The desperation of hate crimes

Lone nut jobs. Isolated loonies. Those are frequent descriptions of people such as James von Brunn, 88, the white supremacist accused of opening fire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and killing a security guard.

Others think he represents something more dangerous: a growing racist movement motivated by a number of converging factors, including the first black president.

The potential for an increase in violence from whites who feel they are slipping from power is high, according to some experts from across the ideological spectrum.

"I believe we are headed for an unprecedented level of conflict and racial turmoil," said Carol Swain, author of the 2002 book "The New White Nationalism in America" and a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University.

Swain cited anger over immigration, growing minority populations, high minority-crime rates, the economy and multiculturalism as forces driving people toward extremism.

"It seems like the tables have turned for some white people, and they have no recourse except desperation," Swain said.

An April intelligence assessment by the Department of Homeland Security said right-wing extremists could use the troubled economy and the election of President Obama to recruit members.

Increased monitoring

Former FBI agent Danny Coulson, who headed the terrorism investigation of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and now runs a security firm, said federal agents have increased their monitoring of white-supremacist groups since Obama's election and have noticed increased chatter and membership.

"These neo-Nazi groups have been laying in the weeds for a long time," he said. "Then you have a president who comes in who's an African American, and they hate that."

Some people can be "pushed over the edge" into extreme views by stresses such as the loss of a job or another traumatic event," said psychologist David Eigen.

"Men aren't supposed to feel powerless or helpless," Eigen said. "When a man starts to feel that, he feels angry and ashamed inside, and he can project it outward. For hundreds of years, Jews have been a convenient target. So let's blame the Jews."

Jack Levin, a criminologist at Northeastern University who has written widely about hate crimes, said the white-supremacist movement has changed since the 1990s. Charismatic leaders of the largest groups have gone to prison or died in recent years, producing more lone wolves and splinter cells who recruit new members using the Internet.

"It has become more difficult for the FBI and other federal agents who want to infiltrate these groups or even keep an eye on them," Levin said.

The concept of defending white interests also has broadened beyond neo-Nazis. Advocacy groups for blacks and Hispanics unwittingly provided a blueprint for others to organize and defend the interests of white people.

Continued conflict

Louis Andrews, chairman of a white-advocacy group, the National Policy Institute, said he does not support violence but expects to see increased racial animosity that will manifest itself in more physical attacks.

"There's no such thing as post-racial," Andrews said, when asked about the claim that Obama's election moved U.S. race relations to a different place. "There's conflict, conflict and continued conflict."

Andrews said he voted for Obama because "I want to see the Republican Party destroyed, so it can be reborn as a party representing the interests of white people, and not entrenched corporate elites."

Swain, in her book, argues that many people with "white nationalist" views do not fit the extremist stereotype; they are professors, scientists, elected officials.

"What drives a person to the point where they hate someone?" she asked.

Historically, the answer has been economic trouble, combined with several more factors, scholars said.

"The hate is always there. Social factors have to exacerbate it or bring it out," said Jacques Berlinerblau, associate professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown University.

"It's almost as if there is some sort of silent signal, a signal that it's OK, this is necessary, it must be done," he said.

Material from The Washington Post is included in this report.