AG Garland: Domestic Violent Extremists Take Inspiration from Events and Actions Around the World

‘— Indicating an important international dimension to this problem’

EXCERPT:

GARLAND: “Today, people may be drawn to social media and then to encrypted communications channels. There, they may interact with like-minded people across the country and indeed the world, who want to commit violent attacks. And they then may connect with others who are formulating attack plans, as well as mustering the resources, including firearms and explosives, to execute them. Technology has amplified and enabled transnational elements of the threat. In earlier days, foreign terrorist groups had to board airplanes to conduct attacks in America. Now they take advantage of technology to inspire others already located in the U.S. to violence. The same is true for domestic violent extremists, who increasingly take common cause and inspiration from events and actions around the world, indicating an important international dimension to this problem. The man who allegedly killed one person and injured three in an April 2019 attack on a synagogue in Poway, California, cited as inspiration an attack that took place a month before, halfway across the world, in Christchurch, New Zealand. That attack killed 51 people and injured dozens more at two mosques.”

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