Inside USA - Rise of Hate - 2008 04 19 (Al-Jazeera) avi

Inside USA - Rise of Hate - 2008 04 19 (Al-Jazeera) avi

23 mns

132 mgs

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4018D3E0-C02A-4B88-9AD7-1DF33F5E26EE.htm

Arkansas is one of just six states in the US that does not have a law against hate speech.

The wilderness in the northwestern corner of the state is also known as one of America's biggest pockets of white supremacist groups - groups that are enjoying a new momentum these days.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks hate groups, their number has increased by a dramatic 48 per cent since 2000.

At the same time the FBI says that hate crimes against Latinos jumped 35 per cent between 2003 and 2006.

The SPLC says that the immigration debate that is playing out in the US media is largely to blame for the rapid rise in hate groups, white supremacist groups and Neo-Nazi groups.

Inside USA visits victims of hate crimes in Arkansas and also talks to leaders of some of these white supremacist groups, including Thomas Robb, the national director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan