Rightwing extremism is booming in the United States, with a massive surge in anti-government groups and white supremacist militias taking place since Barack Obama became the country’s first black president. And while these groups appear to be driven along by far-fetched conspiracy theories, many of them armed and dangerous nonetheless,  according to watchdog organisations.

The most prominent civil rights group in the US, the Southern Poverty Law Center, recently issued a report called Rage on the Right, detailing a more than 250- percent increase in extremist “patriot” groups since Mr Obama’s victory in 2008.

Chip Berlet of the Massachusetts-based group Political Research Associates has been tracking American right-wing movements for 25 years. He estimates that nine murders - committed by people who believed some kind of white supremacist or anti-Semitic conspiracy theory concerning Mr Obama - took place in the first six months of his presidency. And, he says, it’s not just the colour of Mr Obama’s skin that’s fuelling this increase in extremism.

“There are a lot of conspiracy theories that claim that he’s about to impose martial law, that he’s going to suspend the constitution, that he’s going to merge Mexico, Canada and the United States into a North American Union, on the same basis as the original European Union. That he is in fact working on behalf of some secret elites, whether that is bankers or Jewish bankers or Muslim terrorists. The conspiracy theories vary, but right after the inauguration, the sales of guns and ammunition went up so high that some stores were having trouble keeping stock.”

Listen to the Newsline interview with Chip Berlet

Apocalyptic climate
Discontent over America’s troubled economy and an array of political initiatives branded as “socialist” by Obama’s opponents have created a fertile breeding ground for the conspiracy theorists. This is also reflected in an increasing radicalisation of the language used by some sections of Republican and conservative politics. Such mainstream groups cannot be described as extremist but, believes Mr Berlet, they can contribute to a climate that makes extremism more acceptable.

“Well I think it encourages it. I think it sets up a situation where people who are considering violence look at major elected officials, major Republican Party activists and conservative activists and major conservative media demagogues, frankly, and they see permission to act to save the country before it’s too late. It’s this kind of apocalyptic idea that time is running out and that any means necessary is justified by this imminent threat.”

Internet influence
The report from the Southern Poverty Law Centre agrees that hard line ideas are gaining more ground in mainstream politics and media. One theory in circulation on "patriot" websites accuses the Obama administration of setting up concentration camps for political opponents. Conservative Fox News presenter Glenn Beck breathed new life into the theory before he finally "debunked" it. But having once been reinvigorated, such theories linger persistently in the blogosphere.

Most far-right extremists are more likely to express their ideas via internet forums than through active violence, but the last surge in “patriot” groups under the Clinton administration in the 1990s was marked by a series of violent incidents culminating in the 1995 bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people.

Political and personal threat
A series of assassination plots against Barack Obama have been uncovered since he first began his campaign for the White House. But as well as the personal danger, the rising wave of anger channelled into conspiracy theories threatens his presidency in other ways, according to Mr Berlet.  

“There’s no way to reach any kind of civil society resolution of political and policy issues when so many millions of Americans are convinced that Obama is not really an American – he’s a Kenyan, or that he’s working on behalf of secret Jewish bankers or that he’s about to impose tyranny along with the UN. It’s very difficult to get any kind of agenda through Congress when so many people are wound up in these conspiracy theories. They’re willing to block everything he does because they believe he’s up to some sinister activity.”

The extent of support for far-right patriot groups and militias may become clearer next month when they are planning a march on Washington. The stated reason is to defend the right to carry guns, but anti-Obama and anti-government sentiments are likely to be highly visible.