On May 23, 2019, the FBI Los Angeles field office, in partnership with the ADL, launched the Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Summit, hosted by the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center. Over 150 law enforcement personnel from various federal, state and local agencies, who work domestic terrorism-related cases and hate crime investigations, were hand-selected to participate in this day-long conference.
Special Agent in Charge of the Intelligence Division of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, Stephen Woolery, gave opening remarks, underscoring the significance of this symposium to face the latest challenges: “We have seen extraordinary escalation when it comes to the domestic terrorism threat.”
Attendees heard about some of the most current threats to the United States, including racially-motivated violent extremists, anti-government militia groups, the “incel” (involuntary celibates) movement, hate crime trends and recent hate-motivated violent attacks, including Pittsburgh and Poway.
Presenters from the FBI delivered an analysis of the current state of domestic terrorism nationally. The presenters spoke about the challenges inherent in not having a federal domestic terrorism law that allows for perpetrators to be charged as “domestic terrorists.” They explained that the FBI uses other types of charges, i.e. hate crimes, true threats, interstate commerce violations, to punish domestic terrorists. The speakers also presented on the increase in the FBI’s operational tempo of disrupting domestic terrorist plots, including approximately 120 arrests in FY2018 and over 70 arrests already in the first quarter of FY2019. An in-depth analysis about “incels” was presented, describing them as a persistent and explicitly violent movement.
ADL Center on Extremism Senior Investigative Researcher and Director of Special Projects Joanna Mendelson provided a closer look at the state of hate in California and Los Angeles specifically. Mendelson laid out the big picture of how extremists overall feel emboldened. She provided background on the white supremacist ideology, rooted in the belief that white people are on the verge of extinction, and therefore violence is justified to “save” their race.
Keynote speaker, and former FBI agent, Ali Soufan, using the ADL acronym, urged law enforcement to join him in acknowledging, designating and legislating in response to the growing threat of racially-motivated violent extremists. Soufan, who played an integral role in a number of high-profile anti-terrorism cases, emphasized the need to equip law enforcement with the necessary tools to combat the escalating domestic terrorism concerns.
The closing speaker, a special agent from the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, spoke about his first-hand experience responding to the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting in October 2018.