(Rich Pedroncelli/AP)This week, the House Judiciary Committee grilled big-tech executives and activists about the rise of white nationalism on social media. There is no such thing as black identity extremism.”The term stems from 2017, when the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division put together a report warning of the rise of violence against law enforcement officials by black activists. Since then, FBI officials have refused to answer questions about the designation or how it might be used by law enforcement officials. At congressional hearings in 2017 and 2018, FBI officials would not address whether pursuit of “black identity extremists” had impacted surveillance and policing decisions. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray says white-nationalist violence is a “persistent, pervasive threat.” “Black identity extremists” aren’t.

Source: Washington Post April 10, 2019 19:05 UTC