American Renaissance Denies DHS Affiliation, Shooting Suspect

As America struggles to understand the horrific shooting in Arizona, Fox News has indicated that the DHS might think shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner may have some affiliation to a hate group named the American Renaissance.

The group, whose website is widely categorized as hate speech (it is blocked by the public network I am currently on), has denied that Loughner had any link to them, but a Fox News report suiggested the Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether the young man was a follower of the group or may have been inspired, when he purchased his firearms, a glock from the local sporting goods store, and planned to assassinate the congresswoman.

According to the document, Giffords is "the first Jewish female elected to such a high position in the U.S. government. She was also opposite the group's ideology when it came to immigration debate," and thus could be a likely target in this sort of scenario.

Critics note that it's not clear exactly where this supposed document came from, as Talking Points Memo says: "Fox has walked back its initial description of the memo as coming from the Department of Homeland Security. Now it uses a labored description: "a law enforcement memo based on information provided by DHS."

American Renaissance Denies DHS Affiliation, Shooting Suspect
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The feds are reportedly probing whether shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner has ties to an anti-Semitic, anti-government hate group that has ads for tea party organizations on its website. A Department of Homeland Security memo quoted by Fox News says the agency is looking into whether Loughner is "possibly linked" to the fanatical group American Renaissance. The group promotes views that are "anti-government, anti-immigration, anti-ZOG (Zionist Occupation Government), anti-Semitic," the memo says. It's not immediately clear that Loughner is actually a member.

American Renaissance Denies DHS Affiliation, Shooting Suspect