How did this happen to my loved one? What made them adopt violent extremist beliefs? Is this my fault? These are questions many families and friends have when attempting to understand what drove their loved ones to violent extremism. It’s important to know that there is no single risk factor leads to violent extremism. Instead, it is a combination of vulnerabilities that creates an openness to these beliefs. Read more on those vulnerabilities here.
Belief in conspiracy theories does not always cause significant harm; however, some conspiracy theories promote violence as a valid and sometimes necessary response. All violent extremist beliefs function like conspiracy theories. Read more about the 7 defining characteristics.
How does the daughter of Indian immigrants end up attending white nationalist rallies in Sweden? Vidhya Ramalingam, a board member at Life After Hate, talks about her work disrupting violent extremism.
His T-shirt says “F RACISM,” but Thomas Engelmann was once a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood. The former white supremacist joined the gang in prison, where he covered his body in racist and anti-Semitic tattoos. Now he works with Life After Hate’s ExitUSA program.
Going to prison for hate crimes changed everything for the American former violent far right extremist Angela King. She thought she would be met by hate from the people she hated, but was disarmed by kindness and compassion. Today, Angela is the program director at Life After Hate.
Life After Hate co-founder Angela King explains how we help provide resources for people who want to leave hate groups.
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