CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE TAKES DECISIVE ACTION TO COMBAT THE RISE IN DOMESTIC TERRORISM

(Washington, D.C.) — In response to the tragic events in Buffalo, Congressman Joe Morelle today led the debate in Congress to pass the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022, creating permanent, dedicated domestic terrorism offices within various federal agencies to help prevent future attacks.

“Domestic terrorism is the most significant threat confronting our nation in over a generation. Events like the horrific slaughter of Black community members in Buffalo have become too common in our country, and it is time for the federal government to step up and save lives,” said Congressman Morelle. “Common sense gun reform paired with resources for law enforcement officers will help federal agencies more proactively identify, track, and prevent domestic terrorists from carrying out more atrocities. I am proud to stand with my colleagues against domestic terrorism, and I look forward to seeing this legislation’s swift passage by the Senate.”

The U.S. has experienced a rise in threats of domestic terrorism and hate crimes over the last few years. In 2020, the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program recorded 8,263 hate crime incidents, 62% of which were motivated by racial or ethnic bias. This past weekend, an 18-year-old shot and killed 10 people and injured 3 others in a racially motivated attack in a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo.

Sadly, the massacre in Buffalo is only the latest in a string of hate crimes in recent years. Earlier this year, historically Black colleges and universities across the country received bomb threats; in 2018, a man entered the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh and killed 11 people; and in 2019, a shooter killed 23 people in El Paso, Texas in the largest terrorist attack targeting Hispanics in modern U.S. history.

Specifically, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022 will:

• Establish new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism and the relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes.
• Authorize domestic terrorism components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism.
• Require DHS, DOJ, and the FBI to review the anti-terrorism training and resource programs of their agencies that are provided to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

For more information, read the full text of the bill here.