interviewed a white car musician who served in the military specializing in psychological operations. on sunday, it was the same man -- wade michael page -- who attacked a sikh temple in wisconsin, killing six worshipers. we will speak with pete semi. it will also speak to journalist matt kennard, author of, "irregular army: how the u.s. military recruited neo-nazis, gang members, and criminals to fight the war on terror." and then, former department of homeland security analyst daryl johnson and right wing resurgence. "right wing resurgence: how a domestic terrorist threat is being ignored." in 2009, he issued a report warning about the increasing dangers of violent right-wing extremism. but under pressure from republican lawmakers and talk- show hosts, homeland security secretary janet napolitano withdrew the report and congress has refused to hold hearings on the white supremacist threat. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. government figures have confirmed july was the hottest month for the united states on record. the national oceanic and atmospheric a ministrations as last month's on a nationwide average of 77.6 degrees -- three degrees above the 20th century average. the previous record dated back to the dust bowl era in 1936. the scorching weather in july helped bring upon a devastating drought and contributed to the hottest hot-month period on record. the news comes just days after a new study by the leading nasa climatologist james hansen reported the recent spate of extreme weather seen in the u.s. and around the world cannot be treated to anything but human caused global warming. hundreds of people gathered in new york and washington, d.c. wednesday night to hold vigils honoring the victims of the sikh temple shooting in wisconsin. six people were killed when was supremacist wade michael page opened fire at the oak creek sikh temple on sunday morning. members of the sikh community lepers of of the white house and new york's union square. >> the message we want to convey is one of solidarity, one that says we as a country will not be divided. as americans, we will persevere and move forward and use this moment of tragedy to take action, to make our country a better place for all religious faiths. >> things are very divided. i definitely know our congress has been showing the leadership we know. i definitely know our presidential candidates are showing leadership we need. i have been pretty disheartened by the response. i think if we are to overcome fear, our leaders need to participate in this dialogue and a much more constructive way. >> wisconsin please confirm when said wade michael page died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a firefight with police after his killing spree inside the temple. we will have more on the shootings after the headlines. president obama campaigned in colorado wednesday with a speech highlighting and women's rights. the openness of republicans want to roll back women's health care choices to the 1950's. >> when it comes to a woman's right to make her own health care choices, they want to take us back to the policies more suited to the 1950's than the 21st century. [applause] and, colorado, you have to make sure it does not happen. the decisions that affect a woman's health are not up to politicians. they're not up to insurance policies. they're up to you. >> obama was introduced at the event by sandra fluke, the georgetown university law student who came under right- wing attack earlier this year after she spoke out for insurance coverage of contraception. republican candidate mitt romney continues to face scrutiny over his record of the private equity firm bain capital. the latest controversy to surround bain concerns how romney helped found the company with investments from central american elites linked to death squads in el salvador. after initially struggling to find investors, romney traveled to miami and 1983 to win pledges of $9 million, 40% of bain's start up money. some investors had extensive ties to death squads responsible for the vast majority of the tens of thousands of deaths in el salvador during the 1980's. the investors include the salaverria family, whom the former u.s. ambassador to el salvador, robert white, has previously accused of directly funding the salvadoran pelham territory -- paramilitary. in his memoir, former bain executive harry strachan writes that romney pushed aside his own misgivings about the investors to accept their backing, writing -- the syrian government forces continue to bombard areas of the besieged city of aleppo in a fierce battle against rebel fighters. several neighborhoods have reportedly been reduced to rubble as the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad wages and massive ground assault to retake the city. on wednesday, amnesty international released satellite imagery showing extensive bombings around aleppo. >> with released new satellite imagery regarding hundreds of craters where artillery and mortars may have been used in all likelihood by the syrian government's armed forces which suggests there widespread attacks happening within the community of aleppo and surrounding areas, and amnesty international usa is calling on both the opposition forces and the syrian government to respect the rights of civilians and cease in the attacks that may endanger civilian lives. >> civilian deaths in afghanistan have declined for the first time in five years. the deputy chief of the u.n. mission in afghanistan unveiled the new figures for the first six months on wednesday. >> civilian deaths and injuries decline by 15% in the first six months of 2012. despite this reduction in civilian casualties over all, conflict in afghanistan continues to inflict a disproportionate an unacceptable toll on afghan women, children, and then a coat around one-third of those killed or wounded from january through june were women or children. the u.s.