Racist and militia violence ‘most lethal’ domestic threat, US intelligence reports in national security report
A joint intelligence report on the state of domestic violence extremism assesses that racially and ethnically motivated violence as well violent militia groups present the “most lethal” threat among domestic threats.
Perpetrators of racist violence are “most likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks” against Americans, according to a newly unclassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security.
Domestic violence extremists, or DVEs, motivated by “a range of ideologies and galvanized by recent political and societal events” pose an “elevated threat” to the US in 2021, according to the report.
False narratives about the 2020 presidential election, the Capitol insurrection, and conspiracy theories and conditions related to the Covid-19 crisis “will almost certainly spur some DVEs to try to engage in violence this year”, the agencies reported.
The release of the report from Joe Biden’s administration follows remarks from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who told members of Congress on Wednesday that federal law enforcement has responded to threats involving individuals and small networks of people in the US adhering to an ideologically diverse range of motivations who are “willing and able to take those ideologies and execute on them in unlawful, illegal, violent ways”.
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