Devereaux writes: "In the view of the Department of Homeland Security's
intelligence wing, anger over the election of Donald Trump, reflected in
protests across the country, is a driving force in 'domestic terrorist
violence,' according to an unclassified report."
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon,
February 20, 2017. (photo: Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA/AP)
Homeland Security Sees Anger at Trump as a Driver of "Domestic Terrorist
Violence"
By Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
03 March 17
In the view of the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence wing,
anger over the election of Donald Trump, reflected in protests across the
country, is a driving force in "domestic terrorist violence," according to
an unclassified report obtained by The Intercept.
The conclusions, laid out in a February 21 report prepared by the North
Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) and DHS's Office of
Intelligence & Analysis (I&A), come amid a series of controversial
post-election efforts by Republican lawmakers to criminalize protest.
Focused on North Carolina, the six-page document "was written in response to
a spike in violence and criminal acts - including an arson attack -
targeting political party offices and staff that occurred prior to of and
immediately following the election" and sets out to provide "an overall
threat forecast for the first half of 2017 concerning like activities in the
state."
"In the lead up to and immediately following the 2016 election, North
Carolina experienced incidents that included the targeting of political
campaign offices and government organizations," the report notes, which,
"highlight their attractiveness as targets for domestic terrorists and
various cyber actors seeking to advance political aims and/or influence
government operations."
Based largely on open source reporting and law enforcement assessments, the
report focuses on a handful of incidents in late October in which GOP
offices were targeted with "low level physical violence," including with BB
guns and, in the most serious incident, Molotov cocktails. Though property
was damaged in the latter incident, nobody was injured. The report notes
that the words "Nazi Republicans leave town or else," were spray painted on
a building adjacent to the burned GOP office - the report does not mention
the "Black Lives Don't Matter and Neither Does Your Votes" graffiti that
appeared on a wall in Durham, North Carolina weeks later, however, nor the
Democratic office in Carrboro, North Carolina that was tagged with the words
"Death to Capitalism."
One individual was arrested on federal terrorism charges during the period
of heightened activity for allegedly leaving a bomb threat on a GOP
answering machine in the county of Henderson.
The report also highlights three incidents of "malicious cyber activity
targeting public sector - particularly government - entities in the last
half of 2016" that "may have been politically-motivated." In one incident,
"a criminal hacker defaced a North Carolina law enforcement website by
gaining access and posting pro-Turkey messaging." In another, "a criminal
hacker group" tried and failed to steal government records. In the third and
final example cited in the report, a so-called distributed denial of service
attack "significantly degraded" a city website's "functionality and impacted
connectivity."
Overall, the law enforcement and intelligence analysts in North Carolina
expect that the vandalism allegedly motivated by Trump's election "will
likely decrease through the first half of 2017 as compared to the last half
of 2016," basing its conclusion on "the lack of threat reporting and the
completion of the Presidential election and the near completion of political
transitions in federal and state governments which may have served as a
drivng [sic] catalyst for the violence."
Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and
National Security Program at NYU's law school, said it was important to
analyze the report and its conclusions for what it is: the work-product of
one of the nation's many law enforcement "fusion centers," which he said
tend to "measure their effectiveness by how many reports they publish."
A former undercover FBI agent who infiltrated violent domestic
organizations, German said the report failed on numerous fronts to achieve
its intended purpose of providing information that could help law
enforcement stop or solve crimes.
"It claims to provide 'situational awareness' but what information does it
actually provide about the situation?" German explained in an email to The
Intercept. "It doesn't purport to quantify the number or type of attacks
that made up the supposed 'spike' in election-related incidents, and it
doesn't qualitatively describe them either. It isn't clear whether the
examples summarized are the only cases, or the most serious cases, or just a
handful of cases the analyst chose at random to summarize for this report."
What's more, German pointed out, "That election-related violence might go
down after the election is over is tautological."
