Odette Youssef
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-07-2025 8PM EST
The civil lawsuit against the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe was brought by Springfield's mayor, three city commissioners, and four residents who were public in their support of Haitian immigrants. It claims the group interfered with plaintiffs' federal civil rights, that it created a public nuisance, and that it incited violence.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-07-2025 8PM EST
The suit alleges, among other things, that the neo-Nazis instigated dozens of bomb threats and that they instructed strangers to enter some plaintiffs' homes at night without knocking to demand drugs and sex. None of the plaintiffs themselves are Haitian residents of Springfield. Instead, the complaint paints a picture of a city terrorized by a campaign of hate.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-07-2025 8PM EST
The Blood Tribe has not publicly posted a response. Odette Youssef, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-31-2025 4PM EST
NPR's Odette Youssef reports. Similar transphobic scapegoating happened after the school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, Apalachee, Georgia, Madison, Wisconsin, and Perry, Iowa, to name just a few. Sarah Moore is with GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group. She says the pattern ties to a steep increase they've documented over the last three years of anti-trans hate crimes.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-31-2025 4PM EST
Trans people are four times more likely to be the victim of crimes, not the perpetrators. In his first two weeks in office, President Trump has targeted trans people's access to medical care, bathrooms, and legal recognition on documents like passports. Trans people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population. Odette Youssef, NPR News.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Good morning, Michelle.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Well, he appeared to keep several accounts on sites including X, Facebook, and Goodreads. And there are a few things that raise questions. On his Goodreads account, for example, he posted an excerpt from the writings of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. So we might wonder how that may relate to a trajectory toward political violence. Also, one of the pictures on his ex-account banner...
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
is an X-ray of a spine with four large screws inserted in what looks like major surgery. Now, we don't know for certain that this is his X-ray, but there are reports that he may have sustained this injury in a surfing accident in Hawaii. But all told, Michelle, his digital footprint really doesn't clarify much because it cut off in the spring.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Here's Jared Holt of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Well, from what's been shared by other reporting, this short note conveys a deep anger toward the healthcare industry and a feeling that someone had to do something about it. But other than that, no. You know, if some of this ties back to a possible injury that he had and perhaps what he ran into while trying to get care, it doesn't make any of those connections.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Now that he's in custody, I imagine we're going to learn much more. But there is another part of this that's troubling, and that part is the valorization that we're seeing of the suspect within some of the mainstream public.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
So this killing, you know, seemed to tap into the feeling that seemingly most Americans have had at one time or another of frustration and helplessness with the healthcare industry. What really struck me, though, is that I have typically seen people who commit mass violence or political violence praised, even venerated as martyrs, in really kind of
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
dark corners of the extremist world, you know, within online communities that emulate mass shooters, for instance, or in violent white supremacist spaces. So seeing a much wider and mainstream public call this suspect a, quote, hero is troubling.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
And for extremist analysts that I spoke to, you know, this really kind of speaks to how Americans have, over time, become more open-minded toward political violence.