海角大神

Church Militant makes no apologies. Its goal, after all, is 鈥渇ighting against evil and trying to restore the palace guard and the Kingship of Christ,鈥� it proclaims in a recent video. In such a fight, it adds, 鈥渆xtreme and fringe鈥� is the only place to be.聽

A nondescript brick building here in the Detroit suburbs is where those videos are produced 鈥� the command center of an ultraorthodox Catholic organization that called the recent women鈥檚 marches a 鈥渄isgusting scene鈥� and argues that the role of the state is only to protect the civil rights of Catholics.

Church Militant鈥檚 criticism of Judaism and Islam is such that it is 鈥渙n the spectrum鈥� of hate groups, according to the Taskforce on Hate and Terrorism in Washington.

But this year, its coffers are fuller than ever, says group leader Michael Voris. As Donald Trump made his way toward the White House, the organization doubled its revenue from $1 million to $2.2 million, marking what Mr. Voris calls 鈥渙ur best year ever.鈥�

鈥淭he enthusiasm level has really taken off in this last year,鈥� he tells the Monitor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really off the chart.鈥�

The enthusiasm for Church Militant mirrors a shift in hate-related activity since the start of Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidential campaign. Hate-related incidents spiked after his election, though inconsistent reporting made it hard to determine the extent of the trend.

More clear has been the rise in the number of hate groups the past two years, with the Southern Poverty Law Center writing on its that the increase is 鈥渋n part due to a presidential campaign that flirted heavily with extremist ideas.鈥� The number of anti-Muslim hate groups nearly tripled between 2015 and 2016, according to .

For his part, Trump has condemned recent threats against Jewish organizations and has visited and extolled the new National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington. He has said his proposed temporary ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries is not based on religion.

But his talk of a Muslim ban during the campaign, combined with his broad characterizations of many undocumented immigrants as violent criminals, bears what one scholar calls 鈥渁 family face resemblance鈥� to ideas supported by hard-right groups. Indeed, a broader surge in hate groups since 2000 has been 鈥渄riven in part by anger over Latino immigration鈥� and the declining whiteness of the United States, SLPC argues.

In that context, experts are watching to see how this rise in energy and organization on the extreme right plays out. The question is whether some Americans are feeling empowered to use the confrontational stance of the Trump administration to radicalize an emotional and existential debate over America鈥檚 fundamental character.

鈥淲hat is novel about the current moment is that these groups 鈥� see Trump as someone giving them hope that the state will act on their interests,鈥� says Carolyn Gallaher, a political geographer at American University in Washington and author of 鈥淥n the Fault Line: Race, Class and the American Patriot Movement.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting to see what happens to memberships in [far-right] groups: Will it only get bigger as they feel they now have a conduit to the White House? Or do people say, 鈥楴ow we can just do it on our own, say what we want to say, and enjoy protections for it鈥�?" she adds. "It will depend in large part on what the administration鈥檚 posture is going forward.鈥�

The trend lines聽

The number of hate groups has risen dramatically during the past two years, marking an abrupt new trend. Before 2015, hate groups had been declining. While their numbers more than doubled from 1999 to 2011 (from 457 to 1,018), they then declined to 784 in 2014. By 2016, they had shot back up to 917.聽聽

More recently, the SPLC found more than 1,000 post-election hate-related incidents, though it concluded that some were hoaxes and that the total pace of incidents slowed as the administration transitioned into power.

The reports have created an atmosphere of fear in some communities.

In Kansas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation this week joined a probe into a man who yelled, 鈥淕et out of my country鈥� before and injuring a friend and one other after mistaking the man for being 鈥淢iddle Eastern.鈥� Last October, the three Kansas men and said they were plotting to blow up an apartment building filled with Somali Muslims.聽聽

Earlier this month, by 鈥淎mericans for a Better Way鈥� suggested that, under Trump, 鈥淵ou Muslims would be wise to pack your bags and get out of Dodge.鈥� This weekend, vandals at a Jewish cemetery outside Philadelphia, mimicking a similar incident over Presidents' Day weekend near St. Louis.

The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect called for Trump to give a major address on hate crimes.

