textfiles/law/hategrou.law

January 1991                                                      
 
                                                                  
               HATE VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES    
 
                              By 
 
                        Floyd I. Clarke 
                        Deputy Director 
                 Federal Bureau of Investigation 
 
                                                
    On October 8, 1988, members of the Confederate Hammerskins 
(CHS) vandalized a Jewish community center, the Temple Shalom 
Synagogue, and an Islamic mosque in Dallas, Texas.  These 
Skinheads broke windows, shot into walls, and spray painted 
racist graffiti on the buildings.  Crime scene evidence, 
collected by the Dallas Police Department, established Daniel 
Wood as a suspect.  After being arrested and convicted in State 
court, Wood asked to speak with Federal authorities concerning 
CHS activities.  A joint FBI/Dallas Police Department 
investigation was initiated in an attempt to corroborate Wood's 
information. 
 
     As a result of his information, more than 25 former CHS 
members and 15 active CHS members were identified and 
interviewed, and over 75 subpoenas were served.  On September 
28, 1989, a Federal grand jury indicted Daniel Wood, Sean 
Tarrant, Michael Lawrence, Jon Jordan, and Christopher Greer on 
two counts of violating Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 241, 
Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights.  Twelve other former and 
active CHS members pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges 
involving civil rights violations and agreed to testify as 
Government witnesses. 
 
    The trial began on February 20, 1990, and by March 1, 1990, 
Wood, Tarrant, Lawrence, Jordan, and Greer were found guilty. 
In addition, 12 other CHS members were convicted of various acts 
of racial violence. 
 
RISE IN HATE VIOLENCE                                             
 
     Unfortunately, this case is not an isolated incident.  With 
the renewed increase in hate violence activities by white 
supremacist groups, racial tensions have escalated across the 
country.  Such groups use the latest in today's technology, such 
as cable television and computer bulletin boards, to spread 
their message of hate to anyone who will listen.  And, just as 
these organized terrorist groups practice hate violence daily, 
individuals or small groups have also contributed to the 
increase in these types of crimes.  Even so, hate crimes have 
been largely ignored, and oftentimes, repressed by those who 
would rather not open their eyes to the danger that these crimes 
present. 
 
     Hate violence should be recognized as a nationwide problem 
that must be confronted. According to Attorney General Dick 
Thornburgh, "Violent interference with freedoms guaranteed by 
the Constitution will continue to be a Federal law enforcement 
priority.  Acts of racial and religious hate...are simply 
intolerable in a free society.  Let the word go out that the 
federal government intends to bring to bear the full force of 
the law on every such act that comes to its attention." (1) 
 
     Even though hate violence crimes often fall under Federal 
jurisdiction, their successful prosecution is becoming 
increasingly dependent on close cooperation with State and local 
law enforcement.  Therefore, law enforcement agencies nationwide 
must renew their commitment to eradicate both domestic terrorist 
groups and malicious individuals who violate the civil rights of 
others.  This article focuses on the FBI's activities and 
responsibilities with regard to the investigation of hate 
violence crimes. 
 
COMBATING HATE VIOLENCE                                           
 
     Currently, the FBI is the lead Federal agency responsible 
for investigating incidents of racial and/or ethnic violence. 
Reported cases of racially motivated violence receive top 
priority attention in the FBI's Civil Rights Program.  This has 
been true since the 1960s, when the FBI actively investigated the 
Ku Klux Klan.  Today, with the recent prosecutions of white 
supremacist organizations, such as the Aryan Nations, the White 
Patriots Party, and the Skinheads, as well as individuals 
involved in civil rights violations, the FBI continues its 
tradition of stopping hate violence.                              
 
     By law, the FBI is mandated to combat hate violence, to 
prevent such incidents (if and when possible), and to react 
swiftly when an incident does occur.  In this regard, the FBI 
confronts hate violence in two distinct criminal investigative 
programs--domestic counterterrorism and civil rights.  Domestic 
counterterrorism cases focus on investigations of organized 
groups that employ hate violence.  Civil rights investigations 
of hate violence, on the other hand, focus on individuals or 
small, unorganized groups. 
 
Domestic Counterterrorism Investigations                          
 
     Hate violence investigations under the Domestic 
Counterterrorism Program concentrate on the unlawful use of 
force or violence by terrorist groups for political or social 
ends.  These groups include such organizations as The Order, 
Aryan Nations, the White Patriots Party, and the racist 
Skinheads, to name a few.  Most notably, these white supremacist 
groups target blacks, Orientals, Mexicans, Jews, and various 
other ethnic and racial groups.  Once reliable information has 
been gathered that gives evidence to their criminal activities, 
the FBI can legally investigate violent groups such as these to 
determine their structure, scope, and membership.  This 
intelligence information, in many cases, helps to prevent a 
tragedy before it occurs. 
 
    In order to anticipate terrorist attacks by these groups, 
the FBI makes full use of its undercover Agents and informants 
and uses court-authorized electronic surveillance.  These 
tactics have proven successful on several occasions, most 
notably during an incident at the U.S. Penitentiary at 
Leavenworth, Kansas. 
 
