NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Anti-Defamation League has come under scrutiny for excluding the case of transgender shooter Audrey Hale from its list of extremist-related murders in 2023. Despite police confirmation of the legitimacy of Hale’s manifesto, which expressed hatred for white people, the ADL claimed there was no clear evidence of extremism in her case.
Conservative commentator Stephen Crowder released three pages of Hale’s manifesto in November, detailing her violent and discriminatory language directed at white and LGBTQ+ people. However, the ADL maintained that the hateful epithets did not provide evidence of a particular extremist ideology, but rather reflected resentment and grievance at students from the shooter’s former school.
The Center on Extremism at the ADL reported that all extremist-related murders in 2023 were committed by far-right extremists. The organization noted two specific instances apparently motivated by neo-Nazism and white supremacy, including the case of Mauricio Garcia, a Hispanic man with reported white supremacist and neo-Nazi tattoos, who killed eight people at a mall in Texas.
In addition to the controversy surrounding Hale’s exclusion from the list, the ADL has faced criticism for its aggressive stance supporting gender ideology and its alleged targeting of conservative figures critical of transgender orthodoxy. The organization has been accused of adopting the Left’s favored causes, often in the name of fighting antisemitism.
The ADL’s stance on race has also been a point of contention, with the organization condemning racism on the Right while allegedly turning a blind eye to racial discrimination perpetrated by the Left in the name of “anti-racism.”
Critics have raised concerns about the ADL’s selective approach to identifying and addressing extremism, particularly concerning cases that may involve individuals associated with the organization’s favored causes.
The controversy surrounding the ADL’s handling of cases like Audrey Hale’s highlights ongoing debates about the organization’s criteria for determining extremist ties and the potential implications of its decisions in shaping public perceptions of extremism and related issues.