Page 23 - Mark Potok News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Of -- just for our viewers out there, how do you classify a group as being a hateful or extremist group? what are the metrics? >> strictly placed on ideology, not any kind of measure of criminal activity or violence or some kind of estimate we're making for the potential for violence. if a group says that an entire group of human beings, based generally on their class kavgt sticks are somehow less, somehow evil, that makes them a hate group. so, you know, if you say all white people are evil, or the black people or the jews and such, that is in effect what makes you a hate group in our estimat...

Meanwhile, the investigation has offered few clues whether the attack was a work of a foreign or domestic network, but the mere fact that both are being treated with an amount this graph, part of the report last monday shows the dramatic increase in conspiracy-minded antigovernment quote/unquote patriot groups in the last four years. after a spike in the early '90s, the number started to rise against in 2003. joins us now is mark potok, with a group that tracks extremism. thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to be clear, we of course do not know whether or not this atta...

A 34 members of the group last november, including you 34 generals and top leaders arrested, were indicted. that was a mere month before the texas department of public safety put out a memo warning prosecutors and other officials that the area brotherhood was planning massive retaliation a month before that the first prosecutor murder and two months after that his boss. >> mark potok, southern poverty law center. we appreciate your insight. thank you. >> a pleasure. how a star of stage and screen is bringing relief to what's being called the food desert. later, hop in our little red corvet...

>> back to you mark. is this something we ought to be aware of? how do you deal with it? are we in a situation like in mexico or some country that has real systemic challenges to it like drug cartels where they say, you know, you prosecute one of these guys, you're gone. and they have the firepower to do it up against the federal government down there. do we have a situation developing here? are you still keeping your powder dry on the possibilities they may not be the villains here? >> well, i think it's possible because i think what's really happening is that prison gangs said a few years ag...

Will see develop. yes, it could be very true. >> back to you mark. is this something we ought to be aware of? how do you deal with it? are we in a situation like in mexico or some country that has real systemic challenges to it like drug cartels where they say, you know, you prosecute one of these guys, you're gone. and they have the firepower to do it up against the federal government down there. do we have a situation developing here? are you still keeping your powder dry on the possibilities they may not be the villains here? >> well, i think it's possible because i think what's really happ...