A Department of Homeland Security report says the discussions are tied to the 2024 election and concerns about immigration.
U.S. intelligence authorities are seeing a rise in online discussions among domestic extremists about preparations for what they imagine to be an imminent civil war, according to a Department of Homeland Security report.
The discussions — which largely take place in anonymous, unmoderated online forums — are linked to the 2024 election and concerns about immigration.
“Some domestic violent extremists (DVEs) are reacting to the 2024 election season and prominent policy issues by engaging in illegal preparatory or violent activity that they link to the narrative of an impending civil war, raising the risk of violence against government targets and ideological opponents,” the report from the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis says.
The report, dated Sept. 6, 2024, reflects widely held concerns that violence could mar the election. It was obtained through a public records request by Property of the People, a pro-transparency nonprofit, and was first reported by Wired. DHS regularly circulates intelligence reports like this one to state and local law enforcement agencies.
After President Joe Biden won the election four years ago, a mob of former President Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to derail the transfer of power. And in the years since, many public officials and election workers have faced sustained harassment and threats.
At least five people who promoted the idea of imminent civil war this year now face criminal charges, according to the report. Four are accused of making violent threats or preparing for violence. The fifth is charged with murdering and beheading his father, a retired federal employee, to try to “save America from traitors” in a purported war between the government and the citizens.
The DHS report said that “perceptions of election fraud” could trigger violence, as could fears of mass migration and crimes committed by non-U.S. citizens. One internet user said a hypothetical executive order granting citizenship to migrants would justify murder, according to the report.
“Biden does that executive order, we shoot all democrat officials,” the user wrote. “And the supporting federal agents.”
While warning of the potential for violence, the report said large-scale action by extremists is unlikely because of law enforcement infiltration of online groups and the convictions of prominent organizers of the Jan. 6 attack.
But the document also says extremists are increasingly using encrypted channels to limit the feds’ visibility into their communications.
A DHS spokesperson said the department urges state and local law enforcement to “to remain vigilant” to possible threats.
DHS is far from alone in warning about election-season violence. Law enforcement agencies around the country have been scrambling to develop polling-site safety plans with local election administrators. And the Justice Department has put in place a task force to prosecute people who threaten election workers.
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