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May 19, 2011
Dear Friend, More than 30 law enforcement officers have been murdered by domestic extremists since Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City. The SPLC is now tracking a record number of potentially violent hate and extremist groups, and we're expanding our operations to provide law enforcement officers with the training they need to fight these groups. Please renew your support today to help us get crucial tools out to those on the front lines. Just last May, West Memphis Police Chief Robert Paudert's son—a police officer—was murdered by members of the antigovernment "sovereign citizens" during a traffic stop. You may have seen Chief Paudert discuss the murder on 60 Minutes this week.
Chief Paudert, using footage from his son's patrol car camera, narrates the new SPLC training video, Understanding the Threat, designed to help unsuspecting officers identify potential domestic threats. With your help, we've rushed more than 50,000 free copies of this powerful safety video to agencies nationwide. Here's what one police trainer from Los Angeles said:
Now we're producing new videos to help educate officers on the dangers of extremists. Please renew today and help us get this video and our other training tools into the hands of every officer who requests them. And help us pursue our other work for justice and tolerance. Thank you for standing with us. I know Chief Paudert and thousands of officers also thank you.
P.S.: I worry that we'll see more incidents like these. Notify the authorities if you witness extremist activity and, please, speak out against hate in your community. If your renewal gift and this e-mail have crossed, please accept my gratitude for your continued commitment to making a difference in our country.  Help SPLC even more by taking advantage of corporate matching — contact your employer's HR department to see if they will match your contributions to SPLC. |