-led nato occupation force in the afghan military accounted for around 14% of the deaths. most nato victims died in air strikes. the u.s. has entered its first- ever clean-up operation of vietnamese areas contaminated by the toxic chemical defoliant agent orange to in the vietnam war. the u.s. pre nearly 20 million gallons of agent orange and a quarter of the former south vietnam and border areas of cambodia and laos between 1962 and 1971. agent orange has been to cancer, diabetes, and birth defects among millions of vietnamese as well as american veterans. earlier today, the u.s. ambassador to vietnam kicked off a project to clean up the chemical at a major airport. >> this process uses high to the jurors to break down the contaminated soil and make it safe by vietnamese and u.s. standards of many men, women, and children who live and work in this area. the dioxin in the ground here is a legacy of the painful past we share, but the project we undertake today hand in hand with the vietnamese is, the secretary clinton said, a sign of the hopeful future we are building together. >> dow chemical is the american company that made agent orange. japan is marking the 67th anniversary today of the u.s. atomic bombing of the city of nagasaki. some 70,000 people were killed instantly and another 10,000 died in the aftermath of the august 9, 1945 attack, which flattened the city three days after u.s. planes throughout the first atomic bomb on hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 in burma to grips are hailing a move by the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission to suspend final decisions on licenses for power plants until they can finish a court ordered reassessment of risks associated with storing nuclear waste. the five member commission took action after the u.s. court of appeals rejected the agency's rules for permanent storage of nuclear waste in june saying the regulations fail to adequately evaluate risks. the decision allows the nrc to continue reviewing license applications from some two dozen environmental groups have pushed the commission to halt license and renewals, citing the dangers of nuclear waste. the new york times has reported a number of companies have increased the production of dangerous chemicals in order to profit from the carbon credits earned by reducing the pollution they cause. since 2005, manufacturers of gases used in air-conditioning and refrigeration have sharply boosted their production of a waste gas just to obtain a large number of credits they get for ultimately destroying it. the credits have been sold then to other polluters, yielding earnings of tens of tons of dollars a year. the u.s. and european union have taken recent steps to thwart the scheme, but critics say it has become so pervasive that it could be difficult to slow down. the pharmaceutical giant pfizer has agreed to a $60.2 million fine to settle allegations of making illegal payments to win contracts abroad. in a complaint filed by u.s. regulators, pfizer was accused of paying bribes to foreign officials and more than a half- dozen countries to obtain business and increase prescriptions of its products. the alleged misconduct dates back to 2001. results are in from four state primaries held tuesday. some in district's newly redrawn the head of the 2012 congressional elections free elections in michigan, missouri, and washington were generally seen as positive for democrats as democratic the preferred candidates from both parties to keep victories. in kansas, a right-wing candidates major gains in republican primary, ousting at least seven incumbent senators and paving the way for a solid right wing majority in the state senate. in missouri's primary, tea party conservative talk a can be out the wealthy businessman john bruner in a bid for the seat now held by democratic senator clear matt cassel. outside groups including karl rhodes crossroads gps have poured as much as $15 million into the state to challenge macao's go ahead of what is expected to be one of the most closely watched senate races of 2012. longtime democratic congress member john conyers off a challenge and a redrawn district clearing the way for his 25th term. the embattled breast cancer charity susan g. komen for the care has announced a change in leadership. months after his party controversy by cutting funds for cancer screenings and education from planned parenthood. according to an announcement on wednesday, the founder, nancy brinker, will leave her job as chief executive and attorneys president, liz thompson, will resign. brinker will move to a new management role of the charity will thompson will leave altogether next month. nancy brinker who founded komen in honor of her sister who died from breast cancer is a major republican donor. komen was forced to reverse its decision, cutting funds to plan. this winter, after