After convoy, ‘Army of God’ rallygoers filmed themselves harassing migrants, report says

Members of a self-titled “Army of God” convoy that traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to protest border policies went on to film themselves harassing residents and migrants after their rally was over. Meanwhile, almost half of American Jews altered their behavior in recent months out of fear of anti-Semitism, a new report finds. And the world’s largest database of far-right and extremist symbols gets a major update.

It’s the week in extremism.

Live-streamers filmed themselves ‘hunting’ migrants

After traveling to Texas for a rally earlier this month, some participants in an “Army of God” border rally went on to film themselves harassing and “hunting” migrants, according to a story published this week in WIRED magazine.

• The livestreamers were part of the convoy that traveled from Virginia toward the tiny town of Eagle Pass, Texas, which has become the epicenter of a national legal dispute over border enforcement.

• After a rally near Eagle Pass, three far-right internet personalities spent a week traversing the border in Arizona and California harassing migrants and volunteer groups that support them, WIRED reported.

• “We’re illegal hunters,” one of the men said during a livestream from Jacumba Hot Springs in California, according to WIRED. “I’ve hunted a lot in my life, but I’ve never actually hunted people, and that’s what we’re doing now.”

As the article notes, the rallygoers also raised money throughout their livestreaming tour of the border, frequently interrupting their broadcasts to thank viewers for sending them donations. The accounts have since been removed from YouTube.

Report: American Jews feel less safe since Israel-Hamas war started

More than three quarters of American Jews feel less safe than a year ago and almost half have changed their behavior as a result, according to a new poll by the American Jewish Committee covered by USA TODAY this week.

• From USA TODAY: The AJC's State of Antisemitism in American 2023 report comes four months after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and a subsequent wave of rising antisemitism worldwide. It found that those who feel less safe are far more likely than those who don't to see U.S. antisemitism as a serious, worsening threat and the status of American Jews as less secure than a year ago.

• "No one should be fearful of being targeted or harassed for being Jewish when walking down the street, going to school, or being at work," said Ted Deutch, the American Jewish Committee’s CEO. "This isn’t a new problem, but the explosion of antisemitism since Oct. 7 demands that we take collective action now."

• One in four college students told researchers they have avoided wearing, carrying, or displaying items that would identify them as Jewish, out of fear of antisemitism.

Huge database of far-right and extremist symbols updated

The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism announced this week it has expanded the world’s largest database of far-right and extremist symbols. Launched last year, the online library now contains more than 750 entries from across the globe.

• The online catalog is a resource for anybody from concerned parents to schoolteachers to law enforcement to look up the ever-changing lexicon of extremist symbols and phrases.

• The database contains entries from dozens of countries. Recent additions include the logos of far-right political parties in Europe.

• “Far-right extremism is a transnational movement,” GPAHE said in a statement. “Since these movements operate on a global scale, it calls for a proactive and coordinated response.”

Statistic of the week: 50%

That’s how many online gamers have experienced hate speech, according to a new study from the US Government Accountability Office.

The study, entitled “Online Extremism is a Growing Problem, But What’s Being Done About It?” concludes that the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics needs to further study the problem of hate and extremism online — something experts have been calling for for years.

An annual report by the Anti-Defamation League noted similar results, finding 50% of Black adults reported being harassed because of their identity in 2023, with a sharp uptick in harassment for women and teen gamers, too. “Harassment in online games is still so pervasive that it is the norm today,” Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO, told USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Report: Texas border rallygoers harassed migrants via livestream