US intelligence report warns of rising domestic terrorism by militia groups, white supremacists

The US intelligence in a new report said that there is a rising terror threat in the country by domestic terrorists, particularly militia groups and white supremacist extremists after the January 6 riot at the Capitol building.

The report comes after President Joe Biden ordered a sweeping review of domestic terror threats just days after assuming presidential office. It has been crafted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Justice, reported The Hill.

"Narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the US Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence--will almost certainly spur some [domestic violent extremists] to try to engage in violence this year," said the report.

Lone wolf actors and small groups of extremists are most likely to carry out attacks, warning that they often 'radicalise independently by consuming violent extremist material online and mobilise without direction from a violent extremist orgsation, making detection and disruption difficult', said the report.

White supremacist extremists have the most concerning connections outside of the US, because of like-minded views in other countries, the report finds, adding that a "small number of US (racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists) have traveled abroad to network with like-minded individuals.

The report comes as DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday issued a similar warning to lawmakers of the risks posed by small groups of extremists, according to The Hill.

"At this point in time, domestic violent extremism, the lone wolf, the loose affiliation of individuals following ideologies of hate and other ideologies of extremism that are willing and able to take those ideologies and execute on them in unlawful, illegal, violent ways is our greatest threat in the homeland right now," he said.

On January 6, a group of former President Donald Trump's supporters breached the US Capitol to protest lawmakers accepting electoral states from several US states that Trump claims were invalid and robbed him of election victory.

US House Democrats impeached Trump for inciting insurrection, but he was acquitted in the Senate.

Since the outcome of the 2020 presidential elections, Trump had alleged widespread voter fraud and had led many efforts to overcome the results.

( With inputs from ANI )