(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) — People in the United States are unwittingly being indoctrinated online by extremist groups just as the the coronavirus pandemic makes them more susceptible to right- and left-wing radicalization, potentially leading to a surge of domestic attacks in coming years.
Domestic terrorism was named by the Department of Homeland Security’s acting Secretary Chad Wolf this week as a top national security concern. Private sector officials who study terrorism trends told the Washington Examiner that foreign extremists attempting to enter the U.S. are not as much the problem as homegrown terrorists.
“There’s a lot of legitimate cause of concern,” said Michael Smith II, terrorism analyst and Johns Hopkins University lecturer on global security and intelligence. “You have seen growing instances of right-wing extremists modeling behaviors that can have an effect of inspiring competence in their sympathizers’ interest in perpetrating violent crimes against minority groups, as well as against people who don’t ascribe to their political beliefs.”
