THE BEST WAY TO INVESTIGATE THE
JANUARY 6th CAPITOL RIOT, STATE
LEGISLATORS AROUND THE COUNTRY
HAVE ALREADY BEGUN ATTEMPTING TO
WEED OUT EXTREMISM WITHIN THE
RANKS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
BUT LIKE THOSE LAWMAKERS ON
CAPITOL HILL, THEYRE FACING
STRONG OPPOSITION TO THE
PROPOSALS.
IT RAISES QUESTIONS RAISING FROM
DIVISION TO CONSTITUTIONAL
BARRIERS.
VARIOUS SUCH EFFORTS HAVE BEEN
SIMMERING AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR
YEARS.
SPURRED BY FBI REPORTS STARTING
MORE THAN 15 YEARS AGO THAT
DOCUMENT A CONCERTED EFFORT BY
WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND OTHER
EXTREMIST ORGANIZATIONS TO
INFILTRATE THE POLICE.
THE ROADBLOCKS HAVE BEEN TOUGH
TO OVERCOME.
POLICE OFFICERS, LIKE EVERYONE
ELSE, ENJOY FIRST AMENDMENT
RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH AND FREE
ASSEMBLY SO THE CHALLENGE FOR
LAWMAKERS IS FIGURING OUT HOW TO
HONOR THOSE RIGHTS WHILE BARRING
EXTREMISTS FROM INFILTRATING THE
RANKS.
CLINT WATTS, AN MSNBC NATIONAL
SECURITY ANALYST AND
DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH FELLOW AT
THE FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH
INSTITUTE, SOMEONE WE TURN TO
FOR ALL THESE CONVERSATIONS.
I WANT TO READ THIS SCENARIO IN
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" BECAUSE IT
GIVES YOU SORT OF A PRACTICAL
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TRICKY THIS
IS, AND THEN WELL TALK IT
THROUGH.
THE "TIMES" GIVES AN EXAMPLE
FROM FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.
VIDEO SURFACED OF HIM SUPPORTING
THE PROUD BOYS AT A PROTEST.
SUCH IDEOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, HAVE NO
PLACE WITHIN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
WHEN LAWMAKERS IN THE STATE
RECENTLY PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO
GIVE POLICE DEPARTMENTS MORE
POWER TO WEED OUT OFFICERS WITH
EXTREMIST TIES, THEY MET
RESISTANCE.
BRIAN MARVEL, THE PRESIDENT OF
THE PEACE OFFICERS RESEARCH
ASSOCIATION OF THE CALIFORNIA
SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT THE
ORGANIZATION SUPPORTED THE IDEA
BUT NOT THE LEGISLATION THAT WAS
DRAFTED.
IT WOULD, QUOTE, INFRINGE ON A
PERSONS INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, HE
SAID, AND POSSIBLY PREVENT
SOMEONE FROM BECOMING AN OFFICER
BASED ON PERSONAL BELIEFS,
RELIGION, OR OTHER INTERESTS.
SO, IF VIDEOS THAT SHOW A
CANDIDATE TO BE A POLICE OFFICER
OR CURRENT POLICE OFFICER WITH
THE PROUD BOYS AT A PROTEST, IF
THATS NOT ENOUGH TO SHOW THE
ASSOCIATION WITH ONE OF THE
EXTREMIST GROUPS, WHAT IS?
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
>> NICOLE, ITS REALLY TWO
PARTS.
ONE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF WHAT IS
A DOMESTIC TERRORIST
ORGANIZATION.
IT FRUSTRATES JUST ABOUT
EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE GOING ON
IN THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF OUR
LAW ENFORCEMENT POSTURE, WHAT WE
SAW GOING INTO JANUARY 6th, AND
THE FBI WATCH WHATS GOING ON IN
SOCIAL MEDIA OR NOT.
WE DONT KNOW WHICH ARE THE
EXTREMIST GROUPS THEYRE ALLOWED
TO WATCH.
WHAT IS PRIVATE VERSUS WHAT IS
PUBLIC CONTINUES IN THAT DEBATE.
AND I CAN JUST TELL YOU, NICOLE,
I, FOR PROBABLY 15 YEARS, HAVE
TAUGHT DIFFERENT LAW ENFORCEMENT
CROWDS ON COUNTERING VIOLENT
EXTREMISM AND BY 2017, 2018, IT
STARTED TO GET WEIRD BECAUSE THE
BREAKDOWN REALLY CAME ON
INTERNATIONAL VERSUS DOMESTIC.
IT WAS VERY CLEAR DOMESTIC
EXTREMISM WAS RISING.
