Of that objection the chairman would declare recess at any time. America is under threat according to a joint fbi report mandated by this committee paid 2019 is the most lethal year for domestic violent extremist attacks since 1995. The year of the Oklahoma City bombing the majority of those killed in 2019 were killed by extremist advocates advocating for superiority of the white race by White Supremacists. One year ago the acting secretary of Homeland Security wrote violent extremist have been extremely lethal in their targeted attacks. This past april the Intel Committee assessed racially motivated violent extremist and militia violent extremes including those who advocate the superiority of the white race present the most lethal, domestic threats that are most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks just a few weeks ago assistant director testified the fbis tracking more than 27 domestic terrorism threats. We have seen the devastation of this threat first hand these very halls. January 6, the capitol was attacked by insurrectionist who attempted to use deadly force to prevent congress from counting a look torell votes from a fair and free election. The First Time Since the civil war america did not have a peaceful transfer of power. Five people died that day. Several Capitol Police officers took their lives in the traumatic aftermath. Still suffer the effect of the assault and deeply personal is january 6 a man was arrested returning to his truck from the right at the capitol he was carrying two pistols. In his truck according to the fbi was a small arsenal 11 a rifle, a shotgun, 29 millimeters pistols and a 22 caliber pistol both loaded as well as a crossbow, several machetes and a stun gun along with smoke devices. That man had Something Else in his truck he had a list, my name was onyx. Next to my name was written one of two muslims in the house of representatives when in fact there are three. Some might who is directly targeted on january 6, this issue was so personal to me. The former Police Officer was a black man, a muslim, i am deeply concerned. More importantly as an american who fights for equity, for democracy, for freedom, i understand it. As we work to prevent future attacks a muster domestic terrorism tears the fiber of this country in ways that extend beyond lives lost. Kenneth robinson pastor of a Briar Creek Baptist Church in charlotte, North Carolina told the Washington Post in april that his predominately black church, one of several attacks in 2015 remains on edge to this date. Trauma is a way of life for us he said. Trauma cannot, must not be a way of life for americans. Domestic terrorism is not new. It arises from hatred and divisions as old as america. And we are all aware its victims come disproportionally from minorities and marginalized communities. But it is evolving and expanding field by this information and amplified on social media. We too must evolve to meet this threat. And to effectively counter this threat we have to name it. We have to understand that, we have to identify the drivers of domestic terrorism so we can stop it but equally important to stopping this threat is how we go about preventing it. Fighting terrorist violence is only one side of the ledger. One part of the balance that must be struck pretty must ensure that as we rise to meet the challenge of domestic terrorism, we do so in a way that protects civil rights and Civil Liberties of folks. This is a longstanding challenge in counterterrorism for the need for balance between freedom and security to maintain the balance that domestic terrorism admission must remain narrow. Congress oversight must be rigorous. I am glad, genuinely so, to see my colleagues across the aisle embrace concerns protecting civil rights and Civil Liberties of counterterrorism. Domestic terrorism threat we welcome john senior official, performing the duties of the undersecretary for intelligence analysis of the department of Homeland Security. Intimidate the assistant director bureau of investigation. We have questions about the gravity of the threat and your agencys role in responding to it. We also ask you to help clarify for the American People, the limited but vital role of its mission. But most americans hear intelligence and think of a cia officer recruiting spies or nsa analyst recording calls. Collection on domestic terrorism is and must remain different. It consist largely of gathering publicly available information or information gathered in Law Enforcement investigation. Analysts then review it to understand the threat and help policymakers mitigate it. We ask you today, how are you distinguishing from protected speech on these Online Platforms from conduct on the role of escalation to violence . And how are you working with the private sector and social Media Companies in particular to identify and share information about these threats while still protecting individual privacy rights on these platforms. We are grateful for your presence and ice and eager and ready to assist you in your mission as we all do. I will now turn to Ranking Member crawford for any comments he wishes to make. Thank you, mr. Chairman for republican members are consistently raised concerns about the Intelligence Community playing a role in collecting intelligence and conducting surveillance of u. S. Persons without a foreign disparate executive order 1233 every element point to is a guiding principle for their authority clearly states the role is to provide information on or Foreign Security threats and the intentions of foreign powers and persons and their agents. It is looking at pouring collection and any nexus between overseas individuals and groups with those in United States plotting violence. We are not doing that. This hearing has no opportunity to hear on i see collection to domestic violent extremist today is not the first to house i hope the intention of the majority is not to communicate there is an interest in expanding the role of u. S. Intelligence entities, the resources or authorities to look inward at u. S. Citizens. They were never intended for domestic use. We need to have a very clear boundary. The use of National Intelligence Program Funds and authority should be for targeting foreign threats, not surveilling americans. To counter extremism is fraught with potential overrate to impact Civil Liberties. Over the past few weeks into the danger federal government taking action for political purposes. The attorney generals memo directing the fbi to hold 94 means across the u. S. To allegations of threats or School Officials without having Data Requests from state and local Law Enforcement points to significant government overreach motivated by politics and intended to intimidate American Parents brought understand the attorney general memo references of violence and threats of violence but however general garlands testified several times in the intervening weeks the driving force for his memo was a letter from the National School Board Association which refers to complaining parents as possible Domestic Violence extremists and that need to use the patriot act surveillance tools to monitor these threats. The fact the attorney general allow these to drive action demos at the critical for vigilance about the role of the community in the domestic arena. There is a need for strong Law Enforcement role in countering and prosecuting domestic terrorism. Anyone who has acts of violence must phase consequences. Thus the appropriate