Poll: Should the federal government monitor white nationalist groups like was done for American Muslims after 9/11?

[HomerJS]

US Intelligence agencies have identified white nationalists as the #1 domestic terrorist threat. After 9/11 Congress passed a bunch of laws the allows additional scrutiny of American Muslims. Should the same standard be applied to white nationalists as American Muslims? I will leave room for consistency of your position back during 9/11 vs today. Some of the actions taken back then.

1. Definitions and Laws: Various federal laws and regulations define and address domestic terrorism. For example, the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the definition of domestic terrorism and granted law enforcement agencies certain powers to investigate and prosecute acts of domestic terrorism.
2. FBI: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is responsible for investigating and countering domestic terrorism. The FBI categorizes domestic terrorism threats but doesn't maintain an official list of designated domestic terrorist organizations in the same way it does for foreign terrorist organizations.
3. Hate Crimes: Acts of violence or intimidation motivated by bias or hatred against particular groups can be prosecuted under federal hate crime laws.
4. Anti-Terrorism Legislation: The U.S. has a range of laws that can be applied to acts of domestic terrorism, including the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Material Support statute.

I included the option to express you opinion immediately after 9/11. You can choose more than one answer.

 

[HomerJS]

I was against monitoring American Muslims post 9/11 because there was no evidence they were involved in the attacks and that was born out. However, we all know the status of white nationalists. They are active in domestic terrorism, so I favor monitoring them.

This country has a dubious history, we monitored MLK but the likes of the Proud Boys get a pass.

 

[nakedfrog]

I was against monitoring American Muslims post 9/11 because there was no evidence they were involved in the attacks and that was born out. However, we all know the status of white nationalists. They are active in domestic terrorism, so I favor monitoring them.

This country has a dubious history, we monitored MLK but the likes of the Proud Boys get a pass.

Do they, though?

Federal prosecutors reveal Proud Boys witness was informant

A lawyer for one of the former Proud Boys leaders charged with seditious conspiracy says federal prosecutors have revealed that a defense witness was secretly acting as a government informant for nearly two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.

apnews.com

 

[soulcougher73]

I would assume they are already monitoring all white nationalists groups. Especially since the main target of them is to take on the government or overthrow it coup style.

 

[hal2kilo]

I would assume they are already monitoring all white nationalists groups. Especially since the main target of them is to take on the government or overthrow it coup style.

Maybe. I think some people in the FBI are purposely looking the other way. Just look at what they had in front of them intelligence wise before Jan. 6.

 

[pmv]

I don't know enough about the issue to have an opinion.

Did the US government monitor "American Muslims"? Or just specific Muslim organisations (presumably ones suspected of radical views?) that would be an analogue for "white nationalist groups" (seems that occasionally individuals switch between those two different types of extremist groups, there having been a few cases of white fascists converting to Islam - at the very least they seem to have very similar views on gender and sexuality issues)

What specific form of "monitoring" are we talking about? The forces of the state do have a long history of infiltrating and spying on all sorts of political groups...not entirely sure if they should spy on right-wing racist ones more or just spy on everyone less - depends crucially on what exactly kind of "monitoring" is involved. Also on what the grounds is for determining who merits spying on.

Impossible to answer in generalities, it all depends what specific actions and which specific groups are involved.

 

[allisolm]

I would assume they are already monitoring all white nationalists groups.

This.

 

[Fenixgoon]

I don't know enough about the issue to have an opinion.

Did the US government monitor "American Muslims"? Or just specific Muslim organisations (presumably ones suspected of radical views?) that would be an analogue for "white nationalist groups" (seems that occasionally individuals switch between those two different types of extremist groups, there having been a few cases of white fascists converting to Islam - at the very least they seem to have very similar views on gender and sexuality issues)

What specific form of "monitoring" are we talking about? The forces of the state do have a long history of infiltrating and spying on all sorts of political groups...not entirely sure if they should spy on right-wing racist ones more or just spy on everyone less - depends crucially on what exactly kind of "monitoring" is involved. Also on what the grounds is for determining who merits spying on.

Impossible to answer in generalities, it all depends what specific actions and which specific groups are involved.

There were plenty of Muslim American citizens who were placed on the no fly list with no way of knowing or clearing their name.

The govt blankedly targeted Muslim groups and individuals.

 

[pmv]

There were plenty of Muslim American citizens who were placed on the no fly list with no way of knowing or clearing their name.

The govt blankedly targeted Muslim groups and individuals.

Insofar as that is true, then it was wrong (I certainly had the impression there was an atmosphere of blanket suspicion of all Muslims, and not just on the part of the government, but didn't experience it first-hand, so don't know how bad it got).

Though the analogy to that would be for the government to now monitor and even intern everyone in any way conservative, or maybe just all white people. Which would also be a bad idea.

The problem is always that one suspects the security forces that would be doing the monitoring include among their number a lot of people not wildly dissimilar from those they are supposed to monitor. Seems to be more the case for local law enforcement than the FBI, is my impression, though.

 

[Moonbeam]

I don't know enough about the issue to have an opinion.

Did the US government monitor "American Muslims"? Or just specific Muslim organisations (presumably ones suspected of radical views?) that would be an analogue for "white nationalist groups" (seems that occasionally individuals switch between those two different types of extremist groups, there having been a few cases of white fascists converting to Islam - at the very least they seem to have very similar views on gender and sexuality issues)

What specific form of "monitoring" are we talking about? The forces of the state do have a long history of infiltrating and spying on all sorts of political groups...not entirely sure if they should spy on right-wing racist ones more or just spy on everyone less - depends crucially on what exactly kind of "monitoring" is involved. Also on what the grounds is for determining who merits spying on.

Impossible to answer in generalities, it all depends what specific actions and which specific groups are involved.

There you go again looking at multiple aspects of an issue.