Resources shifted from fighting U.S. domestic terrorism
WASHINGTON — In the aftermath of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, President Donald Trump vowed Monday to give federal law enforcement “whatever they need” to investigate and disrupt hate crimes and domestic terrorism.
But the Department of Homeland Security, which is charged with identifying threats and preventing domestic terrorism, has sought to redirect resources away from countering anti-government, far-right and white supremacist groups.
The shift has come despite evidence of a growing danger. Last year, every extremist killing in the United States involved a follower of far-right hate groups or ideology, according to the AntiDefamation League’s Center on Extremism. The FBI has noted a sharp increase in domestic terrorism cases involving white supremacists.
In June, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, told Congress that “white supremacist extremist violence” is “an evolving and increasingly concerning threat.”
Under Trump, 85% of the “countering violent extremism” grants awarded by Homeland Security explicitly targeted Muslims and other minority groups, including immigrants and refugees, more than under the Obama administration, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan policy institute at the New York University School of Law.
Homeland Security officials did not respond to requests for comment Monday, but the former officials said the department is working on a draft of a plan that includes a focus on domestic terrorism and mass casualty events.
In April, McAleenan announced a new Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention, including “racially motivated violence.” It appears to largely be a rebranding of an Obama-era initiative.
Under President Barack Obama, the office had about 40 full-time staff and a $24 million annual budget, according to Nate Snyder, an Obama administration counterterrorism official. The office now has fewer than 10 full-time employees and a budget below $3 million.