MSNBC national security analyst Clint Watts said Wednesday on “Katy Tur Reports” that former President Donald Trump was a “galvanizing force” for a lot of extremist groups which are now domestic terror threats.
Tur said, “The Justice Department is creating a unit to fight domestic terror. The threat of home-grown extremism has grown over the last year with the number of FBI investigations into domestic terror more than doubling since the spring of 2020.”
She added, “Correct me if I’m wrong, Clint, the threat assessments put domestic terror, violent extremism here in the United States above threats from international terrorists. It’s more worrisome what is happening here than what might come over here.”
Watts said, “That’s absolutely correct. I think the balance really changed, to be honest, when President Trump took office. He was a galvanizing force that, at least for a lot of extremist groups, they saw him as an empowering force. He talked a lot about issues that spoke to them. They didn’t always work together, but they saw unity underneath his banner. That’s why you saw the diverse set of militia groups show up with QAnon supporters on January 6th. Separately, you see, the online space is absolutely, in my opinion, out of control. So between COVID-19, mask mandates, and white supremacy, it’s a lot of violence out there.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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