Topic: Mark Potok

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner: 5 of his strange ideas

All Content

Boston Marathon attack: Circle of possible bombers narrows, experts say (+video)

Experts who follow radical groups inside the US look at emerging details about the Boston Marathon attack and see the work of a domestic operative – either American jihadi or antigovernment extremist.
USA Update Behind prosecutor's withdrawal, 'Aryan' prison gang's legacy of violence

A US Attorney has pulled out of a major racketeering case aimed at the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang. This follows the killing of several officials who had gone after such gangs.
Alabama: Hostage drama continues (+video)

After allegedly fatally shooting a school bus driver on Tuesday, an Alabama man took a kindergartner from the bus and is now holding the boy hostage. The suspect appears to be an "antigovernment radical and survivalist," said one observer.
Wis. gunman Wade Michael Page urged white supremacists to act (+video)

After Page strode into a Sikh temple Sunday with a 9mm handgun and multiple magazines of ammunition, authorities were trying to determine if the 40-year-old Army veteran was taking his own advice when he opened fire on strangers.
Klan Highway: Is the KKK now a litter bug club?

Klan Highway. The Ku Klux Klan wants to join Georgia's 'Adopt-A-Highway' program. Does the Constitution support the KKK bid for a 'Klan Hiwghay'?
Right-wing 'patriot' groups girding for actual class warfare, report says

The Southern Poverty Law Center says an 'explosive' growth in the number of antigovernment 'patriot' groups is tied to fears of economic cataclysm and civil war between rich and poor.
Are Donald Trump and his fellow 'birthers' racist?

Donald Trump faces a backlash from those who see the “birther” movement as a new form of racism, which a new study seems to confirm. Trump has problems with conservatives too.
Killing of skinhead leader David Lynch: What was the motive?

David Lynch, head of the racist skinhead group American Front, was shot and killed in his home near Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday.
Annual report cites rise in hate groups, but some ask: What is hate?

The Southern Poverty Law Center says the number of US hate groups has topped 1,000 for the first time. But conservative critics say a too-broad definition of hate stifles legitimate debate.
Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner: 5 of his strange ideas

Jared Lee Loughner is accused of killing six people and wounding 14 in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday. The apparent target of the attack was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), which led Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik to assert that unbalanced people are 'especially susceptible to vitriol' in our political discourse. Politics may be nasty, but Jared Lee Loughner's ideas don't seem to line up with any one group or line of thinking. Indeed, they are more often characterized as simply strange. Here’s a look at five ideas believed to come from Loughner, in his words and those of the people who know him.
Jared Lee Loughner: what is known about Tucson, Arizona, shooting suspect

Jared Lee Loughner is refusing to tell investigators anything about a motive for the Tucson, Arizona, shooting, but he appears to be a familiar character in American life: a disturbed outsider with a gun.
Do-it-yourself border patrol: one man's vigil with a gun and spotlight

Lynn Kartchner heads to the border at nightfall with a spotlight to help the border patrol catch drug smugglers. It's a sign of the prevailing sense of urgency along the US-Mexican border.
Opinion: A good example of Obama's warning about the media focusing on 'sexier' stories

The media do damage by playing up every hint of conflict to produce “sexier” stories. Recent coverage of a Southern Poverty Law Center report on 'hate groups' proves the point.
Arizona illegal immigration, 'birther' bills show rightward shift

Arizona lawmakers, fresh off sending a controversial illegal immigration bill to the governor, on Wednesday advanced a bill requiring presidential candidates to show a birth certificate in order to appear on the ballot there.
Oklahoma City bombing: Is 1995 repeating itself today?

Americans observed the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing Monday. Some believe that the extremist political climate in which the bomber, Timothy McVeigh, operated is resurging.
Opinion: Obama, Congress, health care, and taxes: How angry does Washington make you?

Rage about Obama, Congress, health care, and taxes is on the rise, but hatred threatens our core American principles.
Joe Stack IRS attack: All-American rage?

Fury over taxation and the IRS is more common – and honorable – in the US than elsewhere. That may help explain why some empathize with Joe Stack.
Joe Stack IRS attack: 'hero' debate heats up

Joe Stack, who attacked the IRS by flying his plane into its offices in Austin, Texas, is being lauded as a 'hero' in antigovernment circles. The son of the man he killed strongly disagrees.
Joe Stack IRS attack and the growth of the tax resistance movement

Federal tax authorities spend a lot of time trying to convince Americans like IRS attacker Joe Stack that paying taxes is part of one’s civic duty. But resistance – though not violence – is downright American, say tax protesters like Wesley Snipes.
After Obama's win, white backlash festers in US

The election of a black president triggered at least 200 hate-related incidents, a watchdog group finds.
Battle over Confederate flag hits highways

Huge displays along interstates raise old debates over the history of war and slavery.
Christian extremism raises alarm

A trial resumes today for a Slavic man charged with killing a gay man in Sacramento, Calif.