White Supremacy in New Jersey is officially more of a threat within the state’s borders than ISIS and al-Queada according to state security officials. New Jersey’s announcement comes just over a week after the Anti-Defamation League found an increase in white supremacist propaganda efforts across the entire country. This past Friday (Feb. 21), New Jersey released its annual Terrorism Threat Assessment report raising the threat level of white supremacists to ‘high,’ the topmost category for threat levels for any extremist group there. 

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According to CNN, the only other threat listed as high in the state of New Jersey are homegrown violent extremists, who also topped the list in the state’s 2019 report. White supremacists were previously listed as a moderate threat alongside ISIS, al-Queada, and other foreign extremist groups. White hate groups also currently outrank the West African-based Boko Haram and black separatist groups. 

In an official statement, Jared Maples, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said:

“The ever-changing threat landscape in New Jersey and around the country requires us to adjust our strategies to anticipate new threats while remaining ready to combat those already existing.” 

The FBI recently raised the threat level of white supremacists groups to ‘high’ after officially recognizing the hate group as a terrorist organization in 2019. While the events that took place in Charlottesville just three ago have emboldened white supremacists across the country, hopefully, the United States government will do their part and rightfully displace these terrorist organizations swiftly. 

Check out CNN‘s report on the rapid spread of white supremacists propaganda across the country and how they radicalize new recruits in the video provided below. 

In recent years, various hate groups from around the United States have become emboldened to voice their opinion on the country's current socio-political structure in regards to foreign policy and race relations. Some participants in these hate groups have taken it as far as eliminating people with opposing views on the nation's inclusiveness and diversity. Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigations is taking a stance against white supremacy and other 'racially motivated violent extremism' as they've elevated the importance of supremacist activity to a 'national threat priority.'

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This past Wednesday (Feb. 5), FBI director, Christopher Wray revealed to the bureau that homegrown/domestic terrorism will be a national priority implemented into their legislation and will be recognized and posed as dangerous as foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS (ISIL). While speaking with to the House Judiciary Committee, Wray had this to say about his revelation:

"The most persistent threats to the nation and to U.S. interests abroad are homegrown violent extremists (HVEs), domestic violent extremists, and foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). The international terrorism threat to the U.S. has expanded from sophisticated, externally directed FTO plots to include individual attacks carried out by HVEs who are inspired by designated terrorist organizations."

The former-Assistant Attorney General then went on to note that foreign terroristic threats are still a major priority for the intelligence agency stating:

"We remain concerned that groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and al Qaeda have the intent to carry out large-scale attacks in the U.S." 

Wray then attested to the racially motivated attacks that plagued the country in 2018-19, revealing that these aggressions were a "primary source of ideologically-motivated lethal incidents and violence" and that the past two years hate crimes have drastically increased, the most since 2001. Wray spoke about how these hate groups target certain individuals:

"They choose easily accessible weapons — a car, a knife, a gun, maybe an IED they can build crudely off the internet — and they choose soft targets. That threat is what we assess is the biggest threat to the homeland right now."

With the Dylann Roofs and Patrick Wood Crusiuses of the world taking the easy way out by surrendering themselves to authorities and being immortalized for their actions through extended court proceedings, it's about time major government agencies become proactive about the domestic terrorism that rages rampant within United States borders.  

Hopefully, in the near future, we'll see a severe decline in the development of white supremacist rhetoric and organizations for the betterment of society. Check out the Vice President of the Anti-Defamation League, Oren Segal's, report on the FBI Director's announcement below.