boundary and the surveillance tools of the commute within four to help the commute will get back to focusing on true foreign threats. This has focus or that needs attention but after the afghan with drought counterintelligence threats from multiple foreign actors across all parts of society and the bio weapons and others to name a few but mr. Chairman look forward to working with you on these Critical Issues and i yield back the balance of my time. Thank you Ranking Member. At this time i want to recognize our distinguished german, chairman shift. Thank you chairman carson for convening this discussion but am pleased to join in welcoming the witnesses here today. Recently confirmed terrorism of the greatest threats to our values, our democracy and our security. It is imperative that this committee and the American People understand the scope and complexity of the domestic Terror Threat and ensure we equip our Intelligence Committee with the resources needed to counter it. Because this threat is complex, coordinated and evolving our response must be also. We must continue to improve our understanding and sharing of threat information to find ways to defuse and escalate recruitment to an incitement of violence and confront the causes of and contributors to domestic terrorism. Including the extreme and violent ideologies through disinformation and false narratives. We must also acknowledge nationalism have on the frequency and severity of these threats. It is an indisputable fact driven by hatred and a stated desire to harm people because of the color of their skin or their religious beliefs. This hatred based violence motivated threats against committees of color and other marginalized groups. Weve seen a sharpened edge and increasingly persistent coordinated effort to raise on these repugnant views. Necessary to keep america safe making the Intelligence Committee or require close coordination among federal, state and local Law Enforcement particularly the online space amplify it online. Theyre able to contribute to the mission of combative terrorism is equally important this committee any instance where those could impact American Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Including collecting intelligence on journalists. This will continue to prioritize oversight appropriate reforms are instituted in fundamental civil rights and Civil Liberties remain protected for all americans are grateful for the witness testimony today and look forward to our discussion. And with that mr. Chairman i yield back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. With that we will start her hearing assistant director the floor is yours. Im honored to be here today of the fbi Counterterrorism Division i appreciate the opportunity to be here with you to discuss the current threats. It goes without saying the threat from domestic terrorism is heightened and significantly increase in the last 18 months. Today i want to take an opportunity to highlight the fbis investigation analytical resources that are being used to combat this threat. First and foremost the United States faces complex Threat Landscape by broad set of violent extremist ideologies fbi investigations into domestic extremist have more than doubled with the last year concurrently conducted approximate 2700 investigations on domestic violent extremist. The fbi for use words extremism to define these threats clinical or social positions its important to remember the fbi cannot open an investigation based solely on a First Amendment activity. As such the fbi divides the domestic terrorism threat into five broad categories. One, racially or ethnically violent extremism which is three subcategories of malicious violent extremism and sovereign citizen ship. Im her mental extremism, abortion relation and finally at five, all other domestic threats which consist of blended or personalize extremist ideologies not otherwise defined under one of the previous categories i mentioned. We assess that racially we are ethnically extremist advocate for their superiority of the white race and Anti Authority or antigovernment extremists militia present the most lethal threats with the racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks against civilians. Militia not extremist to complete targeting Law Enforcement and government personnel and facilities. In 2010 through 2020 racially advocating the spirit of the right race have committed 18 lethal attacks killing 70 people. Closing charleston, el paso. Typically targeted large public gatherings and houses of worship. Its important to remember preventing acts of terrorism is fbi number one priority for the greatest errors and threats based in her homeland loan actors in small cells who typically radicalize online, look to use easily assessable weapons to attack soft targets and domestic violent extremist or want to ensure the subcommittee the American People the fbi focuses its efforts on all threats of terrorism and continues to shift resources to remain commensurate with this ever evolving threat. In conclusion, consistent with our mission the fbi hold sacred the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. Regardless of ideology, the fbi aggressively pursues those who seek to hijack legitimate First Amendment protected activity by engaging in violent criminal activity such as the destruction of property and violent assault on Law Enforcement officers we witness on january 6 and during the protests throughout the u. S. During the summer of 2020. The fbi will actively pursue the opening of investigations when an individual uses, threatens use of force, violence or coercion in violation of federal law and further social goals. Surely it was a pleasure i found since returning to the department in january, the opportunity to have open and public discussion with the members of congress on threat related issues has been incredibly valuable. This is an important conversation. I have spent over 35 years working in Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, National Security and i have to say the period of threat is one of the most complex volatile and dynamic in my career. While we are here today talking about domestic terrorism, mindful of the fact that the same time we at the department are working closely with the fbi. Violent crime that has in the midst of a multiyear increase across the country efforts by ford intelligence agencies to collect Sensitive Information and engaging Covid Operations within the United States which include the use of influence operations and disinformation campaigns intended to sow discord undermine credibility and confidence in our government institutions, destabilize our society, inspire acts of violence and even their key allies. We are done with the range of Cyber Threats as well as an evolving have a lot on her plate. We look at the issue of lethal threat facing the United States today, the primary terrorism threat facing the u. S. Comes from loan offenders and individuals small groups of individuals were motivated by extremist ideologies. I would like to build on the assistant directors Opening Statement and go a little bit more into detail the dynamics of the threat we are seeing a based on our analysis at the department. This is a threat that both organizational and individual in its structure. Engage in violent and destructive behavior over the extremist believes. Its a very individualized threat but do i mean by that . Its repeatedly assessed by dhs and the