Far-Right groups out of law enforcement’s view

Right-wing groups on chat apps like Telegram are swelling with new members after Parler disappeared and a backlash against Facebook and Twitter, making it harder for law enforcement to track where the next attack could come from.

After the attack on the US Capitol last week, major tech companies clamped down on Rightwing extremists, kicking thousands of conspiracy theory accounts off Twitter and shutting down the social network Parler. But those conversations usually took place in the open on welldocumented, public-facing channels.

Now, conversations about potential attacks and protests around Inauguration Day are taking place on a wide mix of public and private feeds and chats on Dubai-based Telegram and other services like MeWe, according to law enforcement officials and extremism researchers.

The development has police forces concerned about being able to predict and respond to protests and potential attacks in the days leading up to the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

‘‘One of the advantages that we had when those fringe groups were available and communicating in the open, with Facebook, Twitter and Parler, is that it was an open source way to track the flow of protest interest,’’ said Sergeant Nick Street, a public information officer for the Utah Highway Patrol, which provides security for the state Capitol in Salt Lake City.

Outrage against the big social media networks for banning President Donald Trump is also contributing to a surge of users not associated with violent groups heading to these smaller apps. Other people are joining out of privacy concerns about big tech.

On January 12, Telegram was the fifth most-downloaded app in the United States, compared with its previous ranking of 110th before the Capitol attack, according to app research firm App Annie. Telegram said that it has surpassed 500 million users after a surge of 25 million new downloads over the weekend. –