Chip Berlet Quotes

United States, Journalist
November 22, 1949

John Foster "Chip" Berlet is an American investigative journalist, research analyst,photojournalist, scholar, and activist specializing in the study of extreme right-wing movements in the United States. He also studies the spread of conspiracy theories. Since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Berlet has often appeared in the media to discuss extremist news stories. He was a senior analyst at Political Research Associates (PRA), a non-profit group that tracks right-wing networks.

Also known as Researcher, Scholar, Activist

Around the country, ideas that originated on the hard right or in the fevered imaginations of conspiracy theorists are finding their way into the mainstream. In a number of cases, these ideas have become commonplace in American minds.

Chip Berlet
- Country
- Mind
- Imagination
Even before the election I was saying that the rhetoric used by Trump was going to cause violence before and after the election. That was easy to predict.

Chip Berlet
- Violence
- Easy
- Election

People will say to me, "Well, nobody really believes this stuff." But as a reporter I go out and talk to people who do believe it. And they can talk about it for hours.

Chip Berlet
- People
- Believe
- Hours
Part of the coalition is intellectuals who have an idea of racial nationalism, which is very popular in right-wing populist movements in Europe. The alt-right believes in racially separate nation-states.

Chip Berlet
- Nationalism
- Populist
That there are evil people destroying America and it's a conspiracy and time is running out and we should do something about it - that's what millions of people hear Trump saying.

Chip Berlet
- People
- Running
- Evil
People's perceptions of their status are just as important as their actual status.

Chip Berlet
- Important
- Perception