supremacist and neo-fascist views, was behind the majority — 80 percent — of the propaganda, a distinction the Texas-based group has held since 2019. It was active everywhere but Hawaii and Alaska, and was most active in Massachusetts, followed by Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Goyim Defense League, an antisemitic network with crossovers with white supremacist groups whose ultimate goal, the report said, is to expel Jews from the United States, was responsible for at least 492 propaganda incidents, about 58 percent of antisemitic incidents and 7 percent of incidents overall. Its propaganda was reported in 43 states, but was most active in California, followed by Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois and New York.

White Lives Matter, a network of white supremacists who engage in “pro-white activism” on a designated day each month, was responsible for 6 percent of propaganda incidents in 2022, and about 14 percent of antisemitic propaganda.

The group was active in 36 states, most often in Washington, followed by Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, North Carolina and Texas.

The ADL said the massive uptick in antisemitic propaganda was driven by the growth of the Goyim Defense League, but also noted the formation of other antisemitic white supremacist groups in 2022 that were responsible for 7 percent (62 percent) of the incidents nationwide: Texas-based Aryan Freedom Network, NatSoc Florida, Iowa-based Crew 319, Southern California-based Clockwork Crew (aka Crew 562), Florida Nationalists and the short-lived, New York-based Aryan National Army.

» Click here for the full report released last month.