By Alice Speri
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.
Although these right-wing extremists have posed a growing threat for
years, federal investigators have been reluctant to publicly address
that threat or to point out the movement’s longstanding strategy of
infiltrating the law enforcement community.
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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Source: The Intercept
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