Extremist Groups Plan Actions to Commemorate Hitler's Birthday, Says Anti- [View All]

[RedEarth]

NEW YORK, April 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Extremist groups in the United States are planning events and heightened activity through the month of April, especially during the period of April 15 through April 24, at a time when they traditionally commemorate the birthday of Adolf Hitler. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors the activities of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, has noted the plans for stepped-up activity by national groups such as the neo-Nazi National Alliance and local chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. Hitler's birthday falls on April 20, which also coincides with the Columbine shootings and other recent American tragedies. This year, April 19 marks the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

"While we are always concerned when racist groups threaten to step up their activities, the month of April is of special concern because it not only marks Hitler's birthday, but marks the anniversaries of a number of recent American tragedies, including the Branch Davidian standoff, the Columbine school shootings and the Oklahoma City bombing," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The anti-government extremists and white supremacists in the past have used Hitler's birthday to make threats, and to sometimes act out violently."

Among the events planned by white supremacists groups:

-- The National Alliance, a virulently anti-Semitic and racist group, is planning a nationwide literature distribution drive in April. The West Virginia-based organization, which has local units across the country, is encouraging its members and supporters to distribute copies an anti-Semitic flier with the headline "Support Our Troops." The flier demands that the United States government bring home all of the troops in Iraq and station them on the Mexican border to keep Third World immigrants out of the country. The flier blames "powerful Jewish lobbyists and advisors" for creating the war in Iraq as a way of protecting Israel.

-- The National Knights of the KKK will celebrate the birthdays of both Hitler and Klan leader Ray Larsen with an April 16 event in Osceola, Indiana.

-- The Northern Hammerskins will hold its annual hate music concert in Detroit, on April 23, dubbed the "6th Annual Adolf Hitler Birthday Bash."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=45511