While the report predicts a decrease in the kinds of incidents seen in North
Carolina last year, it also includes a section on the perspective DHS's
intelligence wing, which links national protests over Trump's election to
domestic terrorism.
"DHS assesses that anger over the results of the 2016 Presidential election
continues to be a driver of domestic terrorist violence throughout the
United States - as evidenced by rioting in Portland, Oregon, following the
election and violence and destruction of property in Washington during the
inauguration," the report says.
The early November eruption in Portland, cited in the footnotes of the
report, was officially described as a riot by local police, who used flash
bang grenades and tear gas to respond to property damage, which law
enforcement officials characterized as "extensive criminal and dangerous
behavior." The widely reported inauguration day protests in Washington D.C.,
which took place a day before the historic women's march on the capitol,
also featured property damage and a hard-edged police response, culminating
to more than 200 arrests - including a number of working journalists - most
of whom were hit with federal rioting charges.
Trump has lashed out against as those protesting against him - whether they
destroy property or not - as illegitimate and/or paid agitators. Following
the protests in Portland he tweeted, "Just had a very open and successful
presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media,
are protesting. Very unfair!"
The message has apparently resonated. Since Trump's election, Republican
lawmakers in at least in at least 18 states have introduced bills aimed at
cracking down on protests. Decried by civil liberties advocates as the
criminalization of dissent, the recent legislation has included efforts to
provide legal protections to drivers who hit protesters with their cars and
proposals to use racketeering laws in order to seize the property of any
individual who attends a peaceful protest that turns violent.
In the case of North Carolina specifically, DHS agreed "that the campaign
cycle likely was a driving influence of the rash of incidents" last year,
but "cannot discount the possibility that some such individuals could be
spurred to violence against a variety of political targets in the state in
the coming year." The report adds that there are "other factors or
occurrences that could foment further criminal acts and violence against
political entities in North Carolina."
Examples of other factors noted in the assessment include, "Negative
publicity surrounding perceived political scandal involving North Carolina
political entities"; "Passage of new state or federal legislation that is
unpopular with violent extremists - such as legislation concerning: abortion
rights, LGBT rights, environmental concerns, gun control, or federal health
insurance"; "Perceived success in violent activity during the 2017
Presidential inauguration that energized local and regional violent
extremists"; and "negative publicity surrounding voter registration in North
Carolina during the previous 2016 presidential election."
The report's forecast for 2017 does not address reported rises in
Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-semitic violence, harassment and
vandalism, which some experts have attributed to the president's right-wing
base feeling emboldened by his rhetoric and success. According to the
Southern Poverty Law Center, such incidents spiked after Trump's election,
and while they have decreased in recent weeks, the organization says they
remain above pre-election levels. North Carolina in particular was among the
18 states hit in a string bomb threats targeting dozens of Jewish community
centers and schools across the country this week. The FBI, meanwhile, has
reported a rise in hate crimes in the state in recent years, and in 2015 the
infamous murder of three young Muslims by a white neighbor in the city of
Chapel Hill sparked an emotional nationwide debate on the subject.
The Intercept contacted DHS for clarification on the agency's views
regarding domestic terrorism and anger over Trump's election but did not
receive a response.
"The issue of what is counted as political violence and what isn't, this is
a longstanding problem," German, the former FBI agent, said. "Law
enforcement agencies have long tended to view vandalism, civil disobedience,
or even just protest against government institutions as more serious than
actual violence against marginalized populations. That's why crimes against
government property are 'terrorism' but crimes against minorities are 'hate
crimes' at best and ignored at worst."
"For example, the report calls private property destruction in DC and
Portland after the election 'domestic terrorism,' which vastly overstates
the charges levied in those incidents," German said. "For a fusion center to
amplify disorderly conduct, vandalism, or civil disobedience into terrorism
is inappropriate, factually wrong, and potentially misleading to law
enforcement."
