But even beyond declining to profile all white Christian men, the civil liberties of far-right-wing groups are respected by the law enforcement community. There is no preemptive prosecution of these groups, which span a wide ideological range that includes white supremacists, anti-government fanatics, and various Christian fundamentalist tendencies, even though many such groups form “militias” and hold regular paramilitary training camps. As Downs notes, “Nobody bothers them because indoctrination and weapons training is constitutionally protected free speech and exercise of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The criminal line is crossed only when such groups conspire to commit a specific crime. However, preemptive prosecution makes an exception for Muslims.” In short, while white supremacists are allowed to train with guns at sites all over the United States, if a regular Muslim American so much as acquires a weapon, he or she is deemed suspicious.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 488