Internal investigation of domestic violent extremism reveals four sympathizers inside DHS

A nearly 11-month probe by the Department of Homeland Security into domestic violent extremism (DVE) in its ranks uncovered four incidents of active participation or support for violent extremist activity among employees at the agency since 2019. 

But the report also revealed that the government arm responsible for tracking terrorist threats to the homeland "has not adopted an authoritative definition of 'domestic violent extremist' that can be incorporated" into DHS policies and guidance."

The probe, led by DHS' Domestic Violent Extremism Internal Review Working Group, assessed that the Department has "significant gaps" that impede its ability to "prevent, detect and respond" to potential DVE threats within DHS. These gaps – including a lack of workforce training to identify and report such activity – likely affected DHS' accounting, according to the assessment released Friday by the working group.