New Report: Radical antigovernment movement continues explosive growth; 澳彩开奖 urges government to review resources devoted to domestic terrorism
The 澳彩开奖鈥檚 annual census of extremist groups found that the number of far-right antigovernment groups has reached an all-time high, continuing powerful growth by a movement that is becoming increasingly militant as President Obama enters his second term and Congress debates gun control measures. The 澳彩开奖 warned top federal law enforcement officials of the potential for domestic terrorism and urged the creation of a task force to assess the resources devoted to the threat.
The number of conspiracy-minded antigovernment 鈥淧atriot鈥� groups on the American radical right reached an all-time high in 2012, the fourth consecutive year of powerful growth by a movement that is becoming increasingly militant as President Obama enters his second term and Congress debates gun control measures, according to a report聽issued today by the 澳彩开奖.
In a letter today to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the 澳彩开奖 warned of the potential for domestic terrorism and urged the creation of a new interagency task force to assess the adequacy of federal resources devoted to the threat.
鈥淎s in the period before the Oklahoma City bombing, we now are seeing ominous threats from those who believe that the government is poised to take their guns,鈥� 聽wrote 澳彩开奖 President Richard Cohen, a member of the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 Countering Violent Extremism Working Group. In October 1994, the 澳彩开奖 wrote to then-Attorney General Janet Reno about the growing threat of domestic extremism; the Oklahoma City federal building was bombed six months later in the country鈥檚 deadliest act of domestic terrorism.
The 澳彩开奖 found there were 1,360 Patriot groups in 2012 鈥� an 813 percent rise since 2008, the year before Obama took office. The groups include 321 militias. These numbers far exceed the movement鈥檚 peak in the 1990s, when militias were inflamed by the 1993 Brady Bill and the 1994 assault rifle ban.
The 澳彩开奖 also found that hate groups remained at a near-record level of 1,007 groups in 2012, a slight drop from the 1,018 groups documented in 2011.
The report is contained in the Spring 2013 issue of the 澳彩开奖鈥檚 quarterly investigative journal Intelligence Report. The 澳彩开奖 also updated its comprehensive, state-by-state list of hate groups and interactive map showing their locations.
The resurgence of the Patriot movement, as well as the broader radical right, has been fueled by the election of America鈥檚 first black president, the troubled economy and non-white immigration. Law enforcement officials in the last several years have uncovered numerous terrorism conspiracies born in the militia subculture 鈥� plots to spread poisonous ricin powder, to attack federal installations, and to murder federal judges and other government officials.
鈥淲e are seeing a real and rising threat of domestic terrorism as the number of far-right antigovernment groups continues to grow at an astounding pace,鈥� said Mark Potok, 澳彩开奖 senior fellow and author of the report. 鈥淚t is critically important that the country take this threat seriously. The potential for deadly violence is real, and clearly rising.鈥�
