White House unveils strategy to combat domestic terrorism
The White House on Tuesday announced a cross-agency strategy to combat domestic terrorism, just two weeks after President Joe Biden promised the upcoming release during his remarks commemorating the Tulsa massacre.
The effort is the culmination of a review, led by the National Security Council, of how the U.S. government has dealt with the growing threat. It reiterates that militia extremists and racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists — predominantly white supremacists — are the most lethal and persistent terrorism threat facing the U.S.
“Further, this found that violent extremists who promote the superiority of the white race have the most persistent transnational connections, and maybe have frequent contact with violent extremists abroad,” a senior administration official said.
But the review did not find a strong connection between domestic terrorism and foreign actors, the official noted. “This is largely today an inside-out problem, not an outside-in problem,” the official said, though adding that there are adversaries “seeking to sow divisions in our society.”
In a speech at the Justice Department headquarters’ Great Hall, Attorney General Merrick Garland touted the new national strategy. He noted that foreign terrorism remains a threat.
“At the same time, we must respond to domestic terrorism with the same sense of purpose and dedication,” he told the audience.
Garland also expressed thanks for the “critical cooperation of ordinary Americans who in acts large and small have shown they are our best partners in keeping America safe.” He specifically noted that citizens sent in countless helpful pieces of documentary evidence related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The strategy document focuses on understanding and sharing information about the threat, preventing the mobilization and recruitment of domestic terrorists, disrupting domestic terrorism plots and combating social problems that contribute to the growth of domestic terrorism.
“That means tackling racism in America,” the strategy document reads. “It means protecting Americans from gun violence and mass murders. It means ensuring that we provide early intervention and appropriate care for those who pose a danger to themselves or others.”
Some of its recommendations build on steps the administration has already taken. The document highlights the importance of better information-sharing between the feds and state and local governments on the domestic threat, as well as the importance of gathering better intelligence on extremism. Both challenges have been major priorities for the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
To help DHS, U.S attorneys offices and FBI field offices have the necessary resources to address domestic terrorism, the administration is seeking over $100 million in the president’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget.
The document discusses the importance of international cooperation to combat violent extremism — a move already undergirded by the Biden administration’s recent decision to join the Christchurch Call, a multilateral effort helmed by the government of New Zealand to eliminate terrorist content online.
This also means the government will work with tech companies to improve information-sharing with social media platforms — a key vector for recruitment and the mobilization of violence — so that companies can better enforce their terms of service agreements to protect users, a senior administration official said. The strategy also includes a focus on digital literacy programming.
It also says the government is working to “augment the screening process” for people receiving security clearances for government work as part of its efforts to keep potential domestic terrorists from getting national security jobs. And it says the State Department and Treasury Department are working together to assess whether more foreign groups linked to domestic terrorism can be formally designated as terrorist groups — moves that would ban Americans from giving them money. The document says that Treasury is also “enhancing engagement with financial institutions on domestic terrorist financing.”
The Department of Defense will also collaborate with DHS and the Justice Department to ensure that domestic terrorists are not working in the U.S. military or law enforcement agencies. The Pentagon will implement training for service members who leave or retire from the military — frequent targets of extremist groups — according to the strategy document.
“We will work toward finding ways to counter the influence and impact of dangerous conspiracy theories that can provide a gateway to terrorist violence,” the strategy document says.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to address the issue in a speech on Tuesday morning. Other Cabinet officials will also hold events following the announcement.
