January presents a series of security challenges for our nation’s capital. The 6th of the month marked the fourth anniversary of the infamous attack on the Capitol as well as the day that Congress certified the results of the 2024 Election. Former President Jimmy Carter, who just passed away at 100, after leading an amazing life, lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda until his funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 9. Then of course comes the inauguration on Jan. 20, which coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and a rally being held by the Rev. Al Sharpton to keep King’s dream alive.
There have been no explicit threats against Washington, D.C., but given what has happened at other large gatherings across the country recently, tensions remain high.
On New Year’s Day, at least 14 people were killed and 35 more injured when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a truck into a crowd of innocent people ringing in the New Year on Bourbon street. Hours later, a Cybertruck exploded in Las Vegas, injuring passersby and incinerating its lone occupant and the man responsible for the detonation, Matthew Livelsberger, who committed suicide by firearm.
A Tesla Cybertruck is shown after it caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel, on Jan. 1, in Las Vegas.
WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images
Neither of these attacks were anticipated by authorities, and neither of the men behind them were known to pose a threat to public safety. Livelsberger had written of his struggles with mental health and claimed that his attack was a “wake-up call” to Americans rather than a terrorist attack—despite executing his attack in front of a Trump hotel, he had written that the Americans needed to “rally around” the president-elect. Jabbar had considerable issues in his personal life, including a string of failed marriages and financial problems. Rather than addressing his issues, however, he sought answers in extremism.
An Associated Press investigation last year found that radicalization was on the rise within the ranks of the U.S. military, whether among servicemembers on active duty or among veterans. In a follow up piece published after these two New Year’s attacks, the AP underscored two important findings. The first is that these radicalized individuals represent a tiny fraction of those who have served this country in uniform. The second was that according to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, at the University of Maryland, just about 9 percent of extremists with military backgrounds held jihadist ideologies, while over 80 percent aligned with “far-right, anti-government or white supremacist ideologies.“
It’s an important distinction, because when we investigate terrorist incidents and threats, we have to rely on the facts, not popular narratives. The same is true for preventing future attacks before they occur. If we focus on who we want to be the villain, we are necessarily moving resources away from actual threats to chase down perceived threats.
In both of these cases, the perpetrators were American born. Jabbar was born in Texas and served the United States in uniform. The border is a serious issue, as is our broken immigration system. Neither, however, played a role in these two bloody events.
Vehicular attacks like the one that claimed innocent lives and injured so many have become a mainstay for lone wolves who have lent their support to ISIS. They have been used before in crowded city centers in Europe to take innocent lives and spread fear. They don’t require any advanced training or access to ammunition, making them an easy method for cowards working alone.
We must take attacks like these seriously and use the vast tools we have at our disposal to prevent them in the future. What we cannot do, however, is push law enforcement to only pursue threats that fit one political narrative or that come from a foreign ideology or origin. Doing so would only increase the chance of more attacks on American soil.
Members of the military and law enforcement swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all threats both foreign and domestic. While we face considerable challenges and threats from abroad, the domestic threats brewing inside our country are formidable, and ignoring them could come at a terrible price.
I make only one ask of intelligence and law enforcement leaders this month and in the years to come: follow the facts. All Americans deserve to live in a free and just society without fear of extremism, and it is our shared responsibility to make that happen.
LTG. Russel L. Honoré served in the United States Army for over 37 years, including as commanding officer of the First Army. He led the official review of U.S. Capitol security following the insurrection of January 6, 2021.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
This post was originally published on here
