We have a huge intelligence gap regarding violent right wing extremism, including in law enforcement.
[Editor’s Note: Yet another example of how cowardly liberals refusing to stand up to right wing bullies are a fascist’s greatest ally. — Mark L. Taylor]
By Anna Bauman, Meghna Chakrabarti & Jonathan Chang
On Point / WBUR (7/21/20)
In 2009, a Department of Homeland Security report predicted that the recession coupled with the nation’s first Black president could give rise to a surge in right-wing domestic terrorism. Political backlash ensued, and the intelligence unit disbanded. Now, over a decade later, the report’s author is still ringing alarm bells. We share his story.
Guests:
- Excerpt from the 2009 Department of Homeland Security report on the resurgence of right-wing extremist activity in the U.S., authored by Daryl Johnson.
- Daryl Johnson, former senior domestic terrorism analyst at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Owner of DT Analytics, a consulting firm for law enforcement that analyzes domestic terrorist activity. Author of “Hateland: A Long, Hard Look at America’s Extremist Heart” and “Right-Wing Resurgence: How a Domestic Terrorist Threat is Being Ignored.” (@DTAnalytics)
- Det. Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police, which represents many black officers in the St. Louis region. Night watch Homicide Sergeant with the St. Louis Metro Police Department. (@HthrTylr)
- Rep. Norma Torres, Democratic Representative for California’s 35th congressional district. Last month, she and 27 lawmakers requested that the Department of Justice release the full contents of a 2006 FBI report titled “White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement.” (@NormaJTorres)
For More Information:
The Washington Post: “I warned of right-wing violence in 2009. Republicans objected. I was right.” — “Eight years ago, I warned of a singular threat — the resurgence of right-wing extremist activity and associated violence in the United States as a result of the 2008 presidential election, the financial crisis and the stock market crash. My intelligence report, meant only for law enforcement, was leaked by conservative media.”
The Las Vegas Sun: “Right-wing extremist violence is a scourge in Las Vegas and across the nation” — “Never forget this: Radical right-wing extremists tried to attack Las Vegas and kill our citizens this week. Consistently and indiscriminately, the violent right wing targets our city. Targets you. And your children. And your friends. All of us. The violent right wing is the enemy of Las Vegas.”
The Intercept: “The FBI Has Quietly Investigated White Supremacist Infiltration Of Law Enforcement” — “White supremacists and other domestic extremists maintain an active presence in U.S. police departments and other law enforcement agencies. A striking reference to that conclusion, notable for its confidence and the policy prescriptions that accompany it, appears in a classified FBI Counterterrorism Policy Guide from April 2015, obtained by The Intercept. The guide, which details the process by which the FBI enters individuals on a terrorism watchlist, the Known or Suspected Terrorist File, notes that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers,” and explains in some detail how bureau policies have been crafted to take this infiltration into account.”
Salon: “He sounded the alarm on ‘Hateland’: Daryl Johnson warned us about right-wing terror in 2009” — “Over the past two weeks, 25 people were killed in a series of attacks by apparent white supremacists in El Paso, Texas, and Gilroy, California. These events are part of a global “race war,” in which white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other members of the New Right have killed hundreds of people around the world since 2011. On Sunday, in what appears to be another white supremacist terror attack, a 21-year-old white man opened fire on a mosque in Norway. A 75-year-old man who is a member of the mosque’s congregation tackled the alleged terrorist to the ground and then subdued and disarmed him.”
(Commoner Call cartoon by Mark L. Taylor, 2018. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link to www.thecommonercall.org )
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There’s Zero Chance That Trump Will Accept Defeat With Dignity. We Need To Prepare For Weeks Of Dreadful Chaos
Like a petulant boy who tosses a board game across the room when he’s losing, Trump is going to hurl the election process into absolute chaos.
By Bob Cesca
Salon (7/21/20)
By now, it’s relatively easy to forecast Donald Trump’s tyrannical moves. There are no advanced Frank Underwood-style chess gambits in play here. It’s barely Candyland, despite the fascistic goals involved. Trump is, on top of it all, a simple-minded, easily predictable Golgothan who telegraphs every move of self-preservation. Sometimes it can be reassuring to have a sense of where he’s going with his repetitious blurts. At other times it leaves us with this perpetual sense of instability, knowing what might be lurking around the corner. The November election fits horrifyingly into the latter category.
It wouldn’t shock me if Trump simply declared victory before all the votes are counted. That won’t mean much in the grand scheme, but it will further incite his people and worsen the chaos.
I believe I know how Trump will try to interfere with the process as well as the outcome, and it’s more than a little unnerving, especially given the cataclysmic stakes this time. Warning: This is a bit of a horror show, so hang on tight. Oh, and everything that follows presumes a close race, with the advantage leaning in Joe Biden’s direction.
We’re all brutally aware that every move Trump makes is aimed squarely at re-election. If he’s not re-elected, he could face criminal prosecution and dozens of lawsuits after he returns to being a private citizen. He knows better than anyone that the presidency is the only thing saving him either from the slammer or from an underground escape to a non-extradition country. …