fbi, they threat primarily comes from loan offenders who engage in violent activity, inspired by extremist police and or personal grievances typically cultivated to the consumption of online content. We have experienced attacks in this country over the last several years that have been motivated by or associated with superiority hatred of immigrants or others due to their religious beliefs, their gender, their sexual orientation. An individual group of individuals distrust government or government institutions or the belief we should not have a government we should have an anarchist type of environment. This is a trend as i mentioned before that did not just appear over the last year. This is something we began to observe back to 2013, 2014 time period and again while looking at lethal attacks the United States the specific motives behind these attacks very its now tells us that many of the attackers share common behavioral characteristics. In particular they are angry they are socially disconnected of seeking a sense of life meaning they spent significant time online and ultimately self connect with a cause or grievance to justify the use of violence as a way to express their anger and achieve a sense of social connection and selfworth. A phrase you will often hear, we as the analytic commute is not the ideology it is the psychology. Thats a reference to the fact a major part of the threat environment today is based on the anger thats prevalent across our society. And, the belief that violence is an appropriate way to express that anger by a growing number of people within our society. This is a threat that does not fit neatly into traditional terrorism or extremism related categories. Those who engage in violence often self connect with a combination of extreme relief or a blend of extremist belief in personal grievances for the assistant director referenced a number for it lethal attacks are associated with domestic terrorism i would argue the number of those killed are much higher print to look at attacks like Sutherland Springs in texas or las vegas or other parts of the country it is very often very difficult to discern whether the motives behind the attack is an ideological belief system, a personal grievance or a combination of both. This is a threat that manifests itself in the physical and digital environment online content, disinformation, false negatives, conspiracy theories describe a foreign nation states, International Fuel up much of the violence we are experiencing it. This is a really important point that was a referenced by chairman schiff, mr. Carson and others recently. Domestic and foreign threat actors purposely seek to exploit the fractures in our society the anger and discord associated with political discourse to sow discord inspire violence and destabilize our society individual praying to conduct attacks or acts of violence are discussed their plans online both in private and public forms. I provide context to what im sure we will discuss later today with regard to how the department is structured itself to work with the fbi and others to address this issue. But if i may focus on a couple of key issues. One comment we need to think differently about intelligence for this threat we think differently about how we look at information breed free incident indicators may be a parent their public action or communication. Covid collection may often not be necessary to capture valuable intelligence. Analysts need to be able to distinguish as repeatedly stated by mr. Crawford, have to be able to to distinguish been constitutionally threat related activity. Prevention, one of the tools the u. S. Has used over the past 20 years to prevent terrorist attacks in the United States are joint Terrorism Task forces. They are incredibly effective they have saved lives. But in the current threat environment we have come to learn there have to be other violent prevention activity that complement. May not be enough for a communitybased prevention programs can address the threat posed by high risk individuals who do not reach the investigative threshold necessary for terrorism related investigation. The department has expanded the provision of grant funding, training, technical existence, so Law Enforcement, Mental Health professionals, social service providers, educators, Community Groups can Work Together to identify those individuals who are high risk of conducting a violent attack and mitigate the risk posed by those individuals. This means being able to share at an unclassified Level Analysis regarding the threat to those entities at the local level so they can be a part of violence prevention activity. Let me conclude by making a point very strongly. I agree with the comments that have been made today about the need for Law Enforcement and intelligence assets not to be leveraged to address constitutionally protected behavior. We do not at the department it is not our job to engage in activities to target individuals because the medical belief, their social views, their beliefs on race and religion. It is our job to prevent acts of violence and regardless of the ideological of grievances that motivate that violence is our job to protect our communities and work to protect the nation rethink you i look forward to your questions. With that i will lead with a question. You testified about efforts including to the office into domestic violent extremist behavior by Government Employees can you provide that White Supremacists are taking to infiltrate your organization and Law Enforcement is military communities more generally . Thank you, mr. Chairman for that question. Like you, mr. I am a former Police Officer im very proud of my profession. I have worked in Law Enforcement Homeland Security activities as i mentioned multiple decades. Unfortunately there are those in our community who are susceptible to the same forces that are serving to inspire other members of our society to adopt ideological beliefs. When it comes to those of us in the National Security or Law Enforcement profession we have to be extra vigilant to ensure one personal belief system whether the extremist or not do not influence discriminatory actions by those who are entrusted to enforce our laws by the secretary has asked the chief Security Officer are Human Resource office all of our components to look at open look to evaluate new hires and as we seek to evaluate the behavior that not discriminatory and not informed by extremist belief systems. Thank you sir. Director comment to share my view active involvement will fail to act against and intimidation is incompatible with effective policing . [inaudible] yes of course. To echo the statements, the appropriate vetting and thorough vetting of individuals who are in positions of trust is a paramount in this country to ensure we have people who uphold the values of the constitution and of the people of the country. Thank you sir, Ranking Member. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I would like to reiterate this is it entirely inappropriate we have this hearing and an unsecured setting. He think this would have been better conducted in the skiff. I have a number of questions i would like to direct to both of you i will do that under a more secure cover and you can reply possibly conduct the hearing in a skiff or we could talk about more Sensitive Information or it is more relevant and appropriate format and setting for i would like to yield to doctor when strip to make comments. Thank you mr. Chairman, thank you both for being here. As someone hill on june 14, survived what is only recently determined to be a Domestic Violence extremist act, i would like to comment on some of that as we frame the discussion today. On that particular day there were 136 rounds fired. 