The New York Post:
The White House on Tuesday released a report that designates the Jan. 6 Capitol riot a “domestic terrorist attack” and endorses an internet purge of “extremist” content.
The description is likely to draw stiff disagreement from allies of former President Donald Trump who say that the riot, which disrupted certification of President Biden’s victory, has been used to facilitate political censorship.
The Biden administration report also calls for beefed-up cooperation between the feds and private internet companies and instructs the Justice Department to review whether to request a new anti-domestic terrorism law.
The Capitol riot is described as an example of domestic terrorism alongside the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which killed an estimated 75 to 300 people, and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168.
“Domestic terrorist attacks in the United States also have been committed frequently by those opposing our government institutions. In 1995, in the largest single act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, an anti–government violent extremist detonated a bomb at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people – including 19 children – and injuring hundreds of others,” the report says.
“In 2016, an anti-authority violent extremist ambushed, shot, and killed five police officers in Dallas. In 2017, a lone gunman wounded four people at a congressional baseball practice. And just months ago, on January 6, 2021, Americans witnessed an unprecedented attack against a core institution of our democracy: the U.S. Congress.”
Biden requested the report during his first week in office — just days after the mayhem on Capitol Hill, for which about 440 people face criminal charges.
Although the term terrorism broadly defines the use of violence for political reasons, the terminology used to describe the events of Jan. 6 often inflames debate. For instance, many Democrats use the term “insurrection,” which Republicans see as overheated.
Many details remain unknown about the riot, including whether any participants pre-planned the breach of the Capitol security perimeter.
