Krishnamoorthi and Davis Question DHS Decision to Block Funding for Org Combatting White Supremacism

Illinois Democratic Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Danny Davis on Thursday sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) questioning its June 2017 decision to rescind funding for an initiative to counter right-wing extremism, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and other white supremacist groups. The letter cites DHS’ decision to rescind a $400,000 Countering Violent Extremism grant to Life After Hate, a Chicago-based nonprofit created by former far-right extremists that helps radicalized members of the extreme right transition out of those movements and back into society, despite a May 2017 report from the FBI and DHS stating that the white supremacist movement had carried out more attacks than any other domestic extremist groups over the past 16 years, and that they will likely continue to pose a lethal threat. “Most Americans knew there were right-wing extremists out there, but I doubt nearly as many people realized the scale of the threat posed by Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and their supporters ... The Department’s decision to rescind funding dedicated to combatting (sic) right-wing extremism, just a month after its own report sounded the alarm on this threat, presents serious questions about the Trump administration’s approach to combatting white supremacy,” said Krishnamoorthi. Read more here.