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WSE: "The single most dangerous Terrorist threat ... " that We face as Nation [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-09-02
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Thanks to Ali Velshi for covering many of these topics, on his Saturday morning show VELSHI, on MSNBC today. America is suffering from yet another senseless Hate crime. Carried out by yet another self-proclaimed White Supremacist. Targeting another public place — targeting innocent people of color. It doesn’t have to be this way. Hate is a toxic illness, but it can be cured. Or at least, de-weaponized of the weapons of war. American voters must speak out against the madness.
Biden and Harris ask US to fight white supremacy after Florida shooting by Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw , Reuters — August 28, 2023 WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and top White House officials railed against white supremacy on Monday, asking Americans to unite against hatred in the wake of what authorities describe as a racially-motivated killing of three Black people in Florida over the weekend. "Hate will not prevail in America," Biden told civil rights leaders and administration officials in the East Room of the White House. "Now is the time for all Americans to speak up. History is being erased, books are being banned."
[...] “Silence is complicity and we’re not going to remain silent,” Biden said. "White supremacy is a poison." — It doesn’t have to be this way. We were warned over a decade ago of this rise in domestic terror. We were warned specifically about the threat of White Supremacist Extremists, from a report issued by the DHS itself. These warning were scoffed at. These warning were politicized. These warning were ignored.
'Blood on their hands': the intelligence officer whose warning over white supremacy was ignored
Daryl Johnson’s team faced an official backlash 10 years ago when it issued a briefing on rightwing extremism by Lois Beckett in San Francisco, The Guardian — 8 Aug 2019
Ten years ago, the Department of Homeland Security sent American law enforcement agencies an intelligence briefing warning of a rising threat of domestic rightwing extremism , including white supremacist terrorism.
[...] Republican politicians and conservative pundits reacted with outrage and demanded a retraction. The report was politically motivated and unfairly demonized conservative views , they argued. “Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are,” the head of the American Legion, a veterans group, wrote. The head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publicly apologized. The small team of domestic terrorism analysts who had produced the report was disbanded , and analysts were reassigned to study Muslim extremism, according to Daryl Johnson, the career federal intelligence analyst who had led the team. By the next year, Johnson says, he had been forced out of the DHS altogether.
[...]
As per usual, Republican extremists politicized these cogent fore-warnings. The not-so ‘rugged individualists’ of the Republican persuasion, caused these warning about hateful terrorist to be ignored.
These snowflakes could not stand to hear the objective facts — or to have it publiclly called out for what it is: race-motived violence.
At some point, someone really needs to ask them: “Why do you Hate America so much?”
US police warn that threat of rightwing extremism on rise amid recession
by Ewen MacAskill in Washington, The Guardian — 5 Apr 2009
[...] A leaked copy says: "The economic downturn and the election of the first African-American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalisation and recruitment." It adds that the threat posed by "lone wolves" and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years.
[...] Marked "for official use only", the nine-page report was drawn up by the extremism and radicalisation branch of homeland security. A leaked copy initially appeared on conservative websites and was then picked up by the US media. The assessment contends: "Rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalise returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills ... have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists, including 'lone wolves or small terrorist cells', to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today."
[...]
The political backlash at the time cause this internal Report to be shelved, and it research team to be disbanded. They were reassigned to other “more traditional” terrorist threat containment teams.
The team lead Daryl Johnson, was forced out of the DHS altogether. Probably for publicly expressing views like these:
[ The Guardian: ] Why do you think the Republican Party doesn’t want to talk about rightwing terrorism and white supremacy?
[ Daryl Johnson: ] Partly because they’re the ones who are arming Americans. No matter how many times you can try to blame the person for carrying out the act, they still have access to weapons that are meant for war . www.theguardian.com
A man before his time I guess. If only American’s were ready for the truth — the truth about the threat and danger of ethnically-driven Hate …
Biden calls white supremacy ‘most dangerous terrorist threat’ in speech at Howard
by Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing, Politico — 05/13/2023
President Joe Biden denounced white supremacy as the “most dangerous terrorist threat” to the nation in his commencement address to Howard University’s graduating class Saturday. “ White supremacy … is the single most dangerous terrorist threat in our homeland,” Biden said. “And I’m not just saying this because I’m at a Black HBCU. I say this wherever I go.”
[...] Invoking the battle cry he used to galvanize voters in the 2020 election cycle, he called on his audience to “fight for the soul of the nation.” “Fearless progress toward justice often means ferocious pushback from the oldest and most sinister of forces,” Biden said. “That’s because hate never goes away. … It only hides under the rocks. And when it’s given oxygen it comes out from under that rock. And that’s why we know this truth as well: silence is complicity. We cannot remain silent.”
https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/90011313-burning-embers-glowing-flying-away-particles-over — Pond5: Video of embers blowing in the night sky.
