About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-23-106758 1 (2023-06-15)

handle is hein.gao/gaoouh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The Big Picture Violent extremism and domestic terrorism pose a serious and growing threat to safety in the U.S.: In January 2022, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) testified that the number of FBI investigations of suspected domestic violent extremists had more than doubled since the spring of 2020. According to our analysis of FBI data, the number of FBI's open domestic terrorism-related cases at any point during the fiscal year, grew by 357 percent from 1,981 to 9,049 from 2013 to 2021. In April 2021, the Secretary of Homeland Security stated that domestic violent extremism posed the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to the homeland. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tracked a total of 231 domestic terrorism incidents, resulting in 145 deaths in the U.S. from calendar years 2010 to 2021. We discuss our extensive body of work using the definitions below. Violent extremism is generally defined as planning or committing ideologically-, religiously-, or politically-motivated acts of violence. Domestic terrorism is generally defined by statute as acts dangerous to human life that violate U.S. criminal laws, occur primarily in the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., and appear intended to coerce a civilian population; influence government policy or conduct; or affect government conduct by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. Preventing violent extremism in the U.S.- sometimes referred to as countering violent extremism (CVE)-focuses on reducing individual and societal risk factors associated with violent extremism to prevent and provide intervention for individuals on the path to violence. * Counterterrorism in the U.S. focuses on collecting intelligence, gathering evidence, making arrests, and responding to incidents. Examples Showing Preventing Violent Extremism Is Different from Counterterrorism Community engagement and counseling to Conecting evidence and prevent radicalization to violence making arrests before an event has occurred Source: GAO analysis of information from the White House, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Homeland Security, FBI (adapted photograph), Art Explosion (clip art) GAO-23-106758 What GAO's Work Shows We have evaluated federal actions to counter violent extremism and domestic terrorism, and have identified some opportunities for improvement. 1. Strengthening Strategic Planning In July 2021, we reviewed DHS's 2019 Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence and the related plans that outlined the department's vision for its counterterrorism activities. We found that t of the key elements of a comprehensive strategy as shown in the graphic below. For example, the strategy did not include a discussion of what external factors may affect DHS in meeting its goals. GAO-23-106758 Violent Extremism and Terrorism 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most