Washington in 5 minutes

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

CONGRESS

Group wants probe of racial extremism

One of the country's main monitors of hate groups asked Congress on Friday to investigate possible racial extremism in the military after finding U.S. service members participating on a social networking site advertised as being for white people only.

Researchers from the Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Ala., identified about 40 personal profiles of people who list the military as their occupation on the Web site New Saxon, according to the group's founder, Morris Dees.

The site, run by the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement, describes itself as an "online community for whites by whites." Mr. Dees said some of the participants are wearing military uniforms in profile photos, although it was not possible to verify whether any of them are actually serving in the armed forces.

"We urge your committees to investigate the threat posed by racial extremists who may be serving in the military to ensure that our armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists," Mr. Dees wrote in a letter addressed to four congressional committee chairmen.

Mr. Dees said existing Pentagon regulations that prohibit active participation in extremists groups should be strengthened further.

Jeff Schoep, commander of the National Socialist Movement, said there are members of the military who participate on the site, but that not all are members of his organization. He could not say how many there are.

The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MEDICINE