Biden administration unveils plan to fight against domestic terrorism

The Biden administration unveiled a new national strategy on Tuesday to help combat a rise in domestic terrorism, which includes adding prosecutors and other law enforcement officials across the government. The strategy seeks $100 million to add key personnel in the departments of justice and homeland security, and calls for monitoring federal employees who could pose an inside threat.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday in announcing the plan: “First, we are focused on violence, not ideology. We don’t investigate people for their First Amendment activities … There is no place for violence in resolving political differences in our democracy. We will never take our eyes off the risk of another devastating attack by foreign terrorists. At the same time, we must respond to domestic terrorism with the same sense of purpose and dedication.”

President Biden said in a statement: “Domestic terrorism — driven by hate, bigotry and other forms of extremism — is a stain on the soul of America. It goes against everything our country strives for, and it poses a direct challenge to our national security, democracy and unity.” One of the main focuses of Biden’s strategy is to improve the sharing of information across federal agencies to track domestic terrorism, a key failing that investigators say contributed to the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol by radical supporters of former President Donald Trump. “This is a project that should unite all Americans,” Biden added. “Together we must affirm that domestic terrorism has no place in our society. We must work to root out the hatreds that can too often drive violence.”

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