Domestic terrorismBiden Administration ‘Going after Violence’ in Crackdown on Domestic Terrorism
White House and Pentagon officials are defending decisions to conduct in-depth reviews of the dangers posed by domestic extremists in the United States, pushing back against criticism that the measures will result in a so-called political litmus test. Nascent anger over the new efforts to look at domestic extremism in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol building has been growing in recent days, touched off by a decision by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to order a military-wide stand-down to determine the scope of the problem.
White House and Pentagon officials are defending decisions to conduct in-depth reviews of the dangers posed by domestic extremists in the United States, pushing back against criticism that the measures will result in a so-called political litmus test.
Nascent anger over the new efforts to look at domestic extremism in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol building has been growing in recent days, touched off by a decision by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to order a military-wide stand-down to determine the scope of the problem.
The Biden administration rejected the objections Friday, insisting that no one is trying to encroach on the constitutional right to free speech.
“We are not going after people based on their political allegiances or their political beliefs or their speech or their constitutionally protected political activities,” a senior administration official told reporters late Friday on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject. “We are going after violence.”
A Defense Department spokesperson was equally quick to dismiss the claims.
“The argument that this amounts to some sort of political litmus test, that is absolutely unfounded and untrue,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said during a briefing Friday.
“We encourage our troops to vote. We encourage them to register with the political party of their choice,” Kirby added. “But whatever the motivation is, when you violate good order and discipline. when you violate the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice], when you violate civil laws, then we’ve got a problem.”
Some of the most pointed and public criticism has come from newly elected Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican lawmaker from Colorado, who tweeted Thursday that the Defense Department stand-down is “nothing but a political litmus test of our brave men & women.”
“It is obscene & dangerous to use soldiers who risk their lives for America as political pawns,” she added.
Defense Secretary Austin ordered a standdown – a pause in military operations – on Wednesday to give the leaders of the military services a chance to talk about the spread of extremist ideology and the impact it is having on military members.
In a memo issued late Friday, the Defense Department said each military service would hold a standdown at some point over the next 60 days, though extensions can be granted “if required by the operational nature of the unit.”
