{"id":70628,"date":"2024-07-03T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/07\/03\/toxic-politics-increase-terrorism-extremism-risk-dhs-official-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:26:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:26:52","slug":"toxic-politics-increase-terrorism-extremism-risk-dhs-official-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2024\/07\/03\/toxic-politics-increase-terrorism-extremism-risk-dhs-official-says\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Toxic\u2019 politics increase terrorism, extremism risk, DHS official says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A \u201ctoxic political environment\u201d has made the United States more vulnerable to acts of violence that threaten the country\u2019s social fabric, a Department of Homeland Security official warned last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicholas Rasmussen, the DHS counterterrorism coordinator, blamed prominent voices in the political arena that frame politics as zero-sum<\/a>, encouraging the belief that one political party\u2019s gain is the other\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That type of framing leads to extreme political views, some of which gain footing among military and veteran communities, and increases the chance that people will be prompted to commit violence, Rasmussen said. The DHS labels that type of threat as domestic violent extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe toxic political environment in which we live as Americans right now, and the existentialist ways in which voices in our public square frame our politics \u2014 not only zero sum terms, but the worst kind of zero sum terms \u2014 all of that leaves us far more vulnerable than ever to targeted violence here,\u201d Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI and DHS categorize extremism into <\/b>four subtypes: racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, anti-government or anti-authority violent extremism, animal rights or environmental violent extremism and abortion-related violent extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of those, Rasmussen said he is most concerned about racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, which \u201ccontinues to grow in scope and scale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip exacerbated those risks, putting both Jewish and Muslim communities in the U.S. at greater risk of being targeted in attacks, he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While other types of threats are currently more pressing, domestic violent extremism \u201chas the potential to be more undermining of our social fabric than any other form of terrorism threat we face,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data shows that the involvement of veterans and service members with extremist ideologies is furthering this type of violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic extremists who plot or commit mass killings often share characteristics, such as histories of mental health and criminal issues. But the most common thread is a record of military service, according to research by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism<\/a>, or START, which analyzed three decades of attacks in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings illustrate a \u201csmall numbers, high impact\u201d problem, said Ellen Gustafson, co-founder of We the Veterans, a non-partisan nonprofit that focuses on preserving and strengthening democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeeing that there\u2019s a potentially deadly outcome of more involvement by veterans in these extremist groups, it is imperative for us as a group of concerned citizens and also members of the veteran and military family community to try to do something about it,\u201d Gustafson said when the research was released last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mauricio Garcia, a man with longstanding neo-Nazi views, killed eight people in a mass shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, in 2023. (Tony Gutierrez\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rasmussen outlined the threats facing the U.S. during a speech in Omaha, Nebraska, where counterterrorism experts gathered for a conference hosted by the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Threats of violence are \u201cmore challenging, more complex and more complicated\u201d than ever because of increasing risks of domestic violent extremism, combined with concerns of terrorist networks gaining entry to the country through the U.S.-Mexico border, he told the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve often been called upon to articulate the details of the threat environment and to try to make sense of what we should be most worried about,\u201d Rasmussen said. \u201cIt\u2019s harder now, today, here in this moment, than it\u2019s ever been before. We face more challenges, harder challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highest on Rasmussen\u2019s list of priorities are vulnerabilities at the southern border, where the U.S. has struggled to manage a record number of migrants over the past year. Tensions between state and federal authorities peaked in January amid record levels of unauthorized border crossings<\/a>, during which the Texas National Guard and state troopers blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents<\/a> from a 2.5-mile stretch of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the feud, the Texas Military Department posted a photo to its official X account, showing a flag from the Texas Revolution<\/a> flying above its headquarters in Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renae Eze, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said at the time that the state was using multiple tactics to deter people from crossing<\/a> and blamed President Joe Biden\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTexas will continue to deploy Texas National Guard soldiers, [Texas Department of Public Safety] troopers, and more barriers, utilizing every tool and strategy to respond to President Biden\u2019s ongoing border crisis,\u201d Eze said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A DHS official warned Thursday that terrorist networks could exploit vulnerabilities at the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo\/Christian Chavez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Migrants continue to travel from all over the world to seek asylum, and while DHS tries to vet them for ties to terrorist networks, the agency isn\u2019t always successful, Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, the FBI arrested eight Tajik men with ties to the Islamic State<\/a> who entered the country through the southern border, the New York Times reported. It\u2019s unclear whether the men were planning a terror attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rasmussen argued against the notion that terrorists are \u201cstreaming\u201d across the border. However, the immigration crisis does increase the country\u2019s vulnerability to attacks, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDHS employs rigorous screening and vetting of those arriving migrants to try to identify any individual who may present a terrorism-related threat to the homeland,\u201d Rasmussen said. \u201cEven in the midst of all of that work, we find ourselves facing a situation in which individual migrants or travelers do arrive here … and we subsequently learn that they in fact have some form of potential threat. When that happens, we work … closely with the FBI and local law enforcement around the country to deal with and mitigate that threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to border issues and threats of domestic violent extremism, homegrown violent extremists present another challenge for DHS, Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such threats, which come from longterm U.S. residents inspired by foreign terror organizations to reject Western culture and commit violence, comprise a significant share of the U.S.\u2019 threat profile, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to data from START, approximately 15% of individuals with military backgrounds who were charged with plotting or committing mass killings during the past three decades were inspired by or linked to foreign Islamist extremist groups<\/a>, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rasmussen speaks during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in November 2017. (Jose Luis Magana\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DHS needs more resources to address these threats, Rasmussen said. The agency warned earlier this year that it faced a budget shortfall<\/a>, and it urged Congress to approve a bipartisan immigration deal that would provide more than $15 billion to DHS to bolster security at the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Republicans blocked the deal for a second time<\/a> in May after former President Donald Trump described the measure as a \u201cgift\u201d for Democrats and Biden\u2019s reelection chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the funding shortfall, DHS is relying on the intelligence community, as well as academic and private-sector counterterrorism researchers, to help it prioritize threats, Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are today a counterterrorism community of finite resources. Not something I ever thought I would say in the post-9\/11 environment, but it\u2019s true,\u201d Rasmussen said. \u201cWe must make choices and deal most urgently with the most threatening things on our worry list. We can\u2019t treat every problem as a top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was produced in partnership with <\/i>Military Veterans in Journalism<\/i><\/a>. Please send tips to <\/i>MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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