House advances Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act to better equip federal agencies to tackle homegrown terrorists

The U.S. House of Representatives put racially motivated extremists, white supremacists, and other purveyors of domestic terrorism on notice last week with its advancement of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (DTPA, H.R. 350).

Proponents have sought to push such a bill since at least 2017, with its most recent incarnation introduced by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) in January 2021. Both it and a Senate companion bill – led by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) – focus on domestic violent extremist groups and individuals (DVEs), mandating new offices focused on their threat within the Departments of Justice (DoJ) and Homeland Security (DHS), as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“Passing the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act sends a message that we stand with federal law enforcement, we stand with American communities, and we stand against domestic terrorism,” Schneider said. “The American people deserve to feel secure in their schools, in their supermarkets, in their churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.”

The FBI reported that in 2020, the United States experienced the highest level of hate crimes in more than a decade. Building on this, the DTPA would require overseeing agencies to report biannually on the state of domestic terrorism threats and to focus their resources on threats deemed most significant by the number of incidents outlined in the report. While the bill would not establish any new types of investigations or criminal offenses or mandate any new lists of domestic terrorists, its supporters say it would enable agencies to work more cooperatively and equip them better overall to handle these threats.

“Hate crimes don’t happen in a vacuum. And it’s no mystery that influential figures on the right have been fanning the flames of hate,” Durbin said. He added, “This legislation is an opportunity for members of Congress to stand united against hate. Now that the House has passed it, I hope the Senate will quickly follow suit. By signing this legislation into law, we can take significant steps to improve the federal response to the scourge of hate and violence that has claimed far too many American lives.”

Domestic terror took the form of two incidents this month at a California church and a New York supermarket, respectively. Though the hate that drove them seemed to differ according to authorities – the former being political and the latter perpetrated against Black Americans – 11 people were killed and more injured.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in the rise of domestic terrorism, and especially white nationalism in this country,” U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) said. “During the pandemic, we saw a sharp increase in attacks against Asian American communities. We’ve seen countless synagogue shootings and attacks on Jewish Americans. Our LGBTQ+ communities have been under attack as well. Of course, just this past weekend, we saw a white nationalist travel hours to shoot Black Americans in a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y. Enough is enough – we cannot sit back and allow this homegrown terrorism to continue.”