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U.S. Justice Department to create new unit to counter domestic terrorism
CGTN
FILE PHOTO: Police officers walk through the parking lot of the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on March 22, 2021 after reports of an active shooter. /CFP

FILE PHOTO: Police officers walk through the parking lot of the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on March 22, 2021 after reports of an active shooter. /CFP

The U.S. Justice Department is creating a new unit to counter domestic terrorism following the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, a senior official said on Tuesday, the assistant attorney general of the department's National Security Division, Matthew Olsen, told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We face an elevated threat from domestic violent extremists - that is, individuals in the United States who seek to commit violent criminal acts in furtherance of domestic social or political goals," Reuters quotes Olsen.

"We have seen a growing threat from those who are motivated by racial animus, as well as those who ascribe to extremist anti-government and anti-authority ideologies," he added.

The move comes amid growing concerns that domestic extremists present just as much threat to the U.S. security as foreign terrorist groups.

In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers that domestic violent extremist groups, particularly white supremacists, pose a growing threat to the U.S.

According to Olsen, the new unit will be part of the National Security Division and will work to "ensure that these cases are properly handled and effectively coordinated" across the department and around the country.

(With input from Reuters)

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