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon,
February 20, 2017. (photo: Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA/AP)
https://theintercept.com/2017/03/02/homeland-security-sees-anger-at-trump-as
-a-driver-of-domestic-terrorist-violence/https://theintercept.com/2017/03/02
/homeland-security-sees-anger-at-trump-as-a-driver-of-domestic-terrorist-vio
lence/
Homeland Security Sees Anger at Trump as a Driver of "Domestic Terrorist
Violence"
By Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
03 March 17
n the view of the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence wing,
anger over the election of Donald Trump, reflected in protests across the
country, is a driving force in "domestic terrorist violence," according to
an unclassified report obtained by The Intercept.
The conclusions, laid out in a February 21 report prepared by the North
Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) and DHS's Office of
Intelligence & Analysis (I&A), come amid a series of controversial
post-election efforts by Republican lawmakers to criminalize protest.
Focused on North Carolina, the six-page document "was written in response to
a spike in violence and criminal acts - including an arson attack -
targeting political party offices and staff that occurred prior to of and
immediately following the election" and sets out to provide "an overall
threat forecast for the first half of 2017 concerning like activities in the
state."
"In the lead up to and immediately following the 2016 election, North
Carolina experienced incidents that included the targeting of political
campaign offices and government organizations," the report notes, which,
"highlight their attractiveness as targets for domestic terrorists and
various cyber actors seeking to advance political aims and/or influence
government operations."
Based largely on open source reporting and law enforcement assessments, the
report focuses on a handful of incidents in late October in which GOP
offices were targeted with "low level physical violence," including with BB
guns and, in the most serious incident, Molotov cocktails. Though property
was damaged in the latter incident, nobody was injured. The report notes
that the words "Nazi Republicans leave town or else," were spray painted on
a building adjacent to the burned GOP office - the report does not mention
the "Black Lives Don't Matter and Neither Does Your Votes" graffiti that
appeared on a wall in Durham, North Carolina weeks later, however, nor the
Democratic office in Carrboro, North Carolina that was tagged with the words
"Death to Capitalism."
One individual was arrested on federal terrorism charges during the period
of heightened activity for allegedly leaving a bomb threat on a GOP
answering machine in the county of Henderson.
The report also highlights three incidents of "malicious cyber activity
targeting public sector - particularly government - entities in the last
half of 2016" that "may have been politically-motivated." In one incident,
"a criminal hacker defaced a North Carolina law enforcement website by
gaining access and posting pro-Turkey messaging." In another, "a criminal
hacker group" tried and failed to steal government records. In the third and
final example cited in the report, a so-called distributed denial of service
attack "significantly degraded" a city website's "functionality and impacted
connectivity."
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3477605-DHS-Field-Analysis-Report.ht
ml - document/p1
Overall, the law enforcement and intelligence analysts in North Carolina
expect that the vandalism allegedly motivated by Trump's election "will
likely decrease through the first half of 2017 as compared to the last half
of 2016," basing its conclusion on "the lack of threat reporting and the
completion of the Presidential election and the near completion of political
transitions in federal and state governments which may have served as a
drivng [sic] catalyst for the violence."
Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and
National Security Program at NYU's law school, said it was important to
analyze the report and its conclusions for what it is: the work-product of
one of the nation's many law enforcement "fusion centers," which he said
tend to "measure their effectiveness by how many reports they publish."
A former undercover FBI agent who infiltrated violent domestic
organizations, German said the report failed on numerous fronts to achieve
its intended purpose of providing information that could help law
enforcement stop or solve crimes.
"It claims to provide 'situational awareness' but what information does it
actually provide about the situation?" German explained in an email to The
Intercept. "It doesn't purport to quantify the number or type of attacks
that made up the supposed 'spike' in election-related incidents, and it
doesn't qualitatively describe them either. It isn't clear whether the
examples summarized are the only cases, or the most serious cases, or just a
handful of cases the analyst chose at random to summarize for this report."
What's more, German pointed out, "That election-related violence might go
down after the election is over is tautological."
