Aaron Flanagan is a team lead in the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center where he oversees research of the white power movement across several ideologies including neo-Nazi, racist skinhead, the Ku Klux Klan, Holocaust denial, hate music and others. Flanagan also works closely with SPLCs federal and state-level policy teams on issues related to political violence, electoral extremism and election protections in addition to prevention and resilience building against far-right extremism. He has provided analysis and investigative support to news outlets—including the BBC, New York Times, ProPublica, Der Spiegel, ARD, MSNBC, ABC News, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, The Guardian and others—and has briefed government agencies in numerous countries. Previously, he has lead teams publishing original reports and conducting community-based research to develop resources for or with advocates leading organizing efforts to counter the nativist, anti-immigrant movement in our country and the international anti-Muslim movement. He has been a part of the broader NGO research community focused on reducing harms attributable to far-right extremism for nearly 20 years.
The inaugural Eradicate Hate Summit was a truly impressive gathering of leaders dedicated to finding lasting and effective solutions to violent extremism. I was particularly moved by the prominence given to survivors and family members of victims of hate and violence throughout the event. Their stories and those of so many others must be at the center of what we do and why we do it.
