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By Daryl Johnson By Daryl Johnson August 21 at 6:00 AM Daryl Johnson is the former senior analyst for domestic terrorism at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He now owns DT Analytics, a private consulting company for state and local law enforcement.

Here's why you can't ignore violent right-wing extremists when it comes to domestic terrorist attacks. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Eight years ago, I warned of a singular threat the resurgence of right-wing extremist activity and associated violence in the United States as a result of the 2008 presidential election, the financial crisis and the stock market crash. My intelligence report, meant only for law enforcement, was leaked by conservative media.

A political backlash ensued because of an objection to the label right-wing extremism. The report also rightly pointed out that returning military veterans may be targeted for recruitment by extremists. Republican lawmakers demanded then-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano rescind my report. The American Legion formally requested an apology to veterans. Some in Congress called for me to be fired. Amid the turmoil, my warning went unheeded by Republicans and Democrats. Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security caved to the political pressure: Work related to violent right-wing extremism was halted. Law enforcement training also stopped. My unit was disbanded. And, one-by-one, my team of analysts left for other employment. By 2010, there were no intelligence analysts at DHS working domestic terrorism threats.

Since 2008, though, the body count from numerous acts of violent right-wing terrorism continued to rise steadily with very little media interest, political discussion or concern from our national leaders. As this threat grew, government resources were scaled back, law enforcement counterterrorism training was defunded and policies to counter violent extremism narrowed to focus solely on Muslim extremism. Heated political campaigning by Donald Trump in 2016 pandered to these extremists. Now, right-wing terrorism has become the national security threat which many government leaders have yet to acknowledge.

[The Trump administration is showing white nationalists it wont fight them at all]

The mere existence of so many heavily armed citizens filled with hate and anger toward various elements of American society is troubling enough in its own right. They number in the hundreds of thousands. More troubling is the violent convergence now underway within right-wing extremist movements sanitized with the label alt-right. Largely under the media radar, disaffected extremist groups with long histories of squabbling have been independently pooling resources, some even infiltrating our government through the outreach efforts of right-wing extremist groups such as the Oath Keepers and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. Over the past year, weve witnessed political violence erupt between right-wing extremist protesters and counterprotesters at pro-Trump rallies in Minnesota, Washington, California and now Virginia. This rebranded alt-right extremist movement has the ultimate goal to disrupt civil society, undermine government institutions and pick which laws if any they will abide by, and what supposed justice they will administer on their own authority.

But the story, in a very real sense, didnt begin in 2017. As with the Waco and Ruby Ridge sieges during the 1990s, the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada and the 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge siege in Oregon have served not only as recruitment opportunities for anti-government and hate groups, but they also serve as a radicalization facilitator. Why? Because extremists in the 2014 and 2016 standoffs were allowed to take up arms against the federal government and threaten law enforcement officers without suffering any legal consequences.

[Not punishing the Bundys for the Nevada standoff led to the occupation in Oregon]

More recently, the renewed debates over Confederate monuments, same-sex marriage and Black Lives Matter has reinvigorated alt-right extremists to mobilize toward a more radical fringe element capable of violent action at any moment. Of further concern, a new generation of charismatic leaders within the white supremacist movement has emerged after Trumps election, creating an opportunity for disparate groups to unite under one banner.

Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, militia extremists, and other radical right-wing zealots march side-by-side at pro-Trump rallies across the country. Trumps endorsement of the border wall, the travel ban, mass deportations of illegal immigrants these ideas were touted on white supremacist message boards merely 10 years ago. Now theyre being put forth as official U.S. policy. Such controversial plans have placated white supremacists and anti-government extremists and will draw still more sympathetic individuals toward these extremist causes along with the sort of violent acts that too often follow, like Charlottesville.

Rhetoric from the president has further emboldened the alt-right. After the violence in Charlottesville, former KKK leader David Dukewelcomed President Trumps remarks: Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa. Similarly, other white nationalists praised the president for not attacking them.

