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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
As ‘lone actor' attacks rise, Trump cuts program aimed at spotting them
Just as politically motivated attacks by "lone actors" surge across the country, the administration of President Donald Trump is dismantling the very office that oversees efforts to identify and stop such violent extremists before they strike. In the four months since Trump took office, his administration has shrunk the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, or CP3, from dozens of analysts and supervisors to fewer than 10 people, led by a 22-year-old recent graduate with no law enforcement or homeland security experience. Indeed, less than 24 hours before a man shot two Minnesota legislators and their spouses, killing one couple and critically injuring the other, the CP3 office reassigned the last of its senior advisers, said Bill Braniff, who used to lead the center but quit in protest in March. 'The office is being incrementally dismantled,' said Braniff, who is now executive director of the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University. 'They explicitly say that they're terminating the office – it's not like this is innuendo.' In a statement, a DHS official pushed back on claims that dismantling the CP3 program is putting American lives at risk, saying it "plays an insignificant and ineffective role in the broader efforts." "The Department of Homeland Security has a robust counterterrorism program," the official said in a statement. "Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, CP3 was weaponized against political opponents and its main purpose was to funnel money to progressive groups. It should be no surprise to anyone that the Trump Administration is making a diligent effort to end waste, fraud, and abuse – this office is just another example.' DHS did not respond to detailed questions about the program and its effectiveness. National security experts, including one who ran counterterrorism efforts under Trump in his first term, told USA TODAY the dismantling of the CP3 office is dangerous and counter-productive, especially given the steady drumbeat of politically motivated killings that has marked the first half of 2025. 'This is the destruction of our prevention infrastructure," said Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of 'God, Guns and Sedition: Far-Right Extremism in America.' 'Really the best way that we have to to counter lone actor terrorism is through 'See something, say something' programs,' Ware said. 'If you're going to cut funding to all the great organizations in our country who work day-to-day to prevent violence in their communities, and you're going to redirect resources away from law enforcement, then the only way that we have to counter lone actor terrorism is not going to work.' According to CP3's annual report last year, between 2020 and 2023, 17 different programs opened more than 1,100 inquiries into individuals who were 'exhibiting behavioral indicators associated with the pathway to violence.' Of those, more than 70% of cases were referred to mental health professionals for counseling, but 77 were sent to law enforcement for a potential criminal investigation. The report lays out several case studies of potential violent extremists who were identified through programs funded by CP3, including a student who brought weapons to school and a parent who reported her child's fascination with violent extremism. The student received counseling while the child was later investigated by the FBI. Among experts in domestic terrorism and homeland security, attacks like the shootings in Minnesota over the weekend are known as 'lone actor' incidents. They're incredibly difficult for law enforcement to predict or disrupt. Lone actors usually don't advertise their intentions. They don't typically publish 'manifestos' laying out their gripes and conspiracies until during or after their crimes. They tend not to be members of organized groups that are on the radar of law enforcement. Instead, they quietly hoard weapons, scope out sites and research their victims. Quite often, however, lone actors do send signals of a coming attack – they say suspicious things to family, friends or colleagues. The suspect in last weekend's shootings, for example, sent a friend an eerie text message, saying he may be dead soon. For more than a decade, programs have existed across the country that help communities – everyone from school teachers to workplace managers to local police officers – spot the warning signs that a terrorist is about to strike. Groups long ago set up 'See something, say something' hotlines for concerned citizens to call and report suspicious activity. These programs – essentially the only weapon in the government's arsenal to prevent random acts of political violence – have long received funding from CP3, which is now being shuttered. That's happening amidst a surge in lone actor domestic terrorism. The Minnesota shootings were just the latest in a series of deadly politically motivated attacks – from both extremes of the political spectrum. Since the beginning of the year, lone attackers have set fire to a governor's mansion in Pennsylvania, shot and killed a young Jewish couple in Washington, DC, and firebombed a pro-Israel march in Boulder, Colorado. Braniff and others are quick to stress the programs overseen by CP3 aren't