����vlog

SOLEDAD: WELCOME BACK TO "MATTER OF FACT." WHEN DEMOCRATS IMPEACHED DONALD TRUMP, THEY SAID IT WAS TO HOLD HIM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DEADLY ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL. BUT THE MAJORITY OF REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SAID IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON WHILE DONALD TRUMP IS ACCUSED OF FANNING THE FLAMES, THE FIRE WAS ALREADY LIT. LAST FALL, THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WARNED WHITE SUPREMACISTS ARE THE MOST PERSISTENT AND LETHAL THREAT WITHIN THE U.S SO HOW WERE SO MANY WARNING SIGNS MISSED? IN 2009, DARYL JOHNSON WAS AN ANALYST WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY’S OFFICE OF INTELLIGENCE AND ANALYSIS, AND WROTE AN INTERNAL REPORT WARNI ABOUT THE RISE OF RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM. YOU HAVE SPOKEN IN THE PAST ABOUT HOW THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA IS REALLY WHAT BROUGHT AN ACCELERATION IN WHITE SUPREMACY AND ITS AGENDA. CAN YOU PUT THOSE PIECES TOGETHER FOR US AND EXPLAIN THAT? DARYL: SURE, SO BACK IN 2008, WE HAD THE UNPRECEDENTED ELECTION OF THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT, AND THIS REALLY PLAYED INTO THE WHITE SUPREMACY NARRATIVES, WHERE THEY THOUGHT THAT "WHEN A BLACK OCCUPIED THE WHITE HOUSE," QUOTE UNQUOTE, WOULD BE THE LOWEST POINT IN AMERICA. AND SO THAT LED TO FERTILE RECRUITING GROUND FOR WHITE SUPREMACISTS SOLEDAD: SO IN 2009, THEN YOU FOLLOW UP WITH AN INTERNAL REPORT. WHAT DID YOU FIND? WHAT WAS YOUR TAKEAWAY IN THIS REPORT? DARYL: THE THREAT LANDSCAPE WAS GOING TO BE CHANGING IN THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS BECAUSE THE U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM STRATEGY PREDOMINANTLY FOCUSED ON AL QAEDA AND PREVENTING T NEXT 9/11 ATTACK. BUT WE HAVE A THREAT HERE WITHIN THAT IS PERSISTENT, AND IT ATTACKS AND PLOTTING AND WAS GROWING YEAR AFTER YEAR. SOLEDAD: WHY DO YOU THINK THERE WASN’T AN EFFORT TO START LOOKING AT WHITE SUPREMACY AS AN IMPORTANT AND DANGEROUS AREA OF GROWTH WHEN IT CAME TO DOMESTIC TERRORISM? LIKE, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A BIG MISS. DARYL: PEOPLE IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY SAW THAT THIS WAS KIND OF A POLITICALLY-CHARGED TOPIC THAT REALLY WASN’T WORTH FOCUSING AND EMPHASIZING, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THIS POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BLOWBACK. SOLEDAD: IN THE PAST YEAR, I WOULD SAY, HAVE YOU HAVE YOU SEEN A CHANGE IN HOW SORT OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND MAYBE GOVERNMENT FORCES GENERALLY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT GENERALLY HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE DOMESTIC TERROR RISK? DARYL: LAST YEAR, WE EXPERIENCED TWO ADDITIONAL FACILITATORS OF EXTREMISM HERE IN THIS COUNTRY. HE FIRST WAS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND THIS REALLY AGITATED AND FANNED THE FEARS AND PARANOIA OF THESE FAR RIGHT GROUPS, BECAUSE NOW YOU HAVE GOVERNMENTS INSTITUTING REGULATIONS AND ORDERS AND REQUIREMENTS TO WEAR MASKS. THE SECOND THING THAT HAPPENED IS THE FACT WE HAD THIS SOCIAL UNREST SURROUNDING THE GEORGE FLOYD KILLING. AND SO, AGAIN, THIS FED INTO THESE EXTREMISTS’ FEARS AND PARANOIA THAT THIS IS GOING TO SPILL OUT INTO THE RURAL SMALL TOWN AMERICA. SOLEDAD: SO THEN, LET’S TALK ABOUT JANUARY 6. I’M ON TWITTER. I’M ON LOTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS VERY THING, MAYBE NOT ALL OF THE SPECIFIC DETAILS, BUT DEFINITELY "STORM THE CAPITAL." WE HAVE A THING WE’RE GOING TO DO ON THIS PARTICULAR DA PEOPLE WHO MONITOR THESE THINGS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN SURPRISED. THEY TALKED ABOUT A FAILURE OF INTELLIGENCE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO ME? DARYL: SO IT WAS A COMBINATION OF, NUMBER ONE, THE THREAT BEI MINIMIZED, AND TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE THREAT FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS. NUMBER TWO, AN OVERLY CAUTIOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY THAT’S HESITANT ABOUT GOING AFTER THESE GROUPS AGGRESSIVELY WHEN THEY CONDUCT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND TERRORIS SOLEDAD: I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE AN ANALYST, SO I’M GOING TO ASK YOU TO STEP OUT ON A LIMB AND GIVE THE BROAD STROKES. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY AT THE VERY LEAST NEEDS TO BE DONE IN ORDER TO WRAP OUR HANDS AROUND DOMESTIC TERROR AND WHITE SUPREMACIST THREATS? DARYL: SO, IT’S ACTUALLY QUITE A BIT OF STUFF THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO COMBAT THIS PROBLEM. WE NEED TRAINING, NATIONAL TRAINING FOR OUR STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, FOR THEM TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THESE GROUPS OPERATE AND THEIR VIOLENT HISTORIES. WE NEED PROGRAMS IN OUR SCHOOLS, ANTI-HATE PROGRAMS, TO EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN ON THE DANGERS OF EXTREMIST BELIEF SYSTEMS A CONSPIRACY THEORIES. IT’S UNFORTUNATE THAT IT HAD TO COME TO THE NATION’S CAPITAL, LIKE I SAID, TO THE DOORSTEP OF THESE VERY LEGISLATORS WHO HAVE DENIED THE PROBLEM. THEY IGNORED IT, MINIMIZED IT, AND NOW IT’S AT THEIR DOORSTEP. AND HOPEFULLY THIS IS A SERIOUS WAKE-UP CALL FOR THEM. SOLEDAD: DARYL JOHNSON IS A FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY ANALYST. THANK YOU SO M