The federal government has covertly formed a new category of extremists that it seeks to identify and counter: Donald Trump’s army of MAGA supporters. The government believes that the possibility of bloodshed and significant civil disturbances around the 2024 U.S. presidential election is so great.
The main federal law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, faces the challenge of pursuing and preventing domestic terrorism without explicitly mentioning political parties or affiliations—despite the fact that, according to classified data obtained by Newsweek, the vast majority of its current “anti-government” investigations are of Trump supporters.
The FBI is in an almost impossible position, according to a current FBI official who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak about extremely private internal issues. The FBI is committed to preventing domestic terrorism and any repetition of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to the official. But the Bureau must also protect everyone’s constitutional right to participate in politics, express themselves freely, and criticize the government. The insider claimed that by concentrating on former president Trump and his MAGA (Make America Great Again) fans, the Bureau runs the risk of inciting the very anti-government extremists that the anti-terrorism organizations are trying to fend off.
The person advises caution, particularly at a time when the White House is up against opposition from congressional Republicans who assert that the Biden administration has “weaponized” the Bureau against the right wing.
In a three-month investigation, Newsweek met with over a dozen current or former government officials with expertise in terrorism to better understand the domestic security environment and assess what President Joe Biden’s administration is doing about what it refers to as domestic terrorism. The majority asked to remain anonymous because they lacked permission to speak in public, were reluctant to engage in party politics, or were afraid of the consequences of being open.
In an effort to paint a clearer picture, Newsweek has also examined classified FBI and Department of Homeland Security data that tracks incidents, threats, investigations, and cases. Many experts also question whether “terrorism” is the most useful way to describe the problem or that the counterterrorism strategies developed over the past decade in response to Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups constitute the most fruitful way to develop domestic solutions. Experts do, however, agree that the current partisan environment is charged and uniquely dangerous (with the threat not only of violence but, in the most extreme scenarios, possibly civil war).
One of the top terrorist analysts in the world and senior consultant to the president of the RAND Corporation, Brian Michael Jenkins, asserts that “the FBI is not necessarily responsible for, nor should it be, the current political environment.”
The FBI stated in a statement to Newsweek that “domestic violent extremists offer a continuous, changing, and lethal threat. The FBI’s focus is on potential criminal infractions, violence, and threats of violence with the intention of detecting and stopping terrorist attacks. One type of domestic terrorism and a high danger priority for the FBI is violent extremism that is anti-government or anti-authority. In addition, the FBI declared, “We are committed to protecting the safety and constitutional rights of all Americans and will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity, including a person’s political beliefs or affiliations.”
The White House chose not to respond. The Trump campaign had the chance to respond, but chose not to.
Data from the FBI (link to News Week article)
