The Real Terrorist Threat: Right-Wing Groups

If this is the best the Department of Homeland Security can do, maybe shutting the agency down wouldn’t be the worst thing. According to a new intelligence assessment circulating through the DHS, right-wing extremists calling themselves “sovereign citizens” pose a danger to the U.S. at least at great as Islamic terror.

According to the report, there have been 24 violent attacks from sovereign citizens since 2010. These groups are comprised of members who believe many current laws are unjust and unconstitutional, and are therefore not applicable to them. The report predicts that violence from these groups and individuals can be expected at “routine law enforcement encounters” throughout 2015.

Scrutiny of the report seems to indicate that this “movement” (judged by the Southern Poverty Law Group as being at least 300,000 people strong) is little more than a collection of isolated incidents. While there is certainly an ideology at play here, this is not a threat that even comes close to that of ISIS, Al Qaeda, or any other brand of Islamic extremism. These are people who want a justification to break the law, avoid paying taxes, and get themselves out of debt. Troublemakers and little more. The report is long on fear and short on evidence.

Timely Misdirection

It is certainly no coincidence that this is hitting the front page of CNN at a time when President Obama is coming under fire from all angles for his attitude towards Islamic terror. Even Vox – one of the most shamelessly liberal websites on the internet – ran a story criticizing Obama’s reluctance to name the enemy. When you’re too politically correct for Vox, there’s something desperately wrong.

Liberals like to run these stories every now and then in an attempt to expose the “racism” behind America’s views on Islam. Unfortunately, it’s a tough comparison to make. Any group that launches violence on police, innocent civilians, or anyone else should be closely monitored by law enforcement. Of course. But to act as though the country has two enemies of equal danger – sovereign citizens and Islamic terrorists – is to ignore reality.

While the Obama administration is quick to separate Islamic extremists from peaceful Muslims, they show no such restraint when it comes to domestic terrorists. Ron Paul bumper stickers, Gadsen flags, and other libertarian symbology is regarded as suspicious by law enforcement authorities. Meanwhile, there would be a national crisis if documents surfaced denoting Islamic flags, Qurans, and long beards as worthy of suspicion. We would have to have another “dialogue.”

This is an example of how the Obama administration plays politics with our national security. By denoting this sovereign citizen movement as a threat on par with ISIS, they can throw their detractors in the same boat as actual terrorists. By identifying widespread beliefs such as “mistrust of centralized government” as extremism, they can marginalize their fiercest critics.

On September 11th, 2001, Islamic radicals murdered 3,000 American citizens. In one day. Right-wing terrorist groups must be watched, of course, but the threat isn’t even close. Liberals know it, the media know it, and Obama knows it. But in PC Land, agenda is more important than truth.