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.
It is a tragic reality that hateful ideology has found fertile ground online and offline, with consequences affecting not only Americans but people around the world. We cannot stand idle in the face of bias, bigotry, and extremism. Together, at the Eradicate Hate Summit and beyond, the collective will of individuals and organizations is needed to galvanize all people of good will to protect and defend our communities.
