As announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) this week, the United States Department of Homeland Security awarded $500,000 in federal funds for support, threat assessment, and management of efforts to combat targeted violence and domestic terrorism in New York.
“New York will never forget the ten Buffalonians who were senselessly murdered at the hands of a white supremacist, and we remain laser-focused on confronting and eradicating the scourge of domestic terror,” Hochul said. “We are grateful for our local government partners, as well as federal partners like Congressman Brian Higgins, and this additional funding will help support threat assessment and management teams in Buffalo whose crucial work will help prevent future acts of domestic terrorism and targeted violence.”
The funding stemmed from the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention grant program. It will target several programs: the sustainment of affiliated teams in the city of Buffalo, Monroe County, and Niagara County, New York, as well as the creation of a new threat assessment and management team in Troy, New York. Under Executive Order 18, Hochul emphasized the teams established after the Buffalo grocery store attack in May. The order required every county statewide and in New York City to create plans to address domestic terrorism.
Each of the four entities listed above will receive a $100,000 share of the funds, with the remainder going to the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. That division administered Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention grant funding for the federal government but will use its share for research and analysis, as well as to improve statewide training initiatives and launch additional teams across the state.
The teams aligned with these organizations will be multi-disciplinary, spanning law enforcement, mental health professionals, school officials, and other community stakeholders. Participants will work to assess and manage threats of targeted violence, notably racially and ethnically-spurred violence.
“This critical funding from our federal partners will be put to good use in establishing community-based solutions to address targeted violence and acts of domestic terrorism,” Jackie Bray, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner, said. “We appreciate the partnerships we’ve built with local stakeholders in Western New York and across the state in developing and sustaining threat assessment and management teams.”
New York State has also pledged $10 million to support the development of threat assessment and management teams.
As Higgins put it, targeted violence is on the rise. Over the last 10 years, domestic terror attacks have tripled nationwide, and last year alone, 73 such attacks were unearthed in the United States. Especially prominent has been the rise in racist violence, as 38 of these plots were instigated by white supremacists and other like-minded assailants.