a massive outcry. in russia, the trellis concluded for three members of a feminist punk band in prison for staging a church protest against russian leader vladimir putin. in february, five members of the group pussy riot rushed before the altar in one of the main orthodox cathedrals in russia or in a brightly colored clothing. they danced, prayed to the virgin mary to expel putin, who is now serving a third stint as russia's president. the three, all in their 20s, have been in jail for five months and could face up to seven years behind bars. a verdict is expected next week's, performing a concert in this become the was pop singer madonna voiced her support for the jailed band. >> i know there are many sides to every story, and i have -- and i mean no disrespect to the church or the government -- but i think that these three girls -- yes -- [applause] i think that they have done something courageous. i think they have paid the price for this act, and i pray for their freedom. [applause] >> that is madonna standing up for the jailed and pussy riot in russia. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we turn now to the sikh temple massacre in oak creek, wisconsin, where six worshippers were killed on sunday by wade michael page. he died following the attack from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. he was an army veteran with a long involvement in any announcing 16. page served as a soldier the army from 1992 to 1998, when his discharge for patterns of misconduct. he worked in psychological operations and was stationed at fort bliss in texas and fort bragg in north carolina. the military newspaper "stars and stripes" reports page was steeped in white supremacy during his army days and spouted his racist views on the job as a soldier. today we begin with a guest who knew wade michael page personally. pete semi is university of nebraska at omaha criminology professor who met with page and talk to him extensively while researching hate music in southern california. he says page's military service strongly influenced his neo-nazi identification in part because he saw whites in the army as victims of reverse discrimination. page reportedly told simi: "if you don't go into the military is a racist, you definitely leave as one." pete semi is co author of, "american swastika: inside the white power movement's hidden spaces of hate." welcome to "democracy now!" tell us how you met wade page. >> i began conducting field work with members of different white supremacist groups in 1997. by about 1999, and began focusing on the southern california movement, the different groups and individuals involved in southern california. one of my main contacts ended up being page's housemates. i met him through one of my main contacts in 2001. page had been in southern california for not very long. he recently had relocated from back east to southern california. the main reason for relocating was to join his first band, his first white power neo-nazi banned young land, a fairly new the merged banned in southern california that was up and coming in that scene. it was at that time i met page. he was just release starting to get involved in the white power music scene and was starting to meet a lot of different people in southern california. >> what was your reaction on sunday when he first saw the photograph of the man who opened fire on the sikh temple in oak creek, wisconsin? >> actually, i did not realize it was page until monday afternoon fairly late. i was not able to follo media coverage earlier as details were being released. i was on the southern poverty law center's web site reading one of their articles about the tragic incident, and they cite profile of page was prominent in that article. i immediately recognize the photo and looked a lot like page, but that point still did not really fully realize who it was. as i read the article, it really hit me. it was a very surreal feeling. frankly, sick to my stomach when i fully realize this is the person i had spent fairly extensive time with over the of 3 yeaars. >> pete simi page grew up near the site of the columbine shootings? >> that is what he told me. >> did he talk about being affected by them? >> not in particular, know. that was not anything -- he may have mentioned it in passing, but nothing in particular about columbine that i remember him really talking about in that. >> let's talk about his years in the military, 1992-1998, were the reports are he worked in psychological operations in fort bliss, texas, then at fort bragg in north carolina. did you talk about this time in what he did in this unit and what he did in the army overall? >> most of what he talked about in the military was not so much -- he did have some favorable things to say as far as he felt like he got good training and some valuable experience based on this time in the military. he talked a little about the psychological operations but did i get into too much details in terms of what he was doing. you seem to value the fact he received training in terms of weapons -- he seemed to by the fact receive training in terms of weapons and that kind of stuff. mostly he talked about how much it cost him to realize whites are at a disadvantage and the against stacked it gains widespread that african- americans are not to supplant when engaged in misconduct as compared to white personnel, that african-americans