A2 TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019 LATIMES.COM
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latimes.com/Room
WASHINGTON — In the
aftermath of mass shoot-
ings in Texas and Ohio,
President Trump vowed
Monday to give federal law
enforcement “whatever they
need” to investigate and
disrupt hate crimes and
domestic terrorism.
But the Department of
Homeland Security, which
is charged with identifying
threats and preventing
domestic terrorism, has
sought to redirect resources
away from countering anti-
government, far-right and
white supremacist groups.
The shift has come de-
spite evidence of a growing
danger. Last year, every
extremist killing in the
United States involved a
follower of far-right hate
groups or ideology, accord-
ing to the Anti-Defamation
League’s Center on Extrem-
ism. The FBI has noted a
sharp increase in domestic
terrorism cases involving
white supremacists.
In June, the acting secre-
tary of Homeland Security,
Kevin McAleenan, told
Congress that “white su-
premacist extremist vi-
olence” is “an evolving and
increasingly concerning
threat.”
Under Trump, 85% of the
“countering violent extrem-
ism” grants awarded by
Homeland Security explic-
itly targeted Muslims and
other minority groups,
including immigrants and
refugees, more than under
the Obama administration,
according to an analysis by
the Brennan Center for
Justice, a nonpartisan
policy institute at the New
York University School of
Law.
Homeland Security
officials did not respond to
requests for comment Mon-
day, but the former officials
said the department is
working on a draft of a plan
that includes a focus on
domestic terrorism and
mass casualty events.
In April, McAleenan
announced a new Office of
Targeted Violence and
Terrorism Prevention,
including “racially motivat-
ed violence.” It appears to
largely be a rebranding of an
Obama-era initiative.
Under President Obama,
the office had about 40
full-time staff and a $24-
million annual budget,
according to Nate Snyder,
an Obama administration
counterterrorism official.
The office now has fewer
than 10 full-time employees
and a budget below $3 mil-
lion.
“You have some very
dedicated government
employees still at the office
dealing with terrorism
prevention and just trying
to keep the lights on,” Sny-
der said.
After Trump’s election,members of his transition
team told Homeland Secu-
rity officials they wanted to
reorient programs meant to
combat violent extremism
to focus more on the threat
posed by radical Islamic
terrorism.
But right-wing and anti-
government groups have
carried out more domestic
attacks, and killed more
Americans, than foreign
terrorist groups since 2001,
data show.
According to the most
recent FBI data, hate
crimes increased for the
third straight year in 2017,
rising 17% from 2016. The
FBI warned this week that
the risk of future attacks
may be growing as well.
“The FBI remains con-
cerned that U.S.-based
domestic violent extremists
could become inspired by
these and previous high-
profile attacks to engage in
similar acts of violence,” the
FBI said in a statement
Sunday after the attacks inEl Paso and Dayton, Ohio.
Federal authorities have
been slow to acknowledge
the danger, focusing chiefly
on terrorist threats from
Islamist groups and sympa-
thizers, including Al Qaeda
and Islamic State, since the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“Very little has been done
on white supremacist ideol-
ogy,” said Seamus Hughes,
deputy director of the Pro-
gram on Extremism at
George Washington Uni-
versity. “Unfortunately, it’s
been a bipartisan glaring
hole in the countering vi-
olent extremism policy
response.”
In his comments Mon-
day, Trump appeared to
blame mental illness for the
latest mass shootings, not
ideology. “Mental illness
and hatred pull the trigger,
not the gun,” he said at the
White House.
But numerous studies
disprove the theory that
terrorism is a mental health
problem, according to theBrennan Center for Justice.
Obama issued a rare
statement Monday under-
scoring the growing threat
of white supremacist and
racism-motivated domestic
terrorism.
“While the motivations
behind these shooting may
not be fully known, there are
indications that the El Paso
shooting follows a danger-
ous trend,” Obama tweeted.
“Troubled individuals who
embrace racist ideologies
and see themselves obligat-
ed to act violently to pre-
serve white supremacy.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson
(D-Miss), who chairs the
House Homeland Security
Committee, was more
pointed in his criticism.
“White supremacist
terrorism ... is on the rise
and is now our top domestic
terrorism threat,” Thomp-
son said Monday. “Those
that looked the other way
for years — or enabled right-
wing extremism for political
advantage — are on notice.”BACK STORY
Domestic terrorism inquiries
now have a lot less funding
Trump officials redirect money away from countering hate groups
By Molly O’TooleA MEMORIALfor mass shooting victims in El Paso. Last year, every extremist
killing in the United States involved a follower of far-right hate groups or ideology.Andres LeightonAssociated PressUNDERPresident Trump, 85% of the “countering violent extremism” grants
awarded by Homeland Security targeted Muslims and other minority groups.Lola GomezAustin American-StatesmanPeople pray Tuesday at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb-
ing, which killed 140,000 people. The city of Hiroshima marked the 74rd anniversary of the bombing with
its mayor renewing calls for eliminating such weapons and demanding Japan’s government do more.
“Around the world today, we see self-centered nationalism in ascendance, tensions heightened by interna-
tional exclusivity and rivalry, with nuclear disarmament at a standstill,” Mayor Kazumi Matsui said.1,000 WORDS: HIROSHIMA, Japan
Kyodo NewsREMEMBERING HIROSHIMA