SPLC: Hate groups on the rise, 19 now call Arizona home
Report: Hate groups on the rise, 19 now call Arizona home
Reported by: Tim Vetscher
Email: tvetscher@abc15.com
Last Update: 8/12 8:58 pm
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PHOENIX -- A representative from the Southern Poverty Law Center was in Phoenix Wednesday to address the growing number of hate groups operating in Arizona.
According to the SPLC's website, 19 hate groups currently call Arizona home, including 12 right here in the Valley.
"A lot of the hate you hear being spewed around here involves the immigration issue," said Dr. Heidi Beirich with the SPLC.
Beirich took part in a panel discussion Wednesday afternoon titled "The Elements of Hate."
"Hate is a virus always seeking a host," said Bill Straus with the Anti-Defamation League. "We're a pretty good host here in Arizona."
Don Logan, former Director of Scottsdale's Office of Diversity, also took part in the panel discussion.
Logan was injured in 2004 when he opened a package delivered to him that subsequently exploded.
"I'm physically scarred for the rest of my life," he said.
This past June, investigators arrested two brothers who belong to a white supremacist group in connection with the incident.
"I know what I'm dealing with," said Logan. "Two white supremacists who launched an attack on me because my skin color is different than theirs."
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