House Democrats press the U.S. military about how it is screening for white nationalism and other ex

[demmiblue]

A series of incidents in which U.S. troops have been arrested in cases involving white nationalism is of “significant concern, particularly given their combat and weapons training," several House Democrats said in a letter on Monday, pressing the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security for information about how they screen for recruits.

Maryland Reps. Elijah Cummings, Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin and California Rep. Jackie Speier wrote that they applaud the actions taken by federal agencies in the arrest this month of Coast Guard Lt. Christopher P. Hasson, a self-proclaimed white nationalist who authorities say had a list of journalists and politicians that he planned to kill.

But citing that case and others in 2017, the lawmakers asked acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, who oversees the Coast Guard, how Hasson and others who demonstrated extremist views were able to circumvent the military’s checks.

“Our hope is that these incidents are isolated events and are not indicative of a larger, systemic issue within the United States Armed Services,” the lawmakers wrote. “Beyond the extremes of domestic terrorism, we are additionally concerned with low level racism and other identity-based harassment that disrupts unit cohesion, impacts readiness, and degrades the ability of our servicemembers to protect our nation. Servicemembers who experience or witness racist or hateful behavior must be able to report such behavior without fear of repercussions.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/02/25/house-democrats-press-us-military-about-how-it-is-screening-white-nationalism-other-extremism-ranks/?utm_term=.3a69d13d56d2&tid=sm_tw&__twitter_impression=true&noredirect=on

[oldlibdem]

1. How many in law enforcement or the judicial system....

harbor these "white supremacist" views? An alarming portion would be my guess!