136 rounds fired. And if not first Steve Scalise being there at the Capitol Police wouldnt and we wouldve had 20 30 members of Congress Killed easily because they were penned in in the baseball field. God was on our side that day a lot of things we have discovered as we moved forward and realize how lucky we were and unfortunately were. The gentleman who attacked us became heavily armed and had a list of republicans. I was not on that list. But any of these lists obviously are very disturbing. When i see mr. Carson on a list, heres someone who not only serves here in congress, but has served his community as a Police Officer. Theres a very good decent gentlemen it is very disturbing. I am glad we are addressing these issues. It has happened on many fronts. And i mean no offense to you personally, but the fact that it took four years and a new director to have that event on june 14, 2017 termed as Domestic Violence extremism as it is defined, why did it take four years . It was a political stunt within the fbi starting at the head who has been fired. And you look at that and abuse and yes americans are angry. They do not have trust in many portions of their government. Those are just a couple of examples. We all have a responsibility here. We all have a responsibility. For people to not have a reason to be angry, we bear some responsibility in that at times. But everybody is responsible for their actions. And we do need to address this. In light of what mr. Crawford said, i would agree with him, if we want to understand the threat and the complexity of Domestic Violence and extremism. And to make sure we are adhering to our Civil Liberties and to make sure the Intelligence Community is working within their legal rains, and if we are to discuss tactics and procedures, i have to submit the questions that i have today for the record and have them answered in the classified setting. I think that is the appropriate place. Im glad we are having this discussion, but i think if we really want to get things done , as our role on this committee we need to do it in a classified setting and i yield back thank you. I think doctor when strips comments show the importance of understanding the threat. Underside the warning of the threat so we can counter the threat and keep us all safe. German shift. Thank you, mr. Chairman i just want to sit at the outset i appreciate your doing this hearing in open session per beer having hearings on this enclose a classified session but its important for the public to understand what the predominant domestic terrorist threat is in the fact domestic terrorism is dramatically on the rise. That is not something we can keep behind closed doors for the public needs to understand the nature of the threat. I also think that a big part of the reason why there is diminished confidence in Law Enforcement is the propagation of deep state conspiracy theories about the fbi. Which i think are a disservice to the men and women of the fbi. Who i think have done a remarkable job throughout history and i have worked with in the prosecutor 30 years ago. I appreciate the work you do. They play an Important Role in the federal government larger approach to domestic terrorism. That role is purposely narrow. The fbi, ina and National Counterterrorism center are tasked with providing comprehensive analysis of the domestic terrorism threats as well as its drivers. In essence, is our report makes clear, intelligence analysis in the space is merely writing products to better understand the threat and enable policymakers to take steps to reduce it. These authorities these narrow authorities to look at domestic terrorism are not new authorities. And to me it is a bit disturbing there is not such an attack on these authorities when the predominant threat of domestic terrorism comes from White Nationalism. It should not matter or the predominant threat comes from and turns of the iec role. They have an Important Role to play prints out the dominant role but it is an Important Role in assimilating this information. That is true whether the predominant threat comes from White Nationalism or some other source. And so let me ask you, theres a push by some on the committee to now limit those authorities. And i went to ask you what the consequence of that would be that it is proposed the i see and elements should have a role in domestic terrorism only when there is a foreign nexus to that threat. So let me ask you about a hypothetical. Lets say there was an explosion on the mall that killed dozens of people. And hours after the explosion is not clear who planted the bomb or what their motivation should be. Could you both describe for us what the role dhs, ina would play, the bureau would play in trying to determine who is responsible for that and how it might inhibit your work if you were prohibited from doing that investigative or analysis work until a foreign nexus could be identified. Thank you chairman for the question. Unfortunately the scenario not exactly there but has been played out before. Initially its very difficult to determine the nature and motive of an attack that happened throughout the country. Initially the response from the government usually local Law Enforcement, the fbi, dhs, other Government Agencies would quickly try to Work Together to first determine the existence of the threat that may stem from that initial action. Then trying to determine the individuals involved, motives, the planet that went into such. So as such the analysis that occurs in the information that is gleaned from that investigation is crucial to determine what caused that incident. So, as far as if you are the analytical nature of intelligence the fbi is a dual hafted agency where criminal Investigative Organization also the Intelligence Service for the United States. As such we combined those two missions. We combined gathering information and intelligence to be used in prosecution along with National Security mission. We have very distinct lines between how those are used. On the initial reaction of the initial response there be a large combined effort to determine the extent of the purpose of that attacked the extent of those involved and what planning was involved in that attack. How would that inhibit your work if you could not undertake the analysis until there was already a conclusion about a four and a link to it . Mr. Chairman thank you for that question but it would impede our ability to gather and analyze information provided by state and local authorities and the private sector that may be relevant to the attack. It would preclude our ability to engage with others and the Department Travel pattern analysis to see if we can determine any type of operational links between individuals who may be have been identified as being associate with the attack and others in the United States. It would impede our ability to look at Online Activity to see if there were indicators that were associated with the attack may give us more insights into what we are doing. It would essentially preclude our ability to engage and support the activities with investing that operation with which sipped time in a foreign nexus was determined to. Thank you, mr. Chairman