鈥淢r. President, it's time for you to deliver a prime-time nationally televised speech, live from the Oval Office, on how you intend to combat not only #Antisemitism but also Islamophobia and other rising forms of hate,鈥� the organization posted Sunday on Twitter. 鈥淲hether or not your intention, your Presidency has given the oxygen of incitement to some of the most viciously hateful elements of our society.鈥�

Then there are incidents that don鈥檛 make national headlines.

The , a聽newspaper in Greensboro, N.C., reported on a recent meeting of right-wing groups in Kernersville, N.C., in聽which one participant noted that, 鈥淲e need to talk about how we can get things done peacefully. [But] be ready for the worst.鈥� Another attendee remarked: 鈥淚 am beyond that point. I鈥檓 ready to start taking people out.鈥�

Asked about a spike in anti-Semitism, Trump recently said that under his administration 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to see a lot of love. OK?鈥� Vice President Pence helped with a cleanup effort at the Jewish cemetery near St. Louis.

But observers say the increase in incidents and threats is striking.

鈥淥ne hundred percent, these are the kind of visible threats to the [religious] community that have not been felt in a generation,鈥� says Mark Weitzman, director of the Task Force Against Hate and Terrorism at the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure how you can quantify it, but the reports we鈥檙e seeing 鈥� impressionistic and statistical 鈥� all seem to indicate that there鈥檚 a climate in the country, and a lot of it is fear 鈥� fear, frankly, on all sides,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing [an increase in attacks on religious adherents] across the country. Part of it is that everything in this age gets recorded and transmitted. But the reality is that there is a sense now that some people feel they can say things that were previously socially unacceptable and get away with it, [fueled by] hostility, resentment, and a lack of accountability.鈥�

The view from the far right聽

For their part, some right-wing groups have questioned whether research and media organizations are overhyping confrontations for a liberal agenda.

Breitbart recently tut-tutted a CNN story on hate crimes that included somebody chalking the words 鈥淭rump,鈥� 鈥淏uild Wall,鈥� and 鈥淸expletive] your safe space鈥� in front of a library.

Derogatory comments are regrettable, but are 鈥渁 world apart from the wave of 鈥榟ate crimes鈥� and violent attacks that many are conjuring up,鈥� after Trump鈥檚 election.

By using broad criteria for what constitutes a hate group or hateful incident, groups like the SPLC pad statistics in order to imply, dishonestly, 鈥渢hat there鈥檚 a Nazi behind every tree in America,鈥� says Michael Hill, president of the secessionist League of the South in Killen, Ala., which the SPLC lists as a hate group.

He says he sees open, confrontational speech as beneficial if it鈥檚 rooted in self-preservation and self-interest 鈥� and agrees that Trump has empowered such speech.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the good old American way to put your ideas out there and confront people with them,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had for so long one side with a muzzle on and one side with an open mouth free to say whatever they want to.鈥�

鈥淲hat you鈥檙e seeing now is that a lot of people feel more emboldened 鈥� because someone like Trump is in the White House 鈥� to speak their minds on topics that formerly had been taboo,鈥� he adds. 鈥淎s long as that doesn鈥檛 break out into any sort of illegal activity, I don鈥檛 see what the problem with it is. I really see this as kind of healthy.鈥�

Mr. Hill and Voris offer a window into the kind of speech that is gaining currency under Trump, and which they insist is not hateful.

Hill says his approach to religious minorities 鈥渋s a quid pro quo. You stay in your place and I won鈥檛 do anything but wish you well, but you鈥檝e got to afford me the same thing.鈥�

Voris says his criticism of Islam is not a blanket denunciation of all Muslims. 鈥淚s there a threat to the stability of the West? Yes,鈥� he says. 鈥淚s that largely coming from believers in Islam? Yes. Does that mean that the whole religion and every person in it is a threat to Western civilization? No.鈥�

At the root of his complaint is that progressive and secular forces are wresting the country away from its 海角大神 roots. The tensions of the Trump era, he says, are tied to a sense that the state is ready to roll back what many Americans have presumed are personal rights in order to safeguard the country.

鈥淲henever liberals wanted something they just go to the courts and they cry, 鈥楥ivil rights! Civil rights!鈥欌�� says Voris. 鈥淣ot everything is a civil right.鈥