A conversation with Kristofer Goldsmith — U.S. Army veteran and founder and CEO of Task Force Butler Institute, nonprofit organization that trains veterans in research and operations to counter extremism, and publisher of the of the newsletter .
I talked with Goldsmith about how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal agencies under the Trump Administration are scaling back and eliminating efforts to fight domestic terrorism, as well as a recent report on military veterans and extremism.
Thank you
, , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next Substack live!Sources and Notes:
Exclusive: FBI scales back staffing, tracking of domestic terrorism probes, sources say [Reuters]
“The FBI has cut staffing in an office focused on domestic terrorism and has scrapped a tool used to track such investigations, in a shift that could undermine law enforcement’s ability to counter white supremacists and anti-government extremists.”
Trump administration cuts national database tracking domestic terrorism [The Washington Post]
“The Trump administration stopped funding a national database tracking domestic terrorism, hate crimes and school shootings in a sweeping round of cuts to violence prevention projects, eliminating a resource aimed to improve safety in the face of consistent and urgent threats.”
Veteran Perspectives on Extremist Exploitation of the Military: Sources and Solutions [CTEC]
“This study affirms the complex nature of extremist exploitation of the military. Interviewees offer two different sources for extremism in the military, with some focusing on individual factors and others analyzing the military environment itself. Those who believe the military itself is most culpable for extremism’s influence also talked about how external factors, namely Donald Trump and Fox News, amplified negative aspects of military culture and created a situation where extremist views could foment.”
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