(WASHINGTON, D.C.)—On Wednesday, May 15, 2019, the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on “Confronting White Supremacy (Part I): The Consequences of Inaction.”

WHERE:  2154 Rayburn House Office Building

WHEN:  Wednesday, May 15, 2019

TIME:  2:00 p.m.

A livestream will be broadcast here. 

PURPOSE

The hearing will examine the rising threat of extremist violence by white supremacists in the United States, government efforts to combat far-right violent extremism, and the impact on communities frequently targeted by white supremacists.

BACKGROUND

• White supremacists continue to pose the most significant threat of domestic terrorism and extremist killings in the United States.  In a May 2017 joint intelligence bulletin entitled, “White Supremacist Extremism Poses Persistent Threat of Lethal Violence,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found white supremacists “were responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016… more than any other domestic extremist movement.”

• According to the Anti-Defamation League, of the 50 domestic extremist murders in 2018, every perpetrator had ties to right-wing extremists, and 78% of those were committed by white supremacists.  There were zero killings in 2018 related to left-wing extremism (including anarchists and black nationalists).

• The number of reported hate crimes in the U.S. has seen continual growth since 2014.  The FBI reported 7,175 incidents of hate crimes in 2017, a 17% increase from 2016, and a 31% increase since 2014.   The FBI also reported that in 2017, 4,131 hate crime incidents were based on race or ethnicity.  

• The FBI’s official hate crimes statistics are flawed and underreport the actual number of hate crimes being committed.  From 2013 to 2017, the FBI reported 7,500 hate crimes on average while the National Crime Victimization Survey estimated 200,000 hate crimes a year.

• Under the Trump Administration, DHS appears to have significantly reduced resources and infrastructure that would address the increasing threat of white supremacist extremism.  Reportedly, DHS recently disbanded a group of analysts focused on domestic terrorism in the Office of  Intelligence and Analysis, reducing the number of analytic reports on white supremacists.

WITNESSES

Susan Bro

President / Board Chair

Heather Heyer Foundation

George Selim

Senior Vice President of Programs

Anti-Defamation League

Omar Ricci

Chairperson

Islamic Center of Southern California

Michael German

Fellow

Brennan Center for Justice

Roy L. Austin

Partner

Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, LLP

Robby Soave

Associate Editor

Reason Magazine

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