The Department of Homeland Security lacks the authority to spy on right-wing dissidents, but the Biden administration has reportedly found a task force: using third-party researchers to target so-called “domestic terrorists”.
After the Trump supporter riot on Capitol Hill in January, the Biden administration, with the support of sympathetic media outlets and pundits, concentrated the state’s intelligence-gathering powers inward.
Biden declares members to be homegrown members of National Security Council, Homeland Security Department (DHS) “Extremists” a “National Priority Sector,” The FBI called for expanded domestic surveillance, and a top Justice Department official last week told Congress to prosecute the so-called powers “Extremist.” In all cases, a single goal is identified: right-wing dissidents – including militia groups such as sworn and proud boys – who participated in the Capitol riot.
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A CNN report on Monday revealed what an impending war on domestic dissatisfaction might look like. Homeland Security and intelligence agencies are considering outsourcing some surveillance work to research groups and non-governmental organizations, rather than waiting for new powers and fundraising.
DHS is limited in how it monitors, the report states. For example, it cannot enforce right-wingers on forums and chat rooms. However, a panic of researchers, journalists and non-beneficiaries has been doing this for years. According to DHS officials, who spoke to CNN, the agency wants to use research firms to refuse to collect the data. According to a source, the FBI and the National Security Council are reportedly coordinating the effort.
It is not clear who these firms may be. However, some of the biggest names in the region include so-called anti-hate groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League and ‘fact checking’ firms like Bellingcat. All three organizations and others have been accused of liberal, pro-democracy bias, and have been widely criticized.
Atlantic Council, an arms industry-backed think tank that already helps fight Facebook “Misinformation and Foreign Intervention,” Is fully on board. Describing Trump supporters who entered the Capitol in January “Violent Extremists,” Atlantic Council partner Tom Warrick told CNN that he would expect DHS to “Find out if contractors can help them understand the plot and trends ” Emerging online.
Till now “Plots and Trends” There are ambiguous words, and setting them up will survey real people. A source told CNN that DHS and the FBI would likely use extensive data “Identify Potential Domestic Terrorists,” And in CNN’s own words, “Focus on specific individuals.”
Federal agencies will enter a legal gray area. Many of the spying individuals will not be convicted of any crime, and their online activity may not meet the level of evidence that the FBI would have to show to obtain a surveillance warrant.
Third-party organizations will bypass this troubled road. Furthermore, these organizations are not constrained by an institutional commitment to fairness, and may engage in such politically motivated snooping that the FBI is at least nominally forbidden to do.
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Definitions of, except for privacy implications “Extreme” or “Domestic Terrorists” Be unclear While some of the Capitol rioters battled with police officers, many simply walked inside the building and hated it, and were only accused of canceling and disrupting a session of Congress. The Proud Boys and some members of the oath-keepers were charged “aiding and abetting,” However the indictments against them also do not specify to whom they provide assistance or how.
No one was killed as a direct result of the rioters’ actions, and domestic terrorism is not yet a criminal charge. Nevertheless, federal prosecutors have used the term to increase their cases against some rioters.
Planned cooperation between the federal government and third-party researchers will almost certainly be fought by conservatives and advocates of secrecy, but those involved are clearly willing to move forward regardless of the legal consequences.
“What do you do about the ideology that leads to violence?” An anonymous intelligence source told CNN. “Do you have to wait until it escalates to violence?”