Justice Department Creating Unit Focused On Domestic Terrorism

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is establishing a specialized unit focused on domestic terrorism, the department’s top national security official told lawmakers Tuesday as he described an “elevated” threat from violent extremists in the United States. Olsen’s assessment about growing domestic threats tracked with a warning last March from FBI Director Christopher Wray, who testified that the threat was “metastasizing.” Jill Sanborn, the executive assistant director in charge of the FBI’s national security branch who testified alongside Olsen, said Tuesday the greatest threat comes from lone extremists or small cells who radicalize online and look to carry out violence at so-called “soft targets.” “This includes both homegrown violent extremists inspired primarily by foreign terrorist organizations as well as domestic violent extremism,” Sanborn said. “This committee should speak with a unified voice in saying violence is unacceptable.” Several Republican senators sought to shift focus away from Jan. 6 and asserted that the insurrection had taken away attention from the 2020 rioting that erupted in American cities and grew out of racial justice protests. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, castigated the law enforcement witnesses for what he said were “wildly disparate standards” in the department’s pursuit of suspects in the 2020 rioting and in the Jan. 6 insurrection.