Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON – Following the massacre at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Robin Kelly (IL-02) in the House and Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) in the Senate, have introduced legislation to address the growing threat of white supremacists and other violent right-wing extremists. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would enhance the federal government’s efforts to prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess this threat and provide training and resources to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement in addressing it.
According to a May 2017 intelligence bulletin by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), white supremacist extremism poses a persistent threat of lethal violence, and white supremacists were responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016—more than any other domestic extremist movement.
“Defeating white supremacy is not just about cutting an arm off of the monster, it is about taking down the entire monster of domestic terrorism altogether,” Congressman Gonzalez said. “This bill would provide federal agencies with the resources they need to keep Americans safe from the threat of home-grown terrorism. I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation that would dedicate federal time, energy, and resources to monitoring these harmful groups. By enacting this law, we also strengthen partnerships with state and local law enforcement to build the right team to combat hateful violence.”
“It’s time we update our laws to reflect the growing threat of domestic terror. In the last decade, white supremacists and other violent far-right extremists have been responsible for more deaths than any other category,” Congressman Schneider said. “I am proud to partner with Senator Durbin on legislation strengthening coordination on monitoring these groups and preventing acts of violence. From a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin to a church in South Carolina to a synagogue in Pennsylvania, we have too many tragic examples of the dangers of domestic terrorism, and the recent tragedy in New Zealand shows the vile ideology of hate is growing beyond our borders as well. This legislation is a necessary first step to help our law enforcement contain the threat.”
“Violent white supremacists and other far-right extremists are the most significant domestic terrorism threat facing the United States today,” Senator Durbin said. “For too long, we have failed to take action to combat the deadly threat in our own backyard. While federal law enforcement agencies recognize that white supremacist extremism is on the rise, our legislation would require them to take the concrete steps needed to address it.”
“White supremacists and other individuals with extremist ideologies continue to threaten public safety and the lives of American families. Tragically, this Administration has done nothing but embolden white supremacists and their disgusting ilk. With the President saying ‘there are good people on both sides’ and doing nothing else, Congress must act to combat the real and growing terror threat to American lives,” Congressman Kelly said. “It’s time we take the fight to end terrorism to the real terrorists that pose a direct and growing threat to our families and our safety.”
The bill authorizes Justice Department (DOJ), DHS, and FBI offices that are responsible for monitoring, analyzing, investigating, and prosecuting domestic terrorism. The bill also requires these offices to issue joint annual reports to the House and Senate Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Committees that assess the domestic terrorism threat posed by white supremacists; analyze domestic terrorism incidents that occurred in the previous year; and provide transparency through a public quantitative analysis of domestic terrorism-related assessments, investigations, incidents, arrests, indictments, prosecutions, convictions, and weapons recoveries.
The DHS, DOJ, and FBI offices would be required to focus their limited resources on the most significant domestic terrorism threats, as determined by the number of domestic terrorism-related incidents outlined in the joint report.
The legislation also codifies the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee (DTEC), an interagency task force which was originally created by the Department of Justice in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing.
Additionally, the bill requires DOJ, DHS, and the FBI to provide training and resources to assist State, local, and tribal law enforcement in understanding, detecting, deterring, and investigating acts of domestic terrorism. The legislation also requires the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces and State, local, and regional fusion centers, which coordinate with DHS, to (1) share intelligence to address domestic terrorism activities; (2) conduct annual, intelligence-based assessments of domestic terrorism activities in their jurisdictions; and (3) formulate and execute a plan to combat domestic terrorism activities in their jurisdictions. Finally, the legislation would establish an interagency task force to combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services.
The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act has been endorsed by leading civil rights organizations, including Muslim Advocates, Anti-Defamation League, and the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism.
To view the text of the legislation, please click here.
