The balmy nights can be errily dark and quiet in Vornado, only a couple of miles from where a twisting Mississippi river snakes through thickets of green trees to mark the rural eastern border of Louisiana. But buried behind the gentility and bucolic landscape of this small...

Hate crimes reported to police declined about 2% in 2008 according to an analysis of official composite government data from 14 states in every region and the District of Columbia conducted by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. The survey...

President Obama’s surprise announcement from Tokyo earlier today, followed up by an Attorney General presser, that the most important terrorism detainee Khalid Shiekh Mohammad, along with four others, will face trial in civilian criminal courts is a critical departure from Bush administration strategy to try such individuals before military tribunals....

In the aftermath of the appalling attack at Fort Hood, one of the most important questions is how this rampage by a twisted fanatic has affected relations between Muslims and other Americans of different faiths. For some, Hasan's obvious fanaticism is not simply a starting point for thoughtful analysis about...

The horrific shooting at Fort Hood, Texas -- that left 13 dead and 30 wounded -- allegedly by Nidal Malik Hasan, a disgruntled yet devout Army psychiatrist, puts the spotlight back on the lone-wolf offender who sits at the crossroads of crime, terrorism and mental distress.

After President Obama signed the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act into law in a ceremony at the White House yesterday the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism conducted interviews and shot video with various people who advocated over the course of many years for the legislation. The Act...

The United States Senate passed landmark legislation today that expands the coverage and protection of federal hate crime laws to now include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. While a 1994 federal law technically covered gays, the scope of the law was so narrow that it was hardly ever...

With unemployment in the United States at a 26 year high of 9.8% and the UK not far behind, a sector of the economy in both nations is booming—extremism. Conspiracy theories and hate have flooded the mainstream from the fringe, so duck and cover.

Last week was quite busy for...

The House of Representatives approved of federal legislation, first introduced by Ted Kennedy, that would close loopholes in existing federal hate crime law and expand coverage to also include crimes committed because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability of another. By a vote of 281-146 the...

Attempting to draw the line between those who engage in passionate political discourse and extremist incitement is one fraught with risk for American terrorism analysts. After partisan talk radio and the blogosphere went ballistic over some awkward wording in an overall excellent prescient report on right-wing extremism, DHS apparently disconnected...

The arrest of three Afghan men this weekend in Colorado and New York on federal charges related to a possible nascent terrorist plot in the United States involving IEDs casts a spotlight on an often ignored, but critical part of the government’s post 9/11 prosecution strategy.  All three men...

On 9/11 the worst terrorist attack perpetrated against America left over 2970 dead, including 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers. The full story, however, is not about hijacked airliners, intelligence failures, fanatic murderers or conspiracy theorists. Its about lives well lived that were cut painfully short and the endurance...

The abrupt midnight resignation of Van Jones a week before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks illustrates how the entrenchment of conspiracy theories from all sides of the political spectrum can hamper a president. Jones, a blunt, highly accomplished left-wing policy advisor and Yale Law graduate, quit an advisory position...

Outrage over the decision to release on “compassionate grounds,”  Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the convicted bomber of Pan Am flight 103 who killed 270, including 189 Americans in 1998 has hit a nerve about how the worst extremists seemingly outflank justice. As the ailing convicted perpetrator of the second-worst...

Assault rifles haven’t replaced placards yet outside presidential townhalls on healthcare reform, but their emergence serves as another disturbing symbol of where political discourse is heading. The ratcheting up from mere words to weapons not only poses an immediate risk. It also sends an irresponsible message that may be picked...