By MassPrivateI
Living through years of Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter protests and watching nothing change can make one angry beyond words. Especially after last year’s protests when things looked like they might actually change, as politicians seemed to care about ending police violence, but instead gave us watered-down police reform bills.
A recent Homeland Security “National Terrorism Advisory” bulletin proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that absolutely nothing has changed. In fact, things might just have gotten worse for police violence protesters and activists.
The very first paragraph of the bulletin warns first responders that police should be on the lookout for people who object to government authority and more.
The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security has issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin due to a heightened threat environment across the United States, which DHS believes will persist in the weeks following the successful Presidential Inauguration. Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence.
What do the Feds mean by “ideologically-motivated violent extremists as well as other perceived grievances” and “could continue to mobilize”?
Well for one thing, using ‘could mobilize’ as a reason to justify leaving a military presence in and around our Capitol until March should concern everyone.
As journalist Glenn Greenwald said, “It is hard to overstate what an extreme state of affairs it is to have a sustained military presence in American streets.”
Why was the idea of troops in American streets so grotesque and offensive in June, 2020 but so normalized now? Why were these troops likely to indiscriminately arrest and murder black reporters and other journalists over the summer but are now trusted to protect them? And what does it say about the current climate, and the serious dangers it poses, that the public is being trained so easily to acquiesce to extreme measures in the name of domestic security?
It appears that things have gone from bad to worse as DHS seems to be using the Capitol riot as an excuse to paint non-violent protesters and protesters against police violence as extremists.
Throughout 2020, Domestic Violent Extremists (DVEs) targeted individuals with opposing views engaged in First Amendment-protected, non-violent protest activity. DVEs motivated by a range of issues, including anger over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results, and police use of force have plotted and on occasion carried out attacks against government facilities.
Non-violent protesters and protesters against police use-of-force are to be considered Domestic Violent Extremists? What world are we living in?
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DHS also appears to want law enforcement to target people like BLM activists who are trying to put an end to government-sanctioned police violence.
DHS remains committed to preventing violence and threats meant to intimidate or coerce specific populations on the basis of their religion, race, ethnicity, identity or political views.
How will the Feds accomplish their new goal of painting peaceful protesters and activists as DVE’s?
By using DHS’s If You See Something, Say Something talk to the police program or contact the FBI and last but not least, contacting your local police/Fusion Centers.
We ask the public to report suspicious activity and threats of violence, including online activity, to local law enforcement, FBI Field Offices, or their local Fusion Center.
The bulletin also provides a link to a DHS “Homeland Threat Assessment” program run by disgraced Trump appointee Chad Wolf.
How does DHS determine who is and who is not an extremist? By trusting DHS employees to make those decisions of course.
“The men and women serving in our operational Components are the experts in their national security and homeland security missions, making their insights critical in threat identification and prevention,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said.
Trusting Trump inspired government employees to determine who is and is not a violent extremist is disconcerting to say the least.
DHS has no qualms about painting Black Lives Matter protesters as anti-government violent extremists.
During the course of developing the HTA we began to see a new, alarming trend of exploitation of lawful protests causing violence, death, and destruction in American communities. This anti-government, anti-authority and anarchist violent extremism was identified by DHS in September 2019 when we published our Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence.
DHS’s Homeland Threat Assessment report is beyond troubling, it is filled with similar calls like the ones quoted above that encourage police violence by treating peaceful BLM protesters or anti-government activists like terrorists.
Sadly, it seems like President Joe Biden will not only continue in Trump’s footsteps of police violence but might accelerate its growth by introducing new domestic terrorism laws.
Source: MassPrivateI Blog
Top image: Long Beach Post
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