Experts warn that white nationalist threat is growing worldwide

NBC News quotes experts as warning that the Christchurch shooting was a devastating and tragic symptom of the growing threat posed by violent white supremacy in the U.S. and across the world.

A 28-year-old Australian described by officials as a “right-wing extremist terrorist” has been charged with murder of 50 people in Christchurch.

The rise of white supremacy is not exclusive to the United States and experts say it has been allowed to grow, thanks to a much broader culture.

Aaron Winter, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of East London, told NBC News “I think it’s connected to how emboldened they’ve become and how much legitimization and affirmation they get from the mainstream media, social media and far-right politicians”.

Winter said violence and threats by the far right in many Western countries have been largely overshadowed by fears of Islamist extremists.

“They only become the enemy within when they cause a problem for the mainstream or it becomes too loud to ignore,” Winter said, pointing to a 2017 attack near a mosque in London that prompted condemnation by politicians.

NBC also says that President Donald Trump’s brushing off the broader threat posed by white supremacists after the Christchurch attack contradicts the warnings of his own administration.

Pointing out that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned in a 2017 intelligence bulletin that white supremacist groups had carried out more attacks in the U.S. than any other domestic extremist group over the past 16 years. And officials believe they are likely to carry out more.
Via NBC News