DHS to label white supremacists as the 'most
persistent and lethal threat' to the US: report
The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to label white supremacists as the
most serious terror threat facing the United States.
In three
draft reports reviewed by Politico, DHS says the threat posed by white supremacists
is more significant than the immediate danger from foreign terrorists.
“Foreign
terrorist organizations will continue to call for Homeland attacks but probably
will remain constrained in their ability to direct such plots over the next
year,” all three documents say.
Russia “probably
will be the primary covert foreign influence actor and purveyor of
disinformation and misinformation in the Homeland,” the documents add.
DHS did not immediately respond to a
request for comment from The Hill.
Kevin McAleenan, the former acting DHS
secretary, ordered the agency last year to start crafting annual homeland
threat assessments. The three draft documents use varying language to describe
the threat posed by white supremacists, but all of them say they pose the most
significant threat, according to Politico.
“Lone offenders and small cells of
individuals motivated by a diverse array of social, ideological, and personal
factors will pose the primary terrorist threat to the United States,” the earliest draft reads. “Among these groups, we assess that white supremacist
extremists – who increasingly are networking with like-minded persons abroad –
will pose the most persistent and lethal threat.
“We judge
that ideologically-motivated lone offenders and small groups will pose the greatest terrorist threat to the Homeland through 2021, with white supremacist
extremists presenting the most lethal threat,” it adds.
The next two
drafts reportedly allude to “Domestic Violent Extremists,” or DVEs, instead of
“white supremacist extremists” as “the most persistent and lethal threat,”
though all three read, “Among DVEs, we judge those white supremacist extremists (WSEs) will remain the most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland
through 2021.”
None of the
drafts refer to Antifa, the loose association of anti-fascist groups that President Trump and Republicans have described as dangerous
anarchists and terrorists, though two drafts discuss groups that want to
exploit the “social grievances” driving lawful protests.
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