The report revealed, however, that the government unit responsible for tracking terrorist threats against the homeland “hasn’t adopted an authoritative definition [of ‘domestic violence extremist’] that can be integrated” into DHS policies.
DHS’ Domestic Violence Extremism Internal Review Working Group conducted the probe and found that there were “significant gaps” in DHS’ ability to prevent, detect, and respond to DVE threats. According to Friday’s assessment by the working group, these gaps – which included a dearth of training for workers to detect and report such activity – likely affected DHS accounting.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary, said that he was disturbed by the findings. The findings revealed significant gaps in the department’s ability detect and respond domestically violent extremism.
He said, “At the time, I greatly appreciated that the investigative process brought those gaps and that troubling information to the surface, so we know exactly what we need to model good governance, to ensure the integrity and honor of this department, and to protect those who don’t feel safe at work,” he continued.
Four instances of “active participation” or support for domestic extremist activities
Initial searches by the working group revealed 35 claims of violent extremist activity in the ranks of the department, which employs more than 250,000 people.
The investigation revealed that only four incidents were related to “active participation or support of violent extremist activities,” and the 31 other allegations were either unsubstantiated, or misclassified.
Mayorkas and the report did not mention whether DHS personnel were present at the U.S. Capitol January 6th, or whether they belonged to known extremist groups like the Oathkeepers, the Proud Boys, or the Three Percenters.
Christopher Hasson, a former Coast Guard lieutenant was among those identified in the audit. He was accused of compiling the hit list of Democratic politicians in February 2019. After agents discovered several guns, including silencers and hundreds of rounds, at his residence, the self-described “longtime White Nationalist”, he was sentenced to more than 13 years.
Kevin McAleenan, then-acting DHS Secretary, issued a September 2019 strategy bulletin after the revelations of extremism within the U.S Coast Guard.
DHS was under increasing pressure in the years preceding the Capitol rebellion to address domestic extremism. Friday’s investigation also revealed a dearth of funding to support DHS’ Insider Threat Program, its current tool that “manages insider threat matters,” and related training programs.
Mayorkas announced the probe in April last year, two months after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued an 60-day “stand down within U.S. military.” In connection to the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, at least 82 military personnel were arrested According to Pentagon officials, about 100 current servicemen were involved in prohibited extremist activities in 2021. This is an increase from the “low-double figures” of previous years.
Rooting Out Extremist Threats within DHS
The working group looked into DHS data and found that the department and its parts do not track domestic violence extremism allegations. Instead, they filed complaints under sub-categories like “workplace violence.” Many investigations into allegations of violent extremist activities often involved multiple departments. It was not clear who was responsible for following up.
Friday’s report did not identify any specific extremist groups, but it did sort allegations into the following categories.
Domestic violent extremism motivated by racial or ethnic motivation
animal rights/environmental-related domestic violent extremism
Domestic violent extremism arising from abortion
anti-government/anti-authority domestic violent extremism
All other threats to domestic terrorism
The group made 15 recommendations to DHS employees to help protect them and to establish a standard for rooting extremist threats. It began with the implementation a policy to detect and prevent violent extremist activity within DHS.
Investigators suggested establishing one reporting center for all DVE-related personnel complaints.
“A single definition of domestic violent extremism
Mayorkas stated that DHS could “very well” evaluate the role of employees in future evaluations.
Mayorkas stated, “That requires legal analysis.” Mayorkas stated, “That’s why we need to establish baseline guidelines and policies.”
The Department of Defense operates on a chain of command culture. However, DHS’s federated bureaucracy works with autonomy. A new definition of domestic violence extremism has been created. There are also updated employee training modules, and guides for leaders to use when discussing violent extremist activities.
Mayorkas stated that there will be one definition to guide the department.
While acknowledging the difficulties of police work in combating extremist activity, he stressed that employees have First Amendment rights. However, all speech is not automatically protected.
Mayorkas stated that if the views expressed by an individual raise questions about the integrity and objectivity of their responsibilities, that could be an issue.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered 60 cases of misconduct last year after a thorough investigation into the sharing of explicit and violent messages on secret Facebook groups, but only two were fired.
The Coast Guard’s 48,000 members are not covered by Friday’s report. They fall under DHS’s purview, but the Pentagon will separate consider their recommendations.
DHS has been given the task of establishing guidelines and rules for its 170,000 contractors by the working group. They pointed out that special consideration should be given to screening this large population which has direct access to DHS assets, including all immigration detention facilities as well as biometrics equipment.
Mayorkas stated that the responsibility for the implementation of future protocols will be shared by components at “every level of the supervisorial chains and, ultimately, with me” but DHS’ Office of Security was the leader of the group.
