Fighting the Rise of White Nationalism and Extremism - Yang2020

White nationalist terrorism has accounted for over 70% of terrorism-related deaths in the US over the past decade. Some organizations have stated that the number of white nationalist perpetrators of terrorist attacks has quadrupled since 2016. There is widespread agreement between law enforcement officials, both in the US and throughout Europe, that white nationalist and far-right terrorism are on the rise. Law enforcement agencies in the United States have had an increasing number of interactions with these groups, resulting in the deaths of dozens of brave men and women over the past several decades.

These violent acts represent only a small subset of this toxic ideology. Some polls have found almost 10% of Americans believe it’s acceptable to hold neo-Nazi beliefs. According to the Anti-Defamation League, both the volume of propaganda being spread by white nationalist groups and the number of public demonstrations have increased over the past several years. Some experts have pegged the number of white nationalists active in the community in the hundreds of thousands.

And they’re blending in better - having traded in their “boots for suits,” there has been a concerted effort by these white nationalist groups to improve their image, seem more respectable, get degrees, and work in law enforcement, media, and other places where they can spread their hateful ideologies to a wider audience.

Problems to be Solved

White nationalism and domestic terrorism are on the rise.
White nationalists are feeling emboldened, more openly organizing and spreading their hateful ideology.

We need to confront this threat head-on. In order to tackle the massive problems we face, all Americans must be united. There’s no room for hateful and extremist ideologies in this country. It’s time that we get serious about confronting this threat.

Goals

Combat the rise of white nationalist terrorism

As President I will...

Call out white nationalism wherever it arises.
Establish a centralized location to aggregate statistics on white nationalism and domestic terrorism, possibly through an expansion of the FBI’s UCR.
Direct the Department of Justice to prepare and publicly release an Annual Report on Domestic Terrorism, in order to ensure all Americans are properly informed on this issue.
Help victims of domestic terrorism:
- Pass a Medicare for All system that fully covers mental health and trauma services for victims of domestic terrorism.
- Maintain an opt-in database of victim support groups that’s publicly accessible.
- Expand the Victim Services Division of the FBI to better serve individuals affected by these crimes.
- Establish a victims fund to help victims of this violence recover.
Instruct the Department of Justice, and the FBI in particular, to treat white nationalism and domestic terrorism as a central focus.
Increase the budget for fighting domestic terrorism to match non-military spending on fighting foreign terrorism.
Work with Congress to pass a federal statute creating a clear federal domestic terrorism offense, and provide for appropriately harsh punishment.
Work with allies abroad to combat the rise of white nationalism
End relationships with white nationalist political parties when possible; minimize contact and refuse to provide/sell any type of materials that could be used to further white nationalist goals to parties when ties can’t be cut completely.