Case Study                                                        
 
     In December 1988, U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials at 
the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth received information 
indicating that three inmates were planning an escape for early 
January 1989.  All three were members of the white 
supremacist/terrorist organization, The Order, a violent 
splinter group of the white supremacist organization, Aryan 
Nations, and all were in prison on charges stemming from their 
relationship with the white supremacist movement.  According to 
the plan, weapons were going to be smuggled in through a 
contact in the prison laundry room and hidden there until the 
escape took place.  The three inmates, Bruce Carroll Pierce, 
Richard Scutari, and Randall Evans, were then planning to shoot 
their way out at a time when the prison yard would be crowded 
with inmates.  Fortunately, their escape plan was discovered by 
a former FBI source who was an inmate at the prison.  FBI Agents 
in Kansas City discussed the planned escape with BOP officials 
at Leavenworth, and the three inmates were transferred to the 
U.S. prison at Marion, Illinois, thus avoiding a possibly 
violent domestic terrorist situation. 
  
Rise of the Skinheads                                             
 
     However, despite efforts to counter the threat from groups 
such as The Order, right-wing terrorism has increased since the 
mid-1980s, especially in the recruitment of racist Skinheads. 
 
     Originally, the Skinheads arose in England during the 1970s 
to protest poverty and unemployment.  However, out of this 
relatively benign group developed a separate group consisting of 
both white supremacist and nonracist Skinheads, who began to 
appear in the United States in the early 1980s.  The Skinheads 
movement has evolved into such a persistent threat that the 
Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has formed a 
special task force to confront the problem. 
 
     Currently, there are more than 3,000 violence-prone 
Skinheads in the United States.  This figure represents a 
three-fold increase in the number of Skinheads since 1987. (2) 
These Skinheads are known for attacking minorities, homosexuals, 
and anyone who opposes them by using such items as steel-toed 
boots, knives, and baseball bats.  In fact, one Skinhead 
described his gang as "a subculture army....Instead of verbally 
assaulting people, we physically assault them....We've all had 
our part in bashing people.  We'll assault anybody." (3)  In 
addition, these Skinheads are being openly recruited by other 
white supremacist organizations, such as the Aryan Nations and 
the White Aryan Resistance. 
 
     Investigating these violent, white supremacist groups can 
be very arduous.  These terrorists organize themselves into 
tightly knit brotherhoods that are extremely difficult to 
penetrate.  As a result, information can be difficult to obtain. 
Despite these difficulties, great progress has been made in 
dissolving white supremacist groups.  The Department of Justice 
and the FBI are constantly working with local and State law 
enforcement organizations to collect evidence and to prosecute 
these groups.  Many groups, however, still rally, recruit, and 
spread their messages of racial hatred. 
 
The Civil Rights Program                                          
 
     Unlike the Domestic Counterterrorism Program, which focuses 
on organized groups, the FBI investigates hate violence 
committed by individuals or small, unorganized groups under its 
Civil Rights Program.  Examples include racially and/or 
ethnically motivated acts of violence resulting in violations of 
such Federal laws as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 
Discrimination in Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 
the Federal Revenue Sharing Act, and the Civil Rights of the 
Institutionalized Persons Act.  The FBI's ultimate goal is to 
reduce civil rights violations and to ensure that the rights of 
U.S. citizens and inhabitants are protected. 
 
     This task is accomplished by responding to the thousands of 
criminal civil rights complaints received each year.  Each 
legitimate complaint is then thoroughly investigated by the FBI 
and a report is forwarded to the Civil Rights Division (CRD) at 
the Department of Justice.  It is the CRD that has prosecutive 
authority for all Federal civil rights statutes because of the 
sensitive nature of the constitutional issues involved and the 
need for uniform application of Federal law in this area.      
 
Case Study                                                        
 
     When a black couple moved into a predominantly white, 
working class neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, they were 
subjected to a series of acts of vandalism directed against 
their residence.  Rocks, bricks, and bottles were thrown at the 
windows, causing extensive damage.  The couple was also subject 
to racial taunting, slurs and threats.  When the Baltimore 
Police Department received information that a plan had been 
made by several conspirators to fire-bomb the couple's home, the 
police department requested assistance from the FBI in its 
investigation. 
 
     Using information obtained from consensually monitored 
conversations between a cooperating witness and several of the 
conspirators, the FBI and the police department built a case 
against two individuals responsible for these hate crimes.  Gary 
Merryman and Joseph Chilcote were charged with Conspiracy to 
Violate Civil Rights (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 241) and 
Interference with Housing Rights (Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 
3631).  The two individuals were convicted and sent to prison 
for their crimes in March 1989. 
 
CONCLUSION                                                        
 
     Racism, bias, bigotry, and violence are on the upswing. In 
view of the ever-increasing threat of hate violence perpetrated 
by both white supremacist groups and racist individuals, law 
enforcement agencies across the country must work together to 
combat these crimes.  In the words of Dr. Benjamin Hooks, 
Executive Director of the NAACP, "Now is the time to turn to one 
another, not to turn on one another." 
 
     All in law enforcement--including Federal, State and local 
authorities--must combine their efforts to remove the blight of 
racial violence and discrimination.  Law enforcement must also 
work more closely with the public to discourage racial hatred 
and bigotry wherever it is found.  It is the duty and 
responsibility of everyone in law enforcement to ensure that all 
Americans, regardless of race or ethnic origin, can live in 
freedom, with dignity. 
 
 
FOOTNOTES                                                         
 
     (1)  See Department of Justice Press Release dated March 1, 
1990, regarding the convictions of the five CHS members involved 
in the Dallas, Texas, case.                                       
 
     (2)  "Hate Violence and White Supremacy,"   The Klanwatch 
Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, December 1989, p. 17.  
 
     (3)  Ibid, p. 1.