a panacea. There's no guarantee that concerned friends, neighbors or colleagues will call the hotlines funded by the center. But given the immense difficulty in preventing lone actor attacks, those programs are at least one effective tool, and they're being junked by the federal government under Trump. The office currently known as 'CP3' has had various iterations over the years, and has seldom been short of controversy. During the first Trump term, in early 2017, the administration decided unilaterally to pull $10 million of Congressionally approved funding from what was then known as the 'Countering Violent Extremism' program. Arguing that organizations like the Heartland Democracy Center, which sets up counseling groups for kids at risk of radicalization, were biased against conservatives, the administration froze grants that had been approved for anti-extremism efforts. Reborn as CP3 under President Joe Biden, the center grew to a staff of more than 70 people at its height, Braniff said. But when Trump was reelected, the office immediately began to shed staff. A 22-year-old recent graduate with no experience of extremism prevention programs was appointed to run the center this year. In March, Braniff quit. 'This office has been a political football,' Braniff said. For a decade, efforts like those run under CP3 have been an essential tool in the fight against domestic terrorism, said Javed Ali, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council in 2017 and 2018 under Trump. Crucially, these attackers come from all sides of the political spectrum, Ali said. 'There is a large pool of people in this country who are highly radicalized for whatever reasons, but they are not all swimming in the same ideological sea,' Ali said. 'These are all people who are flying under the radar, but are very angry, and on their own timeline they decide now is the moment to conduct an attack.' The programs supported by CP3 don't just aim to identify possible lone actors. They also help to wean people away from extremist groups through counseling, according to the agency's annual report, which highlighted several counseling programs. And at the same time the Trump administration is dismantling the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, researchers who monitor such groups worry that far-right groups in particular are taking the opportunity to rebuild. The leaders of the two most well-known far-right extremist groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, were both convicted of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Both men were pardoned by President Trump and have vowed to rebuild and revamp their organizations. Ware, of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Jan. 6 pardons sent a clear message to Americans who are willing to engage in political violence: As long as it is directed towards the political left, or opponents of President Trump, it will be tolerated, if not encouraged, he said. 'I would not just say Trump is ignoring the far right, I would say he's actively sending messages that the violence is tolerable – violence is accepted – violence is legal and legitimate, as long as it's perpetrated on our behalf,' Ware said. 'And that is catastrophic from a messaging standpoint.' Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence consultancy, agreed. 'In the longer term, groups like the Oath Keepers, these guys can now spend the next four years stockpiling – training, commiserating – without any concern,' Clarke said. 'And so what you get at the end of this is you have far more robust militia groups and other violent extremists that have just had free rein to rebuild their organizations.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As 'lone actor' attacks rise, Trump cuts office that helps spot them
USA Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
'Lone actor' attacks keep happening. Trump is dismantling the office that helps spot them
'Lone actor' attacks keep happening. Trump is dismantling the office that helps spot them The day before a violent political attack in Minnesota, the last top officials at a program that aims to spot so-called 'lone actor' violent domestic extremists were reassigned to other roles. Show Caption Hide Caption Suspect charged in 'targeted' shootings of Minnesota lawmakers Vance Boelter faces six charges, including murder and stalking, after he allegedly "targeted" two Minnesota lawmakers at their homes. Just as politically motivated attacks by so-called "lone actors" surge across the country, the administration of President Donald Trump is dismantling the very office that oversees efforts to identify and stop such violent extremists before they strike. In the four months since Trump took office, his administration has shrunk the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, or CP3, from dozens of analysts and supervisors to fewer than 10 people, led by a 22-year-old recent graduate with no law enforcement or homeland security experience. Indeed, less than 24 hours before a man shot two Minnesota legislators and their spouses, killing one couple and critically injuring the other, the CP3 office reassigned the last of its senior advisors, said Bill Braniff, who used to lead the center but quit in protest in March. 'The office is being incrementally dismantled,' said Braniff, who is now executive director of the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University. 