While the report predicts a decrease in the kinds of incidents seen in North
Carolina last year, it also includes a section on the perspective DHS's
intelligence wing, which links national protests over Trump's election to
domestic terrorism.
"DHS assesses that anger over the results of the 2016 Presidential election
continues to be a driver of domestic terrorist violence throughout the
United States - as evidenced by rioting in Portland, Oregon, following the
election and violence and destruction of property in Washington during the
inauguration," the report says.
The early November eruption in Portland, cited in the footnotes of the
report, was officially described as a riot by local police, who used flash
bang grenades and tear gas to respond to property damage, which law
enforcement officials characterized as "extensive criminal and dangerous
behavior." The widely reported inauguration day protests in Washington D.C.,
which took place a day before the historic women's march on the capitol,
also featured property damage and a hard-edged police response, culminating
to more than 200 arrests - including a number of working journalists - most
of whom were hit with federal rioting charges.
Trump has lashed out against as those protesting against him - whether they
destroy property or not - as illegitimate and/or paid agitators. Following
the protests in Portland he tweeted, "Just had a very open and successful
presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media,
are protesting. Very unfair!"
The message has apparently resonated. Since Trump's election, Republican
lawmakers in at least in at least 18 states have introduced bills aimed at
cracking down on protests. Decried by civil liberties advocates as the
criminalization of dissent, the recent legislation has included efforts to
provide legal protections to drivers who hit protesters with their cars and
proposals to use racketeering laws in order to seize the property of any
individual who attends a peaceful protest that turns violent.
In the case of North Carolina specifically, DHS agreed "that the campaign
cycle likely was a driving influence of the rash of incidents" last year,
but "cannot discount the possibility that some such individuals could be
spurred to violence against a variety of political targets in the state in
the coming year." The report adds that there are "other factors or
occurrences that could foment further criminal acts and violence against
political entities in North Carolina."
Examples of other factors noted in the assessment include, "Negative
publicity surrounding perceived political scandal involving North Carolina
political entities"; "Passage of new state or federal legislation that is
unpopular with violent extremists - such as legislation concerning: abortion
rights, LGBT rights, environmental concerns, gun control, or federal health
insurance"; "Perceived success in violent activity during the 2017
Presidential inauguration that energized local and regional violent
extremists"; and "negative publicity surrounding voter registration in North
Carolina during the previous 2016 presidential election."
The report's forecast for 2017 does not address reported rises in
Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-semitic violence, harassment and
vandalism, which some experts have attributed to the president's right-wing
base feeling emboldened by his rhetoric and success. According to the
Southern Poverty Law Center, such incidents spiked after Trump's election,
and while they have decreased in recent weeks, the organization says they
remain above pre-election levels. North Carolina in particular was among the
18 states hit in a string bomb threats targeting dozens of Jewish community
centers and schools across the country this week. The FBI, meanwhile, has
reported a rise in hate crimes in the state in recent years, and in 2015 the
infamous murder of three young Muslims by a white neighbor in the city of
Chapel Hill sparked an emotional nationwide debate on the subject.
The Intercept contacted DHS for clarification on the agency's views
regarding domestic terrorism and anger over Trump's election but did not
receive a response.
"The issue of what is counted as political violence and what isn't, this is
a longstanding problem," German, the former FBI agent, said. "Law
enforcement agencies have long tended to view vandalism, civil disobedience,
or even just protest against government institutions as more serious than
actual violence against marginalized populations. That's why crimes against
government property are 'terrorism' but crimes against minorities are 'hate
crimes' at best and ignored at worst."
"For example, the report calls private property destruction in DC and
Portland after the election 'domestic terrorism,' which vastly overstates
the charges levied in those incidents," German said. "For a fusion center to
amplify disorderly conduct, vandalism, or civil disobedience into terrorism
is inappropriate, factually wrong, and potentially misleading to law
enforcement."