[When white supremacists strike, police dont always strike back]

America finds itself overwhelmed with domestic terrorist attacks, increased terrorist plotting and the emergence of new polarizing political issues. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has not only failed to implement an effective strategy to combat right-wing terrorism; it is afraid to even raise the subject in public for fear of political backlash or contradicting its narrow-minded terrorism narrative (e.g., terrorism only comes from Muslims).

Extremists no longer hide anymore. They number in the hundreds of thousands and are extremely well-armed. The political apparatus and the news media appears confused in their reporting of the scope of the domestic terrorist threat some ignoring it completely. When 9/11 happened, the government made an effort to connect the dots beforehand, but failed because of a lack of communication among agencies. In this case, the government isnt even trying and worse, it appears to be enabling the threat to flourish.

The Islamist militants who brought down the World Trade Centers twin towers 16 years ago (or the ones who rammed their vehicles into pedestrians in London, Paris and Barcelona recently) had no domestic constituency. Their acts werent enshrined instantly on social media or obliquely heralded by the president, duly elected representatives or rationalized by media ideologues dead set on preventing a political backlash. The terrorists I have dedicated my life to stopping have had all that going in their favor. This is more than a formula for disaster. It virtually invites the disaster upon us.

Read more:

This is how you become a white supremacist

Attacks like Portlands will keep happening unless we all fight white supremacy

White supremacists love Vikings. But theyve got history all wrong.

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I warned of right-wing violence in 2009. Republicans objected. I was right. - Washington Post

AUGUSTA Several Republican lawmakers are expected to announce their concerns Tuesday about expanding Medicaid, a first step toward what could become a formal campaign to oppose the question voters will face on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Rick Bennett of Oxford, a former Maine Senate president and former chairman of the Maine Republican Party, will join three sitting Republican lawmakers at an 11 a.m. State House news conference to make an announcement of importance to Maine taxpayers, senior citizens and families, said Brent Littlefield, a Washington-D.C.-based political consultant who also advises Gov. Paul LePage and Maines 2nd District U.S. Rep Bruce Poliquin.

The news conference is not meant to be a kickoff event for a campaign opposing Question 2, which would expand Medicaid in Maine under the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, Littlefield said.

Its going to be much more specific than that, he said. But he noted that a campaign may follow.

Joining Bennett at the news conference will be Reps. Heather Sirocki, R-Scarborough; Paula Sutton, R-Warren; and Stephanie Hawke, R-Boothbay Harbor.

Maine Equal Justice Partners, a progressive advocacy group for low-income people, gathered more than 67,000 signatures of registered Maine voters to put the Medicaid expansion question on the Nov. 7 ballot. The proposal would expand Medicaid coverage to adults under 65 who earn below $16,000 for a single person and $22,000 for a family of two.

Currently, 19- and 20-year-olds, individuals with disabilities, the elderly and certain low-income parents qualify for Medicaid, which operates as MaineCare.

David Farmer, a spokesman for the expansion campaign, has said it will reduce the number of people without health insurance, it will create jobs.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called Maines uninsured rate of 8.8 percent in 2015 an all-time low, but Maine Hospital Association President Steven Michaud has said state eligibility rules cut MaineCare enrollment by 75,000 people in recent years, according to The Associated Press.

Michaud said that move shifted costs to Maine hospitals, which are providing about $250 million a year in charity care while Medicaid payments to hospitals are decreasing.

Expanding Medicaid is estimated to cost Maine $54 million each year once it is fully implemented, according to the ballot questions fiscal note.

That figure includes $27 million in estimated savings and the cost of 103 new state positions to administer the expansion. The federal government would chip in $525 million each year, and lawmakers would have to appropriate the $54 million if the ballot question passes.

But Republican opponents to the expansion, including Gov. Paul LePage, have said the expansion, even with the matching federal funds, would decimate the state budget and cause the Legislature to increase state tax rates to cover the shortfalls.

