Homegrown terror
4/17/2014The suspect in the murders of three people this week in Kansas is a reminder that the United States has a domestic terrorism problem that is overshadowed by fear of foreign terrorists.
Frazier Glenn Cross, who is accused of killing three people at a Jewish community center and at a nearby Jewish retirement community, is well known for his white-supremacist views and hate speech. He is a former leader of two paramilitary groups, the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Patriot Party, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The murders of William Lewis Corporon, a retired doctor; his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, and Terri LaManno could be classified as federal hate crimes if the evidence warrants. Authorities have charged Cross with first-degree premeditated murder and capital murder. If he is convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison or face the death penalty.
One of the ironies of the murders is that while the accused is considered an anti-Semite who claims to be Christian, all three victims were Christians. After 9/11, many Americans are still fixated on terror attacks from foreigners. They should be worried about violence from the hatred-spewing Klansmen and paramilitarists next door.