An extraordinary panel of legal, national security
and other experts examined “White Nationalism and Domestic Terrorism in America”
at the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Presidential Summit Jan. 29 as
part of the association’s weeklong 143rd Annual Meeting in New York City.
“The surge in white nationalist groups and
home-grown extremists in recent years, and the increased frequency of violent
incidents, demands that law enforcement, our elected officials and the general
public work together to eradicate hate groups from our society,” said Henry M.
Greenberg, NYSBA’s president. “Not only are hate crimes on the rise but attacks
on the rule of law and our constitutional norms and traditions are now
commonplace.”
The event, with a crowd of over 500 attendees, was
moderated by Craig M. Boise, dean and professor of law at the Syracuse
University College of Law.
The panelists were: David D. Cole, national legal
director, American Civil Liberties Union; Frank Figliuzzi, Jr., former FBI
assistant director for counterintelligence, NBC News/MSNBC national security
analyst; Hon. Letitia James, New York State Attorney General; Hon. Nan Whaley,
mayor of Dayton, Ohio; and Leonard Zeskind, founder & president, Institute
for Research and Education of Human Rights, author of “Blood and Politics: The
History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream.”
“Given the
rise in hate crimes, to sit idly by and do absolutely nothing to me is not the
answer. Lastly, let me just say we failed to mention the elephant in the room:
why are we talking about white nationalism at this point in time in the history
of this country? And the question is 2016. You had a President who basically
has denigrated women, Mexicans, disabled, Muslims and the list goes on and on
and refuses to denounce white nationalism,” said Attorney General James.
“What we need is moral leadership in this
country again. What we need is someone who will not be afraid to stand up and
call it as is: and that is hate. And we find ourselves in this country now
divided more than ever before since the Civil War. And what we need is decency
back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and to make changes to the law to hold these
individuals responsible so they will go back to covering themselves under the
sheets.”
Law enforcement is paying increased attention to home-grown extremists,
including radicalized white nationalists, who have been responsible for the
rising number of hate incidents and mass shootings in the United States.
For more about this extraordinary panel discussion,
click here.
About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar
Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since
1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the
legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers
through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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Contact: Dan Weiller
[email protected]
518/369-5550