consistently get promotions over whites in the military due to affirmative action-type policies. that was probably the bulk of what he talked about in terms of his military experiences. >> who did he hate most? >> as far as during the time i knew him, i would say it was pretty even mix between anti- semitism. he clearly felt there was a small effort, a small conspiracy of jews out to dominate world affairs, something often returned to as the zionist occupational government, this idea that this small conspiracy of jews have literally taken over the united states government and dominated world affairs. he clearly prescribed to that set of beliefs and would talk pretty frequently about jews do this and use control that. a lot of anti-black sentiment. between those two, those were the most frequent targets of his kind of hateful believes. >> during his time in the military, from 1992-1998, there was a famous case at fort bragg of a racist soldier who killed this black couple randomly. his name was james for meister. did he ever talk about this? >> when i asked him about bu rmeister, he indicated knowing him. he did not suggest the were close friends, but did know each other. someone they knew in passing, not close friends. he did indicate part of how he started identifying with neo- nazi beliefs during this time in the military was he had met individuals who were active military personnel that were already involved in white supremacist groups. and through them, he was exposed to white supremacist propaganda or literature. and this was kind of part of his early indoctrination process during his time in the military. >> did he say he approved of what burmeister did? >> he did not come out and say, "this is something i want to do tomorrow," or anything like that, but he tended to see it as, "what do you expect?" a lot of times that type of violence will be responded to by individuals involved in these groups, kind of a dollar-kind of nonchalantly. "well, this is the kind of stuff that you have happened when race mixes in society." is often referenced after an incident like that. this is the fallout. "what do you expect?" or "whites are typically on the victims of this kind of violence." this turnabout is fair play-type of mentality is also something you hear quite a bit. >> did he say racism, white supremacy, was tolerated, was allowed in the military in places like fort bragg? >> he said it was -- it definitely existed. from his perspective, it was not tolerated nearly enough. his perspective was the military was really kind of structured in a way that was completely opposed to whites and certainly opposed to any idea and regards to white supremacy, neo-nazi. he never talked about feeling the military was a place that was kind of thriving with these types of groups, where these groups were thriving. from his perspective, it was not nearly thriving enough. the things he would talk about is there are not nearly enough white people that share his views. >> pete simi, we're going to take a break and then come back we will also be joined by matt kennard who is particularly looking at white supremacist movement in the military. pete simi is a professor at the university of nebraska, off, who knew wade michael page from 2000 to 2003. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are talking about the killings of the sikh temple and oak creek, wisconsin. our guest is pete simi, univ. of nebraska at omaha criminology professor, co-author with robert futrell of the book, "american swastika: inside the white power movement's hidden spaces of hate." we're also joined by journalist matt kennard, author of the forthcoming book, "irregular army: how the u.s. military recruited neo-nazis, gang members, and criminals to fight the war on terror." he is joining us from mexico city. you have been following white supremacists in the military for some time. can you talk about the reaction to the killings in wisconsin, and the more you hear about the profile of wade michael page? >> the interesting thing about page is, you quoted "stars and stripes >> article that said he was completely open about his white supremacist and neo-nazi inclinations in the 1990's. remember, during that time, this was after the trauma that you mentioned, and the bombings in oklahoma carried out by timothy mcveigh, another veteran of the first gulf war, who was decorated with a bronze star as well. military in the mid-1990s was embarrassed by the fact these first the veteran had committed murder indiscriminately. the narrative is, there are cracking down at this time. page's example shows this was not the case. even the 10 regulations that exist were completely jettison during the war on terror. i spent years talking to veterans, much like page, and far right leaders, who basically said there was an open-door policy during the war on terror. you could enter with swastika basically, had to occupations to populate and not enough soldiers. >> a want to ask about the military's regulation of registered young nazis and white supremacists. you write how the army command policy describes the rules for commanders to enforce it sank -- matt kennard, can you talk about the arms regulations? what's the whole military, every branch, has been ambiguous on purpose, basically can allow these people to stay in. the regulations are basically reactive. u.s. military, after a tragedy like oak creek or burmeister, they