White Supremacist Violence: Understanding the Resurgence and Stopping the Spread

309 Pages·2022·6.823 MB·English

by  Brian Van Brunt, Lisa Pescara-Kovach, Bethany Van Brunt

White Supremacist Violence

White Supremacist Violence is a powerful resource for education and mental
health professionals who are developing the tools and skills needed to slow
the progress of the fast-growing hate movement in the United States.
Chapters immerse the reader in a hybrid of research, historical reviews,
current events, social media and online content, case studies, and personal
experiences. The first half of the text explores the ways in which individuals
become increasingly indoctrinated through the exploitation of cognitive
openings, perceptions of real or imagined marginalization, exposure to
political rhetoric and manipulation, as well as an examination of social
media and commerce sites that create a climate ripe for recruitment. The
second half of the book walks the reader through three cases studies and
offers treatment considerations to assist mental-health professionals and
those developing education and prevention-based programming.
White Supremacist Violence gives readers useful perspectives and insights into
the white supremacy movement while offering clinicians, threat-assessment
professionals, and K‑12 and university educators and administrators practical
guidance on treatment and prevention efforts.
Brian Van Brunt is the creative director at D-Prep, where he consults on
threat assessment, crisis preparedness, crisis response, emergency operations,
behavioral intervention, mental health, and DEI.
Lisa Pescara-Kovach, PhD, is the director for the Center for Education
in Mass Violence and Suicide and a professor of educational psychology
specializing in prevention through postvention related to mass violence,
domestic terrorism, and suicide.
Bethany Van Brunt owns Looking Glass Consulting and Design and is the
CEO of InterACTT, a subscription service supporting counseling, disability
services, student conduct, law enforcement, CARE/threat teams, and diver­
sity, equity, and inclusion.

White Supremacist Violence
Understanding the Resurgence and
Stopping the Spread
Brian Van Brunt, Lisa Pescara-Kovach,
and Bethany Van Brunt
Cover image: Getty Image
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Brian Van Brunt, Lisa Pescara-Kovach, and Bethany Van Brunt
The right of Brian Van Brunt, Lisa Pescara-Kovach, and Bethany Van
Brunt to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Van Brunt, Brian, author. | Pescara-Kovach, Lisa, author. |

Van Brunt, Bethany S., author.

Title: White supremacist violence : understanding the resurgence and

stopping the spread / Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D., Lisa Pescara-Kovach,

Ph.D., Bethany S. Van Brunt.

Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes

bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2022022195 (print) | LCCN 2022022196 (ebook) |

Subjects: LCSH: Radicalism--United States. | White nationalism-­
United States. | White supremacy movements--United States. |

Violence--United States. | Hate crimes--United States.

Classification: LCC HN90.R3 V36 2023 (print) | LCC HN90.R3

(ebook) | DDC 320.530973--dc23/eng/20220721

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022022195

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022022196

ISBN: 978-1-032-05886-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-05885-6 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-19965-6 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003199656

Typeset in Goudy

by Taylor & Francis Books
Dedicated to Stuart Frisch (the man who taught them how
to do it), for teaching this guy about Jewish Culture and in
honor of the work you have done training and defending
the Jewish community here and in Israel.
Brian Van Brunt
Dedicated to Quirino DiPillo,
My grandfather, who fought against hate as an Italian civilian
in World War II. By hiding British and American soldiers
from Hitler’s SS, he willingly jeopardized his family to save
lives.
And to my parents in heaven, Elvio and Elveria Pescara, who
experienced hate as immigrants in the US, but decided to
fight hard against it to ensure everyone felt love and accep­
tance. Thank you for giving me a childhood home full of
diversity.
And, of course, I am forever grateful to my husband, David,
who has to listen to me talk nonstop about unpleasant topics,
yet somehow remains peaceful.
Taylor, Justin, Gabriel, and Tatiana – Thank you for living
with a mom who, at times, seems to check out mentally
while working. You have never complained about sharing
the piece of me that helps others, sometimes at the expense
of my time with you. I promise you, even then, you are
first in my mind and heart and will be forever.
Lisa Pescara-Kovach
Dedicated to James and Sharon Smith. Thank you, Mom
and Dad, for instilling a love of learning and the need to
stand with those who are oppressed.
Bethany Van Brunt

Contents

List of Figures ix

List of Tables x

List of Boxes xii

Preface xiii

List of Contributors xiv

What’s Inside? A Glimpse into the Content and Organization xvii

1 White Supremacy: A Growing Threat 1

2 The Religious Influences of White Supremacy in the United

States 16

3 The Intersecting Identities of Primary Targets: BIPOC,

Muslims, Jews, AAPI, Women, LGBTQ+ 29

4 Know Thine Enemy: Language and Symbols of Hate 50

5 Social Media and the Growth of Hate Speech and Exposure 68

6 The Lost and Looking 83

7 Hatred in Action: A Review of Cases 93

8 Introduction to Three Case Studies 130

9 Identifying the Risk Factors 136

10 Identifying the Protective Factors 156

11 Developing the White Supremacist Indoctrination Rubric 167

12 Conducting a Violence Risk Assessment 178

13 Overview of Treatment Approaches 194

14 Treatment Approaches for Hank 213
viii Contents
15 Treatment Approaches for Jesse 228

16 Treatment Approaches for Dawson 241

17 Prevention and Educational Programming 255

18 It Takes a Village: A Review of Organizations and Resources

to Help 272

Appendix: The White Supremacist Indoctrination Rubric 277

Index 281
Figures

4.1 Aryan circle hand gesture 54

4.2 “OKAY” hand gesture 55

4.3 White power hand gesture 55

4.4 Atomwaffen symbol 56

4.5 Iron cross 59

4.6 Kekistani flag 59

4.7 Ku Klux Klan robes 60

4.8 Pepe the Frog 60

4.9 Red, white, and blue lion 61

4.10 Sowilo rune 61

4.11 Double sieg 62

4.12 Tyr rune 62

4.13 QAnon snake 63

4.14 Valknot 63

4.15 Bowl cut 64

4.16 Pit bull 65

5.1 Stormfront screenshot from January 6, 2021 70

5.2 Micetrap screenshot 71

5.3 Micetrap screenshot 72

11.1 WSIR Scoring 174

11.2 WSIR: Hank 175

11.3 WSIR: Jessie 176

11.4 WSIR: Dawson 176

14.1 WSIR: Hank 220

15.1 WSIR: Jesse 233

16.1 WSIR: Dawson 246