On Thursday morning, the Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on "Domestic Extremism in America: Examining White Supremacist Violence in the Wake of Recent Attacks." In case there's any speculation as to bias or agenda here, the announced witness list puts that to rest. Eric K. Ward appears on the list as the executive director of the Western States Center. He's also a senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
The Western States Center describes itself as an organization that "envisions inclusive democratic movements and societies rooted in justice and equity." Visitors to the homepage are invited to check out "Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right" by Cynthia Miller-Idriss. A reader's guide previewing the book shows how there are chapters tying the "far-right" to "food and food preparation" and mixed martial arts (MMA).
The SPLC is known for handing out the label of extremist or hate group like it's candy. It has targeted Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), for instance, a Christian legal advocacy group, because it is "an anti-LGBTQ hate group." The group has now become obsessed with subjectively labeling conservative groups it doesn't like as "hate groups" on its "hate map." When it comes to such charges, ADF has fought back, and a Townhall column from 2017 by Josh Goldstein took them to task, pointing out that SPLC is the one that is a hate group.
When it comes to Ward's affiliation with the SPLC, it's not hard to see why Democrats would choose him as a witness for this hearing.
He's written how "Racial bias in U.S. policing is a national security threat" and is quoted in another piece talking about the Democrats' favorite topic, January 6, of course.
In Booth Gunter's "Democracy Under Siege: Extremist insurgency continues a year after Jan. 6 attack," Ward is quoted throughout, including with the following excerpts:
“I think the important thing to understand is the insurrection didn’t end on Jan. 6,” said Eric K. Ward, a nationally recognized expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence and inclusive democracy. “Across the country in small communities and towns, the insurrection is still a daily reality for many Americans. The targets are health workers, educators, local government officials, civil right activists who are facing intimidation, sometimes physical violence, acts of domestic terrorism from those who were supportive of the insurrection and possibly those who took part in the insurrection.”
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Of great concern to Ward is the normalization of political violence, along with the proliferation – and mainstream acceptance – of extremist rhetoric, particularly after Jan. 6.
“Immediately after Jan. 6, most in the Republican leadership at both the national and local levels were appalled by what happened,” Ward said. “We don’t see that level of revulsion from a majority of elected Republicans now. And that tells us our democracy is in danger.
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To Ward, this is a moment when Americans must be mobilized to guard against the creep of white nationalism. After all, there’s a reason voting rights are under attack.
“We should understand, fundamentally, that the question being debated is, who can be an American and what will America look like,” Ward said. “We have to understand that we should see this as an opportunity to help Americans understand that the despair of white nationalism isn’t the future of America. The future of America is vibrant if we choose it to be, and we can all move forward together.
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Ward also has a penchant for going after Fox News, to the point of calling for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to get involved because everyone who goes after George Soros is apparently anti-Semitic.
Similar to the rhetoric used before the bomb attempt on George Soros. We heard it again right before the antisemitic mass murder of Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
— Eric K. Ward (Variant 1619) (@BulldogShadow) January 26, 2022
From Charleston to El Paso to Charlottesville to Colleyville. When is ‘enough enough?’ @FCC #WTF https://t.co/EjrowdnLFv
Meanwhile over at Fox News... #AntiSemitism #AntiSemitismIs #FCC https://t.co/m6khMzVD9Q
— Eric K. Ward (Variant 1619) (@BulldogShadow) April 11, 2019
After Payton Gendron allegedly killed 10 people last month at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, people piled on when it came to attacking and blaming Fox News host Tucker Carlson for Gendron's white supremacist motivations listed in his manifesto of sorts. Gendron never once mentioned Carlson and even called out Fox News for hiring Jewish people.
In an interview with CenterSpin on May 20, Ward even blamed the Department of Justice (DOJ) for not doing more to stop Fox News:
We have places like Fox News Entertainment openly promoting an antisemitic theory that has been used in targeting minority communities across this country. Yes, shame on Fox News. But shame on the FCC, shame on the Federal Trade Commission, and shame on the Department of Justice for allowing that to happen without accountability and without consequence. Shame on international businesses who are engaging in business and commerce in United States on the blood of minorities, across this country, who have been attacked over the last five years. Shame on law enforcement for putting ideology ahead of its mission to protect and serve.
Ward did not face pushback from the host.
The other announced witnesses include Elizabeth Yates, the senior researcher on antisemitism from Human Rights First, Michael German, a fellow for the Brennan Center for Justice, and Nathan A. Sales, a nonresident senior fellow at Atlantic Council who was also the Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department from 2017-2021.
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