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
Devereaux writes: "In the view of the Department of Homeland Security's
intelligence wing, anger over the election of Donald Trump, reflected in
protests across the country, is a driving force in 'domestic terrorist
violence,' according to an unclassified report."
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon,
February 20, 2017. (photo: Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA/AP)
Homeland Security Sees Anger at Trump as a Driver of "Domestic Terrorist
Violence"
By Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
03 March 17
n the view of the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence wing,
anger over the election of Donald Trump, reflected in protests across the
country, is a driving force in "domestic terrorist violence," according to
an unclassified report obtained by The Intercept.
The conclusions, laid out in a February 21 report prepared by the North
Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) and DHS's Office of
Intelligence & Analysis (I&A), come amid a series of controversial
post-election efforts by Republican lawmakers to criminalize protest.
Focused on North Carolina, the six-page document "was written in response to
a spike in violence and criminal acts - including an arson attack -
targeting political party offices and staff that occurred prior to of and
immediately following the election" and sets out to provide "an overall
threat forecast for the first half of 2017 concerning like activities in the
state."
"In the lead up to and immediately following the 2016 election, North
Carolina experienced incidents that included the targeting of political
campaign offices and government organizations," the report notes, which,
"highlight their attractiveness as targets for domestic terrorists and
various cyber actors seeking to advance political aims and/or influence
government operations."
Based largely on open source reporting and law enforcement assessments, the
report focuses on a handful of incidents in late October in which GOP
offices were targeted with "low level physical violence," including with BB
guns and, in the most serious incident, Molotov cocktails. Though property
was damaged in the latter incident, nobody was injured. The report notes
that the words "Nazi Republicans leave town or else," were spray painted on
a building adjacent to the burned GOP office - the report does not mention
the "Black Lives Don't Matter and Neither Does Your Votes" graffiti that
appeared on a wall in Durham, North Carolina weeks later, however, nor the
Democratic office in Carrboro, North Carolina that was tagged with the words
"Death to Capitalism."
One individual was arrested on federal terrorism charges during the period
of heightened activity for allegedly leaving a bomb threat on a GOP
answering machine in the county of Henderson.
The report also highlights three incidents of "malicious cyber activity
targeting public sector - particularly government - entities in the last
half of 2016" that "may have been politically-motivated." In one incident,
"a criminal hacker defaced a North Carolina law enforcement website by
gaining access and posting pro-Turkey messaging." In another, "a criminal
hacker group" tried and failed to steal government records. In the third and
final example cited in the report, a so-called distributed denial of service
attack "significantly degraded" a city website's "functionality and impacted
connectivity."
Overall, the law enforcement and intelligence analysts in North Carolina
expect that the vandalism allegedly motivated by Trump's election "will
likely decrease through the first half of 2017 as compared to the last half
of 2016," basing its conclusion on "the lack of threat reporting and the
completion of the Presidential election and the near completion of political
transitions in federal and state governments which may have served as a
drivng [sic] catalyst for the violence."
Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and
National Security Program at NYU's law school, said it was important to
analyze the report and its conclusions for what it is: the work-product of
one of the nation's many law enforcement "fusion centers," which he said
tend to "measure their effectiveness by how many reports they publish."
A former undercover FBI agent who infiltrated violent domestic
organizations, German said the report failed on numerous fronts to achieve
its intended purpose of providing information that could help law
enforcement stop or solve crimes.
"It claims to provide 'situational awareness' but what information does it
actually provide about the situation?" German explained in an email to The
Intercept. "It doesn't purport to quantify the number or type of attacks
that made up the supposed 'spike' in election-related incidents, and it
doesn't qualitatively describe them either. It isn't clear whether the
examples summarized are the only cases, or the most serious cases, or just a
handful of cases the analyst chose at random to summarize for this report."
What's more, German pointed out, "That election-related violence might go
down after the election is over is tautological."
