The Homeland Security Threat Assessment of "Right Wing Extremists"~~~Bruiex

ownership and use. Rightwing extremists are increasingly galvanized by these concerns

and leverage them as drivers for recruitment. From the 2008 election timeframe to the

present, rightwing extremists have capitalized on related racial and political prejudices in

expanded propaganda campaigns, thereby reaching out to a wider audience of potential

sympathizers.

— (U//LES) Most statements by rightwing extremists have been rhetorical,

expressing concerns about the election of the first African American president,

but stopping short of calls for violent action. In two instances in the run-up to the

election, extremists appeared to be in the early planning stages of some

threatening activity targeting the Democratic nominee, but law enforcement

interceded.

(U//FOUO) Paralleling the current national climate, rightwing extremists during the

1990s exploited a variety of social issues and political themes to increase group visibility

and recruit new members. Prominent among these themes were the militia movement’s

opposition to gun control efforts, criticism of free trade agreements (particularly those

with Mexico), and highlighting perceived government infringement on civil liberties as

well as white supremacists’ longstanding exploitation of social issues such as abortion,

inter-racial crimes, and same-sex marriage. During the 1990s, these issues contributed to

the growth in the number of domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups and an

increase in violent acts targeting government facilities, law enforcement officers, banks,

and infrastructure sectors.

(U//FOUO) Historically, domestic rightwing extremists have feared, predicted, and

anticipated a cataclysmic economic collapse in the United States. Prominent

antigovernment conspiracy theorists have incorporated aspects of an impending

economic collapse to intensify fear and paranoia among like-minded individuals and to

attract recruits during times of economic uncertainty. Conspiracy theories involving

declarations of martial law, impending civil strife or racial conflict, suspension of the

U.S. Constitution, and the creation of citizen detention camps often incorporate aspects of

a failed economy. Antigovernment conspiracy theories and “end times” prophecies could

motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition, and weapons.

These teachings also have been linked with the radicalization of domestic extremist

individuals and groups in the past, such as violent Christian Identity organizations and

extremist members of the militia movement.