The New Right-Wing Extremism: Unified, Tech-Savvy and Emboldened
The white-nationalist movement, until recently fragmented, is amplifying its small numbers with help from the web and new leaders

By Dan Frosch, Cameron McWhirter and Ben Kesling

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Aug. 16, 2017 12:33 p.m. ET

The white nationalist drove from South Carolina. The self-described patriot trekked from Tennessee. The college student espousing white pride flew in from Nevada. ... The right-wing extremist movement, which until recently was fragmented by division, starved for members and lacking steady leadership, rarely was capable of uniting its forces as it did last weekend. The mayhem in Charlottesville, Va., was a signal that even if not numerous, these groups are unifying.

Patrick LaPorte IV, 35 years old, a white nationalist from South Carolina who attended the rally, said he was drawn to the event even though there wasn’t a single group driving the charge, but rather a loose conglomeration of like-minded people connected on social media. Mr. LaPorte, who brought a mouth guard with him for protection in the event of a brawl, said he isn’t bothered when people call him a Nazi, though if he were to label himself he would say he subscribes to “white identity.” ... In the past, he said, white nationalists might have been scared of showing their faces. For many, he said, those days are over.

For law-enforcement officials and others who have long tracked the extremist groups that descended on Charlottesville, the attendance of so many disparate elements made the gathering a watershed. While only several hundred people showed up, far fewer than the tens of thousands who have gathered to demonstrate against President Donald Trump or support immigrant and women’s rights, it was among the largest gatherings of its kind in decades.
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Rescue workers assist a victim who was injured by the car in Charlottesville on Saturday.JOSHUA ROBERTS/REUTERS



Participants of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally march down East Market Street toward Emancipation Park in Charlottesville.CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

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On Friday morning, {Doc Smith, of Clarksville, Tennessee}, 50 years old, who has traveled the country to protest the removal of Confederate monuments, put that thought aside and climbed into his pickup truck for the nine-hour drive to Virginia. When he returned home on Sunday, despite his sadness over the death of a young woman, he felt the movement would be inspired. His Facebook page is a story line of videos and updates from Charlottesville. ... “Watch the movement explode behind what happened in Charlottesville,” he said. “The next time we come back, there may be thousands.”

—Scott Calvert contributed to this article.

Write to Dan Frosch at dan.frosch@wsj.com, Cameron McWhirter at cameron.mcwhirter@wsj.com and Ben Kesling at benjamin.kesling@wsj.com

Appeared in the August 17, 2017, print edition as 'The New Extremism: Unified, Tech-Savvy.'