'They explicitly say that they're terminating the office – it's not like this is innuendo.' In a statement, a DHS official pushed back on claims that dismantling the CP3 program is putting American lives at risk, saying it "plays an insignificant and ineffective role in the broader efforts." "The Department of Homeland Security has a robust counterterrorism program," the official said in a statement. "Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, CP3 was weaponized against political opponents and its main purpose was to funnel money to progressive groups. It should be no surprise to anyone that the Trump Administration is making a diligent effort to end waste, fraud, and abuse – this office is just another example.' DHS did not respond to detailed questions about the program and its effectiveness. National security experts, including one who ran counter-terrorism efforts under Trump in his first term, told USA TODAY the dismantling of the CP3 office is dangerous and counter-productive, especially given the steady drumbeat of politically motivated killings that has marked the first half of 2025. 'This is the destruction of our prevention infrastructure," said Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of 'God, Guns and Sedition: Far-Right Extremism in America.' 'Really the best way that we have to to counter lone actor terrorism is through 'See something, say something' programs,' Ware said. 'If you're going to cut funding to all the great organizations in our country who work day-to-day to prevent violence in their communities, and you're going to redirect resources away from law enforcement, then the only way that we have to counter lone actor terrorism is not going to work.' According to CP3's annual report last year, between 2020 and 2023, 17 different programs opened more than 1,100 inquiries into individuals who were 'exhibiting behavioral indicators associated with the pathway to violence.' Of those, more than 70% of cases were referred to mental health professionals for counselling, but 77 were sent to law enforcement for a potential criminal investigation. The report lays out several case studies of potential violent extremists who were identified through programs funded by CP3, including a student who brought weapons to school and a parent who reported her child's fascination with violent extremism. The student received counseling while the child was later investigated by the FBI. 'Lone actor' incidents are hard to predict Among experts in domestic terrorism and homeland security, attacks like the shootings in Minnesota over the weekend are known as 'lone actor' incidents. They're incredibly difficult for law enforcement to predict or disrupt. Lone actors usually don't advertise their intentions. They don't typically publish 'manifestos' laying out their gripes and conspiracies until during or after their crimes. They tend not to be members of organized groups that are on the radar of law enforcement. Instead, they quietly hoard weapons, scope out sites and research their victims. Quite often, however, lone actors do send signals of a coming attack – they say suspicious things to family, friends or colleagues. The suspect in last weekend's shootings, for example, sent a friend an eerie text message, saying he may be dead soon. For more than a decade, programs have existed across the country that help communities – everyone from school teachers to workplace managers to local police officers – spot the warning signs that a terrorist is about to strike. Groups long ago set up 'See something, say something' hotlines for concerned citizens to call and report suspicious activity. These programs – essentially the only weapon in the government's arsenal to prevent random acts of political violence – have long received funding from CP3, which is now being shuttered. That's happening amidst a surge in lone actor domestic terrorism. The Minnesota shootings were just the latest in a series of deadly politically motivated attacks – from both extremes of the political spectrum. Since the beginning of the year, lone attackers have set fire to a governor's mansion in Pennsylvania, shot and killed a young Jewish couple in Washington, D.C. and firebombed a pro-Israel march in Boulder, Colorado. Braniff and others are quick to stress the programs overseen by CP3 aren't a panacea. There's no guarantee that concerned friends, neighbors or colleagues will call the hotlines funded by the center. But given the immense difficulty in preventing lone actor attacks, those programs are at least one effective tool, and they're being junked by the federal government under Trump. 'A political football' The office currently known as 'CP3' has had various iterations over the years, and has seldom been short of controversy. During the first Trump term, in early 2017, the administration decided unilaterally to pull $10 million of Congressionally approved funding from what was then known as the 'Countering Violent Extremism' program. Arguing that organizations like the Heartland Democracy Center, which sets up counseling groups for kids at risk of radicalization, were biased against conservatives, the administration froze grants that had been approved for anti-extremism efforts. Reborn as CP3 under President Joe Biden, the center grew to a staff of more than 70 people at its height, Braniff said. But when Trump was reelected, the office immediately began to shed staff. A 22-year old recent graduate with no experience of extremism prevention programs was appointed to run the center earlier this year. In March, Braniff quit. 