A nightmare scenario': Extremists in police ranks spark growing concern after Capitol riot
It's been there hiding in plain sight ...
-Heather Taylor, retired sergeant in St. Louis Police Department.
(USA Today)
Racially biased policing was already a concern. Now, charges against officers in the Capitol riot inflame fears of extremists infiltrating law enforcement.
Charges against police officers, public safety workers and military veterans in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol have reignited concerns among lawmakers and law enforcement officials about violent extremists infiltrating government agencies.
Out of 324 arrests in the Capitol riot so far, 43 are current or former first responders or military veterans, according to USA TODAY analysis. At least four police officers and three former officers face federal charges.
"A street alliance among right-wing paramilitary forces, law enforcement and demagogic politicians has been a hallmark of fascism for a century"
“A street alliance among right-wing paramilitary forces, law enforcement and demagogic politicians has been a hallmark of fascism for a century, so the involvement of multiple law enforcement officers from across the country in waging the Jan. 6th insurrection against the Capitol and the Congress is a warning sign of danger for our democracy. Off-duty cops beating up on-duty cops to overthrow an election is a nightmare scenario for America."-Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
...law enforcement officers reveled in social media posts about how they "attacked the government," according to court documents.
'White supremacists dressed in blue'
Concerns about white nationalists infiltrating police departments have percolated for years. A 2006 FBI report warned that “white supremacist presence among law enforcement personnel is a concern due to the access they may possess to restricted areas vulnerable to sabotage and to elected officials or protected persons, whom they could see as potential targets for violence,” as happened at the Capitol.
Racially biased policing was already a concern. Now, charges against officers in the Capitol riot inflame fears of extremists infiltrating law enforcement.
Charges against police officers, public safety workers and military veterans in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol have reignited concerns among lawmakers and law enforcement officials about violent extremists infiltrating government agencies.
Out of 324 arrests in the Capitol riot so far, 43 are current or former first responders or military veterans, according to USA TODAY analysis. At least four police officers and three former officers face federal charges.
"A street alliance among right-wing paramilitary forces, law enforcement and demagogic politicians has been a hallmark of fascism for a century"
“A street alliance among right-wing paramilitary forces, law enforcement and demagogic politicians has been a hallmark of fascism for a century, so the involvement of multiple law enforcement officers from across the country in waging the Jan. 6th insurrection against the Capitol and the Congress is a warning sign of danger for our democracy. Off-duty cops beating up on-duty cops to overthrow an election is a nightmare scenario for America."-Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
...law enforcement officers reveled in social media posts about how they "attacked the government," according to court documents.
'White supremacists dressed in blue'
Concerns about white nationalists infiltrating police departments have percolated for years. A 2006 FBI report warned that “white supremacist presence among law enforcement personnel is a concern due to the access they may possess to restricted areas vulnerable to sabotage and to elected officials or protected persons, whom they could see as potential targets for violence,” as happened at the Capitol.
...
FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 2...the agency considers “a kind of insider threat"...
Sgt. Thomas Robertson [Rocky Mountain, VA. P.D.]...said on Instagram that “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business," according to court records. "The right IN ONE DAY took the fucking U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us."
Officer Jacob Fracker and Sgt. Thomas Robertson
...
White supremacists in law enforcement can also lead to the "tolerance of racism within communities served," the FBI reported.It's been there hiding in plain sight ...
-Heather Taylor, retired sergeant in St. Louis Police Department.
...
...Racism in policing has a 400-year history in the U.S....
...Racism in policing has a 400-year history in the U.S....
In 2019, a team of investigative journalists published the Plain View Project, which collected more than 5,000 Facebook posts from police officers in eight cities containing white supremacist, xenophobic, misogynistic and violent messages. The posts spanned a decade.
