Domestic Terrorism

By now, this should be old news. In July, September and November of 2019, FBI head, Christopher Wray testified before congressional committees, telling them that domestic terrorism threats far outweighed the previously dominant threats from foreign sources and that “Antifa” was a merely a generic category of political beliefs but neither a serious threat nor a unified organization. In that testimony, Wray made it clear that the most serious domestic threats were mounted by white supremacists, many of them organized in well-trained and well-armed militia. Congress listened and did nothing. The President welcomed the support from some of the most racist and militant groups. The majority of Americans hold the President responsible for inciting the Capitol attack.

Since 2019, the threat of domestic terrorism has only escalated, culminating in the January 6th attack by domestic terrorists on the Capitol itself… rapidly followed by a right-wing national call to action to attack state and federal centers of governance in an effort to prevent Joe Biden from being president and to enthrone Donald Trump. All as impeachment proceedings raged through a divided Congress. Let’s look at some of Wray’s warnings… back in 2019.

On September 17, 2019, for example, Wray spoke before the House Homeland Security Committee: "Everything from racially-motivated violent extremists to violent anarchist extremists, militia types, sovereign citizens, you name it. Of the domestic terrorism threats, we last year elevated racially-motivated violent extremism to be a national threat priority commensurate with a homegrown violent extremists… That’s the jihadist-inspired people here and with ISIS…

"What I can tell you is that, within the domestic terrorism bucket category as a whole, racially-motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group, and within the racially-motivated violent extremists bucket, people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that…  

"Racially-motivated violent extremists over recent years have been responsible for the most lethal activity in the U.S. Now this year, the domestic terrorism, lethal attacks we’ve had have, I think, all fit in the category of anti-government, anti-authority, which covers everything from anarchist violent extremists to militia types. We don’t really think in terms of left, right."

Speaking before a Senate committee on November 5, 2019, Wray added: "A huge chunk of those domestic terrorism investigations involve racially-motivated, violent extremist-motivated terrorist attacks… And the majority of those, of the racially-motivated, violent extremist attacks, are fueled by some kind of white supremacy. And I would say that the most lethal activity over the last few years has been committed by those type of attackers." The FBI has mounted no fewer than 25 new major investigations of domestic terrorist groups after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. But what is most puzzling about domestic terrorism is the dearth of proper statutory schema to counter it.

Time Magazine, January 9th, notes that violent acts of terrorism often need to have occurred for meaningful prosecution to commence, but there are very few statutes that would empower the FBI to arrest clear domestic terrorism in the making, a reality that stands in stark contrast to statutes that define what governmental agencies can do to prevent foreign terrorism against the United States. “The FBI defines domestic terrorism as ‘Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.’ Its leadership concedes that most of the concern centers on white supremacist groups. We saw that Wednesday [1/6] as rioters charged the Capitol building with Confederate flags and Nazi paraphernalia on full display.

“Still, even though the FBI tracks domestic terrorism, there isn’t one law that makes it a crime. But there are plenty of statutes federal prosecutors can use in the fight against it. In the absence of specific statutes, like the ones written to combat foreign terrorism, the entire criminal code becomes part of the prosecutor’s playbook.” You have to scroll through generic statutes, not directly aimed at domestic terrorists, that offer less effective, backdoor paths to preventative prosecution. Why? Ask the 139 GOP House members and the 8 Senators who voted to reject acceptance of the results of the Electoral College after the Capitol violence. Effectively, they acceded to the rioters’ demands.

The obvious problem is the significant pockets of popular support, mostly from Donald Trump’s “base,” that draws votes to ultra-right-wing causes, racist and otherwise. Today’s right-wing conspiracy theory-driven extremists, reminiscent of the American Know Nothing Party in 1850s or the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1920s/30s, rife with US sympathizers at the time, are the flashing red lights warning of the fragility of American democracy. But there’s a catch. Too many of those charged with protecting democracy and enforcing its precious laws… are believers in the same conspiracy theories that have fueled the insurrection.

“Former and current members of law enforcement agencies and the military appear to have participated in last week's [first week in January] chaos in Washington, alarming lawmakers on Capitol Hill and Americans nationwide as each day brings new video and information about the riot and the rioters… Investigations by law enforcement agencies and news organizations, along with a series of arrests, have exposed a widening issue of domestic extremism among the ranks of those who are meant to protect Americans.

“On Monday [1/11], even the U.S. Capitol Police announced that the agency had suspended ‘several’ of its own and will investigate at least 10 officers for their actions… Police departments in New York City, Seattle and Philadelphia, as well as smaller agencies across the country, are investigating whether their officers participated in the pro-Trump riot, which has been tied to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer. The investigations are based on tips, including social media posts.

“The Army said it was investigating a psychological operations officer who led 100 Trump supporters from North Carolina to Washington. The FBI arrested a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel in Texas after he breached the Senate chamber wearing tactical gear and carrying zip-tie handcuffs known as flex cuffs. There are calls for a Pennsylvania state legislator, who is a retired Army colonel and taught at the Army War College for five years, to resign after he and his wife attended Wednesday's event. Ashli Babbitt, 33, the QAnon supporter who was shot and killed by Capitol Police, was a 14-year Air Force veteran… The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating 25 members of the service, though it is unclear whether they are retired or active in the military ranks.” NBC News, January 12th. 

Some point to the fact that federal agencies were well aware of the pending attack on the Capitol, could have mounted serious preventative and protective measures, but did not. They point to the fact that the President dithered for a critical hour and a half during the height of the Capitol assault to approve the release of the Maryland National Guard to the District of Columbia to bolster the Capitol defense. Allowing a state National Guard unit to deploy across state lines requires such approval. Footage of a few Capitol police, standing aside on January 6th to allow rioters to pass, one even posing for a selfie with on insurrectionist, was deeply troubling.

The problem of course, is that those in the armed forces and law enforcement who back the insurrectionists, or even participated in the insurrection, believe that they are protecting the Constitution. The President has told them so. But read the above letter (provided through Reuters) from General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the entire military. He had to remind our troops that on January 20th, Joe Biden would be their Commander in Chief.

I’m Peter Dekom, and the United States is at a moral crossroads, perhaps one that will determine if the nation survives at all, between angry conspiracy theorists ready to impose their baseless beliefs on everybody else and a constitutional democracy.