A joint report released by U.S. intelligence agencies has cited domestic terrorism as a heightened threat to national security. Damn, who ...
A joint report released by U.S. intelligence agencies has cited domestic terrorism as a heightened threat to national security. Damn, who could have seen that coming?
According to CBS News, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued an unclassified summary about the threat domestic terrorism poses to the county. The report was created in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice and sent to the White House, after President Joe Biden requested the report in the wake of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
“Newer sociopolitical developments — such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the US Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence — will almost certainly spur some (domestic violent extremists) to try to engage in violence this year,” the summary read.
The report breaks down extremists into separate groups: racially or ethnically motivated extremists, anti-government extremists, animal rights and environmental extremists and abortion-related extremists. Unsurprisingly, the report cites racially motivated extremists as “the most lethal threats.”
From CBS News:
Racially motivated extremists were determined to be the most likely to instigate mass-casualty attacks against civilians, according to the unclassified summary. In contrast, the threat assessment found militia violent extremists typically target law enforcement and government personnel and facilities.
White supremacists built networks of support outside the U.S. in some cases, the unclassified summary revealed, adding a “small number” have travelled abroad to “network with like-minded individuals.”
Social media platforms, including smaller websites and encrypted chat applications, were pinpointed as emerging tools for recruitment, planning and dissemination of materials that ultimately contribute to violent acts.
You know, maybe it’s just me, but after Charlottesville, the Walmart shooting in El Paso, the storming of Michigan’s state Capitol, the number of people who drove cars into crowds of protesters last year, Kyle Rittenhouse, the Capitol riot, and this week’s racially motivated shooting at several Asian spas in Georgia, it’s been pretty obvious for a while that we have a problem with domestic terrorism.
The FBI, DOJ, DHS, and ODNI can send as many reports to Congress as they want, but at a certain point, somebody has to do something. Considering that the FBI’s response to the Capitol riot was questionable at best and that certain GOP congressional members have all but endorsed the actions of the insurrectionists on Jan. 6, it’s looking like all we can expect is condemnations and platitudes about how “un-American” these attacks that happen regularly in America are.
No comments