are embarrassed when people are asking, why are our taxpayers being used to train and arm these right-wing extremists? they say, we have tightened regulation but in reality, there is nothing proactive. even the regulations are in place, they're completely jettison. the quote used about right wing with -- ionsisted heard from veterans themselves saying they% to one of the hardest missions because neo- nazis, and gang members as well -- which is worth mentioning and was a problem -- are seen more as were like. >> talk more about this. white supremacists and iraq and afghanistan, and as we have seen this past weekend, next to a sikh temple. >> that is a good point that has not been re steam after it what did it mean for the occupied populations to have this army that was riddled with white supremacists who saw the people there were occupying as subhuman as well as violent gang members? danes is also a massive problem we do not hear much about. violence is often gang violence and does not affect the public. there have been murders between gangs involving veterans and active duty personnel but for the populations in iraq and afghanistan, we will never know what kind of atrocities were carried out wisconsin-style. there are a few clues as to what these soldiers were doing over there. one neo-nazi veteran is now serving a 10-year sentence for his part and murdering colorado springs -- for a murder in colorado springs. >> i want to go to a brief clip of wade michael page's stepmother, laura page, who spoke to abc news about how the military influenced her stepson. >> i don't know if the military was good for him. i don't know. my heart is broken for the people that were killed and their families. i cannot imagine what would have gone through his mind for him to do something like this. >> that is for page, the stepmother of wade michael page. pete simi, i want to bring you back into this discussion as to listen to matt kennard. tattoos -- the reports from the sikhs in oak creek say he was wearing a 9/11 tattoo. what about his tattoos and what were the messages in them? >> on his left shoulder he had a tattoo that has the no. 14. that is a very prominent kind of code for what is called the 14 words, which was penned by right-wing terrorist david lane who was active in the 1980's as part of it underground terrorist cell called the silent brotherhood. lane penned this in prison, something to the effect of securing the existence of our race and the future for white children. this is widely used throughout the movement. these people have had tos with 14 teachers, sign emails and -- these people have tattoos with 14, signed emails with 14. he had a german soldier tattoo on one of his calves and a celtic cross, which is also a prominent symbol. the more recent photos i have seen of him, he was more heavily tattooed than during the years i knew him. he had several during the years i knew him, that this is a very common thing that as a person develops a so-called resume in the movement, they mark their bodies with this. it is a way of showing a commitment. they can get more and more tattoos the longer they are involved in the groups, to the point of result our sleeved, which is for the have tattoos all done to their wrists. and some will even get them all over their faces, all over their heads showing how committed they are to be wise to proceed movement. >> the man who wrote the 14 words, david lane, together with bruce pierce, were convicted for their involvement in the killing of the jewish talk show host alan berg. >> correct. that is a good example of the type of terrorism that has occurred among the white supremacy movement. all too often, when we think about terrorism, we do not necessarily associated with right-wing extremists, especially since 9/11. terrorism has almost become terrorism with violent jihadists and people ignored what is happening at the hands of white supremacists. >> matt kennard, as you listen to professor pete simi who knew page, the shooter, who then killed myself according to authorities -- by the way, there is concern the police officer who shot page, but apparently did not kill him, will be targeted by white supremacist groups. there are questions whether he will have to moved out of town and this house has been protected by police. as you hear about this and hear from page's stepmother, and no he was in psychological operations the alleged and he was in psychological operations, your thoughts? >> i am sorry, i did not hear the question. >> the question of page's involvement in psychological operations, if this is the case which are the reports, and boat fort bliss and fort bragg -- is fort bragg a center of this was supremacist activity in the military? >> yes, i mean, fort bragg is where bermeister was based. every base has a problem with white supremacy because they are allowed to act freely. they do not address it unless they're confronted with a national scandal like oak creek. page is not alone in that needs to be emphasized. during my investigations, i went to tampa, florida to interview a neo-nazi veteran of iraq. his resume reads exactly the same as page. rock band, a neo-nazi, a veteran, a member of the hammerskin nation, the most violent skinhead group in the country, much like page. he told me about his experience in iraq was instructive. he said, basically, the command about his radicalism. they knew -- he