According to an unclassified intelligence report that warned that threats could grow this year, racially motivated extremists represent the most lethal threats of domestic terrorism for the United States.
The compelling assessment, in a report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, echoes the warnings of U.S. officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, who stated in early ‘this month that the threat of domestic violent extremism was “metastasizing” around the world. the country.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has also described it as a top priority, as his justice department is working to prosecute hundreds of people who took part in the crowd attack in the U.S. Congress in January.
The riot exposed the threat posed by national extremists and led Joe Biden to assign his intelligence officers the task of studying the extent of the problems. A brief, unclassified summary of this threat assessment was released on Wednesday; a full classified report was presented to the White House and Congress.
“Today’s report highlights how we face the greatest threat from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, especially white supremacists and militant violent extremists,” said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Intelligence officials said in their assessment that extremists seen as risks of violence are motivated by various ideologies.
Developments such as anger over restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic and the belief in the discredited narrative that the November presidential election was fraudulent “almost certainly” will spur additional violence in 2021, according to the report. Numerous courts and Donald Trump’s own justice department confirmed the integrity of the election.
The report says the most lethal threat is posed by racially motivated violent extremists, who officials say are more likely to carry out mass attacks on U.S. civilians and militia groups, who are considered more likely to lead the forces of the order and government officials. The threat of militias increased in 2020 and is expected to increase again this year, according to the report’s summary.
The report says white supremacists show what officials say is “the most persistent and troubling transnational connection.”.
Other national extremist categories of concern to government researchers include animal and environmental rights activists, anti-abortion protesters, anarchists, and so-called sovereign citizens who “believe they are immune to government authority and laws.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the distribution of white supremacist propaganda nearly doubled across America by 2020, with 5,125 reported incidents of racist, anti-Semitic and other hate messages.
The ADL said that in 2020 it had the “highest level” of cases of this propaganda since it began controlling the phenomenon, an average of about 14 cases a day.
Reports came hours after a gunman shot eight people at various massage parlors in the Atlanta area – six of the dead victims were of Asian descent and seven were women – sparking fears the party was racially motivated. The shootings took place amid rising anti-Asian fanaticism across the US, which has included harassment and physical attacks.