NEW YORK (Press Release) — The white supremacist group whose slogan, “You will not replace us” reverberated across the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville earlier this summer has outlined plans for a year-long effort targeting college campuses with racist fliers, posters and stickers.
Newly emboldened by the events and violence in Charlottesville and determined to recruit young followers, Identity Evropa, which advocates for the preservation of “white American culture” and white European identity, is ramping up its “Project Siege” campaign, targeting campuses just as students arrive for the fall term. To date, barely two weeks into the fall semester, the campaign has affected at least a dozen campuses in three states.
With new leadership at the helm, Identity Evropa appears to be energized by the post-Charlottesville climate, according to a newly released backgrounder from ADL’s Center on Extremism. In August, members of the group disrupted a pro-immigration forum at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus by unfurling an Identity Evropa banner in front of speakers.
“Identity Evropa is actively targeting campuses and their actions are extremely disruptive and unsettling to students,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “The message is explicitly racist and anti-Semitic. They know they’re going to get a reaction when they show up on campus. Fortunately their message is near-universally rejected by students and faculty. ADL is monitoring these actions and will continue to provide support and resources to campuses and students.”
During the 2016-2017 academic year, ADL tracked 65 incidents of racist propaganda from Identity Evropa distributed on campuses in 19 states.
One of the group’s slogans, “You will not replace us,” was chanted by racists who gathered for the Unite the Right in Charlottesville (some replaced the word “you” with “Jew”). The refrain reflects the white supremacist belief that unless immediate action is taken, the white race is doomed to extinction by a “rising tide of color” purportedly controlled and manipulated by Jews.
Since September 2016, there have been 188 incidents of white supremacist leafleting or other incidents on 129 campuses in 36 states. Other racist groups involved in recent campus recruitment activity include Atomwaffen Division, Daily Stormer, Vanguard America and American Renaissance.
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Preceding provided by the Anti-Defamation League.