Congressman highlights specific violent, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups that pose a real and growing threat to America: ‘Terrorism is terrorism and we must treat it as such’
Congressman Max Rose, Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, introduced a resolution this week recognizing the global threat transnational white supremacist extremism presents to America and urging the U.S. Department of State to designate qualifying violent foreign white supremacist groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). Such a designation would further empower law enforcement and intelligence officials to better address the growing threats they pose to the homeland.
“Terrorism is terrorism and we must treat it as such,” said Rose, an Army combat veteran. “The global networks violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups are forming are reminiscent of violent jihadist groups of the 1980s and ‘90s and I will not sit idly by waiting for it to be too late for action. Designating these international groups—many which have already been designated by our allies—would help our law enforcement and intelligence professionals better address these threats, including through tracking those who travel abroad to fight and train with these groups as well as charge those here at home who provide material support to advance their twisted, violent—and often anti-Semitic—agendas.”
Rose’s resolution names specific foreign, violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups and outlines actions that have been taken to qualify them for FTO designation. The Nordic Resistance Movement, a transnational neo-Nazi group from Sweden, has been banned in Finland and was cited by the Administration’s October 2018 National Strategy for Counterterrorism of the United States of America, which stated the group’s “use of violence and intent to destabilize societies often puts Americans lives at risk.” Additionally, the National Action Group, a neo-Nazi organization that has been banned in the United Kingdom since 2016 (its home country), was also cited in the Administration’s counterterrorism report, which stated that the group “has engaged with like-minded groups in the United States … expanding the potential influence of its violent ideology.”
Rose’s resolution further mentions the international neo-Nazi network Blood and Honour and its armed branch Combat 18, which have been banned by the Government of Canada since 2019 and have carried out attacks in North America and Europe. Combat 18 was also banned by the Government of Germany in January 2020. Additionally, the resolution mentions the off-shoot groups of the American neo-Nazi organization Atomwaffen: Sonnenkrieg of the United Kingdom, which was just designated by the United Kingdom as a terrorist organization last week, AWD Deutschland of Germany, Northern Order of Canada, and Feuerkrieg Division of the Baltic States.
Rose’s resolution follows a letter he led with 40 Members of Congress to the Secretary of State requesting answers as to why white supremacist extremist groups are not included on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO)—which was rebuffed by the State Department. Rose, the first Jewish Member of Congress from Staten Island, recently penned a column in the New York Times with former FBI agent Ali Soufan on the threats posed by transnational violent white supremacist groups interconnected through networks here at home and across the world.
Last week, in a hearing chaired by Rose, Administration officials testified that that neo-Nazi organizations pose significant threats and FTO designation would give more tools to law enforcement to protect from those threats. Last month, the House Committee on Homeland Security unanimously advanced Rose’s Transnational White Supremacist Extremism Review Act, which would direct the Department of Homeland Security to develop and disseminate a terrorist threat assessment of foreign violent white supremacist extremist groups.
Co-sponsoring Rose’s resolution are: Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16), Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Congressman Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security; Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism; Congressman Albio Sires (NJ-08), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade; Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus; Congressman Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Congressman Dean Phillips (MN-03), Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Congresswoman Mikie Sherril (NJ-11), Member of the House Committee on Armed Services; Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), Member of the House Committees on Armed Services and Homeland Security; and Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51), Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Full text of resolution HERE.
All official press releases from Former Rep. Max Rose (D-NY)
