POCATELLO -- People who become involved in so-called hate groups may not share a group's beliefs or even know much about its ideology.

What they do know is that someone is reaching out to them at a time when they may feel friendless, alone and in need of acceptance, said Jim Aho, an Idaho State University professor of sociology.

Aho has authored several books on the subject of violence and the principles of right wing extremists.

"They join these groups by virtue of contacts with people already in the movement," Aho said of recruitees. Some of the best recruiters are members of a person's family such as a father, an older brother, an uncle or a cousin.

"People join first and then they begin altering their beliefs," Aho said.

The contact may begin as a purely social activity. A person may be approached to attend a meeting or go to a weekend campout, a dance, a box lunch or picnic, Aho said. Recruiters offer friendship and an open-ended invitation to learn.

"They'll say they'll drive the person to the meeting and that they can leave whenever the person wants to," Aho said. "They tell them there are no strings attached and they have nothing to lose."

The Christian patriot groups have high quality printed brochures and other materials as well as audio and video tapes. They also encourage people to listen to late night radio talk shows where the views of the group are reinforced by talk show hosts and callers.

Aho said many people are recruited through prison recruitment efforts. Prisons are fertile ground for new recruits because inmates need a focus for their lives outside prison walls. They need to feel worthwhile and they need something on which to channel their energies.

"Many prisoners leave prison and immediately move in with people involved in such groups," Aho said.

Many women are recruited after becoming romantically involved with a man who they see as a "good Christian man."

"The bonding, the building of powerful personal relationships are the most important thing. The beliefs are secondary," Aho said.

People drawn to these groups may actually see their lives, in some respects, change for the better, Aho said. The prisoner strung out on drugs may get off them and the woman without a stable home life may find one.

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