i yield back too. The chairman yield back, mr. Stewart. Thank you, mr. Chairman and to the witnesses, thank you for being here. I want to to know i appreciate you have served your nation. The patriots you seek to protect American Interest that does cause me some concern. Breakdowns and basic institution which my friend doctor when strips has talked about unfortunately Law Enforcement and justice institutions. After for example the last three or four, five years, i think the reputation and the department of justice has been tattered in many ways. There is no question to deceive the pfizer courts. They worked in tandem some of the leadership in the fbi particulate work in tandem with Political Parties and political candidates to afford a false narrative i think a 7yearold would have viewed it and said this cannot possibly be true. Yet presented as if it were true. He of the use of federal Law Enforcement to target parents now who simply want to have their kids have a good education for they love their kids into not be indoctrinate in schools been months and months of writing 27 or 28 people hundreds and hundreds killed with seemingly no ability to stop it. And i think the list goes on. Theres more i could mention it now we have this effort its where our concern lies. The have for the Intelligence Committee to potentially surveilled, monitor or analyze or evaluate u. S. Persons when there is no foreign nexus. In other words when that person has virtually no association or support of any Foreign Government or group, and if you want to continue to have people be skeptical of Law Enforcement, then walk down that road. Or create the impression that we are walking down that road. And that is my fear. That is my concern that if you allow any of your organizations to team with the i see and the awesome powers that they have the nsa for example incredible ability to surveilled. We all know that. They should never turn that awesome surveillance power in any u. S. Person when there is no foreign nexus. Neither should the cia. Neither should the dia or any elements. If there is no foreign nexus, if there is no tied to any Foreign Group or organization, that person should not be under the surveillance or under the eye of any of these. crisis you wont be able to answer them and so i will hold them and submit them in writing for your response. One final thought if i could, we have no interest at all in curtailing any of the appropriate authorities. We understand you have a role to play and that its difficult and you need to use the tools available to you. All we want is transparency and honesty and how those authorities are employed and its not to expand those authorities advised expressed my concern here today. So again, we do have some comments and some additional questions i will submit in writing and hopefully we can get the response in the appropriate setting and with that i will yield back. Thank you very much. Mr. Cohen, first i want to say my understanding is that you dont seek to be doing surveillance in a manner that i think all of the subject to is that correct . Yes, congressman, that is correct. There are restrictions on the use of Intelligence Community collection platforms and the environment, so we are not talking about using the power of the nsa against u. S. Persons while they are in the United States as we engage in identifying threats of violence. A. You have different authorities. I concur with that as well. Let me ask in the september of 18 there were a radical rightwing supporters of the january 6th insurrection as you testified and there were similar traffic on public facing websites to what weve seen before january 6th, but there was no similar level of violence. Why do you assess there was less violence at that event . Thats a really interesting question, congressman and it provides a good illustration of what we are doing and not doing as we are doing in the platforms by the violent domestic extremist we saw the discussion that focused on the event to be held on september 18th. Initially we didnt see any references, so we didnt collect information or disseminate information until we began to see woven into the conversations the specific calls for violent and illegal action. The kidnapping a member of congress, the attack of liberal churches, attacks against jewish facilities. We began seeing calls by counter protesters come to dc and engage in these acts. When we began seeing a nexus with the violent activity that is when we began working closely with the fbi and additional analysis for the state and locals and we issued public statements referring to the potential threat. And to some degree what we have come to believe he is our focus on these events and security measures put in place and response serves as a deterrent affect. What about just the process of sharing information with them, doing partnerships with state and local governments where we get a database of what these threats are . Can you address the need to do that for more reliable statistics . I will refer to the assistant director from an investigative perspective but as i mentioned in my statement, there are examples where acts of targeted violence had been prevented by Threat Management strategies at the local level so it is critical that local authorities whether it be Law Enforcement or others have an understanding of the threat and the behavioral indicators associated so they can recognize those behaviors and indicators should they be present. Would it be helpful to basically institutionalize the reporting requirement at the state and local level so that information is available and not just sometimes made available . I believe it was to be. A. I think that could be useful and as far as sharing information currently the foundation of which we have over 200 throughout the country and in addition to intelligence products the goes out to be distributed audience as well. I share the concern expressed by my republican colleagues about the individual rights and Civil Liberties. We dont have that much time so i will start with you. What are the agencies doing to ensure that individual civil rights and liberties are protected . My analysts and individuals who engage in information gathering have to receive training so that they are able to distinguish between constitutionally protected activity and that that may be threat related. We have extensive oversight that involves our lawyers from the intelligence Wall Division and Committee Oversight office but also the privacy and civil rights and Civil Liberties office. I mean, this as somebody that again ive been a Police Officer and ive arrested a lot of people. Im very focused on conducting obligations to protect the country. My two closest partners today are the privacy officer and Civil Liberties officer. Even the perception we are infringing on peoples constitutionally protected rights will undermine as is pointed out the credibility of the efforts to protect the communities from violence. Thank you very much. I am out of time. Mr. Lahood. A. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for your service to the country. And i share the comments of mr. Crawford. I wish we were in a classified setting for much of the hearing today and i will have some questions i will submit in a secure fashion. Having said that, you talked, both of you, about the importance of local Law Enforcement and working together and how impactful that is on the investigations and the work you do on both levels when it comes to Domestic Violence. In a prior life i spent time as a federal prosecutor and headed up a jt tf, and that experience whether it is a sheriffs department, local police department, state troopers is obviously the foundation of much of what you guys do. Having said that, as i look at this movement to defend police, get rid of departments i can think of anything that would be more disruptive and more problematic to the work you do with the local level to disrupt to them that. I wonder if you can comment on that. Thank you, congressman. This wont be as obvious to anybody that knows me. Law enforcement is an important part of our society. There are men and women that work each and every day that are focused on safeguarding the community and go to the work each day putting their lives at risk so that they can help the country be a better place. A policing or Law Enforcement in the country have to be nondiscriminatory. Enforcement actions should not be carried out, driven by implicit or over bias. We should do everything we can to make sure Law Enforcement and engages in their daytoday activities in a nondiscriminatory manner. A. Im happy that weasel rejections in the replacing in the defunding of the police in minneapolis. I think that speaks volumes and hopefully we put an end to that. I cant tell you how many Police Officers i spoke to, whether its in chicago or much of my district the morale is much lower than ive ever seen before because of this movement to defend police. I just mentioned that because as you do your work in the local level this is something that we have to address and to remedy. Changing subjects, you talked a little bit about online information and disinformation and how that has been used to exploit many of these cases youve talked about in social media. In terms of weve been grappling on what to do about social media. A lot of suggestions, everything from section 230 liability for Online Platforms and what we do there and how we hold them accountable and bring them up. What we need to do as you look at the work and how the role of social media plays out in many of these lone rangers as you describe them, what should we be doing to help remedy that problem . Thank you, sir. Theres three distinct lines followed. One, first off, we very much encourage citizens, individuals to come forth when they have information into see information of extreme rhetoric and violence being discussed online that that is one potential avenue to come to us. Like in the past, reporting things when people have concerns about things. The second level is direct engagement with companies in the private sector and whether it is a tech company or any other private sector. But the bureau heavily engages with members of the Tech Industry along with other private sectors to talk about how they can be responsible in reporting instances of violence and individuals that are concerned, reporting them to us and the fbi. Let me interrupt it there. So, having said that, have you seen positive changes that have been implemented along those lines that have been productive to the work that you do . We have seen often times when the companies have come to us with information that will help us or concerns and engage with training. There are cases weve worked together but there is a massive amount of information out there. The individuals that will provide information about ongoing individuals that would like to commit acts of violence. In addition to that, we continue to try to attempt to close the gap on the encryption so that criminals are using techniques and platforms and applications that are outside of the ability for the rightful warrant pursued information that we continue to look for ways to help with that. Im out of time. I will yield back. Mr. Castro. Thank you, chairman, for calling this hearing. Two years ago over 20 people were killed by a man that said he wanted to, quote, kill mexicans and ended up killing a bunch of americans. They suffered a series of antisemitic attacks with businesses with swastikas at a local Jewish Community be intimidated. Weve seen them wearing nazi clothing outside of the San Antonio Holocaust Museum and deny the holocaust. What will they do to investigate these incidences and others like them . Thank you, sir. The fbi is engaged with local Law Enforcement extensively and identifying crimes whether its the hate crime or whether it is part of a group that follows the promotion of the White Supremacy advocates one of our highest level threats as i said earlier counterterrorism remains the highest priority of the fbi and within that, racially motivated violent extremism is at the top equal to that of the threat of the Foreign Terrorists such as isis. As we focus a great deal of resources and focus on trying to disrupt and stop the activity and identify those individuals that may be responsible for them. A. Taking on the White National extremism is something im glad to the administration is doing but we have to ask ourselves what happens when its part of the nations Law Enforcement arms. The report last month by the Oversight Reform Committee found that cbp agents that posted messages on facebook chats against Agency Policies were found to have engaged in misconduct while the discipline review recommended replenishment they had far reduced penalties. Quoting the report, the Border Patrol agent that posted a sexually explicit image. The cbp video of a migrant falling off a cliff to their death as well as an explicit and offensive comment about a member of congress reduced from the removal to be 30 day suspension. Theres many other examples cited in the report, so i want to ask you how is dhs able to effectively take on the White Nationalist extremist groups when dhs employees and echoes the views are barely punished. A. That is a fair question. A serious effort to look at the rules that govern the hiring personnel and disciplinary actions taken against personnel and govern the retention of personnel so that these types of situations can be addressed in a consistent manner across the department. And your point is well taken. If one is interested to enforce the law of the country even the perception that this persons actions are being influenced by racist or other extremist beliefs undermines the credibility of the organization, so thats something we take seriously at the department and we are working to address. If dhs is working to tackle extremism in the United States, how can you assure us that the officers with those responsibilities will do their work in an unbiased way . I think it goes back to what i described earlier but also it is a part of the leadership of the department. The leadership has a strong message to the workforce that influenced activities will not be tolerated and need to be taken seriously. I made a comment at the beginning of the term that i hope within Law Enforcement would be seriously scrutinized because in American Society we give Law Enforcement officers a lot of benefit of the doubt and its hard to prosecute especially to prosecute them successfully. If any of the actions are motivated by racism or hate or extremism, then that becomes especially deadly to the american public. Thank you mr. Chairman. The American People are deeply concerned about the politicization of domestic terrorism. This issue has been at the forefront in response to an order from the attorney general for the fbi to convene meetings across the u. S. In response to constitutionally