The domestic extremist threat environment is rapidly evolving and presenting new challenges to counterterrorism officials seeking to understand and confront this dynamic threat. Last week in Germany, law enforcement arrested multiple suspected domestic extremists over an alleged plot to assassinate local politicians over renewed COVID-19 restrictions. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, seemingly disparate groups of extremists from across the political spectrum have come together based on shared grievances against government responses to COVID, such as lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Protests at various U.S. state capitols over the course of the pandemic, for example, which saw anti-government militias, conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaxxers come together, demonstrate the convergence of extremist groups and individuals from across the ideological spectrum.
One common view, which permeates across the ideological spectrum, is anti-government sentiment. According to the Soufan Center, “anti-government extremism has become trendy, and the ideology permeates class, race, and status barriers in many cases. Even if only a small percentage of individuals are willing to engage in violence, the ecosystem itself is expanding, providing rhetorical encouragement to the most hardcore elements within the movement.”
Furthermore, online extremist content that allows individuals to quickly jump from a QAnon site to ecofascist propaganda, for instance, is increasingly muddling the “ideological basis typically understood to be at the root of terrorist and extremist violence,” according to Lawfare. The past few months have witnessed far-right extremists praise the Taliban and a white supremacist group calling for a new “Bolshevik focus” towards the liquidation of the capitalist class.
Researchers at American University posit that four factors are driving the increasing convergence of extremist groups and individuals and muddling ideologies. These factors include the increasing ability of cross-ideological concepts to mobilize violence, rising event-driven violence, tactical convergence, and communication infrastructure. In addition, the researchers offer recommendations for policymakers to tackle the domestic extremist threat more effectively. Reducing people’s vulnerability to online disinformation, among other steps, is one possible solution. Read more at Lawfare and at the Soufan Center.
