U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va.
WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has introduced a bill that would combat the threat of domestic terrorism.
Kaine and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, introduced the legislation on Wednesday. It specifically addresses the growing threat of white supremacists and other violent right-win extremists, according to a news release. The bill is called the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.
“The rise of white supremacy is an undeniable threat to the safety of our communities," Kaine said. "In 2017, violent white supremacists brought their hate to Virginia when they marched through the streets of Charlottesville. As the threat of violent white supremacy continues to mount, we must do more to ensure law enforcement has the training and resources they need to detect, deter, and investigate these acts of terrorism."
The bill would require the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to regularly assess the threat posed by domestic terrorism and provide training and resources to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement to address it.
It would also require the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces and state, local, and regional fusion centers to coordinate with DHS to:
- Share Intelligence to address domestic terrorism activities.
- Conduct annual, intelligence-based assessments of domestic terrorism activities in their jurisdictions.
- Formulate and execute a plan to combat domestic terrorism activities in their jurisdictions.
- Establish an interagency task force to combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services.
The legislation has been endorsed by leading civil rights organizations including Muslim Advocates, the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism.
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