said, they can see my tattoos. this is not a problem that is specific to certain bases critic for bragg does have a serious problem, but it is all over the united states. it was all over iraq and afghanistan. the point must be made that games are another huge issue, especially at the bases along the border with mexico because involved withlvein vomit with trafficking drugs and guns. other active duty personnel, every time this issue has been raised, the u.s. military has targeted the press and raising it. soldiers said, look, i unit is riddled with white supremacy or gangs and a kiss across countless examples where they kick them out -- i came across countless examples of where they kicked them out. this is something the military has actively ignored and persecuted the person raising the issue. later on, i think you'll have on daryl johnson, who is the dhs analyst who authored the report about the threat of right-wing extremism. he was targeted as soon as i came out for raising the issue. >> i want to ask about the role of music for it very important to hear about the report, not just people in the military, the people in civilian life at the department of homeland security who are prevented from getting this information out. i want to go to a clip of the mink.ormer neo-nazi frank >> driving in the car with a bunch of skinheads, listening to music about kicking peoples' heads in, finding people of other races to destroy, and you're sitting in a car with a bunch of friends looking for victims? it really keeps the drumbeating. it is time for action. >> you think the music drives bad behavior, racist behavior, physically? >> it physically helped us through the racist music is what keeps the movement young. if it was not for the music that keeps getting people into this, you'd have the old image of the klan sitting on the porch with a shotgun. the music keeps the newcomers involved, keeps them wanting to be a part of this, keeps them wanting to portray what is going on in the music. i cannot express how much the music is -- >> that was frank meeink speaking with chris matthews. professor pete simi, how and poured was this music world to wade page? >> at the time i knew him, as i mentioned before, that is what he relocated the southern california. what he told me was he met members of the first and he was thin, young land, and a music show a around summer 2000 in georgia -- at a music show around summer 2000 in georgia. he said they clicked and that is what led him to relocate to southern california and ultimately become a member of their man. he told me that changed his life. he said, once i met them, it changed my life and instantly haven't bunch of new bros. at the time i met him, he felt like his involvement in the music scene really gave him a lot of purpose in terms of how he could be involved and how he could contribute to the larger white supremacist movement. in fact, that is what the music scene does for a lot of folks. it provides a way for them to be involved in a larger movement, whether it is as musicians were people who really enjoy the music and light going to the show's and can tap in to the movement through their involvement in the music scene. is this a powerful mechanism, as frank said, for keeping the movement killing. >> finally, professor, could you have seen anything like this were predicted any kind of a violent outburst like this? were you concerned about this as you spoke to wade michael page? they have arrested his girlfriend who it turns out was a waitress in a restaurant, in a coffee shop, what, a block from the sikh temple or page gunned down six people -- where page gunned down six people? >> on one hand, it is not surprising when someone in these types of groups does something in terms of what happened in wisconsin, so we should not be surprised when someone involved in these types of groups or believes with the things advocated, with thesguns and violence were broadly in terms of the role it plays in this movement, based on their believes, in terms of just the very fact they believe the white race is on the verge of extinction there for whites have a right or really whites should stand up and defend themselves. so that part is not surprising. but when i realized it was page, i was shocked. it is not something at the time i was spending with him that i saw him as particularly threatening above and beyond other members of these types of groups. as a rule of thumb, you think members of these types of groups in general pose a certain level of threat. i did not see him as a specially threatening more so than other individuals involved in these types of groups. >> which is even more frightening. pete simi, thank you for being with us, all of criminology professor, co-author with robert futrell of the, "american swastika: inside the white power movement's hidden spaces of hate." also, matt kennard, a ticket for joining us, author of the forthcoming book, "irregular army: how the u.s. military recruited neo-nazis, gang members, and criminals to fight the war on terror." when we come back, we will be joined by daryl johnson, the author of the report from the department of homeland security about right wing resurgence. in fact, he has written a book, "right wing resurgence: how a domestic terrorist threat is being ignored." we will find out what happened to this report. