The Department of Homeland Security issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin Friday, warning that “violent extremists” could strike the nation as it returns to pre-pandemic norms this summer.
The bulletin itself goes into effect Friday and lasts through Aug. 13, 2021. DHS issued a similar bulletin on Jan. 27 over fears that parties grieved by the results of the 2020 election might ramp up attacks or other violent actions during President Joe Biden’s first few weeks in office. The new bulletin, however, does not limit the scope to one specific group and took into consideration threats “posed by domestic terrorists, individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence, and those inspired or influenced by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences.”
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“The Homeland is facing threats that have evolved significantly and become increasingly complex and volatile in 2021,” DHS wrote. “Social media and online forums are increasingly exploited by these actors to influence and spread violent extremist narratives and activity. Such threats also are exacerbated by the impacts from the ongoing global pandemic.”
DHS specifically noted that both nonstate terror groups, such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda, have sought to “inspire” homegrown extremists to attack soft targets as the country loosens its coronavirus pandemic gathering rules. In particular, DHS also claims that state adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran, are taking advantage of America’s political climate and sowing discord by amplifying coronavirus conspiracy theories and, in some documented cases, encouraging hate attacks against the Asian American community.
DHS announced the new bulletin days after launching a new intelligence initiative designed to help state, local, and tribal law enforcement authorities combat rising “violent extremism.”
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“Individuals who may be radicalizing, or have radicalized, to violence typically exhibit behaviors that are recognizable to many but are best understood by those closest to them, such as friends, family, and classmates,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a statement at the time.
