Eyes on extremism in Florida as Moms for Liberty summit, new immigration law arrive
It's the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
A guilty plea in the mass shooting at a LGBTQ nightclub. Antisemitism in Germany. Extreme politics in Florida. It's the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
Will Carless is off this week, but our team is keeping an eye on the news.
Club Q shooting guilty plea
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, entered a guilty plea in the shooting that left 5 people dead and wounded 17.
Experts, at the time, told USA TODAY the mass shooting was the kind of conflict they had feared, amid a national ramp-up in hateful rhetoric against gay and transgender people and drag performers. The plea agreement included murder and attempted-murder charges, and a no-contest plea to two charges of bias-motivated crimes. Aldrich may still face federal hate-crime charges. Our colleagues N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Justin Reutter have the details in USA TODAY.
Antisemitism linked to Russian invasion
New research from a group that monitors antisemitism in Germany found that 11 percent of the incidents it documented last year had some link to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, often because of "delusional theories" about Jewish forces influencing world events, Vice reports.
New Florida immigration law takes effect
Florida has been at the core of extremist activity in recent years, with the rise of groups labeled anti-government and a host of participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Experts say that's no coincidence, considering the state's political tilt toward hard-right politics, as our colleague Antonio Fins explained earlier this month in the Palm Beach Post. This weekend, a new high-profile immigration law takes effect, imposing a variety of measures aimed at cracking down on workers without legal residency. Our colleague Chris Kenning explores the question they're now facing: To stay in Florida, or go?
Moms for Liberty summit in Philadelphia
Moms for Liberty, the Florida-based "parents rights" group that has grown to sweeping national influence, just made this year's SPLC list of anti-government extremist groups. (Since then, a local chapter has published a quote from Hitler in its newsletter.)
Now, the group holds its national conference in Philadelphia, where historians have blasted a local museum for hosting the group, in light of its calls for book bans. Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis will both court the group's votes. Our colleague David Jackson is in Philadelphia covering the Moms for Liberty speeches, and protests, now.
Stat of the week: 51%
Yes, more than half: That's how many Americans now say they have experienced online hate and harassment at some point in their lives, up from 40% last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual survey. Our colleague Itzel Luna breaks down the details in USA TODAY.