18 Apr Anne Speckhard Releases New Book on Domestic Extremists
WHS member and Homeland Security Today columnist Anne Speckhard has released her latest book, Homegrown Hate, Inside the Minds of Domestic Violent Extremists.
Anne on why she talks to terrorists:
“I have crisscrossed the globe for the past 20 years studying the international enemy, interviewing more than 800 militant jihadists, terrorists, and violent extremists from ISIS, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and more—mostly men, but also women and even children who escaped and survived to tell their stories. Then just days after the January 6thassault on the U.S. Capitol, after months earlier beginning to also interview white supremacists, I secured a rare interview with one of the Proud Boys who had entered the building. From there an enlightening line-up of further interviews with domestic hate group members followed.
While the terms “white Christian Nationalism” and “MAGA extremism” have made recent headlines, the FBI has long warned that Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE) is the biggest security threat to the U.S., responsible for decades of domestic violence. Hate-filled extremists have massacred people while worshipping, grocery shopping, and celebrating the 4th of July. From daycares to dance clubs, homegrown extremists are at the center of horrific carnage.
But I don’t confront the extremists I study—domestic or international— I instead try to understand who they are, their backgrounds, and motivations. Some may question why I take this approach. To me the answer is clear: No one is born a terrorist. What we decide to do about these threats depends in part on how we choose to understand them.” READ MORE>>
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