I think you need to sit down and talk to somebody about that. Because the more we push these people away, the closer they come to crossing a line. This is an msnbc special series. All across america, support for White Nationalism is growing. And violence against yous is je skyrocketing. Im trying to fight back. Were not born to hate. Ideology isnt even what is leading people to these movements. I know this is true. Because i spent eight years of my life in americas first neonazi skinhead organization. But ive spent the last 20 years warning the public. Christian picciolini joins me now. Advising Law Enforcement and helping People Disengage from hate groups. I want to help people. I feel like thats my only redemption. Ive worked on deradicalizing more than 300 individuals. But i cant win this war alone. What i see happening is a lot of violence coming. And im struggling, can somebody like that change . Is he even redeemable . Hate can be broken. When former extremists like me speak out
and 23 years ago, i was a neo-nazi skinhead. for me, the first step in finding forgiveness is when i started to use my story to warn others about the growing dangers of today s extremism. i ve asked eric to join me today. not to listen to my story, but to share his own. my friend wants to tell you a little bit about his story. now his is a little bit different than mine but very, very important. so with that, please welcome my friend erik von brunn. 7 i believe taking control of his own history will be a powerful first step in his recovery. first off, thanks for having me. my story s quite a bit different from christian s. so i won t try to take up so much time. seeing him now reminds me of something he said when we first met. when federal agents interviewed eric after the museum shooting, they showed him a letter they intercepted from his father.