Public Intelligence

This study provides a conceptual foundation for understanding different far-right groups and then presents the empirical analysis of violent incidents to identify those perpetrating attacks and their associated trends.

Connie Maria Westergaard – http://www.flickr.com/photos/comawe/
strumpet101 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/strumpet101/
marekbz – http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbz/
Jon Kristian Fjellestad – http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkfjellestad/
cherikson – http://www.flickr.com/photos/chreriksen/

Anders Behring Breivik’s complete 1500-page manifesto “2083 – A European Declaration of Independence”.

Police attempting to piece together Anders Behring Breivik’s links to far-right groups in the UK and Europe have written to Scotland Yard asking for more officers to help with the investigation. A specialist unit has been set up in The Hague to trawl through a database of known high-risk, rightwing extremists and assist the Norwegian police as they examine evidence from Breivik’s 1,500-page “manifesto” published online hours before he launched one of the worst mass killings in peacetime Europe. Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, told the Guardian he had written to the Metropolitan police’s new head of counter-terrorism, Cressida Dick, asking for more officers from Scotland Yard after Breivik boasted of his links to far-right groups in the UK. “What we’ve seen is an active extremist scene across European countries, including the UK,” said Wainwright. “There are some signs the extreme right have been more active, especially on the internet. They are more sophisticated and using social media to attract younger people.”

A video is an overview of Anders Behring Breivik’s manifesto title “2083 – A European Declaration of Independence”. It was reportedly posted by Breivik himself and was removed by YouTube. We have reposted it for the sake of posterity.

THE FBI ASSESSES THAT MULTIPLE ONGOING CONTROVERSIES IMPACTING US MUSLIM COMMUNITIES MAY SERVE TO POLARIZE PUBLIC OPINION AND FUEL ISLAMIC EXTREMIST RHETORIC, BOTH IN THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM. THE FBI CURRENTLY HAS NO SPECIFIC CREDIBLE INFORMATION THAT INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS ARE PLANNING ACTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF THESE EVENTS, ALTHOUGH THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THESE CONTROVERSIES NECESSITATES CONTINUED VIGILANCE FROM STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND PRIVATE SECURITY ENTITIES. MULTIPLE CONTROVERSIES GENERATING HEATED RHETORIC OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS, OPEN SOURCE REPORTING HAS DRAWN ATTENTION TO SEVERAL CONTROVERSIAL EVENTS IMPACTING MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. WHILE EACH BEGAN AS A SEEMINGLY LOCAL DISPUTE, ALL ARE NOW RAISING NATIONAL-LEVEL QUESTIONS REGARDING CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED FREEDOMS AND ISLAMS ROLE IN AMERICA. THE PLANNED BURNING OF QURANS BY A NONDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA IN RECOGNITION OF THE NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF 11 SEPTEMBER CONTINUES TO ATTRACT ATTENTION. THE CHURCHS LEADER HAS STATED HE DOES NOT THINK THIS EVENT IF IT OCCURS WILL PRECIPITATE VIOLENCE AGAINST HIM OR HIS FOLLOWERS, DESPITE NUMEROUS DEATH THREATS, WARNINGS FROM OTHERS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, INTERNATIONAL MUSLIM COMMUNITY PROTESTS, AND PROTESTS FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.

A recent guide from the Department of Justice detailing terms and concepts used by “extremist” groups lists “constitutionalists” and “survivalists” . The 120-page, “Law Enforcement Sensitive” guide to “Investigating Terrorism and Criminal Extremism” describes itself as “a glossary designed primarily as a tool for criminal justice professionals to enhance their understanding of words relating to extremist terminology, phrases, activities, symbols, organizations, and selected names that they may encounter while conducting criminal investigations or prosecutions of members of extremist organizations.” Constitutionalist, which is defined as an “adherent or advocate of constitutionalism or of an existing constitution” by Random House’s 2010 Dictionary, is described in the report as a “generic term for members of the ‘patriot’ movement”. Survivalists are described in the document as fearing a “coming collapse of civilization” and are trying to prepare themselves for this collapse. Such individuals are said to have “typically stockpiled food, water, and weapons, especially the latter, and instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants”.

Rightwing extremist paranoia of foreign regimes could escalate or be magnified in the event of an economic crisis or military confrontation, harkening back to the “New World Order” conspiracy theories of the 1990s. The dissolution of Communist countries in Eastern Europe and the end of the Soviet Union in the 1990s led some rightwing extremists to believe that a “New World Order” would bring about a world government that would usurp the sovereignty of the United States and its Constitution, thus infringing upon their liberty. The dynamics in 2009 are somewhat similar, as other countries, including China, India, and Russia, as well as some smaller, oil-producing states, are experiencing a rise in economic power and influence.