Washington, D.C. (January 11, 2022)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, issued a statement following the Department of Justice’s announcement that it will create a new unit to investigate domestic violent extremists who pose a threat to the security of the American people.  Since 2019, Chairman Raskin has held six Subcommittee hearings examining the threat posed by the rise of violent white supremacy and other domestic extremist actors.  At the Subcommittee’s most recent hearing, Chairman Raskin and other Members pressed Biden Administration officials about their plans to focus more law enforcement attention on domestic violent extremists.

“I applaud this crucial step by the Biden Administration in its ongoing efforts to create a more effective and targeted federal response to our deepening crisis of domestic violent extremism.  On January 6, 2021, we saw a glimpse of what America will look like if the federal government refuses to seriously counter the threats from violent actors who are determined to topple our democratic institutions.  The growing threat posed by domestic violent extremists, especially the violent white supremacists and militia extremists who led the assault on our Capitol, requires nothing less than the scrupulous and undivided attention of our government.  The creation of this new Department of Justice unit represents precisely the kind of strategic shift towards domestic threats that we have urged on the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee.  I look forward to working with the Administration to continue bolstering its strong efforts to counter these threats.” 

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