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Neo-Nazi Skinheads first appeared on America's streets in the
mid-eighties and have since shown substantial growth. From a
membership of 1,000 to 1,500 in 12 states in early 1988, their ranks
swelled to between 3,300 and 3,500 in 40 states by 1993. These
numbers have held essentially steady since then.[1]
The growth in membership has been paralleled by an extraordinary
record of violence. American Skins have graduated from the use of
boots, bats and knives to using firearms. Indeed, the relative
availability of guns in the United States has made American Skins
among the most dangerous and violent in the world. Only the German
Skinheads have consistently matched their American counterparts in
the frequency and ferocity of their attacks.
This propensity for extreme acts of violence is reflected in the
dramatic rise in the number of murders committed by Skinheads in the
United States. From December 1987 to June 1990, there were a total
of six such killings; in the three years that followed, no fewer
than 22 more took place; since June 1993, an additional nine
homocides have occurred for an overall total of at least 37.
Most of the Skinheads' murder victims have been members of minority
groups: Hispanics, blacks, Asians, homosexuals and homeless persons.
Some deaths have resulted from in-group violence, with Skinheads
killing fellow gang members over, for instance, a pair of boots, a
jacket, or some money. American Skinheads have also committed
thousands of lesser crims: beatings, stabbings, shootings, thefts,
synagogue desecrations and other forms of mayhem and intimidation.
-- Michael Pugliese