While the report predicts a decrease in the kinds of incidents seen in North
Carolina last year, it also includes a section on the perspective DHS's
intelligence wing, which links national protests over Trump's election to
domestic terrorism.
"DHS assesses that anger over the results of the 2016 Presidential election
continues to be a driver of domestic terrorist violence throughout the
United States - as evidenced by rioting in Portland, Oregon, following the
election and violence and destruction of property in Washington during the
inauguration," the report says.
The early November eruption in Portland, cited in the footnotes of the
report, was officially described as a riot by local police, who used flash
bang grenades and tear gas to respond to property damage, which law
enforcement officials characterized as "extensive criminal and dangerous
behavior." The widely reported inauguration day protests in Washington D.C.,
which took place a day before the historic women's march on the capitol,
also featured property damage and a hard-edged police response, culminating
to more than 200 arrests - including a number of working journalists - most
of whom were hit with federal rioting charges.
Trump has lashed out against as those protesting against him - whether they
destroy property or not - as illegitimate and/or paid agitators. Following
the protests in Portland he tweeted, "Just had a very open and successful
presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media,
are protesting. Very unfair!"
The message has apparently resonated. Since Trump's election, Republican
lawmakers in at least in at least 18 states have introduced bills aimed at
cracking down on protests. Decried by civil liberties advocates as the
criminalization of dissent, the recent legislation has included efforts to
provide legal protections to drivers who hit protesters with their cars and
proposals to use racketeering laws in order to seize the property of any
individual who attends a peaceful protest that turns violent.
In the case of North Carolina specifically, DHS agreed "that the campaign
cycle likely was a driving influence of the rash of incidents" last year,
but "cannot discount the possibility that some such individuals could be
spurred to violence against a variety of political targets in the state in
the coming year." The report adds that there are "other factors or
occurrences that could foment further criminal acts and violence against
political entities in North Carolina."
Examples of other factors noted in the assessment include, "Negative
publicity surrounding perceived political scandal involving North Carolina
political entities"; "Passage of new state or federal legislation that is
unpopular with violent extremists - such as legislation concerning: abortion
rights, LGBT rights, environmental concerns, gun control, or federal health
insurance"; "Perceived success in violent activity during the 2017
Presidential inauguration that energized local and regional violent
extremists"; and "negative publicity surrounding voter registration in North
Carolina during the previous 2016 presidential election."
The report's forecast for 2017 does not address reported rises in
Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-semitic violence, harassment and
vandalism, which some experts have attributed to the president's right-wing
base feeling emboldened by his rhetoric and success. According to the
Southern Poverty Law Center, such incidents spiked after Trump's election,
and while they have decreased in recent weeks, the organization says they
remain above pre-election levels. North Carolina in particular was among the
18 states hit in a string bomb threats targeting dozens of Jewish community
centers and schools across the country this week. The FBI, meanwhile, has
reported a rise in hate crimes in the state in recent years, and in 2015 the
infamous murder of three young Muslims by a white neighbor in the city of
Chapel Hill sparked an emotional nationwide debate on the subject.
The Intercept contacted DHS for clarification on the agency's views
regarding domestic terrorism and anger over Trump's election but did not
receive a response.
"The issue of what is counted as political violence and what isn't, this is
a longstanding problem," German, the former FBI agent, said. "Law
enforcement agencies have long tended to view vandalism, civil disobedience,
or even just protest against government institutions as more serious than
actual violence against marginalized populations. That's why crimes against
government property are 'terrorism' but crimes against minorities are 'hate
crimes' at best and ignored at worst."
"For example, the report calls private property destruction in DC and
Portland after the election 'domestic terrorism,' which vastly overstates
the charges levied in those incidents," German said. "For a fusion center to
amplify disorderly conduct, vandalism, or civil disobedience into terrorism
is inappropriate, factually wrong, and potentially misleading to law
enforcement."
