https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...s-incendiary-devices-found-far-right-protests Explosives and weaponry found at US far-right protests, documents reveal Law enforcement discovers wide range of incendiary devices while NYPD document defines rightwing groups as extremists Federal government documents obtained by the Guardian show a wide range of explosives, flamethrowers and incendiary devices found by law enforcement agencies outside political conventions, public buildings and protests during 2020 and 2021. The extent of the weaponry – including timed devices deposited as part of a suspected pro-Trump bomb plot –reveals the perils and potential violence circulating through American politics in the grip of unrest linked to pandemic shutdowns, anti-racism protests and rightwing activism and insurrection that culminated in the attack on the Capitol in Washington. A separate New York police department intelligence document circulated in the wake of the Capitol attack defines groups including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, QAnon adherents and the Oath Keepers as potential risks to officer safety, characterizing all of the rightwing groups as extremists in the strongest terms yet seen from any law enforcement agency. The documents, obtained through freedom of information (Foia) requests and provided to the Guardian by transparency group, Property of the People, show federal, local and state agencies’ assessments of what they claim are increasing dangers posed to officers and public safety by extremists and contentious street protests alike. The document outlining the use of various explosive devices, entitled Overview of devices used in nationwide protests: May 2020-present, was produced by the National Explosives Task Force, which coordinates data and information sharing about explosives incidents between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and a range of local, state and federal agencies. Published on 14 January, the document was circulated “in preparation for potential violent activity in connection with upcoming presidential inauguration events”, and “to enhance first responder and bomb technician awareness by highlighting examples” of devices and their tactical employment. The document offers descriptions and pictures, described as “law enforcement sensitive”, of a range of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which were confiscated from protesters around the country, or found at the scene of attempted and successful bombing attacks. Included is a picture and description of a “suspected metal pipe bomb with mechanical timer” found outside the Republican National Committee building in Washington on 5 January 2021, the night before rioters entered the Capitol building a few blocks away. The document notes that a “similar device” was found the same night outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters. The FBI suspects a single person planted both bombs, but despite video evidence, public appeals and the posting of a substantial reward, the identity of the bomb-maker remains unknown. That device is the most sophisticated of a range of IEDs in the document that appear to have been manufactured from scratch, including an IED recovered in June last year in Atlanta, which the document says was “modified with nails”, and a tubular device equipped with a string fuse, which the document says was “recovered in connection with damage to the Secretary of State building in Detroit” in May last year. The document also offers examples of fireworks being used at protests, including commercial grade “M-Series” fireworks, whose explosive power means that they are illegal for consumer use. In one case, a consumer-grade “Nuclear 24” brand fireworks launcher along with two shells which were confiscated last June in Chicago are pictured alongside a burning Chicago police department cruiser, with a caption reading, “deployment of this type of firework caused a police vehicle to catch fire”. Molotov cocktails – which according to the document were confiscated by police in cities including Las Vegas and Lancaster, Pennsylvania – are also pictured and discussed in the document. In another example, a device which the document claims was confiscated in June in Little Rock, Arkansas, features a plastic bottle filled with “an ignitable liquid” and an M-150 firework intended to function as a detonator. The document also depicts improvised flamethrowers that it is claimed were confiscated from protesters in Portland and in Erie, Pennsylvania, last June. The document claims the Portland device – a propane-powered weed burner – was confiscated when “individuals were seen testing [the] device in the back of a truck”. The Erie device, though homemade, appears to be modeled on instructions that circulated widely online after Elon Musk’s Boring company launched their own consumer flamethrower device in 2018. The document also shows pictures illustrating the claim that “items resembling IEDs may be used by businesses attempting to deter looting activity”. In one example, the document shows an image of such a device which it claims “after a business owner posted a warning on social media showing a burglary deterrent resembling an IED”. The document concludes that “the danger posed to law enforcement officers and the general public from the all the tactics listed is substantial”. In an email response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the ATF linked the Guardian to information from the National Bomb Data Center showing that IED bombings declined again slightly in 2019 after a record high in 2016, and that suspicious packages and bomb threats also declined after a dramatic year in 2018. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Risks to officer safety are also outlined in the NYPD document, circulated in the wake of the Capitol riots, which defines groups including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, QAnon followers and the Oath Keepers as risks to officer safety, characterizing all of the groups as extremists in the strongest terms yet seen from any law enforcement agency. The document, which notes the “enduring threat” posed by “by far-right, neo-Nazi and white supremacist world views”, describes the Proud Boys as a “far-right extremist, neo-fascist organization that has promoted and engaged in acts of violence throughout the US and Canada”. It describes QAnon as a “broad conspiracy movement with antisemitic underpinnings that falsely alleges, based on purportedly classified intelligence, that an elite cabal of pedophiles, led by Democrats, is plotting to harm children and undermine President Trump”. The document, entitled Awareness of Extremist Imagery Provides Opportunities for Officer Safety Amid Elevated Inauguration Threat Environment, was circulated on 15 January to a national network of Fusion Centers, whose role is to facilitate information sharing between state, federal, local and tribal agencies. Asked about the evidence of a newfound focus on far-right groups in the documents his organization obtained, the Property of the People’s executive director, Ryan Shapiro, said: “Intelligence agencies have monitored violent, far-right groups for years, but overwhelmingly the results of those investigations have simply gathered dust.” He added: “Intelligence and law enforcement’s longstanding political policing of the left while simultaneously ignoring or even aiding literal fascists was one of the driving forces behind the January 6 attempted coup.”
