EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ
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White supremacists and other right-wing extremist groups have been infiltrating U.S. law enforcement agencies and police departments for years, according to a conclusion drawn in classified FBI documents obtained by The Intercept.
A new report from the site cites the FBI's 2015 Counterterrorism Policy Guide, which reveals that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers.”
Despite a longstanding tradition of infiltration by white supremacists and right-wing extremists, the article notes, "federal investigators have been reluctant to publicly address that threat." Moreover, because they lack a "centralized recruitment process or set of national standards," U.S. law enforcement agencies remain vulnerable to continued infiltration.
The report also cites FBI documents from 2006 and 2009 that draw related conclusions. The 2006 document shows a growing concern about a "historical" pattern of "infiltrating law enforcement communities" by white supremacist groups. The 2009 one draws a broader conclusion, that “lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent right-wing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.”
Read the full report here, via The Intercept.