(Washington) The US Department of Homeland Security warned Thursday that the risk of violence by extremist groups remains high in the run-up to the November 2024 presidential election.
“In 2024, we expect the threat of violence from radicalized violent extremists in the United States to remain elevated,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) writes in its annual risk assessment.
The threat posed by domestic extremist groups, with no real international connections, and those inspired by foreign terrorist organizations, has changed little, according to DHS.
All of these extremists “will continue to be inspired and motivated by a mix of conspiracy theories, personal grievances, and stubborn racial, ethnic, religious, and anti-government ideologies, often shared on the internet,” the report notes.
Hundreds of people, some members of extremist groups, have however been prosecuted and/or sentenced to prison for their role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
According to the US agency, racially and ethnically motivated extremists, who advocate for a race war, pose a major threat to the security of the United States.
Over the past two years, several of these groups have carried out attacks on energy and communications infrastructure, including power plants, with the aim of spreading fear and destabilizing society.
Racially motivated killings have also been carried out by numerous individuals, the most recent example being in late August, when a 21-year-old white man killed three black people in Jacksonville, Florida, before taking his own life. .
DHS also warns, in the upcoming election context, of the risk presented by extremists motivated by conspiracy theories and anti-government grievances.
The latter “could seek to disrupt electoral processes”, states the report, which mentions possible violence and threats targeting government officials, voters or electoral agents.
Furthermore, according to the DHS, “Russia, China and Iran likely view the 2024 elections as an opportunity to carry out overt or covert influence campaigns aimed at shaping political outcomes favorable to them and undermining stability. the United States “.