BY BEN FOX
WASHINGTON (AP) — A
looming Supreme Court decision on abortion, an increase of migrants at the
U.S.-Mexico border and the midterm elections are potential triggers for
extremist violence over the next six months, the Department of Homeland Security
said Tuesday.
The U.S. was in a
“heightened threat environment” already, and these factors may worsen the
situation, DHS said in the latest National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.
“In the coming months, we
expect the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile
events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of
possible targets,” DHS said.
It’s the latest attempt
by Homeland Security to draw attention to the threat posed by domestic violent
extremism, a shift from alerts about international terrorism that were a
hallmark of the agency following its creation after the wake of the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks.
Indeed, the threats from
overseas rate only passing mentions in this bulletin. It notes that al-Qaida
supporters celebrated the January standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville,
Texas. And it mentions that the Islamic State group called on supporters to
carry out attacks in the United States to avenge the killings of the group’s
leader and spokesman.
DHS disinformation
board’s work, plans remain a mystery
DHS also warns that
China, Russia, Iran and other nations seek to foment divisions within the U.S.
to weaken the country and its standing in the world. In part, they do this by
amplifying conspiracy theories and false reports that proliferate in American
society.
Domestic violent
extremists, however, present the most pressing and potentially violent threat,
the agency said, citing, for example, the racist attack in which a white gunman
killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in May.
The bulletin, which is
scheduled to expire Nov. 30, said calls for violence by domestic extremists
directed at democratic institutions, candidates and election workers will
likely increase through the fall.
A senior DHS official,
speaking to reporters ahead of the release of the bulletin, said it describes
the situation as “dynamic” because authorities are seeing a wider variety of
people motivated by a broader range of grievances and incidents than in the
past.
The upcoming decision
from the Supreme Court, which could overturn Roe v. Wade, could lead to
violence from either extremist supporters or opponents of abortion rights
depending on the outcome, said the official, speaking on the condition of
anonymity to discuss some factors that went into the preparation of the
bulletin.
Racial extremists may be
motivated by immigration enforcement or whether the government continues to
rely on Title 42, the public health order that has been used since the start of
the coronavirus pandemic to prevent people from seeking asylum at the southwest
border, DHS said.
The agency and the FBI
are working with state and local law enforcement to raise awareness of the
threat, and DHS has increased grant funding to local governments and religious
organizations to improve security, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N.
Mayorkas said in a statement released with the bulletin.