MIAMI – There was a 70 % raise in antisemitic and extremist associated incidents in the state among 2020 and 2021, according to a report launched by the Anti-Defamation League.
In overall, there have been 207 extremist-associated incidents in Florida in 2021, as opposed to 121 in 2020, in accordance to the ADL Middle on Extremism.
According to the ADL, the incidents have been pushed, in portion, by common disinformation and conspiracy theories which have “animated extremists and fueled antisemitism.”
Florida is household to an extensive, interconnected network of white supremacists and other significantly-appropriate extremists who usually collaborate in arranging and executing propaganda distribution campaigns, banner drops, and in-human being demonstrations.
The report found new white supremacist groups have fashioned in the state, which include White Life Make a difference, Sunshine Condition Nationalists, NatSoc Florida and Florida Nationalists, while other extremist teams these types of as Oath Keepers and the Happy Boys have shifted their techniques to target on the local stage.
From January 2020 to August 2022, the ADL Middle on Extremism recorded extra than 400 circumstances of white supremacist propaganda in Florida. The frustrating the greater part of these incidents included the white supremacist groups Patriot Entrance and the New Jersey European Heritage Association
“Extremist activity is surging across our state, which should be extremely troubling to all,” mentioned Sarah Emmons, ADL Florida Regional Director. “It is really critical that our leadership, governing administration officials and all Floridians firmly denounce hateful rhetoric and condemn antisemitism and extremism whenever and where ever it happens and display allyship in direction of every single other.”
According to the FBI’s 2020 Dislike Crime Statistics report (the most modern knowledge offered), 56.1% of nationally documented religion-primarily based detest crimes in 2020 specific the Jewish neighborhood. In Florida, loathe crimes versus Jews accounted for 80% of the religiously inspired incidents in 2020.
Florida has also seen a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents, in accordance to ADL’s yearly Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. In 2021, the number of reported incidents enhanced 50% more than 2020 numbers, climbing from 127 to 190. This involved 142 scenarios of harassment, 47 occasions of vandalism and one particular antisemitic assault.