protected speech and assembly at the school board events particularly in virginia. In a september the National School Board Association released a public letter requesting federal assistance to address alleged violence targeting children, School Board Members and educators. The letter referenced increased threats of violence due to frustration over mask mandates and the teaching of Critical Race Theory and requested, quote, the federal government investigate, intercept and prevent the command threats and acts against public School Officials and statutes, executive authority, interagency and governmental taskforces and other extraordinary measures. The letter went on to state that, quote, the classification of these actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and it requested that the administration review all applicable laws and policies including the patriot act to relevant adverse adoptions due to the threat. We know according to emails obtained by the group of parents defending education that the school board coordinated this with the white house prior to the release. Five days after the release of the School Board Association letter, the attorney general released a memo directing the fbi to meet with leaders to discuss the strategies for addressing threats against School Administrators, board members, teachers and staff. In testimony before the Judiciary Committee the attorney general confirmed this letter was the relevant factor in the creation of the memo that was sent out by the department of justice. This is the politicization at the department of Justice Without facts to support the alleged growing threat and need for federal investigation specifically targeting parents and parental groups. We now know that the letter that the School Board Association released a statement to its member rescinding the letter saying they regret and apologize and yet the attorney general has not retracted this memo. I have a few questions has the fbi held any of these meetings directed by the attorney general, yes or no . They were led by the u. S. Attorneys office, so its best directed in conjunction with the fbi. A. I do not have a number. What is the number . I do not know. I believe that it was led by the u. S. Attorneys office. A. In conjunction with of the fbi. Steam again we will get you that number but i do not have that information because the date was supposed to be today and its being coordinated by the 94 different jurisdictions. Did the fbi consider domestic terrorists . Do parents that opposed the crp, are they considered domestic terrorists . No, not to my knowledge. As long as they are not committing violations, force of violence or promotion of an ideology, they would not be. Are parents that it was mask mandates considered domestic terrorists . Let me ask you this, what are your thoughts because the general memo was based upon the School Board Association letter, which has now been rescinded, why has the department is not rescinded the memo . You will have to refer to that over to the department of justice. Im not going to speak on behalf of the attorney general. Do you have any other thoughts to add . I would only add that in addition to the letter that was submitted, there were actual calls for violence directed at teachers, school board administrators and others in the educational environment on extremist platforms. We did reach out to state and local Law Enforcement. There have been some sporadic incidences of the School Board Meetings and educational facilities. However, the information we received is that a state and local Law Enforcement were not seeing widespread options so we continue to work with state and locals to maintain awareness if there are threats of violence directed at anybody because they were not just substernal focus on School Administrators into the information that we were analyzing but it also included threats against Law Enforcement and Public Health officials who were getting vaccines and other Public Health related activities, so its something we continue to evaluate. A. About the attorney general said when he testified that the relevant factor was the School Board Association letter. I did not watch the attorney generals. You are answering very differently here today. You said that was the reason for that memo put out by the department of justice and obviously whoever spoke loudly and clearly and with that i will yield back. The gentle lady yields back. Is membership in an organization disqualified for people in the fbi . Isnt membership in that type of organization consistent with Law Enforcement . How is the fbi coordinating about incoming threats and information about White Supremacists and others i know having worked at the fusion center, there was an analyst assigned. There was always tension with local Law Enforcement as you know because there was a sentiment that the local Law Enforcement does the work and the fbi comes in at the last minute i think in many cases that is unfair. It would have those coordinating efforts improved over time . Ive been Law Enforcement for 28 years now and i have not found that that often. Theres definitely rivalries and fictions on the individual basis and i found the coordination between local, state officials and fbi to be very wholesome. Of course at times there are prosecutorial differences on how the case should be worked at the state or federal level, but again i would refer back to the foundation of what our sharing is and the joint Terrorism Task force almost 4500 agents and officers working handinhand together so when the information reaches the department that potentially contains a federal violation ideology the concern then that information is forwarded from that Task Force Officer into the j pdf j tdf to move forward on the investigation. It is no secret that they failed to adequately warn of the insurrection that occurred on january 6th. Can you explain what specific procedures have changed and what reforms since post january sixth . In the analytic world from january and the events of that today and the weeks leading up to the point i made in my Opening Statement the understanding of indications regarding an emerging threat may be available through Public Information analyzed by analysis. What weve done since january 6 that the department is redoubled our efforts to coordinate the sharing that we required or that comes to us through the relationships with state and local private sector with the fbi and others in the federal community. We have become much more forward leaning as it relates to the analyzing of Online Activity and evaluating from the potential risk of violence. We are much more cognizant and mindful about incorporating that into operational planning. It would be to simply look at what happened on inauguration day. After january 6th, the analysis did not reflect that those that were here on january 6th viewed it as a victory and the endpoint of the efforts. They saw it as a starting point and there were calls online for additional acts of violence to be committed both in the district of columbia and state capitals around the country inn and on inauguration day. The response was very different. The response in washington included physical security measures in and around the capital and other locations highly visible presence of National Guard and highly visible presence of Law Enforcement. A very overt and Public Security prisons in and around the district and state capitals around the country. What we