Officials: Violent extremists pose 'elevated threat' to US

WASHINGTON - Violent extremists motivated by a range of political grievances and racial biases pose an "elevated threat" to the United States, officials said Wednesday in an unclassified intelligence report released more than two months after a mob of insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The blunt assessment echoes warnings made in recent weeks by U.S. officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, who testified this month that the threat from domestic violent extremism was "metastasizing" across the country. Attorney General Merrick Garland has also described it as a top priority as his Justice Department works to prosecute hundreds of people who made their way into the Capitol as Congress was gathering on Jan. 6 to certify Joe Biden's election victory.

The riot laid bare the threat posed by domestic extremists and led Biden, weeks later, to assign his intelligence officials the task of studying the scope of the problems. A brief and unclassified summary of that threat assessment was made public Wednesday; a full classified report was presented to the White House and Congress.

https://www.startribune.com/officials-violent-extremists-pose-elevated-threat-to-us/600035448/