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump in Portland, Oregon,
February 20, 2017. (photo: Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA/AP)
https://theintercept.com/2017/03/02/homeland-security-sees-anger-at-trump-as
-a-driver-of-domestic-terrorist-violence/https://theintercept.com/2017/03/02
/homeland-security-sees-anger-at-trump-as-a-driver-of-domestic-terrorist-vio
lence/
Homeland Security Sees Anger at Trump as a Driver of "Domestic Terrorist
Violence"
By Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
03 March 17
n the view of the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence wing,
anger over the election of Donald Trump, reflected in protests across the
country, is a driving force in "domestic terrorist violence," according to
an unclassified report obtained by The Intercept.
The conclusions, laid out in a February 21 report prepared by the North
Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) and DHS's Office of
Intelligence & Analysis (I&A), come amid a series of controversial
post-election efforts by Republican lawmakers to criminalize protest.
Focused on North Carolina, the six-page document "was written in response to
a spike in violence and criminal acts - including an arson attack -
targeting political party offices and staff that occurred prior to of and
immediately following the election" and sets out to provide "an overall
threat forecast for the first half of 2017 concerning like activities in the
state."
"In the lead up to and immediately following the 2016 election, North
Carolina experienced incidents that included the targeting of political
campaign offices and government organizations," the report notes, which,
"highlight their attractiveness as targets for domestic terrorists and
various cyber actors seeking to advance political aims and/or influence
government operations."
Based largely on open source reporting and law enforcement assessments, the
report focuses on a handful of incidents in late October in which GOP
offices were targeted with "low level physical violence," including with BB
guns and, in the most serious incident, Molotov cocktails. Though property
was damaged in the latter incident, nobody was injured. The report notes
that the words "Nazi Republicans leave town or else," were spray painted on
a building adjacent to the burned GOP office - the report does not mention
the "Black Lives Don't Matter and Neither Does Your Votes" graffiti that
appeared on a wall in Durham, North Carolina weeks later, however, nor the
Democratic office in Carrboro, North Carolina that was tagged with the words
"Death to Capitalism."
One individual was arrested on federal terrorism charges during the period
of heightened activity for allegedly leaving a bomb threat on a GOP
answering machine in the county of Henderson.
The report also highlights three incidents of "malicious cyber activity
targeting public sector - particularly government - entities in the last
half of 2016" that "may have been politically-motivated." In one incident,
"a criminal hacker defaced a North Carolina law enforcement website by
gaining access and posting pro-Turkey messaging." In another, "a criminal
hacker group" tried and failed to steal government records. In the third and
final example cited in the report, a so-called distributed denial of service
attack "significantly degraded" a city website's "functionality and impacted
connectivity."
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3477605-DHS-Field-Analysis-Report.ht
ml - document/p1
Overall, the law enforcement and intelligence analysts in North Carolina
expect that the vandalism allegedly motivated by Trump's election "will
likely decrease through the first half of 2017 as compared to the last half
of 2016," basing its conclusion on "the lack of threat reporting and the
completion of the Presidential election and the near completion of political
transitions in federal and state governments which may have served as a
drivng [sic] catalyst for the violence."
Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and
National Security Program at NYU's law school, said it was important to
analyze the report and its conclusions for what it is: the work-product of
one of the nation's many law enforcement "fusion centers," which he said
tend to "measure their effectiveness by how many reports they publish."
A former undercover FBI agent who infiltrated violent domestic
organizations, German said the report failed on numerous fronts to achieve
its intended purpose of providing information that could help law
enforcement stop or solve crimes.
"It claims to provide 'situational awareness' but what information does it
actually provide about the situation?" German explained in an email to The
Intercept. "It doesn't purport to quantify the number or type of attacks
that made up the supposed 'spike' in election-related incidents, and it
doesn't qualitatively describe them either. It isn't clear whether the
examples summarized are the only cases, or the most serious cases, or just a
handful of cases the analyst chose at random to summarize for this report."
What's more, German pointed out, "That election-related violence might go
down after the election is over is tautological."
