‘This isn’t the final chapter’: Analyst warns, again, about rise of right-wing extremists
In April 2009, a senior Homeland Security intelligence analyst named Daryl Johnson wrote an internal report warning that right-wing extremism was on the rise in the United States and that it could lead to violence.
The report leaked, and the backlash was swift. Republican lawmakers were furious. Veterans advocates criticized a section raising concerns about service members returning with post-traumatic stress. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized for parts of it, and the unit ultimately was dissolved.
Nearly 11 years later, a mob of right-wing extremists, spurred by President Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly riot that highlighted the magnitude of the threat.
“This Capitol insurrection that we just had last week — some people were like OK, this is the climax of the story. No, it’s not. This is ushering in a new phase of violence and hostility,” Johnson said in an interview. “This isn’t the final chapter of a movement that’s dying out.”
Johnson, who runs DT Analytics, a security consulting firm, published a 2019 book about U.S. extremism called “Hateland.” He spoke to NBC News about the threat and how it can be quelled. [Continue reading…]