This past year, 2022, was yet another eventful year for the white supremacist and neo-Nazi movement in the United States and around the world. The year saw a number of high-profile terrorist attacks perpetrated by individuals motivated by hateful ideology, including the deadly Buffalo shooting, a shooting attack at a gay bar in Slovakia, and a wave of attacks on infrastructure in the U.S., including the sabotage of a North Carolina power substation.
The year saw escalated rhetoric and increased verbal and physical attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, both in the U.S. and globally, along with a significant uptick in antisemitic attacks and harassment and increased antigovernment and anti-police violence. The MEMRI DTTM recently published a 2022 year-in-review report covering the major events and evolutions in far-right extremism and the touchpoints which have energized and mobilized the global movement.
As we enter 2023, it is clear that the growth trend in white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and other hate-motivated activism is set to continue. Just two months into the year, we have already seen anti-immigrant riots in the United Kingdom, more thwarted anti-infrastructure attacks in the U.S., and a spate of antisemitic shootings in Los Angeles. It is likely that this year will see the continuation of some of the trends identified by the MEMRI DTTM as emerging in the past few years, and that entirely new and unprecedented challenges will also emerge.
The following report outlines predictions and projections for the direction of white supremacist and neo-Nazi extremism in 2023, and the emerging threats that will challenge national security in the U.S. as well as the domestic security of our allies. These predictions are based on the trajectories and trends in extremism identified by the MEMRI DTTM analysts over the past three years and on the current state of extremism in the U.S. and globally. As in previous years, when unpredictable events – the global pandemic in 2020, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and many more in between – sparked reactions from extremists, major occurrences will also heavily influence extremism in 2023. Current events, geopolitical shifts, and environmental disasters will all continue to have a significant impact on the worldview, activism, and focus of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and antigovernment extremists.
Dr. Simon Purdue is the Director of the MEMRI Domestic Terrorism Threat Monitor (DTTM) Project.
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