State Bar Association will host a panel on white nationalism and domestic terrorism

December 18, 2019 Rob Abruzzese

NYS Bar Association President Hank Greenberg. Photo courtesy of the NYSBA

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The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) will hold its weeklong 143rd annual meeting in Manhattan next month, and when it does it will host a special summit to examine the rise of white nationalism and domestic terrorism in the United States in recent years.

The weeklong event will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan from Monday, Jan. 27 through Friday, Jan. 31. The panel, “White Nationalism and Domestic Terrorism in America” will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

“With the number of white nationalist groups surging in recent years and violent incidents becoming more and more frequent, law enforcement, our elected officials and the general public must work together to eradicate hate groups from our society,” said NYSBA President Hank Greenberg. “On behalf of the State Bar Association, it is a great honor as well as an important duty to present such an esteemed panel to lead this timely and vital discussion.”

The event will be moderated by Craig Boise, the dean of the Syracuse University College of Law.

It will feature panelists Jeh Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security; David Cole, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union; Frank Figliuzzi, Jr., a former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence; Nan Whatley, major of Dayton, Ohio; and Leonard Zeskind, author of the book, “Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream.”

The discussion will focus on the increased attention that law enforcement is paying to home-grown extremists and radicalized white nationalists who have been responsible for multiple recent mass shootings.

They will also discuss how the public can balance safety with personal civil liberties, especially when it comes to law enforcement agencies conducting surveillance of groups and individuals based on their political beliefs.