Justice Department created new office to focus on domestic terrorists
A study released in June found that despite public perception about the threat posed by Islamist extremists, law enforcement officers are more concerned about threat posed homegrown terrorists. In addition, the study, published by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University, found that the violence associated with foreign-inspired extremists has remained low in comparison to violence perpetrated by domestic terrorism.
The Star’s report in April found that 52 people had been killed in attacks since 9/11 by domestic extremists, including white nationalists, militias, and sovereign citizens. The Star’s list uses the definition of domestic terrorism employed by the FBI, which does not include attacks on American soil by those who live here but are inspired by violent jihadist groups abroad (the Charleston, South Carolina attack and a shooting rampage in a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater in July brought that total to 63).
Carlin said that racial hatred motivates many of the acts committed by violent extremists.
“Among domestic extremist movements active in the United States, white supremacists are the most violent,” he said. “The Charleston shooter, who had a manifesto laying out a racist worldview, is just one example. His actions followed earlier deadly shooting sprees by white supremacists in Kansas, Wisconsin and elsewhere.”
Carlin added that law enforcement agencies also are concerned about violence associated with anti-government groups, particularly the growth of the sovereign citizen movement. Adherents to the sovereign citizen ideology believe the government is corrupt and out of control; therefore, they do not recognize local, state or federal authority.
Carlin said authorities were seeing two traits emerge among both foreign and domestic extremists: the prevalence of “lone wolf” attacks and an increase in the number of those who are inspired to commit violence and spread their hate over the Internet and through social media.
Carlin said the new office will work closely with the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee, a task force originally created by the Justice Department in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing.
The group disbanded in the aftermath of 9/11, but in April, the month of the twentieth anniversary of the bombing, the Justice Department revived the group.
Daryl Johnson, a former senior analyst with the Department of Homeland Security who was criticized in 2009 for writing a report warning that there could be a surge in violence committed by domestic extremists, welcomed the announcement about the new office.
Johnson told the Star that when he was at Homeland Security, he worked with the Justice Department’s domestic terrorism coordinator to launch meetings in 2007 with law enforcement agencies to discuss domestic terrorism issues.
“We got everybody together, went down to Justice, had a meeting with them,” Johnson said. “But it was mainly exchanging business cards between Homeland Security, FBI, the marshal’s service and park police. And everybody talked about what we might want to do in the future.”
They decided to meet regularly, he said. But the group disbanded after the second meeting because of a lack of interest.
“This sounds like the same thing, just renamed and repackaged,” Johnson said. Still, he said, “I’m optimistic that it’s a move in the right direction. So I’m holding out hope that it’s a sincere effort and will do something positive.”