LePage has repeatedly told radio talk show hosts the expansion would set the states fiscal house in disarray for decades to come. Also in question is whether the Affordable Care Act will remain in place under President Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, where both lawmakers and Trump have promised to repeal and replace the landmark law, which is considered a key accomplishment of former President Obama.

The ACA provides federally matching Medicaid funds for states that expand the health insurance program for the nations poorest citizens, and while the repeal effort has yet to succeed, the issue remains a top concern for lawmakers in Washington. Under the ACA, states that expand Medicaid would see a gradual tapering of the federal reimbursement rate to a low of 90 percent of a states expansion costs in 2020.

Scott Thistle can be contacted at 791-6330 or at:

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Republicans organize to raise concerns about Medicaid expansion in Maine - Press Herald

President Trump on Aug. 15 said that "there's blame on both sides" for the violence that erupted in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

The party of Lincoln is now the party of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Southern slave owners who decided to kill fellow Americans so that they could keep men, women and children enslaved. The Republican Party, in other words, has obliterated its entire historical legacy and become the party of the Enemies of Lincoln.

And lets be clear: Republicanscannotsay, Thats not us thats just President Trump. They supported him, they elected him, they defended him and they gave him the aura of a normal presidency. They cannot be the party of Lincoln and be the party of Trump. In that vein, we can dispense with Republicans outrage, frustration, anger and all other meaningless expressions of internal sentiment. Unless and until they are prepared to do something not just send tweets to politically disown Trump, the party is toast and none of its members should be elected or reelected.

How would they do this? First, elected officials must deny Trump the audience he so desperately craves. They need not appear with him, nor invite him to the Hill. (The State of the Union can be delivered from the White House or in writing; he would besmirch the House by appearing there.) Lawmakers and state officials should not troop to the White House for photo ops. They can communicate with the White House by phone or through aides. In short, Trump must be shunned and ostracized. He is not fit for polite company, let alone the presidency. He has demolished the rules of civilized behavior, and therefore should enjoy none of the ceremonial niceties that are extended to normal presidents.

Second, beyond resolutions condemning Trumps remarks, every member of Congress should do his or her utmost to remove the neo-Nazi iconography in their districts and states. Neo-Nazis have claimed the Confederacy as their own and therefore have reminded the rest of us that the Confederate statues are not tributes to patriotism, gallantry or liberty but to treason, inhumanity and slavery. That is why neo-Nazis identify with these symbols of the Old South. That is why they have no place in a democratic society built on the principle that All men are created equal. State and local officials need to carefully examine school curriculum to make sure students are not confused as to the heroes and the villains in the Civil War. Every student should learn to spot and debunk the Lost Cause propaganda. Perhaps April 9 should be a national holiday commemorating the Confederacys surrender and the magnanimity displayed by President Abraham Lincoln and U.S. generals toward their defeated foes.

Third, Cabinet members, sub-Cabinet officials, staffers and outside participants on councils, commissions and committees must leave the administration. Its not enough, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, to look on with a pained expression as the president declares that some of the white nationalists were very fine folks. He deceived you and others as to what he would say and he has shown himself unfit. You cannot serve in the administration of a neo-Nazi sympathizer. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, why stay in an administration in which you command so little respect and in which you must lend your own reputation to a disgraceful president?(Defense Secretary Jim Mattis should remain, a final backstop to prevent a military disaster.)

Fourth, Republicans must treat the president as they would someone not of their party for he is not, to repeat, of the party of Lincoln. If Hillary Clinton refused to release her tax returns, hired unqualified relatives, kept business ventures that posed a conflict of interest and violated the Constitutions emoluments clause, Republicans would commence hearings and pass legislation to put an end to all of it. Its long past the time that Trump should be permitted to escape the kind of inquiry Republicans would insist upon for any Democratic president. By refusing to do so, the GOP is saying: Hes one of ours. Hes a Republican, so we dont rock the boat.

