PerspectiveCoronavirus and Its Social Effects Fueling Extremist Violence, Says Government Report
The coronavirus pandemic and its social repercussions are fueling violence by both frustrated individuals and domestic terrorists, according to a new intelligence report by the Department of Homeland Security. Social distancing has meant the cancelation of mass gathering events that are historically appealing targets for both international and domestic terrorists, the report adds, but “the pandemic has created a new source of anger and frustration for some individuals. As a result, violent extremist plots will likely involve individuals seeking targets symbolic to their personal grievances.”
The coronavirus pandemic and its social repercussions are fueling violence by both frustrated individuals and domestic terrorists, according to a new intelligence report by the Department of Homeland Security obtained by NBC News. Ken Dilanian writes for NBC News that the unclassified report by a Florida field office cites two incidents involving suspected domestic extremists, and two incidents in Florida that DHS labeled non-ideological.
He adds:
On 24 March, the DHS report says, a “racially motivated violent extremist espousing white supremacist extremist beliefs died after a confrontation with FBI agents in Missouri as they tried to arrest him for plotting to blow up a local hospital.”
The man had been the subject of a domestic terrorism investigation for plotting to commit an act of terrorism — specifically a bombing — and considered several targets, including a school with a large population of black students, a synagogue, and a mosque, according to the FBI. As the COVID-19 pandemic expanded, the man allegedly chose to target a local hospital with a vehicle bomb to cause severe harm and mass casualties, according to the FBI.
The DHS report cites another incident in mid-March, when a New Mexico man was charged with two counts of interstate communication of threats after allegedly threatening the life of New Mexico’s governor when she announced the closing of all schools and a ban on large public gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Social distancing has meant the cancelation of mass gathering events that are historically appealing targets for both international and domestic terrorists, the report adds, but “the pandemic has created a new source of anger and frustration for some individuals. As a result, violent extremist plots will likely involve individuals seeking targets symbolic to their personal grievances.”
