After Capitol hill riots, right-wing extremists and militias remain US greatest terrorist threat

“Anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists – specifically militia violent extremists, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, and domestic violence extremists citing partisan political grievances – will very likely pose the greatest domestic terrorism threats in 2021,” warned the bulletin, issued by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter-terrorism Centre.

Extremist groups have always been part of America’s social fabric, but under Trump they found a common ally and cause.

Some, like the white nationalist group the Proud Boys were buoyed by Trump during last October’s presidential debate, when he famously told them to “stand back and stand by”. Within hours of the statement, Trump’s incendiary phrase was added to the group’s online logo and merchandise.

Others, like the Q-Anon conspiracy theorists who view the President as a hero battling “deep state” Satanists and paedophiles, have turned to the dark recesses of the internet to elevate their fantasies to a movement.

There were warnings: members of the militia group the Wolverine Watchmen were arrested by the FBI last October over an extraordinary plot to kidnap Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who Trump had earlier attacked for imposing COVID19 restrictions on her state.

“LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” he Tweeted last April.

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Data from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a US think-tank based in Washington, found that during the first eight months of 2020, most domestic terror plots and attacks came from the far-right – substantially more than far-left or militant Jihadist groups.

Boiled down, white supremacists and other like-minded extremists hatched 67 per cent of the terrorist plots and attacks in the US last year, targeting demonstrators and individuals because of their racial, ethnic, religious, or political makeup.

But while the number of fatalities from homeland terrorist attacks remained relatively small, the Centre also warned that the level of violence could increase this year, depending on factors such as political polarisation, COVID-19 or growing concerns about immigration.

The FBI says it has scrutinised militia groups such as the Proud Boys, Three Percenters (a pro-gun, anti-government paramilitary group) and the Oath Keepers (who believe themselves to be “the last line of defence against tyranny”).

One apparent Oath Keeper leader Thomas Edward Caldwell, a 66-year-old former navy veteran, was charged alongside two others with conspiracy on Tuesday, local time – the first such charges laid in in connection to the siege on the Capitol on January 6.

The FBI released alarming details of what it said were Caldwell’s messages during the riots.

“All members are in the tunnels under the capital,” the FBI quoted Caldwell messaging to others. “Seal them in turn on gas.”

Federal authorities have also warned about the potential for ongoing violence by the Boogaloo Bois – a loosely organised anti-government group with a tendency to show up to Black Lives Matter protests – and “others who seek a politically motivated civil war”.

On Monday, members of the movement took part in an annual gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, brandishing rifles and voicing claims that the new Biden administration would threaten their right to bear arms.

And in yet another troubling sign, 12 National Guard members deployed to Washington for inauguration duties were removed as part of a security vetting process designed to ensure troops did not have ties to extremist groups.

According to the Washington Post, at least two of the service members had “possible sympathies” for anti-government groups, while others were flagged for inappropriate behaviour during standard background checks.

“While we have no intelligence indicating an insider threat, we are leaving no stone unturned in securing the capital,” acting secretary of defence Christopher Miller said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Amid fears of another insurgency, Washington now resembles a fortress. Fences with razor wire surround the Capitol complex; about 250,000 national troops have been deployed; and most of downtown DC has been cordoned off to prevent cars and people from entering.

State governors have also fortified their Capitol buildings or called in the national guard, heeding the FBI’s earlier warnings of localised protests.

In Indiana, the home state of outgoing Vice-President Mike Pence, legislative activity has been cancelled for the week. In Michigan, the group that manages the state’s Capitol voted to ban the open carry of firearms in the building.

Whether another notable attack takes place this week is yet to be seen, and some far-right groups are warning members not to attend pre-planned events for fear they could be “federal honey pots”.

“We won’t sit on our hands for the next four years but we can pick and choose our battles moving forward,” Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio recently wrote on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

“There’s a lot of angry people in this country,” former CIA Counterterrorist Centre deputy director Phil Mudd put it this week.

“This will be a psychological problem in America for years to come.”