Fifth, now would be a fine time for formation of a third party, one that can at the end of the Trump presidency repeal and replace the GOP. The Free Republican Party, the Appomattox Republicans (It cannot be said enough: The Confederates werelosers) or whatever ex-Republicans in the center-right call themselves can endorse for office defectors from the GOP and reclaim Republicans who have disassociated themselves with the GOP thanks to Trump. Moderate Republican House members of the Tuesday Group, the newCentrist Project(dedicated to backing independent candidates), members of Stand Up Republic (founded by 2016 conservative independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin and his former running mate, Mindy Finn) and others have the chance to stake their claim as the true successors to the party of Lincoln. Those who have wrestled with the question as to whether the GOP could be reformed or whether it should be discarded in light of Trumps GOP takeover have their answer. If they cannot disgorge him, they must start over.

In sum, Republicans words are insufficient and, at this point, insufferable. When we look back at this time, the only thing people will ask is: What did you do? Republicans will need a better answer than I was outraged and gave tough quotes on background.

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Republicans, cut the outrage. Its time to disown Trump ...

Frustrated Republicans lashed out at President Trump for saying there is blame on both sidesafter violent protests staged by white nationalists over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump had been facing criticism for failing to immediately condemn racist protesters, including neo-Nazi groups and the KKK by name, a step he took at a Mondaypress conference.

Buton Tuesday, Trump said the racists were not the only ones responsible for the violence. He also blamed alt-left protesters, claiming they ignited violence against the racists by coming at them and swinging clubs.

Republicans strongly rebuked the president's remarks.

"We must be clear, Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanGOP chairman to discuss Charlottesville as domestic terrorism at hearing Trumps isolation grows GOP lawmaker: Trump 'failing' in Charlottesville response MORE (R-Wis.) said on Twitter. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.

Sen. Marco RubioMarco RubioScarborough: Trump has chosen the 'wrong side' THE MEMO: Trump reignites race firestorm RNC spokeswoman: GOP stands behind Trump's message 'of love and inclusiveness' MORE (R-Fla.), who had slammed Trumps initial failure to condemn white supremacist groups by name, said the organizers of the event initially meant as a protest against taking down a Confederate statue are the only ones deserving of blame.

The organizers of events which inspired & led to #charlottesvilleterroristattack are 100% to blame for a number of reasons. 1/6

They are adherents of an evil ideology which argues certain people are inferior because of race, ethnicity or nation of origin. 2/6

When entire movement built on anger & hatred towards people different than you,it justifies & ultimately leads to violence against them 3/6

These groups today use SAME symbols & same arguments of #Nazi & #KKK, groups responsible for some of worst crimes against humanity ever 4/6

Mr. President,you can't allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame.They support idea which cost nation & world so much pain 5/6

The #WhiteSupremacy groups will see being assigned only 50% of blame as a win.We can not allow this old evil to be resurrected 6/6

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), who has a black father and white mother, told a story on CNN about how his dad had experienced racism while growing up in Texas.

Hurd noted that former KKK leader David Duke thanked Trump for blaming alt-left protesters.

I don't think anybody shouldbe looking at getting props froma Grand Dragon of the KKK as anykind of sign of success, Hurd said.

The Texas Republican said he was not proud of how Trump had initially responded to Charlottesville and that the president had a unique opportunity to fix his error but had failed.

Apologize, Hurd said. Racism, bigotry, anti-Semitismof any form is unacceptable.The leader of the free worldshould be unambiguous aboutthat.

GOP Sen. Jerry MoranJerry MoranRepublicans rebuke Trump over Charlottesville remarks GOP senator wants classified briefing on North Korea McConnell faces questions, but no test to his leadership MORE (Kan.) said that Trump's remarks were particularly egregious for a sitting president.

White supremacy, bigotry & racism have absolutely no place in our society & no one - especially POTUS - should ever tolerate it. Full STMT: pic.twitter.com/dufC1MGWgB

Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), the No. 3 Republican in the House, also criticized the comments on Twitter.

