Like criminal gangs, hate groups offer their members a sense of family, power and identity. Among its many tactics, ExitUSA offers support from former members of the movement, and helps arrange meetings between those looking to leave the cause and the people against whom they promoted hatred. “As former extremists from the far right, what changed us is when we received compassion from the people we least deserved it from,” Picciolini explained to the Huffington Post. Speaking of the men and women he has rehabilitated, he added, “Often times they’ve never met a black person or had a meaningful conversation with a Muslim or Jewish person. I get them into a situation where they can sit and talk, and realize there are more things in common than differences.”

President Trump has been widely criticized for rebranding the CVE program to focus solely on extremist Islamic groups. Quartz has contacted the DHS for comment and will update this post with any response we receive.

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