Black, Brown and Extremist | Global Push against Violent Extremism Online | Post-Pipeline Hacker Gangs, and more

Between 2018 and 2024, sixty-one of these convicts—a quarter of those currently incarcerated—will complete their sentences and re-enter society. With recidivism rates of between 44 percent for federal prisoners and 20 percent for Guantanamo detainees, we clearly have not seen the end of jihadi-inspired domestic violence.

Merrick Garland Puts Domestic Terror and Civil Rights at Top of Justice Agenda  (Peter Stone, Guardian)
The new attorney general, Merrick Garland, has signaled an ambitious agenda to fight domestic terrorism in America including white supremacists and hate crimes, while bolstering civil rights and voting rights, critical areas that got short shrift from the Trump administration, say ex-federal prosecutors and members of Congress. The shift at the Department of Justice represents one of the most stark turnarounds under Joe Biden from the Trump era. Under the previous attorney general, Bill Barr, the justice department was often seen as at Trump’s beck and call, the former president accused of treating it as virtually his own legal service. But while Garland has won high marks for several early initiatives and his priorities, the former high-level judge still has his work cut out to rebuild key parts of the agency, say justice department observers. In two congressional appearances this month, Garland indicated that the fight against domestic terrorism in the wake of the 6 January attack on the Capitol was his “top priority” and has requested new funding to that end, while making some early moves to expand civil rights and voting rights enforcement too.

Biden Administration Clears 3 Guantánamo Detainees for Release  (Carol Rosenberg, New York Times)
The men, none of whom were ever charged, would be sent to countries that agree to impose security conditions on them. But it is not clear where they will go or when.

FBI Reclassifies 2017 Baseball Field Shooting as Domestic Terror  (Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill)
The FBI has reclassified the 2017 shooting at a Republican baseball practice as an incident of domestic terrorism, following pressure from a number of lawmakers present on the field to reevaluate the conclusion that the shooter sought “suicide by cop.” Debate over the determination in the shooting went public when FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before lawmakers in April, with Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) asking why the shooter’s political leanings weren’t weighed more heavily. The shift on the shooting, which left five people injured and seriously wounded House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), was tucked into a Friday report from the FBI detailing every domestic terrorism incident from 2015 through 2019. “An individual with a personalized violent ideology targeted and shot Republican members of Congress at a baseball field and wounded five people,” the report said, categorizing the shooter as a “domestic violent extremist.” Wenstrup told Wray that the FBI’s original conclusion “defies logic and contradicts the publicly known facts” about the case, including that the shooter inquired about the political affiliation of those on the field before opening fire.

Hacker Gangs Show Few Signs of Slowing after Pipeline Attack  (Kevin Collier, NBC News)
Many of the world’s largest cybercrime gangs are still actively hacking and extorting victims, undeterred by the international spotlight after one of their peers hacked a U.S. fuel pipeline. A Russian-affiliated hacker gang, DarkSide, disappeared last week after it hacked Colonial Pipeline, which provides fuel for much of the U.S. East Coast. That prompted the company to shut down operations for five days, leading to gas shortages in the U.S. and condemnation from President Joe Biden. Seemingly spooked, DarkSide, which had collected around $5 million in ransom from the company, claimed that it was “apolitical” on its main website, which soon was deleted. But DarkSide is only one player in a thriving scene of cybercrime groups. More notorious gangs are still active after the Colonial attack, according to evidence of their exploits, which many such groups post to blogs that they maintain on the dark web. The groups continue to post information from victims they have hacked and are actively extorting U.S. organizations. Like DarkSide, such gangs make money by infecting organizations with ransomware, meaning they hack them to encrypt and steal files. They demand money to make their files usable, threatening to publish private files if they’re not promptly paid.

National Action: Co-Founder to Stand Trial over Terrorism Offenses  (BBC)
A co-founder of the British neo-Nazi group National Action will stand trial charged with terror offences. Ben Raymond, 32, from Swindon, is accused of remaining in the group for months after it was banned in 2016. He is also charged with three counts of possessing material likely to be useful for terrorism. Mr Raymond appeared by video link at the Old Bailey in London where a trial date was set for 1 November at Bristol Crown Court. The extreme far-right group was created in 2013, but it was banned as a terrorist organisation three years later. Mr Raymond is alleged to have stayed in the group between December 2016 and September 2017. He is also accused of possessing documents on explosives, allegedly held on his hard-drives in 2016 and 2017. According to the charges, the material includes documents entitled “pipe hand grenade”, “cluster bomb” and “homemade Molotov cocktail”. He was granted conditional bail ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing in Bristol on 17 September.

