Violent attacks by right-wing groups and individuals have increased by 400 percent since 1990, and dramatically in the last five years, according to a new report by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center.
When examined side-by-side with FBI reports on domestic terrorism, the data from this study shows that the FBI has been either grossly miscalculating, or intentionally downplaying, murders and violent attacks by right-wing extremists while exaggerating the threat posed by animal rights activists and environmentalists, who have only destroyed property, according to Will Potter.
Sharp increase in violence against minorities
As Potter writes in his Green is the New Red blog, between 2007 and 2011, there was a sharp increase in the number of victims of right wing violence, according to the study, to the highest levels documented so far. On a broader timeline, the increase is even more dramatic.
There was a spike in both from injuries and fatalities in 2007, and those levels have remained constant through 2012. That’s approximately 190 injuries a year, and 30 deaths, due to right-wing violence.
Potter says the FBI is downplaying the right-wing threat, but playing up the supposed “threat” from animal rights activists and environmentalists.
Years of manufactured hysteria about “eco-terrorism” have led to the normalization of unconstitutional surveillance, harassment, and entrapment of these movements.
Mike German is a former FBI agent, who worked undercover to infiltrate right-wing groups. He’s now a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. He told Potter that people need to be careful that this report isn’t used to expand these types of invasive tactics to other groups, even if they’re people you strongly disagree with.
“Hopefully this report will cause the FBI to re-examine its intelligence priorities to focus on real threats, and scale back invasive surveillance and investigative measures taken against Muslim-American communities, environmental activists and others where there is no reasonable evidence of wrongdoing,” he says. “My fear however, is that the FBI will instead use the report to broaden the number and types of groups it targets with suspicion-less investigations and unwarranted surveillance, and that will only violate more Americans’ rights.”
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