Monitoring Extremist Chatter | Cybersecurity Ignorance Is Dangerous | Deadly Force Rules for Terrorist Suspects, and more

The six-minute video, distributed on gaming platforms and social media, rapidly reveals itself as a visually arresting propaganda piece — a recruiting tool for far-right extremists that draws viewers in with “They’re coming for your guns” and “They’re opening your borders” and then hits them with “They’re humiliating your race” and “Defend your race.” The far-right groups that blossomed during Donald Trump’s presidency — including white supremacists, self-styled militias and purveyors of anti-government conspiracy theories — have created enduring communities by soft-pedaling their political goals and focusing on entertaining potential recruits with the tools of pop culture, according to current and former members of the groups and those who study the new extremism.

Biden Administration Releases Trump-Era Deadly Force Rules for Terrorist Suspects Abroad  (Caroline Kelly, CNN)
The Biden administration disclosed Trump-era rules on Friday regulating the use of deadly force against terrorism suspects abroad, releasing them with several redacted lines to the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit after the Trump administration refused to make them public. The rules, which President Joe Biden suspended on his first day in office while his administration began reviewing them, according to the Times, have come under criticism for making exceptions to standards about how and where “direct action” attacks were allowed outside war zones. “We appreciate this release, which confirms our fear that President Trump stripped down even the minimal safeguards President Obama established in his rules for lethal strikes outside recognized conflicts,” Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney for the ACLU, said in a statement Saturday. The rules, titled “Principles, Standards, and Procedures for U.S. Direct Action Against Terrorist Targets,” allow for US direct action against lawfully targeted terrorists “whose removal, either independently or as part of a broader campaign, is determined to be reasonably necessary to U.S. efforts to address the threat posed by the terrorist group.

British Government Bans Atomwaffen Division as Criminal Terrorist Organization  (Ben Makuch, Vice)
The British government has officially banned Atomwaffen Division and its successor organization, National Socialist Order (NSO), as criminal terrorist groups, meaning membership in either in the U.K. now carries a potential 10-year prison sentence.  On Monday, Home Secretary Priti Pratel issued a motion for Parliament to “proscribe” Atomwaffen Division—a mostly U.S. based neo-Nazi terror group that disbanded last year and was connected to five stateside murders—as an “outlaw” group. Today, it was ratified by Parliament. “Vile and racist white supremacist groups like this exist to spread hate, sow division and advocate the use of violence to further their sick ideologies,” Patel said in a statement. In response to the ban, a leader within the NSO who previously headed an Atomwaffen cell told VICE World News that he wasn’t shocked by the criminal proscription of the group, and questioned why the disbanded organization was also named. “We’re not at all surprised over it. The U.K. government consistently falls all over itself to ban any dissidents that have a real public image,” he said, claiming that the group is exclusively American. “NSO’s program even states that we are a U.S.-only organization, the only reason for them to ban us is to virtue signal.

Met Dismisses Police Officer Who Belonged to Banned Neo-Nazi Terror Group  (Lucy Campbell, Guardian)
A man who became the first British police officer convicted of belonging to a neo-Nazi terrorist organisation has been dismissed from the Metropolitan police without notice. Ben Hannam was found guilty on 1 April of membership of the banned rightwing extremist group National Action (NA) following a trial at the Old Bailey. At a gross misconduct hearing on Wednesday, his behaviour was found to amount to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour, the Met said. The Met assistant commissioner, Helen Ball, who chaired the hearing, said his actions had “without question harmed public confidence in, and the reputation of” the force. She said: “In terms of culpability, PC Hannam has knowingly and intentionally remained a member of a proscribed organisation, made false statements, retained possession of terrorism-related documents and a prohibited image of a child. He had at every stage the option not to embark on this course of conduct and to move away from it and did not do so. “In addition, PC Hannam has been convicted of six separate criminal offences. It is entirely unacceptable for police officers who are responsible for enforcing the law to break the law themselves. He was wholly responsible for his actions and his culpability is high.

Far-Right Terror Suspects Arrested in Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Wales  (Clea Skopeliti, Guardian)
Police have arrested five people in areas across West Yorkshire, Wiltshire and north Wales as part of a counter-terrorism operation. The “pre-planned” arrests were part of an investigation into far-right terrorism led by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, police said. Two men, aged 29 and 30, and a 28-year-old woman were arrested at an address in Keighley on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. A 16-year-old boy in Swindon and a 28-year-old man in Anglesey were also arrested on suspicion of the same offence. An ordnance-disposal unit was alerted after officers discovered suspicious material at one of the addresses in Keighley, West Yorkshire police said in a statement. The unit will provide specialist advice and organise the safe removal of the items if required. Some residents have been evacuated while the material is examined and a cordon has been put in place around the site. Multiple properties are being searched in connection with the arrests. The five suspects are being questioned at a police station in West Yorkshire.

Canadian Chapter of the Proud Boys, Designated a Terrorist Group by The Government, Says It Has ‘Dissolved’  (Amanda Coletta, Washington Post)
Nearly three months after Canada declared the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, the Canadian chapter of the militant far-right group claims it has “officially dissolved.” But analysts warned that the organization could still rebrand, and its radicalized members could find new homes. Members of the Proud Boys, founded in the United States by a Canadian, joined the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol in January. In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, the group said “there is officially no longer any Proud Boys in Canada.” It cited the financial difficulties of mounting a legal challenge to overturn the government’s terrorist entity designation. The designation in February did not make it illegal to belong to the group, but it did carry financial and legal consequences. Authorities can add members to the no-fly list. Banks can freeze their assets, and police can seize their property. It’s a crime to knowingly provide assistance to the group, including by purchasing merchandise. “The truth is we were never terrorists or a white supremacy group,” the Canadian chapter said in its statement, posted to the main Proud Boys channel on the Telegram messaging app. “As a fraternity of men we had thought of pursuing the case legally but we have no financial support, given we are not funded by the rich.

Cybersecurity Ignorance Is Dangerous  (Tarah Wheeler, Foreign Policy)
A new book gets the policy recommendations right while making technical errors that could undermine trust in its conclusions.