‘Attack on military readiness’: Human rights groups sound new alarm on extremism

Sounding a fresh alarm about white supremacism and extremism in the military, a coalition of more than 35 human rights groups, experts and faith organizations this week called on the Secretary of Defense to account for the department’s apparent lack of progress.

“Extremism undermines the strength of the military and our democracy,” the groups, led by Human Rights First, wrote in a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The letter cites a USA TODAY investigation published in July, which found the military could show almost no progress on a collection of reforms Austin called for more than two years ago.

The organizations called for a public update, noting that the military’s own study of extremism in the ranks has been completed but never publicly released, as USA TODAY reported exclusively in July.

Violent extremists have been proven to target military members and veterans for recruitment, U.S. Army veteran and Human Rights First CEO Michael Breen said.

“DoD must be transparent about their response to this insidious attack on military readiness,” Breen said. “It’s time for the Defense Department to update the public on the implementation of their own report’s recommendations and plans to mitigate this dangerous threat to democracy."

Investigation: The military ordered big steps to stop extremism. Two years later, it shows no results

While the letter’s signers include academics and activists who oppose extremist views, they are not the only ones to find fault with the military’s efforts so far.

Last month, shortly after USA TODAY’s investigation, the Department of Defense Inspector General – the military’s own internal watchdog – released a report that concluded military recruiters had failed in their own roles to screen out extremists among new recruits.

Report on extremism in the military still not released

In April 2021, Austin commissioned a study into extremism in the military’s “total force,” something experts said is an essential foundation for dealing with the problem. That study was one part of a larger set of orders directed at rooting out extremism after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Many people later arrested for the riot had current or former military ties.

USA TODAY confirmed that study was completed more than a year ago, in June 2022. But it remains in an indefinite holding pattern as senior leaders review its findings, its contents hidden from public view.

In the letter to Austin, the advocates highlighted this report.

A Department of Defense official again declined to provide a copy of the report to USA TODAY last week.

On Wednesday, in response to USA TODAY’s official request for the report under the federal Freedom of Information Act, the Department of Defense asked for more time. The response states that the report will not be provided within 20 days and notes that the Department of Defense currently has “3,515 open requests” for public documents.

The military has also been unable to provide access to other documents about its efforts.

Austin’s initial update on his anti-extremism orders, delivered in late 2021, said the various service branches had revised their “accession screening” materials to ensure new recruits would be properly questioned about extremist ties. Yet in response to USA TODAY’s FOIA requests to see those screening forms, the Marine Corps said it couldn’t identify any documents that matched that description.

The week in extremism: Top Proud Boys have been sent to prison for years. Here's why that might not change things

Links between military service and extremism

A report earlier this year from researchers with the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, found that being affiliated with the U.S. military is the “single strongest” predictor of violent extremism in America.

The researchers analyzed a database of thousands of violent incidents going back to 1990 to reach their conclusions. The letter sent to Austin on Wednesday also notes recent examples of extremists with military backgrounds:

“In June 2023, an active duty Marine was arrested for allegedly firebombing a women’s health clinic and abortion provider.” the letter states. “In April 2023, a white supremacist soldier at Fort Bragg was arrested on gun charges. In February 2023, a Neo-Nazi veteran, who had already served time for weapons charges, was re-arrested for plotting to attack a power grid. In June 2022, four veterans and a member of the National Guard who were members of a white supremacist organization were arrested for conspiracy to disrupt an LGBTQ+ Pride event.”

The signers of the letter suggest the wide swath of possible effects when extremist ideology overlaps with military access or training. It was signed by groups including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the National Organization for Women, the National Urban League and PFLAG. Other signers include a variety of faith and interfaith groups such as Jewish and Sikh organizations, and seven veterans’ activist groups.

Sweeping initiative to combat extremism has stalled

USA TODAY’s investigation found the military has almost nothing to show for its efforts two years after Austin announced the  sweeping new initiative to combat extremism in the ranks in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

One of those moves was to launch a commission to study the problem. That commission made several recommendations for change aimed at stopping extremists from joining the military, weeding out extremists currently serving and preventing veterans from falling prey to recruitment from extremist groups.

The Department of Defense provided almost no answers to USA TODAY’s detailed inquiries about 20 different solutions the commission had sought. That, plus Defense’s lack of other updates, suggested many of those steps have simply never been implemented.

The letter writers reiterated those findings, noting, “A disturbing recent USA Today investigation found little or no progress on 20 reforms” the military itself had proposed.

The breakdown also brought frustration of experts who study extremism.

“There’s this myopia to deal with this kind of far-right extremism in this country,” Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told USA TODAY in July. GPAHE was one of the signers of the letter sent to the Defense Secretary this week.

“It’s inexplicable.” Beirich said. “Look, people with military training show up too much in domestic terrorism plots, and they’re killing people, including killing troops.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Extremism in the military: Human rights groups warn Defense Secretary