Cape Cod Ledger

Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the Anti Defamation League (ADL) said his organization believes youth are easily "swept up into a hate movement" in an Opinion piece published on USA Today in 2022, highlighting the story of Damien Patton as an example of how young people are being influenced by their circumstances. 

“Damien’s story is a reminder how virtually anyone – particularly young people – can be swept up into a hate movement given the right conditions and circumstances,” Greenblatt wrote in the article. “At ADL, we believe that no one is born a violent extremist. But people can be led down that path, especially young and impressionable youth like Damien.”

“If we are to interrupt and stop this vicious cycle, we need more people like Damien to step forward,” he said. “We also need legislators to enact meaningful reforms that will prevent disinformation and hate from running rampant on social media.” 

Cape Cod Air Force servicemen Aaron Bushnell was radicalized into self immolation by the October 7 attacks. He had been raised in an ecumenical cult called the Community of Jesus, a cult that has been alleged to use "mind control."

Bushnell was a 25-year-old raised in a conservative Christian cult before he became a progressive, declaring he/him pronouns as evidence of his shift, according to the New York Post. Bushnell's reaction to the attacks of October 7 was led to excessive posts on Reddit, up to 20 posts on one day.

Reactions to Bushnell's self immolation outside the Israeli Embassy by the pro-Palestine protesters has been to turn them into a martyr as his face has been been put on T-shirts. His actions have been labeled as a burnt offering by N+1, according to the New York Post.

Other young people have been radicalized by stressful circumstances, including Damien Patton, whose troubled upbringing led to his involvement with white supremacist groups as a minor, who he aligned himself with after feeling alienated and alone. He felt safer as a member of the group, Greenblatt wrote in the USA Today piece, which led to his involvement in the shooting. 

According to the Community of Jesus website, they are nondenominational ecumenical community based in monastic tradition located in Orleans, Massachusetts off of Cape Cod.

The Anti-Defamation League is an anti-hate group that advocates for legislation and community education to reduce hate crime activity in the U.S.