Over the weekend, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a 32-page guidance on how to spot "signs of mobilization to violence" among anyone's family and friends. The move is part of the Biden administration's crackdown on what it considers as domestic extremism.
"Family members and peers are often best positioned to witness signs of mobilization to violence," the FBI wrote in a tweet on Sunday, as reported by the New York Post. "Help prevent homegrown violent extremism...learn how to spot suspicious behaviors and report them to the #FBI."
Along with the announcement was a link to a 32-page document, which was the 2019 edition of the "Homegrown Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators" report published by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center.
In it, the FBI defines Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVEs) as "a person of any citizenship who lives or operates primarily in the United States or its territories, and who advocates, engages in, or is preparing to engage in or support terrorist activities in furtherance of a foreign terrorist organization's objectives, but who is acting independently of foreign terrorist direction."
The FBI guidance also named individuals or groups who are "inspired or enabled" by foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS, al-Qa'ida, and more. However, the announcement was met with ridicule among some Twitter users and disdain among conservative leaders.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley took to Twitter to blast the Biden administration's priorities, specifically its "domestic war on terror" as "violent crime soars." The Republican senator decried "snooping and spying on normal, working Americans who have the 'wrong' political opinions," saying it was "dangerous."
According to Newsmax, some are upset that the FBI's new directive appears to teach Americans to spy and snitch on their conservative family members. The FBI received backlash following their announcements, with Republican leaders and conservative folk airing their concerns on social media.
"The administration intends to deploy the language and tools of counterterrorism against people on the far right of the U.S. political spectrum," Stewart Baker, a Homeland Security lawyer under the Bush administration said, as reported by the Western Journal. He admitted that President Biden's approach to domestic terrorism made him feel "deeply uneasy."
Baker argued that while some members of the far right movement may have violated laws, "it's hard to say that such violence has been the signature of an organization or, really, of more than one or two individuals whose beliefs border on mental illness."
Baker said that it is law enforcement that should be tasked to prevent and punish this violence, while counterterrorism strategies must be left to address "much more dangerous forms of terrorism we've seen from ISIS and al-Qaida."
It's worth noting that the Christians and conservatives are now labeled by the Left and mainstream media as "extremists." The Biden administration even included pro-life activists, who are fighting to protect the unborn in their mothers' wombs, in the list of "domestic violent extremists."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently decried President Biden's domestic terrorism strategy, claiming it "entrenches bias and harmful law enforcement power," citing increasing authority to surveil and monitor Americans and law enforcement that pushes "profiling on the basis of race, religion, or national origin."