CLASSES -- THEY WANTED CLASSES
TO BE TAUGHT, BUT YOU LITERALLY
COULD NOT GET INTO THEM TOO FAR
BECAUSE THERE WAS A DIVERGENCE
ON WHAT EXTREMIST GROUPS SHOULD
BE POLICED, EVEN IN THOSE
CLASSROOMS AND THAT REALLY COMES
DOWN TO DONALD TRUMPS ABILITY
TO POLITICIZE LAW ENFORCEMENT IN
THIS COUNTRY.
IT WAS VERY CLEAR, DEPENDING --
ONE OF THE CLASSES I TAUGHT WAS
ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY WOULD
SEND REPS INTO ONE CLASS, IT WAS
A GREAT COURSE, AND THEY WERE
ALL OFFICERS, ESSENTIALLY, FROM
DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, BROUGHT
IN TO INTEGRATE WITH EACH OTHER
AND WORK WITH EACH OTHER.
BUT WHO THEY CALLED AN EXTREMIST
DEPENDED ON WHERE THEY WERE IN
THE COUNTRY AND WHAT INFORMATION
THEY LISTENED TO, AND IT REALLY
CAME DOWN TO THE PRESIDENTS
RHETORIC AROUND ANTIFA.
AND THEN I THINK THATS WHERE
THE PROBLEM IS TODAY IS HOW
WOULD YOU FAIRLY AND JUDICIOUSLY
DO THAT AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND
I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT LOCAL,
STATE, AND CITY MUNICIPALITIES
ARE PRETTY GOOD AT POLICING
THEIR RANKS OVER TIME.
I THINK THEY DO A PRETTY GOOD
JOB.
BUT IN SOME OF THE SHERIFFS
DEPARTMENT WHERE WE HAVE WHAT WE
CALL THE LONE SHERIFFS THAT ARE
IN SUPPORT OF DONALD TRUMP AND
DONT RECOGNIZE JOE BIDEN AS THE
PRESIDENT, THERES A SIGNIFICANT
PROBLEM.
IF YOU WERE TO STUMBLE INTO THAT
PART OF THE COUNTRY, THEY MAY
NOT WORK WITH THE FBI OR THEY
MAY NOT BE TRUSTING WITH THE
FBI.
THEY MAY NOT WANT TO ENFORCE THE
LAW AS IT IS DESIGNATED BY STATE
AND LOCALS AND THATS WHERE WE
GET INTO SOME REAL SERIOUS
PROBLEMS ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT
REFORM IN THIS COUNTRY.
>> AND OBVIOUSLY, DONALD TRUMP,
BY TELLING THE PROUD BOYS TO
STAND BACK AND STAND BY, MADE
HIM NOT JUST PART OF THEIR
COALITION BUT PART OF HIS, YOU
KNOW, SORT OF OFFENSIVE
STRUCTURE, IF YOU WILL.
HE GAVE THEM AN ORDER.
I WONDER HOW LONG IT TAKES TO
PURGE THAT STRUCTURE FROM THE
SORT OF PERMISSION STRUCTURE OF
THE MILITIAS AND THE WHITE
SUPREMACISTS AND THE BRAZENNESS
WITH WHICH THEY MAY GO ABOUT
DEFENDING THEIR ASSOCIATIONS.
>> ITS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY
CHALLENGING, NICOLE.
THE ONLY THING WE HAVE GOING TO
OUR ADVANTAGE RIGHT NOW IS THE
INVESTIGATIONS OF JANUARY 6th
AND GIVING THE FEDERAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES LIKE THE
FBI AND EVEN SOME STATE AND
LOCAL GROUPS THE ACTUAL EVIDENCE
NEEDED TO GO AHEAD AND PUSH THAT
AGENDA FORWARD, MEANING, THESE
PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN A CRIME
OR SUPPORTING A CRIME, AND SO
THAT GIVES YOU SOME LEADS INTO
WHERE YOU COULD LOOK.
ACROSS THE BOARD, WHEN YOU LOOK
AROUND THE COUNTRY, IT WAS
ALMOST ROUTINE IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS TO SEE LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS SHOWING UP WITH THREE
PERCENT PATCHES OR SOME SORT OF
PROUD BOY VIDEO OR QANON PATCHES
AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN TERMS OF
CONSPIRACY GROUPS.
THAT WAS REALLY ABOUT
ALLEGIANCE, POLITICAL
ALLEGIANCE, AND HOW THAT WAS
BLENDING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND I THINK IN SOME PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY, PARTICULARLY WHERE