Russia 'adding violent energy' to white supremacy around the globe, US experts claim
White supremacist terrorism around the globe is being manipulated by Russia for political ends, senior US national security officials have warned.
The perpetrators of white supremacist violence should now be treated as international, rather than domestic, terrorists, Joshua Geltzer, former US senior director of counter terrorism, said.
Such groups are "emulating" jihadists like Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant by forging a "transnational" community of followers, using social media and encrypted communications platforms.
Designating white supremacist groups as foreign terrorist organisations would make it easier to prosecute those who provide material support to them, and to freeze financial accounts in the US.
In testimony to a Congressional committee Mr Geltzer said: "This is not terrorism 'domestic' to any one nation alone. It is a global surge in violence inspired by white supremacy.
"There is one additional driver of today’s threat that must be emphasised - the active role of foreign government actors in propagating violent white supremacist ideology."
He added: "The Russian government adds violent energy to the emerging transnational network of white supremacists, spreading its cause in part through disinformation aggressively disseminated online."
The "emerging epicentre" of white supremacist extremism is Russia and Ukraine, the committee was told.
Ali Soufan, a former FBI supervisory special agent, said: "There are extensive ties between the Russian government and far-right groups in Europe."
He said Russian paramilitary groups in Ukraine were training foreign fighters "motivated by white supremacy and neo-Nazi beliefs."
Mr Soufan added: "Russian disinformation efforts have fueled anti-immigrant sentiment in countries like Sweden, fueling resentment among native-born Swedes."
Mr Geltzer said it was "outdated" to call attackers like the gunman in the recent mass shooting in El Paso Texas, "domestic" terrorists.
Currently, not one of the 68 entities designated as foreign terror organisations by the US state department is a violent white supremacist group.
According to a new report from the US department of homeland security "domestic" terrorism is now as big a threat to the US as jihadist terrorism.
The report noted a "disturbing rise in attacks motivated by domestic terrorist ideologies" and set out a new strategy for dealing with them.
Kevin McAleenan, the acting US homeland security secretary, said: "In our modern age the continuation of racially-based violent extremism, particularly violent white supremacy, is an abhorrent affront to the nation. It has no place in the United States of America, and it never will."
