Department of Homeland Security

DHS Weighing Major Changes to Fight Domestic Violent Extremism, Say Officials

Biden officials say DHS wants more ability to track info on domestic extremists, like the social media posts that pushed violence before the Capitol riot

FILE - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security flag, July 31, 2014, in Karnes City, Texas.
Eric Gay/AP (File)

NBC News reports The Department of Homeland Security, created after the 9/11 attacks to protect the country from international terrorism, is moving toward a sweeping set of policy changes aimed at detecting and stopping what intelligence officials say is now a top threat to the homeland: domestic violent extremism.

Two senior Biden administration officials told NBC News that DHS, whose intelligence division did not publish a warning of potential violence before the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, is seeking to improve its ability to collect and analyze data about domestic terrorism — including the sorts of public social media posts that threatened a potential attack on the Capitol, but were not deemed "actionable" by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com

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