Mesa cop examines growth of hate groups
Mesa cop examines growth of hate groups
The debate over illegal immigration has fueled a rise in activity among white supremacist groups both nationally and in Arizona, members of the Anti-Defamation League said at a legislative conference Tuesday at the state Capitol.
And Mesa is no exception, said Detective Matt Browning, who infiltrated hate groups and border patrol organizations while working undercover for the Mesa Police Department.
Browning recalled one night in 2004 when several skinheads attacked a Mexican man outside a Mesa bar.
The skinheads were angry the man spoke Spanish and struck him by surprise in the parking lot.
The man escaped and made it to a hospital. But before Browning could question him, the man fled for fear of deportation.
And as for the skinheads?
“There are three violent skinheads still walking around, and I can tell you, they’ve done it again,"� Browning said.
Browning would know. He’s been infiltrating white supremacist groups in the Valley for the majority of his law enforcement career.
Like others in his field, he’s noticed a blaring theme: The debate on illegal immigration has led to a rise in activity among hate and border extremist groups right here in Arizona.
Browning and representatives of the Anti-Defamation League told those who attended Tuesday’s conference that these extremist points of view are sinking into mainstream dialogue and fueling hatred.
“Arizona has the most violent, racist skinheads in the nation,"� Browning said. He said one of those groups — the Vinlanders Social Club — has a chapter in Mesa.
Not everyone who attended the conference agreed with Browning and the Anti-Defamation League.
Chris Simcox, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said he was infuriated by the presentation and felt it contained lies.
“That was the most irresponsible presentation I’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t incite anything but fear in the community,"� Simcox said.
Members of United for a Sovereign America accused some Hispanic groups like La Raza of hate-mongering.
Still, a report released last month by the Anti-Defamation League found that the Ku Klux Klan is making a comeback in the U.S. by using illegal immigration as a battle cry.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, another organization that tracks hate groups, counted a total of over 800 hate groups in existence in the U.S. last year. That’s a 40 percent increase from 2004, according to Heidi Beirich, the deputy director of the center’s Intelligence Project.
“Immigration is a tremendously appealing hook for extremists,"� said Bill Straus, the regional director for the Arizona Anti-Defamation League.
But Straus pointed out that not everyone who is concerned about illegal immigration falls into the extremist or hate category.
Mark Pitcavage, the director of investigative research for the Anti-Defamation League, said members of pro-white organizations have been known to infiltrate border patrol groups, and that those border groups do little to stop them from joining their ranks.
But Simcox disagreed again. He said he has never caught any white supremacists trying to infiltrate his group.
And Simcox downplayed the idea that membership is growing in white supremacist groups, saying those types of extremist organizations make up only a “small percentage of society."�
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Select reader comments:
Michael Fisher
I think it is wrong to immdietly classify everyone seeking to secure our borders as racist. the fact is La Raza and similar grouops have been preaching reverse racisim for some time and calling it pride. I know for a fact that groups like You Don't Speak For Me, The Minute Men and the America First Party are not racist but seek laws that would not allow illegal immigrants, despite color or religion, to take benefits meant for legal, hard working Americans. Racism has become the war cry of groups devoted to opening up the borders and flooding our nation with illegals.
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J
Why is Mesa PD allowing a Jewish ethnic lobbying organization to incorporate them in their propoganda efforts? The ADL has a very specific, and yes, radical agenda. It's appalling, actually. The Minutemen have conducted themselves honorably since their inception, but the ADL, and their lackey Matt Browning, have done nothing but defame them. I wonder if Mesa PD would allow a group from "The Right" to influence the direction of their investigations in this way. Just another example of law enforcement catering to leftist, P.C. politics.
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BB
Because our government does nothing to secure our border there are more "Hate Groups". I find it funny that they write an article on American hate groups but not the mexican hate groups. What a double standard. It doesn't surprise me about the KKK and Vinlanders, it's beyond a racist group in modern day America because of the illegal invasion. If they want to support our border then more power to them!!!! Take a stand for your country, our beloved America!!!
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Jeff
I totally agree with you. The AZ Republic always leaves out crucial evidence about any story and most of the time they don't report the news at all unless it fits into their pro-open borders/pro-amnesty/pro-Janet agenda!
They do not report on all the crimes caused by illegal aliens here in Phoenix! They didn't report on former Army Ranger/Iraqi veteran Jason Okon being mutilated by an illegal with a butcher knife in west Phoenix until 3 weeks after the fact and a lot of pressure from angry US citizens. That illegal had been detained before and released only to commit another crime! We need to abolish sanctuary laws here in each city of Arizona next!
Had the AZ Repulsive reported that Lopes and Sinema (an anarchist/ communist) specifically organized this meeting due to death threats received for some of the unconstitutional bills she has tried to introduce, this would be no big news story. I suggest Kyrsten Sinema spend the rest of the time she is in office reading about the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution instead of Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto and books about Che Guevara. She got elected to serve US Citizens not Mexican Nationals.
I suggest as punishment for her wasting the taxpayers money for her own version of the 'Jerry Springer show' on Tuesday she can also organize a Mexican/Chicano hate group seminar for the AZ House of Representatives to listen to. They could talk about 501(c) hate groups like LaRaza, MeCHa, the Brown Berets, Aztlan, etc.
The ADL would be wise to attend too since of course they are an anti-semitic watchdog group. But after I looked at their website they had no documentation of these groups who by the way get away with saying many negative comment about Jews. Just look at Aztlan.org.
It just goes to show you can say whatever hateful comment you want UNLESS you are a straight white man. Then you're immediately labelled a hatemonger.
