On Wednesday of this week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an unclassified summary of a joint comprehensive threat assessment on domestic violent extremism.
The report, the first of its kind to be issued after the January 6th siege on the US Capitol Complex, points to threats from a variety of domestic violent extremists, ranging from environmental activists to animal rights extremists, anarchists, as well as adherents of far-right ideologies. The assessment states, however, that by far the greatest threat to general public security is presented by ethnically and racially motivated violent extremists, in combination with armed militias. The document warns that these groups will "almost certainly” grow more active in the coming months.
The following are a few abbreviated quotes from the threat summary:
The IC (intelligence community) assesses that domestic violent extremists (DVEs) who are motivated by a range of ideologies and galvanized by recent political and societal events in the United States pose an elevated threat to the Homeland in 2021.
The IC assesses that lone offenders or small cells of domestic violent extremists (DVEs) are more likely to carry out violent attacks in the Homeland than organizations that allegedly advocate a DVE ideology.
The IC assesses that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) and militia violent extremists (MVEs) present the most lethal domestic violent extremist (DVE) threats, with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) most likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks against civilians, and militia violent extremists (MVEs) typically targeting law enforcement and government personnel and facilities.
The IC assesses that several factors could increase the likelihood or lethality of DVE attacks in 2021 and beyond, including increasing domestic and international support, growing perceptions of government overreach related to legal or policy changes and disruptions, and high-profile attacks spurring follow-on attacks.
And finally, DVE lone offenders will continue to pose significant detection and disruption challenges because of their capacity for independent radicalization to violence, ability to mobilize discretely, as well as access to firearms.
A Little One-Sided, No?
AlertsUSA cautions readers that while an increasing number of government issued advisories, liaison reports and threat assessments are now biased toward supposed far-right “supremacist” threats, there is almost no reporting about any threatening groups or movements that might be found on the far left. To put this into perspective, why is it extremist to attack a member of the Capitol police, but not extremist to attack an officer from DC Metro, or Portland, or Minneapolis? Why are Antifa and BLM, who both openly call for violence, not labeled as extremist threats? Why are the hundreds of Antifa and BLM riots that occurred across America in 2020 not called out as extremist? Just this week, riot fencing and concrete barriers were reinstalled outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Portland due to ongoing Antifa rioting. Where are the federal warnings and advisories?
A dangerous new narrative is being rolled out that is likely going to have a disastrous result. AlertsUSA urges readers to maintain a high level of situational awareness as we move into the warmer months. There are many angry people from every possible political and social leaning looking for an opportunity to vent. This is on top of the ongoing threat from foreign terrorist organizations who will soon find it much easier to enter the U.S. because of chaos unfolding at the southern border, the dramatic increase in the number of refugees being settled in the U.S. from the Middle East and North Africa, the lifting of the so called "Muslim Ban", as well as the gradual reopening of international travel.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.
