• Planned in Plain Sight

    Beginning in December 2020, the FBI and DHS I&A were receiving increasingly detailed, and worrisome, information – from informers, encrypted chat rooms, and other sources — that Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other far-right violent extremist groups supporting then-President Donald Trump were planning attacks on the Capitol and other federal buildings in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transition of power to the winner of the November election, Joe Biden. Despite the dire nature of the information, the FBI and I&A failed to issue sufficient warnings to the Capitol police, DC police, and other frontline personnel based on, and reflecting, the available intelligence indicating January 6th might turn violent.

  • Facing Charges, Some Goyim Defense League Extremists Embrace “Sovereign Citizen” Tactics

    As they rack up littering charges for distributing propaganda, some individuals associated with the antisemitic and extremist Goyim Defense League (GDL)—including leader Jon Minadeo—have adopted pseudo-legal “sovereign citizen” tactics in a misguided attempt to escape legal troubles.

  • Four Ways Criminals Could Use AI to Target More Victims

    Warnings about artificial intelligence (AI) are ubiquitous right now, but we have been using AI tools for a long time. AI is a tool to increase efficiency, process and sort large volumes of data, and offload decision making – and these tools are open to everyone, including criminals. Observing how criminals have adapted to, and adopted, technological advances in the past, can provide some clues as to how they might use AI.

  • New Law Targets Gun Trafficking to Mexico

    A new law that imposes harsher penalties on gun trafficking is giving U.S. prosecutors a powerful tool to combat the illicit flow of weapons from the United States to drug cartels in Mexico. The cartels use the weapons to protect their drug smuggling operations, fueling an overdose epidemic that is claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.

  • How Texas’ Plan to Curb School Violence Was Knocked Down by a Pandemic and Little Oversight

    Threat assessment teams were created to prevent the next school shooting. However, confusion surrounds how these teams operate and what they even do with a child exhibiting threatening behavior.

  • Militia Members Indicted for Conspiracy to Murder Border Patrol Officers, Illegal Immigrants

    Two members of the self-styled 2nd American Militia who conspired to go “to war with border patrol” have been indicted two weeks ago by a federal grand jury on charges related to a conspiracy to murder Border Patrol officers and kill illegal immigrants crossing the border. The plot was thwarted by a shootout with FBI agents who arrested them.

  • American Extremists Serving as “Sources of Inspiration,” Says U.S. Counterterror Official

    There is a sense among senior U.S. counterterrorism officials that the actions of a handful of Americans are helping to drive the growth of racist and far-right extremist groups around the world. Specifically, these officials point to mass shootings and other high-profile attacks in the United States, which have helped to turn the perpetrators into martyrs for like-minded groups and individuals.

  • Teachers' Views on School Safety

    What are the most common safety concerns that teachers have in schools? How do teachers feel about arming teachers at school? Do they believe that arming teachers will make schools more or less safe? How do teachers’ opinions vary by individual and school-level characteristics? Would teachers choose to carry firearms at school if they were allowed? What impact do physical security measures (e.g., cameras, metal detectors) have on school climate? There is a consensus on many security measures, but stark division about arming teachers.

  • Gun-Related Deaths in U.S. Reach Record High

    CDC data for 2021 shows that there were 48,830 firearm fatalities in the United State in 2021 — 3,600 more than the previous record high set in 2020. More than half of those lives lost were due to suicide. Guns continued to be the leading cause of death for children and teens ages 1–19, as well as young adults under the age of 25. Black people were nearly 14 times more likely to die by gun homicide than their white counterparts.

  • Four More Oath Keepers Sentenced for Seditious Conspiracy

    Four members of the Oath Keepers were sentenced last week on seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The four defendants were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to prevent Members of Congress from discharging their official duties.

  • What Does the U.S. National Guard Do?

    The National Guard is a special part of the U.S. military that answers to both state governors and the president, as it routinely responds to domestic emergencies such as natural disasters. It also supports military operations overseas. It began as a “strategic reserve,” but the guard has grown into a pivotal partner in military operations. An intelligence leak by a National Guardsman has raised concerns over the guard’s role in critical military functions, including surveillance and intelligence work.

  • Two Oath Keepers Leaders Sent to Jail for Seditious Conspiracy, Other Charges Related to Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol

    Two leaders of the extremist group Oath Keepers were sentenced Thursday for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress which was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the November 2020 presidential election.

  • Behind the Oath Keepers Charged with Sedition Are Many More Who Have Been Trained by the U.S. Military

    Experts on violent extremism believe it isn’t only the number of Oath Keepers that is a problem, it is their makeup. A significant number of their members are veterans – both female and male – who bring military skills to the group and also serve as recruiters for other active and former armed service personnel.

  • School Shootings Are a National Security Threat

    “National security” or “homeland security” is usually conceptualized as a (foreign) threat to the state and its capital and to a government and society’s ability to survive and function, at home and abroad. But just because school shootings are a domestic, internal threat posed by nonstate actors does not mean they should not be considered a national security issue.

  • DHS Issues New Domestic Threat Warning

    Simmering grievances, political divides, a steady proliferation of online neo-Nazi propaganda, and the approach of the 2024 presidential election are keeping the United States stuck in a “heightened threat environment,” according to the latest warning from DHS.