I was clear about this bigotry & violence over the weekend and I'll repeat it today: We must defeat white supremacy and all forms of hatred. https://t.co/iOaVvE8txs

I don't understand what's so hard about this, tweeted Rep. Steve Stivers (Ohio), the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee. White supremacists and Neo-Nazis are evil and shouldn't be defended.

I don't understand what's so hard about this. White supremacists and Neo-Nazis are evil and shouldn't be defended.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) also took to Twitter to criticize Trump.

Blaming "both sides" for #Charlottesville?! No. Back to relativism when dealing with KKK, Nazi sympathizers, white supremacists? Just no.

This story was last updated at 6:57 p.m.

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Republicans rebuke Trump over Charlottesville remarks | TheHill

McCain and Romney used almost identical language, bending their knees to the media narrative that only two factions were present in Charlottesville during the awful events of last weekend: white supremacist Nazis and Americans standing up to defy hate and bigotry.

Neither of these gentlemen can claim ignorance of Antifa; the reason both of them piped up is that President Donald Trump mentioned them in his Tuesday press conference. Left-wing politicians and media personalities responded by thundering there is only one side for all right-thinking Americans to be on, because there was only one squad of villains on the ground in Charlottesville.

McCain and Romney obediently bent the knee to this narrative. At the very least, theyre agreeing Antifa should be invisible, accepting the incredibly stupid idea that calling out their violence somehow dilutes criticism of the Tiki Torch Terror. Mentioning Antifa is damned under the lefts new doctrine of Whataboutism, which originally held that history began with the inauguration of President Trump and all prior Democrat sins were absolved, but has mutated into an unlimited free pass for the #Resistance to do whatever it takes to bring down the Trump administration without a peep of protest from tame Republicans.

Senator Marco Rubio went much, much further. He launched a brief tweetstorm that completely absolved Antifa of all responsibility for its actions in Charlottesville, blaming all violence one hundred percent on those who organized the events leading to the Charlottesville terrorist attack (the vehicular homicide perpetrated by James Alex Fields Jr.)

Most astoundingly, Rubio embraced the Crybully Creed, the left-wing fascist idea that hate speech justifies a violent response. Your speech is violence; their violence is speech. Yes, Rubio used exactly those words in his third tweet.

Rubios third tweet explicitly endorses violent responses to hate speech, but the last one is the money shot, as Rubio embraces the essence of Whataboutism and agrees with the media that left-wing thuggery is a fact on the Charlottesville ground that must be ignored if we are to properly condemn white nationalism.

McCain and Romney are politically irrelevant, but Rubio still has political ambitions. Imagine the priceless look of surprise on his face when he gets branded a Nazi because he favors pro-growth tax cuts, free-market reforms, or balks at allowing illegal aliens to vote. Hell be so astounded at the way hate speech is expanded to cover his policy positions, and how the next wave of Antifa thugs justifies a violent response.

In the highly unlikely event that a reporter asks McCain, Romney, or Rubio What about Antifa? they would probably mutter some boilerplate about how of course violence is not the answer. The problem is that their position implicitly accepts (explicitly, in Rubios case) that violence is at least somewhat understandable when it comes from the left. The core criticism of Trump is that he wasnt full-throated and unequivocal in condemning the Nazi wannabees, but the violence of groups like Antifa, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter never gets full-throated and unequivocal condemnation.

Democrat politicians are completely firewalled from left-wing violence. They are never expected to denounce lefty vandals, brutes, or assassins. Democrat officials routinely look the other way when left-wing thuggery is perpetrated in their precincts its a nationwide epidemic, with outbreaks nearly everywhere Democrats are in charge but somehow its the Republican Party that gets treated as uniquely susceptible to the contagion of extremism.

