Stopping Violent Extremism

Bullet holes in window

This weekend’s back to back shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio highlight, in the deadliest way, growing concerns that the U.S. is fighting its own extremism problem. As authorities look into the motives in both attacks, we must act promptly to thwart future attacks.  Here’s how we can do it.

Last month, FBI Director, Christopher Wray testified on Capitol Hill that the agency has made just under 100 domestic terrorism-related arrests since October of last year, the vast majority of which were tied to white supremacist organizations.  And in June of this year, in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, FBI officials testified that their operational tempo has seen a dramatic increase and that white homegrown violent extremists are consistently using more sophisticated social media, propaganda and target selection to ramp up their recruitment. Recruitment to these movements are diverse and range from transnational ideological leaders, pamphlets/books and private message forums to name a few.

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