https://thehill.com/policy/national...-testify-that-white-supremacists-are-greatest Biden officials testify that white supremacists are greatest domestic security threat The Biden administration's top law enforcement officials on Wednesday pledged to dedicate their resources to combat domestic violent extremists amid questions over whether the agencies are equipped to monitor such threats in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee for a hearing on domestic extremism as Congress ramped up its scrutiny this week of the circumstances around the attack on the Capitol. Both Garland and Mayorkas testified that white supremacist groups pose the most serious domestic national security threat in the U.S., reinforcing what analysts have long concluded about far-right organizations. “Domestic violent extremists pose an elevated threat in 2021 and in the FBI’s view, the top domestic violent extremist threat we face comes from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race,” Garland told lawmakers at the top of the hearing. But the hearing on Wednesday highlighted the competing partisan priorities as Republicans urged a crackdown on illegal immigration and Democrats questioned whether the agencies are fully prioritizing efforts to prevent the type of domestic extremism that led to the storming of the Capitol. Garland dismissed concern from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) who asked whether the Justice Department was investigating with “equal vigor” protests in Portland, Ore., and other cities that were often a focus of former President Trump. “We don't care what the ideology is, violations of law are pursued and are prosecuted. I think it's fair to say that in my career as a judge, and in law enforcement, I have not seen a more dangerous threat to democracy than the invasion of the Capitol,” Garland said. “There was an attempt to interfere with the fundamental passing of an element of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power. And if there has to be a hierarchy of things that we prioritize, this would be the one we'd prioritize. It is the most dangerous threat to our democracy. That does not mean that we don't focus on other threats.” The Department of Justice has brought more than 400 prosecutions against individuals who participated in the Capitol riot, including members of right-wing groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, who are facing conspiracy charges over their alleged roles in planning out operations at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Some of those charges have also been brought against those with a military or law enforcement background. Mayorkas faced questions on a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) commitment to conduct an internal review of its own workforce to root out any extremist views within its ranks. “That sends chills down my spine that we have to even be doing that,” committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said before securing a commitment from Mayorkas to make the conclusions of the review public. Mayorkas’s appearance before the committee follows an announcement by DHS that they are establishing a specific domestic terror branch within the department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis and amid reports that DHS plans to increase its scrutiny of social media to root out potential extremist plots. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) warned the agencies need to track social media not just to root out plots but to monitor disinformation campaigns from Russia. “They are using the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol in such a manner to amplify narratives in furtherance of their policy which is to disrupt and disunite and to indeed destroy, if they could, our democracy,” he said. But Mayorkas didn’t offer specifics on DHS’s efforts, instead offering up a closed door briefing. “We are intensely focused on the information with respect to Russia's effort to sow discord and disunity in our country. And of course we're bringing an all of government effort to respond to that, and I would welcome the opportunity to brief you in a more appropriate forum to address information we have in that regard,” he said. While in past hearings on domestic extremism, Republicans have largely sought to encourage the agencies to focus their attention on left-wing extremism, Wednesday’s questions from the GOP were almost exclusively centered on the southern border. Mayorkas sought to dispel any concerns that swelling migration at the southern border could present a terror threat. “We don't have any evidence to suggest that the threat on the border with respect to a foreign terrorist is any greater today than it was last year, the year prior, or the years over the past decade,” he said.
Biden wants to make America a pile of crap again like Obama did. We need Trump back in office to Make America Great Again!
Please stop the asian-hate you liberal racists. https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/asian-woman-attacked-nyc-111312565.html