Domestic political violence (USA)

[davidbfpo]

I have re-opened this closed thread prompted by the next post. I have copied two posts from the current Terrorism in the USA thread, on the Florida case as they appear relevant.

There are a small number of closed, historical threads that touch upon this theme; notably this:DHS Report: Rightwing Extremism

[davidbfpo]

An article from 'The Atlantic', the full title and sub-title are: The Rise of the Violent Left; Antifa’s activists say they’re battling burgeoning authoritarianism on the American right. Are they fueling it instead?
Link:https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-th...heatlantic.com

I was aware of some the violent incidents @ Portland, Oregon; though without understanding why that city features so much. That Antifa have a strong Anarchist element I had missed - anarchism's roots go back a long way.

[davidbfpo]

An academic study by three US academics, they explain their project inpart in:

A recent study by criminologists examined the situational risk factors associated with far-right terrorist attack success. Their findings suggest that target vulnerability, lone actors, and unsophisticated weaponry are common correlates of far-right terrorism, information that may aid in the investigation and prevention of future domestic terror attacks.

Link:http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/201...error-attacks/

[Azor]

Since September 11, 2001, some 190 people have been killed in acts of terror in the United States, inclusive of the recent killing at Charleston:

• 117 (62%) were killed by Muslim supremacists
  
  
• 50 (26%) were killed by terrorists whose ethnic background was white, including white supremacist, anti-government, anti-abortion and misc. terrorists
  
  
• 23 (12%) were killed by terrorists whose ethnic background was black, including black supremacist, anti-government and misc. terrorists

For demographic context:

• 62% of the population is non-Hispanic white
  
  
• 13% of the population is black
  
  
• 1% of the population is Muslim

[davidbfpo]

A WaPo article and the series of photos helps to explain what happened. The third is devastating IMHO from "across the water", it defies being copied here. So the text after the image:

Most dangerously, law enforcement experts say, officers initially deployed without adequate protective gear to break up fighting and were not well positioned to keep the peace. As fights erupted, police stayed back. They stood not between the two opposing groups but behind them and off to the sides. And when they cleared the park where rallygoers had gathered near a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, police flushed many of them directly onto the same street where counterprotesters were gathered, according to witnesses and video.

Link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/how-charlottesville-lost-control-amid-deadly-protest/2017/08/26/288ffd4a-88f7-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?

It will be interesting to read - one day - how Berkeley PD's performance today is reported.

[davidbfpo]

The full title and sub-title of this article is:

Virginia received DHS warning before Charlottesville rally; Homeland Security alerted officials to potential for 'most violent' clash between white supremacists and anarchists.

Link:http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...ecurity-242140

It opens with:

The Department of Homeland Security issued a confidential warning to law enforcement authorities three days before the deadly Aug. 12 Charlottesville protest rally, saying that an escalating series of clashes had created a powder keg that would likely make the event “among the most violent to date” between white supremacists and anarchists. The “law enforcement sensitive” assessment, obtained by POLITICO and reported for the first time, raises questions about whether Charlottesville city and Virginia state authorities dropped the ball before, and during, a public event that was widely expected to draw huge crowds of armed, emotional and antagonistic participants from around the country.

This article was id'd in this one by John Schindler, who looks at the not so "hidden hand" of Russia:http://observer.com/2017/08/russia-a...ille-far-left/

I note the Virginia Fusion Center was involved; a topic that appeared in a thread awhile ago now and IIRC was critical of their lack of focus. See:State & Local Intel in the GWOT

For background this closed thread will help:DHS Report: Rightwing Extremism

[davidbfpo]

A What if" article by Daniel Byman and this passage explains:

...what if the U.S. government went beyond rhetoric and truly treated these groups as it treats Americans suspected of being involved with jihadist organizations like ISIS? The differences would be profound. Not only would the resources that law enforcement devotes to nonjihadist groups soar, but so too would the means of countering those groups....

Ouch, a lesson from Charlottesville:

For example, Virginia allows its residents to openly carry a firearm. However, the law stipulates that a non-Virginian from a state where open carry is illegal cannot carry a firearm— a seemingly obscure technicality. Police, however, did not check to make sure all the marchers in Charlottesville—many of which were from other states—met this criterion.

Link:https://www.brookings.edu/articles/s...d-what-doesnt/