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. what many people were shocked by sunday's massacre of the sikh 6 in wisconsin, our nextna guest had warned years ago that such an attack was imminent. daryl johnson sparked a political firestorm. he was the principal author of a report called, right wing extremism: current economic and political, a feeling resurgence in radicalization and recruitment." the report noted that the election of the first african- american president, combined with recession-year economic anxieties, could fuel a rise in far-right violence. johnson drew his conclusion on , setting domestic terrorist groups -- particularly white supremacists and neo-nazis. the report set off a maelstrom of discontent among conservatives. there was a video featuring the numerous tv personalities who slammed the report, including cnn's lou dobbs, conservative radio host rush limbaugh, fox news' sean hannity andrew tantaros, and michelle malkin but this is a clip a new report suggests the bad economy may drive people to right-wing extremist groups. >> right wing extremists groups, skinheads, national alliance, racist groups, anti-semitic groups. >> gathering information, it does that mean there will be sending spies to these two parties? >> there are no timothy mcveighs out there right now. >> if there want to issue these reports for made up threats critics for trying ordinary conservatives as posing a bigger threat to this country than al qaeda terrorists. >> naming veterans groups as possible extremist groups. >> under extreme pressure, the department of homeland security ultimately repudiated daryl johnson's paper and in june 2009, "washington post" reported setting the number settin groups. they also held up dissemination of nearly a dozen reports on extremist groups. for more we're joined by daryl johnson, former department of homeland security senior analyst was written the book, "right wing resurgence: how a domestic terrorist threat is being ignored." it will be published next month. he now owns and founded a private consultancy firm. daryl johnson, welcome to "democracy now!" tell us what you're finding, what this report was and what happened to it. >> thank you for having me on your show. basically, the genesis of the reports started as early as january 2007 when i received a phone call from the u.s. capitol police and the young senator from illinois, who is african- american, was considering running for president. they basically wanted to know if we had seen any extremist chatter that was threatening in nature toward barack obama. we did a quick search of the internet sites and did not find any threats so it's pretty much closed that request out. in my ensuing months, i sat down with analysts and postulated, what if an african-american senator was elected president, what would that do to extremism in the u.s.? we basically put this out, brainstormed this question. we came to the conclusion it would be a recruitment boom for these groups. coupling with the ailing economy, a lot of people on unemployment would basically be ripe for recruitment by these groups. >> you are working in the department of homeland security at the time under president bush, correct? >> yes. i arrived in august 2004. >> you right up this report and, talk about what your key findings were and then the response to it. >> basically, we put together over a year's time, collected a massive amount of data that filled an entire box of open source information we had gathered off the internet, law enforcement information, f.b.i. information that had come in and started drafting a report. janetun the time jenna napolitano was sworn in, we started receiving irequests. shias wanting to know what groups were out there we were concerned about. we answer those questions and she came back with more. she wanted to know if we were seeing a rise in right-wing extremism and if it was a result of the election of an african- american president and what we're going to do about it. basically through this questioning period, we decided the paper that was originally designed to be some tough law enforcement -- that was to be sent to law enforcement, could answer other questions. >> what were the critical findings? >> we were seeing a resurgence. we experienced early on after the election, arson activity at black churches, a bombing in the pacific northwest where some police officers were killed the were carried out by anti- government extremists, a neo- nazi in massachusetts when on a shooting spree, and a lot of extremist chatter talking about how they were fearful of an african-american president and possible gun bans and immigration issue was still being unresolved. all of these things kind of came together to the perfect storm, which we saw very clearly, and put out in the report what our findings were. >> what you find about white supremacy in the military? >> it is interesting you ask that question. i actually was the counter terrorism analyst in the u.s. 9.my from 1991 to 199 i was working at the same time this judgment in wisconsin was unlisted. i have a chapter devoted in my book to my observations on extremism in the military. the one thing i found, this is a very small percentage, but since we have such a large military, that small percentage could equal hundreds, if not a few thousand, people. it only takes one person like timothy mcveigh with the skills he learned in the military and the mindset training he