Every Republican politician jumping on the Only One Side bandwagon is endorsing the idea that his or her own constituents are so vulnerable to the siren song of white nationalism that allowing a little group of racist pinheads to congregate in a public place is unacceptably dangerous. Believe me, ladies and gentlemen of the GOP, your acceptance of this narrative will come back to haunt you, no matter how moderate and reasonable you imagine yourself to be.

Over at the Weekly Standard, Michael Warren argues that Trump had a duty to denounce specifically and unequivocally the white nationalists whose demonstration last weekend in Virginia became violent, even though Warren acknowledges there were left-wing counter-protesters who were also violent and antagonistic in Charlottesville.

White nationalists, neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and other racist groups who marched through the University of Virginias campus and in Charlottesville last weekend did so because they have been empowered by the presidency of Donald Trump. Dont take my word for it. Look at the photos of those wearing Make America Great Again hats in Charlottesville. Listen to the words of arch-racist David Duke, who said his goal in attending the Charlottesville event was to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. Remember that one of the rallys organizers, chief alt-rightist Richard Spencer, once said his movement has a psychic connection with Trump. Scroll through the countless Twitter accounts with swastikas and racist memes posted in between or alongside statements of support for Trumps candidacy and presidency.

Given all this, Trump has a dutyas the president of the United States, as the head of a major political party, as a decent Americanto make clear that these people are mistaken, that white supremacists and neo-Nazis have nothing in common with Trumps agenda or his vision for the country. It does no good to say, in the same breath, that both sides are a part of the problem. The problem is that one side, the violent, racist side, believes they have an ally in the White House. And they have increasingly good reason to think that.

I dont know, Mr. Warren the violent left is looking awfully emboldened to me at the moment, and they seem firmly convinced they have powerful political allies in Washington, too. There are a lot more of them than there are white nationalists, and Antifa has a unique stranglehold on higher education. Have the Nazi wannabes been able to shut down any campus speeches yet, or dictate the content of university courses?

President Barack Obama couldnt bring himself to unequivocally condemn Islamic terrorism without bringing up the Crusades. Few Democrats can condemn Palestinian atrocities without cursing the Israeli government. Its a staple of left-wing discourse that all parties share the blame when arguments escalate into violence, most criminals should be seen as victims of society, and even violent extremists have legitimate grievances that must be explored. If unequivocal condemnation is coming back in style, the list of the condemned can reasonably begin with neo-Nazis, but it shouldnt end with them.

Also, if were holding Trump accountable for every unpleasant character who dons a MAGA hat, then why arent we holding Bernie Sanders accountable for the fervent supporter who tried to gun down half the Republican caucus at a baseball field? Democrats get to float serenely above the ugly words and deeds of their supporters, but Republicans are personally responsible for the actions of everyone who votes for them? Nuts to that. The time for double standards is over.

Double standards are one of the reasons Trump was elected. People who committed no crime are tired of being treated unfairly in the pursuit of cosmic social justice. Republicans are tired of watching Democrats skate for political offenses that would end any GOP career. Theyre tired of watching the left manipulate opinion with ugly rhetoric and lowest-common-denominator emotional appeals just a few weeks ago, Republicans were accused of attempted murder for trying to repeal Obamacare while every conservative with an ounce of passion is dismissed as a populist huckster.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is one of the finest expressions of uncompromising principle in human history. In order to maintain that standard, we must protect speech and assembly rights for the unsavory, and then use free speech to demolish their toxic ideas. Professing allegiance to the First Amendment while authorizing vigilante gangs to shut down disapproved speech with the Hecklers Veto or clubs and broken bottles, when the Hecklers Veto doesnt get the job done is not good enough. The First Amendment doesnt cover hate speech is a much more dangerous, far more contagious fascist ideal than anything snarled over a tiki torch in Charlottesville.

Frankly, if you cant win an argument with a handful of Nazis without resorting to violence, you suck at freedom. If you cant damn the swastika without also cursing the hammer and sickle, you suck at history.

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McCain, Romney, and Rubio Join the Republicans for Antifa ...