National Review
Tulsi Gabbard: domestic terrorism bill is ‘a target for almost half the country’
Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii’s former Democratic representative, voiced concern on Friday that a proposed measure to combat domestic terrorism could be used to undermine civil liberties. Gabbard’s comments were made during an appearance on Fox News Primetime when host Brian Kilmeade asked her if she was “surprised that they are moving forward with this extra vigilance over alleged domestic terror”. “It is as dangerous as you have been talking about, this is a problem that all Democrats, Republicans, independents, libertarians should be concerned with, especially as we don’t have to guess where this is going or how it ends,” Gabbard said. She continued: “When you have people like former CIA director John Brennan talking openly about how he spoke or heard of nominees and nominees in the Biden administration who are already beginning to look for our types of insurgency-like movements in our country that they I have seen abroad, in his words, he says that he makes this profane alliance of religious extremists, racists, fanatics, he lists some others and in the end, even libertarians. ”She said her concern is with how the authorities will define the characteristics they look for in potential threats. “What characteristics are we looking for when building this profile of a potential extremist, what are we talking about? Religious extremists, we are talking about Christians, evangelical Christians, what is a religious extremist? Is someone pro-life? Where do you take this? ”Gabbard said. She said the proposed legislation could create “a very dangerous weakening of our civil liberties, our freedoms in our constitution, and affect almost half of the country.” “You start looking at, obviously, it has to be a white person, obviously male, libertarians, anyone who loves freedom, freedom, maybe has an American flag outside the home, or people who, you know, participated in a Trump rally, ”Gabbard said. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 was introduced in the House earlier this week, after the United States Capitol riot earlier this month, which left five dead. “Unlike September 11, the threat that appeared on January 6 is from domestic terrorist groups and extremists, often racially motivated violent individuals,” said Representative Brad Schneider (D., Illinois) in a statement announcing the bipartisan legislation. “America must be vigilant to combat those who have been radicalized by violence, and the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act gives our government the tools to identify, monitor and prevent its illegal activities. Combating the threat of domestic terrorism and white supremacy is not a Democratic or Republican issue, nor is it left versus right or urban versus rural. Domestic terrorism is an American problem, a serious threat that we can and must face together, ”he said.