The U.S. has spent a couple decades employing resources against Islamic terrorists, following the terrorist attacks on 9/11. In the wake of two mass shootings, one in Texas and one in Ohio, some experts say the country needs to employ resources against domestic terrorism, including white supremacy, which is a growing threat.
The mass shooting in El Paso, Texas over the weekend is the largest domestic terrorist attack against Hispanics in modern history. According to a 2019 report released by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, hate crimes rose in 21 of 30 major U.S. cities.
There are challenges with reprioritizing national security because federal officials have more power when it comes to foreign terrorism, and the First Amendment, which protects free speech, makes it difficult to stop terrorist attacks carried out by Americans before they happen.
With guest host Libby Denkmann.
Guests:
Brian Levin, professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino; he tweets
William Braniff, Director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland; he previously served as the Director of Practitioner Education and an Instructor at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC); he tweets