After five pivotal years of incredible growth and progress, the WSC Board of Directors announces that Executive Director Eric K. Ward has transitioned to Senior Advisor. The WSC Board is delighted that Eric will remain part of the organization and that it will continue to benefit from his visionary leadership.

This weekend 31 members of Patriot Front, a white nationalist paramilitary group, were arrested for allegedly preparing to riot at an LGBTQ Pride event in Coeur d'Alene. The group was created by Thomas Rousseau during the fallout of the “Unite the Right” rally, a deadly white supremacist event in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Patriot Front operates nationwide, and Western States Center has tracked their escalating actions for years.

More than two dozen groups called on Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to investigate and respond to potentially illegal activity by paramilitary organizations on the United States’ southern border. In addition to threatening the safety and wellbeing of individuals in the border region, unauthorized paramilitary groups are using the area as a training ground in order to undermine the rule of law more broadly.

Yesterday in elections in Oregon and Idaho, anti-democracy candidates were defeated in several marquee races. Most notably Idaho gubernatorial hopeful Janice McGeachin, whose embrace of white nationalism and militias was soundly rejected by voters.

Portland was rocked by three attacks on houses of worship within the last seven days, beginning with a broken window at the Congregation Shir Tikvah, followed by antisemitic vandalism at the Congregation Beth Israel and most recently by attempted arson at the Muslim Community Center of Portland…

On Monday, leaders at Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue located in Northwest Portland, reported that a fire had been lit outside the building and the walls had been defaced with antisemitic graffiti and violent threats…

A report last week issued by the Oregon Secretary of State laid out a series of recommendations for lawmakers to address the threat posed by anti-democracy movements…

“Ammon Bundy recklessly flouted the law when he entered the Idaho Capitol after being banned from the building in violation of a no-trespass order. Even more importantly…

Anti-democracy and paramilitary leaders protested side by side in Olympia today, rallying under a range of conspiratorial causes but focused fundamentally on promoting bigotry and undermining democratic institutions…

“After four years of Donald Trump, it was a real relief to watch a State of the Union address in which the President of the United States used his platform to push for policies to defend basic human dignity…

On Friday evening in Orlando, Idaho Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin appeared at the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), an event organized as a white nationalist alternative…

First and foremost, the victims of last night’s attack and their friends and families are in our thoughts as they grapple with the implications of this event…

In response to the arrest of Quintez Brown after an attack on a Louisville mayoral candidate, Eric Ward, Executive Director of Western States Center issued the following statement: “Political violence is never acceptable and does nothing to move us closer to justice. It’s unclear whether Quintez Brown’s…

Project to Publish Stories from the Massive Multi-Year Mobilization Effort In An Effort To Learn Lessons for Today’s Fight for an Inclusive Democracy…

In response to President Biden’s remarks about the attack on the United States Capitol one year ago today, Western States Center Executive Director Eric K. Ward issued the following statement…

As part of its ongoing effort to protect inclusive democracy, Western States Center today unveiled a new reader’s guide to Cynthia Miller-Idriss “Hate in the Home Land: The New Global Far Right” in conjunction with the book’s paperback release today.

"We’re living in a profoundly challenging moment for our country and we need officials at every level of government to recognize the urgent threat posed by white nationalism,” said Eric K. Ward, executive director of the Western States Center…

Since we got the call that the Train Foundation would for the first time name an American as Civil Courage Prize Laureate, we at Western States Center have been immersed in a conversation about what constitutes courage in these times.

Vigilantes who confront individuals they accuse of breaking the law aren’t ‘keeping the peace’—they’re intentionally creating a profoundly dangerous situation.

It’s critical that we not allow white nationalist and anti-democracy groups to grow and thrive behind the fiction that they aren’t responsible for the violence and bigotry they promote. Today’s verdict, although partial, helps to make that clear.