received to carry out a massive bombing or to kill people. >> for people who do not remember, i mean, i am sure everyone knows the reference to april 19, 1995 and the bombing of the oklahoma city building that killed more than 160 people and critically wounded hundreds of others, what timothy mcveigh apostatize were to white supremacy, having also just come out of the military. >> i don't know if timothy mcveigh necessarily had was supremacist police, the definitely had anti-government believes. i think what the fbi investigation determined as he affiliated with militia extremists in michigan and other places where he went around talking to these individuals around the country, but never a full-fledged member. he never joined in extremist groups, but he subscribed to their belief system. >> back in 2009, a handful of republicans in a house call for janet napolitano to step down as head of the department of homeland security in the wake of your memo that warned of right- wing political extremism in the united states. house minority leader john boehner said the report focuses on -- those were comments by john boehner. your response, daryl johnson? >> that is a gross misrepresentation of what was said in the report. basically, i think what he is alluding to is a very broad, vague definition that was in the footnote of one of the pages. basically, the definition was written broadly so could come as the wide range of extremist groups we were talking about, primarily the white supremacist movement which had neo-nazi groups, ku klux klan groups, christian and dignity groups -- identity groups, skinhead groups and other was the premises. it was also alluding to sovereign citizens, those who reject federal and state authority. basically, some of the conservative radio talk-show hosts took the step mission out of context, and without the scope of talking about violent extremism and terrorism, which was stated up front in the scope note, and to this definition out of context and applied in to a broad range of people. i think it was done deliberately as a political maneuver to use against the new administration. >> how did your report it disseminated in the media? what was the trajectory it took? >> an anonymous person, basically, said the report out. obviously, did not agree with the findings. they sifted out to roger had caught in southern california,, a conservative radio shock jock who enters the immigration issue a lot, and he is credited with disclosing publicly this report, which was not meant for public distribution. >> so what happened to you, daryl johnson, in your unit within the department of homeland security that was the thing that's domestic -- that was looking at domestic threats? >> it was quite shocking. and never anticipated by employer, the department at homeland security, would clamp down on the unit and stop all the valuable work we were doing. leading up to this report, and i will talk about this at length in my book, my team was in a lot of good things throughout the country. we received numerous accolades from intelligence officials and law-enforcement, talking about the great work we were doing in the fight against domestic terrorism. in the with the political backlash, they decided to not only stop all the work and training and briefings we were scheduled to give, but they also disbanded the unit, reassigned as to other areas within the office, and then made life increasingly difficult for us. not only did they stop the work we were doing, but they also tried to blame us for some of the attacks occurring. >> so you lost your job. >> well, i did not lose my job, they just made it a difficult environment for me to continue working there. on my own recognizance, i started my own consulting company. >> i'm looking at a clip from "wired," which says -- "the fbi arrested members of a florida neo-nazi ties to drug dealing and motorcycle gangs. a man was charged with attempted to detonate a method of mass destruction of the spokane, washington march, in several mosques around the country have been vandalized or attacked, including a missouri mosque that burned to the ground on monday, which have been attacked before. we surprised by the attack on the sikh temple and all that has taken place? >> unfortunately, i was not shocked 30 sitititititititititid said, this was likely a hate- motivated crime against sikhs perpetrated by white supremacist who may have had military background rid of >> president obama spoke yesterday in denver with sandra flick who introduced him. the georgetown university law student who was speaking out for contraception and targeted by rush limbaugh and others and was talking about women's health and women's rights in this country. the neo-nazi movement, along with the anti-choice movement, d.c. links? i'm talking about extremist wing. >> there are definitely links between white supremacists and the anti-abortion issue. that is one of the causes that they rally around and use as a recruitment tool to bring people into the movement. i would not necessarily say it is strictly neo-nazi. it could also be the christian identity move, the ku klux klan. >> daryl johnson, thank you for joining us, is booked is, "right wing resurgence: how a domestic terrorist threat is being ignored." it will be published next month. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. 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