The FBI and white supremacist terrorism

In congressional testimony two weeks ago, [Director Christopher] Wray said the FBI is focused on the issue.

“We, the FBI, don’t investigate ideology, no matter how repugnant,” he said. “When it turns to violence, we’re all over it.”

That poses particular challenges in the world of white supremacists, who often do not belong to specific groups but instead find congregations of similar-minded people online and feed each other’s anger and hate.

That general lack of centralized groups or leaders among many white supremacists presents legal challenges to investigators, according to law enforcement officials. And in some cases, it shortens the time span from when a person may adopt extremist views and when they commit violence — what terrorism investigators call the “flash to bang.”

“The current racially motivated violent extremist threat is decentralized and primarily characterized by lone actors,” Michael McGarrity, an FBI assistant director, told lawmakers at a hearing in June.

  WaPo

Terrorist cells of one.

Some veteran counterterrorism experts said the FBI and the federal government have done too little, despite concerns that have been building for more than a decade.

Dave Gomez, a former FBI supervisor who oversaw terrorism cases, said he thinks FBI officials are wary of pursuing white nationalists aggressively because of the fierce political debates surrounding the issue.

“I believe Christopher A. Wray is an honorable man, but I think in many ways the FBI is hamstrung in trying to investigate the white supremacist movement like the old FBI would,” Gomez said. “There’s some reluctance among agents to bring forth an investigation that targets what the president perceives as his base. It’s a no-win situation for the FBI agent or supervisor.”

So,the FBI will let an unorganized terrorist group go on slaughtering people because they're the president's base? That better not be true. And, BTW, impeach the motherfucker and bring this nightmare to an end.

“I don’t think there’s any faith by the FBI right now that the Justice Department is an independent law enforcement organization,” he said. “I think the FBI is up to the challenge of investigating white nationalism and white supremacy as a domestic terrorism threat, they just have to be allowed to do it.”

Impeach Bill Barr.

An FBI spokesperson disputed those claims, noting that the agency assigns resources to reflect its assessment that domestic terrorists are a persistent threat. The official also denied that there is distrust between the bureau and the Justice Department, saying the two agencies work closely together.

Could be true, but then, the FBI spokesperson has to say that.

[D]omestic terrorist suspects who are not accused of a specific act of violence are typically charged with other crimes, such as drug or gun violations, and many of those cases are brought in state, not federal, court, meaning the general public often never hears that a domestic terrorism suspect has been ­arrested.

[...]

FBI data shows that hate crimes rose 17 percent in 2017, for their third consecutive increase, though officials cautioned that part of the increase is due to more police departments providing data than in previous years. FBI data on 2018 hate crimes is expected to be released in November.

Johnson, who wrote a book called “Hateland” about American extremists, said the government has pulled back grant programs for combating such violence at a time when they should have been beefing up such efforts.

Yeah, why is that?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.