While the report predicts a decrease in the kinds of incidents seen in North
Carolina last year, it also includes a section on the perspective DHS's
intelligence wing, which links national protests over Trump's election to
domestic terrorism.
"DHS assesses that anger over the results of the 2016 Presidential election
continues to be a driver of domestic terrorist violence throughout the
United States - as evidenced by rioting in Portland, Oregon, following the
election and violence and destruction of property in Washington during the
inauguration," the report says.
The early November eruption in Portland, cited in the footnotes of the
report, was officially described as a riot by local police, who used flash
bang grenades and tear gas to respond to property damage, which law
enforcement officials characterized as "extensive criminal and dangerous
behavior." The widely reported inauguration day protests in Washington D.C.,
which took place a day before the historic women's march on the capitol,
also featured property damage and a hard-edged police response, culminating
to more than 200 arrests - including a number of working journalists - most
of whom were hit with federal rioting charges.
Trump has lashed out against as those protesting against him - whether they
destroy property or not - as illegitimate and/or paid agitators. Following
the protests in Portland he tweeted, "Just had a very open and successful
presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media,
are protesting. Very unfair!"
The message has apparently resonated. Since Trump's election, Republican
lawmakers in at least in at least 18 states have introduced bills aimed at
cracking down on protests. Decried by civil liberties advocates as the
criminalization of dissent, the recent legislation has included efforts to
provide legal protections to drivers who hit protesters with their cars and
proposals to use racketeering laws in order to seize the property of any
individual who attends a peaceful protest that turns violent.
In the case of North Carolina specifically, DHS agreed "that the campaign
cycle likely was a driving influence of the rash of incidents" last year,
but "cannot discount the possibility that some such individuals could be
spurred to violence against a variety of political targets in the state in
the coming year." The report adds that there are "other factors or
occurrences that could foment further criminal acts and violence against
political entities in North Carolina."
Examples of other factors noted in the assessment include, "Negative
publicity surrounding perceived political scandal involving North Carolina
political entities"; "Passage of new state or federal legislation that is
unpopular with violent extremists - such as legislation concerning: abortion
rights, LGBT rights, environmental concerns, gun control, or federal health
insurance"; "Perceived success in violent activity during the 2017
Presidential inauguration that energized local and regional violent
extremists"; and "negative publicity surrounding voter registration in North
Carolina during the previous 2016 presidential election."
The report's forecast for 2017 does not address reported rises in
Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-semitic violence, harassment and
vandalism, which some experts have attributed to the president's right-wing
base feeling emboldened by his rhetoric and success. According to the
Southern Poverty Law Center, such incidents spiked after Trump's election,
and while they have decreased in recent weeks, the organization says they
remain above pre-election levels. North Carolina in particular was among the
18 states hit in a string bomb threats targeting dozens of Jewish community
centers and schools across the country this week. The FBI, meanwhile, has
reported a rise in hate crimes in the state in recent years, and in 2015 the
infamous murder of three young Muslims by a white neighbor in the city of
Chapel Hill sparked an emotional nationwide debate on the subject.
The Intercept contacted DHS for clarification on the agency's views
regarding domestic terrorism and anger over Trump's election but did not
receive a response.
"The issue of what is counted as political violence and what isn't, this is
a longstanding problem," German, the former FBI agent, said. "Law
enforcement agencies have long tended to view vandalism, civil disobedience,
or even just protest against government institutions as more serious than
actual violence against marginalized populations. That's why crimes against
government property are 'terrorism' but crimes against minorities are 'hate
crimes' at best and ignored at worst."
"For example, the report calls private property destruction in DC and
Portland after the election 'domestic terrorism,' which vastly overstates
the charges levied in those incidents," German said. "For a fusion center to
amplify disorderly conduct, vandalism, or civil disobedience into terrorism
is inappropriate, factually wrong, and potentially misleading to law
enforcement."
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