WASHINGTON - Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after the Department of Justice announced that it has created a domestic terrorism counsel designed to emphasize countering domestic terrorism:
“The Department of Justice’s new domestic terrorism counsel is an admirable and overdue step towards combatting domestic right-wing violent extremism, which the Progressive Caucus and several House Democrats called for earlier this year. It is crucial that our limited counter terrorism resources be used fighting the threats we actually face. Our singular focus on domestic Islamic extremistscomes at the expense of any focus on the real threats posed by violent right-wing extremists fueled by racism and intolerance. Over the past decade, these violent extremists and ‘lone-wolves’ have perpetrated an average of 337 attacks per year, far more than attacks from domestic terrorism associated with violent Islamic extremists.
“We cannot allow the same unfounded conservative criticism that dissolved a similar unit in 2009 stand in the way of protecting Americans. We look forward to working with the Obama Administration, the Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security in taking necessary actions to make this counsel fully operational without delay.
