The Anti-Defamation League spearheaded a counterterrorism training reaching over 400 local, state and federal law enforcement throughout Southern California on May 5. The training, entitled California Radicalization: Domestic Extremism in Our Backyard, co-sponsored by the Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC), the South Bay Police Training Committee, West Los Angeles Veterans’ Administration Police Department and UCLA Police Department, featured ADL and law enforcement experts who addressed recent trends in homegrown radicalization; examined the case of “Operation Broken Banner”; and heard about the lessons learned from the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell delivered the opening remarks and began with a moment of silence for law enforcement memorial month, for all fallen law enforcement officers, as well as for the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Veterans’ Administration Police Chief Charles Leas welcomed everyone to the Wadsworth Theatre on the West Los Angeles Veterans’ Administration campus and introduced the first speaker.
Oren Segal, Director of ADL’s Center on Extremism provided the national overview of domestic Islamic extremism. 2015 is a remarkable and unprecedented year due to the increase in the level of activity by U.S. residents inspired by foreign terrorist organizations. There was an increase of 180% from the 2014 numbers. The statistic reflects an increase in arrests made, the discovery of plots that were carried out and discovery of plots that failed. Three of the most deadly ideologically driven shootings – Charleston, Chattanooga and San Bernardino – and other domestic extremist incidents amassed a higher number of victims in 2015 than in any previous year since 1995, the year of the Oklahoma City bombing. For the first time, nearly as many Americans were killed by domestic Islamic extremists as by white supremacists. The hateful and anti-Semitic ideology continues to spread online.
Assistant United States Attorney Susan DeWitt, who prosecuted “Operation Broken Banner,” introduced FBI Special Agent Wade Lee, the case’s lead investigator. The investigation resulted in the arrest of four men from the Inland Empire who attempted to travel to Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda and the Taliban. It was the first case in California which resulted in convictions of material support of terrorism.
The final speaker, San Bernardino Police Assistant Chief Eric McBride, was introduced by Lee Trujillo, Executive Director of JRIC. Assistant Chief McBride discussed the law enforcement response to the San Bernardino terrorist attack on December 2, 2015.
Law enforcement agencies represented at the training include Alhambra Police Department, California Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Glendale Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Inglewood Police Department, Joint Regional Intelligence Center, Kern County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Redondo Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, San Bernardino Probations Department, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, San Diego Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Santa Barbara Police Department, Transpiration Security Administration, University of Southern California Department of Public Safety, UCLA Police Department, United States Air Force, United States Attorney’s Office, United States Port Police Ventura Police Department & Veterans Police Department.