British Extremist Who Spread Hatred of Minorities Admits Terrorism Charges  (Paul Peachey, The National)
An extremist who encouraged fellow users of right-wing chat groups to carry out attacks on ethnic minorities has admitted 16 terrorism offences. Michael Nugent, 37, ran a number of groups on the messaging app Telegram, where he expressed his hatred of minorities and shared an edited video of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. He shared explosives and firearms manuals and told members of his groups how to deliver bombs disguised as Amazon packages, London police said. Nugent, of Ashford, Surrey, in southern England, used different names in the chat rooms but police linked his online accounts to track him down. Nugent was an active member of internet chat rooms where he freely shared his abhorrent extremist views with others,” said Cdr Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police counterterrorism command. “He sought to influence and encourage other members to commit acts of violence, and passed on manuals detailing how to produce deadly weapons and explosive devices.” Nugent was arrested in August last year and refused to comment throughout seven days of police interviews.

Alleged Far-Right Extremists Charged with Possessing 3D-Printed Gun Components “for Terrorist Purposes”  (Lizzie Dearden, Independent)
A group of alleged far-right extremists have appeared in court charged with terror offences and possessing 3D-printed gun components. The four defendants were arrested in a coordinated counter-terror policing operation that saw raids in West Yorkshire, North Wales and Wiltshire earlier this month. Daniel Wright, 29, Liam Hall, 30, and Stacey Salmon, 28, all of Keighley, are accused of possessing components of a 3D-printed firearm “for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”. Samuel Whibley, 28, of Menai Bridge in Anglesey, is accused of providing a service to others to enable them to obtain terrorist publications, as a direct or indirect encouragement for acts of terrorism. Mr Wright has been charged with manufacturing and possessing a firearm, possessing an article for terrorist purposes, disseminating a terrorist publication and three counts of possessing documents useful to a terrorist. Mr Whibley has been charged with six counts of encouraging terrorism and two of disseminating terrorist publications. The four defendants appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video-link on Friday morning. They were not asked to enter pleas and were remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 28 May.”

US Warns Extremists May Strike as Virus Restrictions Ease  (Ben Fox, AP)
A national terrorism alert issued Friday warns that violent extremists may take advantage of the easing of pandemic restrictions to conduct attacks. The alert does not cite any specific threats. But it warns of potential danger from an increasingly complex and volatile mix that includes domestic terrorists inspired by various grievances, racial or ethnic hatred and influences from abroad. Those threats were exacerbated by COVID-19, which spawned conspiracy theories and deepened anger at the government in some quarters over the shutdown of the economy. As virus conditions improve, the alert says new dangers loom. “Violent extremists may seek to exploit the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions across the United States to conduct attacks against a broader range of targets after previous public capacity limits reduced opportunities for lethal attacks,” the bulletin said. Without naming any specific potential targets, it notes that, historically, extremists motivated by racial and ethnic hatred have targeted religious institutions and businesses or gatherings. The National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security is an extension of one issued earlier this year in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That alert was expiring Saturday.

US Joins Global Push against Violent Extremism Online  (Nick Perry, AP / ABC News)
Two years after a white supremacist in New Zealand livestreamed the slaughter of 51 Muslim worshippers on Facebook, French President Emmanuel Macron says the internet continues to be used by terrorists as a weapon to propagate hate. Macron and other leaders from tech giants and governments around the world — including the U.S. for the first time — gathered virtually on Saturday to find better ways to stop extremist violence from spreading online, while also respecting freedom of expression. It was part of a global effort started by Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after deadly attacks in their countries were streamed or shared on social networks. The U.S. government and four other countries joined the effort, known as the Christchurch Call, for the first time this year. It involves some 50 nations plus tech companies including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, and is named for the New Zealand city where the slaughter at the two mosques took place. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a prerecorded video that authorities in his country alone had taken down more than 300,000 pieces of terrorist material from the internet over the past decade, which he described as a tsunami of hate.