Is Brexit emboldening white supremacists in America?

When the 'leave' side won Britain's referendum last week, incidents of overt racism flared. A curb on immigration was part of the campaign of mainstream 'leave' supporters, but the anti-immigrant sentiment was kerosene for the far right.

Cards with anti-Polish messages were placed in mailboxes.  People reported racist confrontations in the street. Islamophobic leaflets were distributed. In Manchester, there was a threat made against a black community centre. A police site tracking hate crimes in the U.K. found they increased fivefold.

Marilyn Mayo, of the Anti-Defamation League, says Brexit is fuelling hatred in the U.S as well. She says white supremacists in the U.S see Brexit as a win for their racist agendas.

Their goal is to support candidates that they think support white interests.- Marilyn Mayo, Anti-Defamation League

"What they believe is that the campaigns we're seeing  — both Brexit and the Trump campaign — are promoting some of their own ideas. They've been talking about immigration for years, so they feel that they've actually succeeded with bringing their own issues to the forefront," says Mayo.

Mayo has been tracking the social media accounts and blogs of notorious white supremacists. She says they're being vocal about how Brexit is energizing their racist sentiments.

"Matt Heimbach, who's a rising young white supremacist in the United States, [is] talking about how [Brexit] is one of the best moves since 1933 in Europe when Hitler came to power," says Mayo.

And Mayo says it's not just lone wolf racists who are reacting positively to Brexit and drawing parallels with the political situation in the U.S.

"You have someone like Richard Spencer, who runs a small think tank in the United States called the National Policy Institute and he's said things like the Brexit fills him with hope about the Trump movement. I think what's happening in the United States is that white supremacists are relating Brexit to the Trump campaign which they've been very supportive of, " says Mayo.

I think we have a potential for violence, which is very worrisome.-  Marilyn Mayo, Anti-Defamation League

Mayo says, of course, not all who support Trump are racists.

"But there's been sort of an awakening for whites about their position in society and in America right now," she says.

"They are also talking a lot about globalization as well. They believe it promotes multiculturalism and immigration. So their goal is to support candidates that they think support white interests. They feel that the Trump campaign has implicitly been promoting white interests," she adds.

As the U.S. Presidential election draws closer, Mayo foresees that white nationalists will become more visible on the ground.

"Some white supremacists are claiming that they're going to be at the Republican Convention.  I think we have a potential for violence, which is very worrisome. There's a real potential for white nationalists to get even more active as the campaign goes on, and there's some concern about how they might react if Trump loses," says Mayo.