All posts tagged: supremacists

White Supremacists Love Armie Hammer’s New Movie

White Supremacists Love Armie Hammer’s New Movie

In Citizen Vigilante, Armie Hammer plays Sanders, a former US soldier who has inherited his father’s real estate empire in an unnamed European country. Angered by what he sees as a Muslim takeover of the continent, Sanders embarks on an extrajudicial killing spree of migrants, youths, and judges he views as complicit. In the film, Hammer’s character is emboldened by watching videoclips from an Instagram-like social media platform showing people around the world praising his violent campaign against immigrants. “Have you heard of this vigilante crime fighter guy over in Europe? He’s like the real deal. This man is taking out the trash,” one woman says in a clip from the movie, adding, “I think we need somebody over here in the States like that.” Unsurprisingly, far-right extremists in the real world love it too. In the weeks since the movie was released, white supremacists and other extremists have praised the movie’s message and claimed that it can act like a playbook to follow in real life. “Maybe violence against migrants is what is needed,” …

What a subway ride with white supremacists taught me about America

What a subway ride with white supremacists taught me about America

On the Fourth of July, while I was on my way to a party, I found myself riding a Washington Metro train surrounded by hundreds of masked white supremacists. A subway car is supposed to be one of society’s great equalizers. But it was the last place I expected to reflect on what it means to be an American. A Getty Images photographer captured the moment. As far as I could see, I was the only unmasked person in the sea of Patriot Front members. I had my AirPods in, and my gingham shirt and bandana signaled I was ready to celebrate Independence Day. But my face and body language told a different story.  (Finn Gomez/Getty Images) Roswell Encina is surrounded by masked members of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group Within hours, the photographs had spread across social media and news outlets. Friends began texting. Reporters called. Many asked whether I had been frightened. The honest answer is yes. But after the initial shock faded, I realized the moment offered something else: an opportunity …