A top Department of Homeland Security official calls the current U.S. threat environment the worst he’s seen in over 30 years and is urging houses of worship, universities, and public officials to pay attention.
John Cohen, the DHS coordinator for Counterterrorism and assistant secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention Policy, spoke at an online panel hosted by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University on Feb. 15.
“The threat environment is probably the most volatile and dynamic that I’ve experienced in my 35+ year career,” he said. “We’re at a period of time in this country where we have to be very serious, where we can come together and respond to the threat.”
Cohen addressed the concerns outlined in a special DHS National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin released Feb. 7. The bulletin warned that online misinformation and conspiracy theories are fueling both domestic and foreign threat actors who seek to undermine trust in government institutions to encourage unrest which can lead to political violence.
The bulletin said that narratives regarding “unsubstantiated widespread election fraud and COVID-19” led to violent extremist attacks in the past year. “We have tied those socio-political narratives specifically to the overwhelming majority of domestic violent extremist incidents and/or disrupted attacks through the course of 2021,” said Cohen. READ MORE
