CTEC in the News: October 23, 2020
Hello and welcome back to CTEC in the News! Before we get into CTEC’s recent media appearances, I have a quick announcement: on November 18th, we will be having our first Virtual Speaker Series event! Morten Hjørnholm, Lead Consultant for Crime Prevention, will talk on effective strategies developed and implemented by Denmark to prevent violent extremism, and how the Danish model can be contextualized for other settings around the world. We’ll be cohosting with the Global Security Studies Program and Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College. If you are an active member of the MIIS or Middlebury community and would like to join us, the registration page is here.
Hope you can make it! Now for our activity this week:
Russian extremist networks
First up: CTEC Director and Middlebury Institute professor Jason Blazakis and Digital Research Lead Alex Newhouse were quoted in an article by Business Insider warning that Russian extremists could exploit their ties with white nationalist groups in the US to instigate violence during the upcoming elections. They highlighted the role these ties play in exacerbating current divisions in countries like the United States, and how it was in Russia’s interest to allow these ties to deepen. Business Insider also referenced CTEC’s April report on the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) to highlight the use of disinformation campaigns in these efforts.
White Supremacy
Jason was also interviewed on evening news show Richard French Live to discuss the white supremacy threat in the US. He highlighted cases such as the Proud Boys and the recently arrested militia members who attempted to kidnap and assassinate Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, illustrating the similarities between anti-government and white supremacist movements. He also noted the Department of Homeland Security’s recent Homeland Threat Assessment, in which domestic extremists were listed as a potentially larger threat than ISIS and al-Qaeda in the US. Throughout the interview, he warned that the policymaking community, social platforms, and the public need to take domestic extremist movements more seriously.
That’s all for now, folks! Stay tuned for more CTEC in the News.