Symposium #21
Several high-profile incidents of right-wing violence—often termed “domestic terrorism”—have occurred in the last few decades in the U.S. Events ranging from the Oklahoma City bombing to the recent series of racially-motivated deadly mass shootings (e.g., El Paso, TX; Buffalo, NY) raise questions about the nature and extent of right-wing, ideologically (and religiously)-motivated violence in the U.S. To shed light on this issue, this presentation contains: (1) an overview of the current status of this form of violence, as well as how such incidents (and the size of the groups of people responsible for them) have trended over time, and (2) a case study in the radicalization process in the form of a life history of Chevie Kehoe—a white supremacist Christian Identity adherent—who is currently incarcerated for a triple murder that was committed in the effort to establish a separate, sovereign white nation on U.S. soil. The broader purpose is to reach a better understanding of the sources and dimensions of right-wing extremism so that interventions may be developed to reduce the likelihood of future instances of this form of domestic terrorism.
Researchers
Dr. Travis C. Pratt -University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute Research Director, Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department
Dr. Travis C. Pratt received his PhD from the University of Cincinnati and is currently a Fellow with the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute and the Research Director for the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department (Houston, TX). He is the author of Addicted to Incarceration: Corrections Policy and the Politics of Misinformation in the United States, Thinking About Victimization: Context and Consequences, Confronting School Violence: A Synthesis of Six Decades of Research, and over 100 articles in peer reviewed journals. His current work focuses on deadly mass shootings and the sources and consequences of right-wing, religiously-motivated violence.