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DHS has had a change of heart of sorts, in the meanwhile. Or at least a change of policy. So many senseless deaths, so little action.
The Department of Homeland Security has finally acknowledged the threat and the danger, incited and carried by White Supremacist Extremists (WSE) — years after the warnings raised by Daryl Johnson’s team.
It seems that current events finally forced them to officially recognize this grim hate-filled reality, that operates under the disguise of the 1st and 2nd Amendments.
Reference Aid: US Violent White Supremacist Extremists
www.dhs.gov — pdf — 09/20/2017
Violent White Supremacist Extremists (WSE) are defined as individuals who seek, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to support their belief in the intellectual and moral superiority of the white race over other races . The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may be constitutionally protected activities.[a,1,2,3] This reference aid discusses trends with WSE targeting and tactics, historical attack data and examples of lethal attacks in the United States since 2012, their geographic location, mobilization to violence as lone offenders or members of small cells, social media use, and common behavioral indicators during their radicalization to violence. Key Points
• Targets and Tactics: WSE violence often targets racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, as well as government and law enforcement officials. Attacks are often against targets of opportunity rather than pre-meditated plots against previously identified targets.[4] Since 2010, firearms were the most common weapon used in recent WSE attacks followed by knives and other edged weapons.[5]
• Attack Numbers: Between 2000 and August 2016, there were 28 attacks in the United States committed by WSEs, which collectively resulted in 51 fatalities.[6]
• Geographic Dispersal: Given social media’s ability to virtually connect WSEs and the decline in the membership and influence of historically prominent WSE groups, WSEs are increasingly geographically dispersed throughout the nation.[7]
• Lone Offenders and Small Cells: Most recent attacks have been by male lone offenders or small cells, who are not acting under the formal direction of an organized group.[8]
• Social Media: While typically constitutionally protected speech, there has been an exponential growth online over the past few years in WSE themes and messages.[9] Many WSEs use social media, as well as websites promoting WSE narratives, to share their views and connect with like-minded individuals.[10,11,12] [...] [Emphasis added] www.dhs.gov/… [Footnote a.] Domestic terrorism is not a specific offense in the federal criminal code. Furthermore, there are no officially designated domestic terrorist organizations like there are US Government-designated foreign terrorist organizations. The term domestic terrorism, however, is defined in the federal criminal code, and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines provide for enhanced sentences for those who are convicted of another crime that fits the definition of domestic terrorism. Additionally, the Department of Justice has successfully charged WSEs with a variety of criminal offenses including but not limited to murder, hate crimes, and firearms and explosives violations.
These are the common changes in behavior that occur in the perpetrators of violent Hate crimes, as their destructive rage, finds its fuel … as they descend into the most unthinkable acts of violence ...
Behavioral Indicators of Possible Radicalization to Violence [c] A US Government review of recently mobilized violent extremists produced the below list of common, observable activities many of the individuals engaged in during their radicalization to violence. Some of the observed activities include constitutionally protected activity, which by itself may not be indicative of criminal activity associated with terrorism. Posting on the internet or social media sites one’s desire to pursue acts of violence in the United States on behalf of WSE goals; Communicating with known or suspected US or overseas-based violent extremists in person or on websites promoting WSE narratives or social media sites; Attempting to recruit or radicalize others to pursue acts of violence in the United States on behalf of WSE goals; Seeking religious or political justification for engaging in or supporting violence in the United States; Performing internet research for target selection and/or acquisition of technical capabilities, without a reasonable explanation, could be indicative of planning for attacks in the United States; Newly engaging in firearms or physical training while expressing a desire to pursue plotting in the United States on behalf of WSE goals; Conducting suspicious financial transactions to obtain the funds to acquire weapons, explosives, or precursors to build improvised explosive devices; Destroying electronic media and deactivating social media accounts that individuals previously used to post their support for WSE goals; Using cover stories to mask nefarious activities, such as plans to engage in or support violence; and Giving away or selling possessions such as cars and electronics, maxing out credit cards, taking out money from student loan accounts, or borrowing money from friends and relatives, in conjunction with an expressed desire to pursue acts of violence in the United States on behalf of WSE goals. [...] [Emphasis added] www.dhs.gov/…
Additional CVE Resources For additional information on CVE-related research and analysis, strategies and frameworks, toolkits, organized networks, and grants, please visit the interagency CVE Task Force’s website.
That link looks like it has helpful community related information and strategies — to help push back against this uniquely “America scourge.” FWIW.
<i>Stop the Hate — Stop the Violence.</i>
Stop Domestic Terrorists. Stop the Mass Shootings.
“Violence is not the answer. Only Love can conquer Hate.”
— to paraphrase musician Marvin Gaye.
“We’ve got to find a way …”
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