White supremacists and other domestic extremists maintain an active presence in U.S. police departments and other law enforcement agencies. A striking reference to that conclusion, notable for its confidence and the policy prescriptions that accompany it, appears in a classified FBI Counterterrorism Policy Guide from April 2015, obtained by The Intercept. The guide, which details the process by which the FBI enters individuals on a terrorism watchlist, the Known or Suspected Terrorist File, notes that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers,” and explains in some detail how bureau policies have been crafted to take this infiltration into account.

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No centralized recruitment process or set of national standards exists for the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States, many of which have deep historical connections to racist ideologies. As a result, state and local police as well as sheriff’s departments present ample opportunities for white supremacists and other right-wing extremists looking to expand their power base.

In a heavily redacted version of an October 2006 FBI internal intelligence assessment, the agency raised the alarm over white supremacist groups’ “historical” interest in “infiltrating law enforcement communities or recruiting law enforcement personnel.” The effort, the memo noted, “can lead to investigative breaches and can jeopardize the safety of law enforcement sources or personnel.” The memo also states that law enforcement had recently become aware of the term “ghost skins,” used among white supremacists to describe “those who avoid overt displays of their beliefs to blend into society and covertly advance white supremacist causes.” In at least one case, the FBI learned of a skinhead group encouraging ghost skins to seek employment with law enforcement agencies in order to warn crews of any investigations.

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The report concluded that “lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent right-wing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” Released just ahead of nationwide Tea Party protests, the report caused an uproar among conservatives, who were particularly angered by the suggestion that veterans might be implicated, and by the broad brush with which the report seemed to paint a range of right-wing groups.

Faced with mounting criticism, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano disavowed the document and apologized to veterans. The agency’s unit investigating right-wing extremism was largely dismantled and the report’s lead investigator was pushed out. “They stopped doing intel on that, and that was that,” Heidi Beirich, who leads the Southern Poverty Law Center’s tracking of extremist groups, told The Intercept. “The FBI in theory investigates right-wing terrorism and right-wing extremism, but they have limited resources. The loss of that unit was a loss for a lot of people who did this kind of work.”

“Federal law enforcement agencies in general — the FBI, the Marshals, the ATF — are aware that extremists have infiltrated state and local law enforcement agencies and that there are people in law enforcement agencies that may be sympathetic to these groups,” said Daryl Johnson, who was the lead researcher on the DHS report. Johnson, who now runs DT Analytics, a consulting firm that analyzes domestic extremism, says the problem has since gotten “a lot more troublesome.”

Johnson singled out the Oath Keepers and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association for their anti-government attitudes and efforts to recruit active as well as retired law enforcement officers. “That’s the biggest issue and it’s greater now than it’s ever been, in my opinion.” Johnson added that Homeland Security has given up tracking right-wing domestic extremists. “It’s only the FBI now,” he said, adding that local police departments don’t seem to be doing anything to address the problem. “There’s not even any training now to make state and local police aware of these groups and how they could infiltrate their ranks.”

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Critics fear that the backlash following the 2009 DHS report hindered further action against the growing white supremacist threat, and that it was largely ignored because the issue was so politically controversial. “I believe that because that report was so denounced by conservatives, it sort of closed the door on whatever the FBI may have been considering doing with respect to combating infiltration of law enforcement by white supremacists,” said Samuel Jones, a professor of law at the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago who has written about white power ideology in law enforcement. “Because after the 2006 FBI report, we simply cannot find anything by local law enforcement or the federal government that addresses this issue.”

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A disproportionate number of Muslims have been included on the watchlist, and because the database is accessible to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies nationwide, the ACLU said, they are exposed to “unwarranted scrutiny or investigation by police.” That level of scrutiny has hardly been applied to white supremacists, however, even though the country’s first anti-terrorism laws, in the 1870s, were aimed at protecting black citizens from groups like the KKK, and despite the ongoing threat posed by these extremists.

“This is a fundamental problem in this country: We simply do not take this flexible, and forgiving, and exceptionally understanding approach for combating any other form of terrorism,” said Jones. “Anybody who’s on social media advocating support for ISIS can be criminally charged with very little effort.”

“For some reason, we have stepped away from the threat of domestic terrorism and right-wing extremism,” Jones continued. “The only way we can reconcile this kind of behavior is if we accept the possibility that the ideology that permeates white nationalists and white supremacists is something that many in our federal and law enforcement communities understand and may be in sympathy with.”

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Slayven said:

Shit goes back to forever, when being a member of the KKK was not only expected but open doors politically.

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The report concluded that “lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent right-wing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.”

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The president wont even say the words: radical white nationalist terrorism

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Blader said:

This is the article that Scahill was hyping up last night?

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Vital Tundra said:

They stopped investigating because conservatives got pissed? The fuck kinda reason is that?

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questionmark said:

Shamelessly stolen from reddit:

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Gutek said:

Some of those who work forces, are the same that burn crosses.

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Ozigizo said:

A white supremacist has already infiltrated the Whitehouse though.

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LucidMomentum said:

Yep. Read Mean Justice:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476702675/?tag=neogaf0e-20

As it goes over how the Central Valley in California has been a hotbed for white supremacy and the KKK actually held many county office positions.

Hard to call it infiltration when it's been there from the start, but at least someone is talking about it.

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joe2187 said:

They need to start investigating the White House next

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Gutek said:

Some of those who work forces, are the same that burn crosses.

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Valhelm said:

Ironic, given that the FBI has always been the strongest federal enforcer of white supremacy

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Angelus Errare said:

This shit goes back decades upon decades upon decades, better late than never I guess. If only America listened to minorities instead of ignoring us they could have culled A LOT of this current shit.

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SoldierIce64 said:

I never heard of this book but when you said Central Valley in California I had a feeling it would be my hometown of Bakersfield, my suspicions were correct.

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Skiptastic said:

I was just about to say, isn't this a Rage Against the Machine song?

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Messofanego said:

The military has more balls to kick out racists than law enforcement agencies, that's faint praise I guess.

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mr jones said:

Anecdotally, my cousin in the marines said that there's all sorts of stereotypes that they'll openly throw in your face, especially if you're black or latino. But even the most redneck white dude has your back when shit goes down. Y'all brothers when someone is shooting at you.

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Archaix said:

White nationalists have infiltrated law enforcement? Oh no! In related news, up to 100 football players have infiltrated the Super Bowl. Have scientists infiltrated the EPA? Maybe some politicians have infiltrated Congress. I wonder what else happened when we weren't looking.

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Ether_Snake said:

Easy to say when the one usually shooting at you is some brown foreigner in a foreign country.

Wouldn't be so sure during a coup in the US.

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mr jones said:

Anecdotally, my cousin in the marines said that there's all sorts of stereotypes that they'll openly throw in your face, especially if you're black or latino. But even the most redneck white dude has your back when shit goes down. Y'all brothers when someone is shooting at you.

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