US intelligence agencies believe that domestic terrorism poses a “high threat” to the motherland in 2021, predicting in a new joint report that social and political factors, including the coronavirus pandemic and “encouraging impact of the violent violation of the Capitol of the United States” USA “will” almost certainly “” encourage domestic violent extremists to engage in more violence.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued an unclassified summary of a joint assessment of the national security threat posed by domestic violent extremism on Wednesday.
The comprehensive threat assessment provided by the ODNI, Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to the White House and Congress was produced under the direction of President Biden, who requested the report after the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
The full confidential report – described by an ODNI official as a “fact-based analysis” that can inform strategy and policy development – was sent to the White House and Congress on Tuesday, according to an ODNI official. .
The report arrived on the same day that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas classified domestic violent extremism as the “greatest” and “most persistent” threat to the motherland.
“More recent socio-political developments – such as fraud narratives in the recent general elections, the encouraging impact of the violent violation of the United States Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and conspiracy theories that promote violence – will almost certainly stimulate some (domestic violent extremists) to try to engage in violence this year, “says the unclassified summary.
The report separates violent domestic extremists into different groups, including racially or ethnicly motivated extremists, anti-government extremists, animal rights extremists and environmentalists and abortion-related extremists.
Intelligence agencies found that violent extremists with racial or ethnic motives and violent militant extremists represented the “most lethal threats”. Racially motivated extremists were determined to be the most likely to instigate mass attacks against civilians, according to the unclassified summary. In contrast, the threat assessment found that violent militia extremists typically target law enforcement and government officials and facilities.
White supremacists have built support networks outside the United States in some cases, the unclassified summary revealed, adding that a “small number” traveled abroad to “network with like-minded individuals”.
Social media platforms, including smaller sites and encrypted chat apps, have been touted as emerging tools for recruiting, planning and disseminating materials that ultimately contribute to violent acts.
The assessment also noted that “lone criminals” or “small cells” of violent domestic extremists who adhere to diverse ideologies are more likely to carry out violent attacks than organizations that espouse a specific ideology.
Appearing before Congress on Tuesday, Mayorkas warned that lone extremists who express “loose affiliation” with ideologies of hatred and extremism are “willing to execute them in illegal, violent and illegal ways”.
The full confidential assessment was coordinated between the intelligence community and law enforcement, according to an ODNI official, using governmental and non-governmental organizations, as deemed appropriate.
The president of the Intelligence Chamber, Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, highlighted in a statement the “transnational element of the threat of domestic violent extremism”.
“The threat of white nationalism in particular has become a global phenomenon,” he said.
Schiff called Wednesday’s assessment a “good first step,” but asked intelligence agencies to publicly disclose additional details as determined by Congress, including “specific information on incidents, investigations, processes, analyzes, prioritization, personnel and resources. “.
The full confidential assessment was coordinated between the intelligence community and law enforcement, according to an ODNI official, using governmental and non-governmental organizations, as deemed appropriate.
Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.