Attorney General Eric Holder announced a new series of pilot programs in cities across the country that aim to counter the rise of violent Islamic extremism within the United States.
Holder, in a video posted on the Justice Department’s website Monday, said the effort would bring together community representatives, public safety officials and religious leaders to try to help prevent more Americans from joining the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
“Today, few threats are more urgent that the threat posed by violent extremism,” Holder said in the video message. “And with the emergence of groups like [Islamic State], and the knowledge that some Americans are attempting to travel to countries like Syria and Iraq to take part in ongoing conflicts, the Justice Department is responding appropriately.”
The pilot programs, he said, will be running in partnership with the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center.
U.S. officials believe that at least 100 Americans have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State, which is estimated to have roughly 35,000 members, and they worry that these individuals could return to the homeland to carry out terrorist attacks.
The White House also will be hosting a “Countering Violent Extremism” summit in October to continue to highlight the DOJ’s pilot programs to fight the radicalization of U.S. citizens, as well as similar efforts abroad.
Holder said the FBI and other U.S. authorities are working with international partners and Interpol, an organization facilitating international police cooperation, to disseminate information on Western fighters who have joined ranks with Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
“We have engaged in extensive outreach to communities here in the U.S. – so we can work with them to identify threats before they emerge, to disrupt homegrown terrorist and to apprehend would-be violent extremists,” he said. “But we can – and we must – do even more.”
The effort to deter and detect homegrown terrorists, Holder said, must incorporate America’s core democratic values “the ideas of freedom, openness, and inclusion – that have always set this nation apart on the world stage,” he said.
“We must never lose sight of what violent extremists fear the most: the strength of our communities; our unwavering respect for equality, civil rights and civil liberties; and our enduring commitment to justice democracy and the rule of law,” he concluded.
