HOUSTON — A new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report claims there's been an alarming growth of hatred and extremism in the state of Texas.
Editor's note: The above video was published on March 25, 2023.
"Extremism is an increasingly complex and far-reaching problem in Texas," ADL Southwest Regional Director Mark B. Toubin said. "Texans and policymakers must work together to create an equally robust plan to thwart the efforts of extremists."
ADL said the report, titled 'Hate in the Lone Star State,' took a look back over the past nearly two and a half years.
Some of the major events and incidents it looked at included a hostage situation at a synagogue in North Texas, anti-LGBTQ+ protests outside a drag bingo event in Katy, and the gathering of Proud Boys during the NRA National Convention in Houston.
White supremacist propaganda in Texas
The organization said its Center on Extremism, which collects data on extremist incidents, found 855 incidents of white supremacist propaganda in Texas between 2021 and 2022. They said this was the highest in the nation. According to ADL, 71% of the incidents were associated with the Patriot Front, which the ADL called a white supremacist group.
"Though the group is careful with its public-facing image and claims loyalty to America as a nation, the group ultimately seeks to form a new state that advocates for the 'descendants of its creators,' namely, white men," the report reads.
Antisemitic incidents in Texas
ADL said its 2022 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found the highest number of incidents since the report began in 1979. They reported nearly 3,700 nationwide, a 36% increase from the previous year. In Texas, 212 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2022.
"In January 2022, a Jewish student in Houston was harassed by a classmate who stated, 'Your grandma should have died in the gas chambers,'" the report said.
LGBTQ+ community targeted in Texas
The report also claims extremist activity targeting the LGBTQ+ community is on the rise in Texas. ADL said it tracked 22 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in the state in 2022 alone. In 2023, the organization said there were 10 incidents in just the first 5 months of the year.
Some groups the ADL classifies as white supremacist groups, like the Aryan Freedom Network (AFN), were involved in the incidents targeting the LGBTQ+ community, according to the report.
"In September 2022, approximately seven individuals associated with AFN gathered near a restaurant hosting a drag brunch in Pflugerville," the report reads. "Participants meshed anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs with their white supremacist worldview."
ADL said in that incident, there were signs that displayed slurs directed towards transgender people.
Proud Boys at NRG Convention in Houston
The report also said a group of around 20 Proud Boys participated in a counter-protest at the NRA National Convention in Houston on May 28, 2022, and allegedly shouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at people protesting the convention. This was just four days after the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 28 children and teachers.
Click here to read the full report.