see reflected on social media and extremist platforms the cognizance of the security measures and reluctance to come to washington because those who were planning acts of violence viewed it as separate from arrest or not the right time to come to engage because of the security presence. Our analysis has focused understanding when there may be a potential and then taking steps, sometimes very visible and public to create physical security measures that serve as the deterrent. Ranking member crawford. Thank you mr. Chairman. Actually, some questions about recent open source reporting about october 209th, isis threat to an unidentified mall in northern virginia. I will save those for a secure setting. But i would like to ask which fbi headquarters element has the lead on implementing the mandate to be october 4th memo regarding the school board threats. A. That combination of the criminal Investigative Division along with of the Counterterrorism Division. How many jurisdictions reached out requesting additional assistance with this issue . I dont know, the most likely would have reached out to the local field office. Are any participants participating in these meetings were training or have any other activities associated in the attorney generals memo . I dont have any information right now it is being led by the local u. S. Attorneys offices, but we will find out and get back with you who attended and from what programs from the field offices to determine who they might ascend to a meeting if it was led by the u. S. Attorneys office. Appreciate the followup. Any activities as the fbi utilizing any National Intelligence Program Resources or authorities . No, we possibly could be using analytical resources, which all analysts in the fbi, whether its organized crime or cyber crime or terrorism related manners, all of them come from the National Intelligence program. So, analytically if we are reviewing a problem, some of the resources could be reviewed if we try to ascertain whether or not a potential threat exists. A. Im certain now based on my colleagues comments you are aware of the School Association recalled at their september 29 letter to the president , which was the catalyst for the memo. Since then has the fbi received any guidance from the department of justice on canceling the mandate for the meetings and dedicated open lines of reporting . Not that im aware. Thank you and i will yield back. I want to follow up on a couple of issues. First of all, are we seeing a rise in the Death Threats against School Board Members . I cant necessarily quantify that, mr. Chair man, but we are definitely seeing Online Activity that calls for acts of violence being directed at teachers, School Administrators and and those fits of violence are against the personnel over for example issues they are making about the health of the children in the schools . It is included in a narrative that we have seen continue that focuses on Public Health and other restrictions associated with and having to do with vaccines as well. A lot of us on the podium have been the subject of Death Threats. When we are, those are investigated by Capital Police and federal Law Enforcement. You would agree Death Threats should be investigated to similarly . Its part of our responsibility to make sure we take seriously threats of violence and so we can determine that those threats are not valid or credible to maintain and be vigilant for the acts of violence. A. And these Death Threats are designed to try to force a change in policy, or they not . The narratives that ive looked at have specifically called for acts of violence as a result of policies that are being instituted. Im not sure im comfortable saying what it is, but the content has complained about the provisions and called on people to threaten or engage in violence against those. We are also seeing threats against Elections Officials. A. We have seen threats against Elections Officials and we saw that in the 2020 election and we continue to see that. I think theres been a proliferation of threats of violence and politically motivated violence and to an astonishing and dangerous degree a rationalization of threats of violence to bring about political change, acceptance of political violence. I would just point to the executive summary by the odni of the domestic violent extremists threat which reads in part newer sociopolitical developments such as narratives of defrauding to the recent election the emboldening impact of the violent a breach of the u. S. Capital, conditions related to the pandemic and conspiracy theories promoting violence would almost certainly spur some domestic violent extremists to try to engage in violence this year. Those that are pushing the big line, undermining the democracy are emboldening the impact. Of those who are downplaying the significance of the attack on january 6th or trying to make political heroes of those that assaulted Police Officers have breached the capital and in my view are encouraging violence. When we diminish Public Confidence in our elections, if people dont think they can rely to decide who should govern, it is an invitation of violence and its no better and far worse when that invitation comes from members of congress i think it is shameful when we were informed by our intelligence agencies that that attack is emboldening others and at the falls narratives are also encouragement to further violence. And i want to put that on the record. And with that i will yield back. Thank you mr. Chair man and for your attendance and participation. I just want to get on the record to this and im directing the federal bureau of investigation working with each u. S. Attorney to convene meetings. So the fbi is directing this. The u. S. Attorneys office my understanding was going to direct the meetings and format the meetings and how they would transpire. I dont know if it is an interpretation difference it would be led by the u. S. Attorneys offices. And you are aware that in the judiciary meeting last week the attorney general stated under oath that they would provide information that led to the issuing of the memo by november 1st. Are you aware of any reason why they have missed that deadline . I cant speak on behalf of the department. Have you participated in the formulation or the presentation of that memo . Ive exchanged some emails the weekend before when the initial discussion was brought up about this memo that came out that it was very brief. A. From the School Board Association and that the department was looking to put out some messaging. What was the message and . I didnt have the messaging. You said you were on the email. Just about, and whatever i need to get you to the full extent for the emails to the release of the memo as well as any planning for messaging and as well as any convolution for the response to those senators who requested the information, you will provide those emails and notification . Whatever i can provide you legally. So you will provide those . Whatever i can provide. I will have to check with our Legal Counsel office. Want to thank you both for your participation today and for your service to the country. Its very rewarding work and thankless. I want to thank the chair man for his great presence and the Ranking Member and my colleagues and the entire committee for their commitment to accountability, oversight and keeping americans safe. So thank you all. The senate is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]