'This office has been a political football,' Braniff said. For a decade, efforts like those run under CP3 have been an essential tool in the fight against domestic terrorism, said Javed Ali, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council in 2017 and 2018 under Trump. Crucially, these attackers come from all sides of the political spectrum, Ali said. 'There is a large pool of people in this country who are highly radicalized for whatever reasons, but they are not all swimming in the same ideological sea,' Ali said. 'These are all people who are flying under the radar, but are very angry, and on their own timeline they decide now is the moment to conduct an attack.' Time to regroup The programs supported by CP3 don't just aim to identify possible lone actors. They also help to wean people away from extremist groups through counseling, according to the agency's annual report, which highlighted several counseling programs. And at the same time the Trump administration is dismantling the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, researchers who monitor such groups worry that far-right groups in particular are taking the opportunity to rebuild. The leaders of the two most well-known far-right extremist groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, were both convicted of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Both men were pardoned by President Trump and have vowed to rebuild and revamp their organizations. Ware said the Jan. 6 pardons sent a clear message to Americans who are willing to engage in political violence: As long as it is directed towards the political left, or opponents of President Trump, it will be tolerated, if not encouraged, he said. 'I would not just say Trump is ignoring the far right, I would say he's actively sending messages that the violence is tolerable – violence is accepted – violence is legal and legitimate, as long as it's perpetrated on our behalf,' Ware said. 'And that is catastrophic from a messaging standpoint.' Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence consultancy, agreed. 'In the longer term, groups like the Oath Keepers, these guys can now spend the next four years stockpiling – training, commiserating – without any concern,' Clarke said. 'And so what you get at the end of this is you have far more robust militia groups and other violent extremists that have just had free rein to rebuild their organizations.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump reportedly named 22-year-old college grad to lead counterterrorism. Here's what we know
In early June 2025, rumors circulated that the person U.S. President Donald Trump chose to lead counterterrorism efforts at the Department of Homeland Security was Thomas Fugate, a 22-year-old college graduate with no national security experience. For example, this June 6, 2025, video on Instagram described him as a "22-year-old, fresh-out-of-college former gardener" (archived): This wasn't the first post to make the claim. On June 5, 2025, X user Ron Filipkowski shared the claim with a photo of Fugate (archived): The post had gained 565,700 views and 4,900 likes as of this writing. Other X posts (archived, archived) relayed the claims, as did posts on Reddit (archived), Facebook (archived), Threads (archived) and Instagram (archived). The rumor stemmed from a June 4, 2025, report by ProPublica, which recounted how Fugate was installed at the helm of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, known as CP3. Snopes was not able to independently review Fugate's LinkedIn profile, which was deleted after the publication of the report. Therefore, we were not able to confirm the claims directly. However we reached out to him and to DHS and we will update this report should they respond. Former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration established CP3 in 2021 to replace the Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention, saying in a news release that the new center was set up "to combat terrorism and targeted violence, consistent with privacy protections, civil rights and civil liberties, and other applicable laws." In particular, it aimed to gather intelligence on radical extremism within the U.S. and to develop the competencies to prevent domestic terrorism. Its About page says CP3 boasts a multidisciplinary approach with a team that includes a variety of profiles and expertise. Such an organization requires knowledge and experience from the person who leads it, according to unnamed sources cited in the ProPublica report. However, nothing in Fugate's public profile indicated he had such knowledge and experience, ProPublica said. According to a report by The Daily Beast, a review of his now-deleted LinkedIn profile revealed he had worked at an H-E-B grocery store in Texas while in college. In 2020, when he was 17, he worked as a "landscape business owner," the same report said. ProPublica's article added that he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at San Antonio, an academic career that included an internship at the Heritage Foundation, the far-right think tank that appears to have at least partially set the course for Trump's second administration. Later, Fugate reportedly took part in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Aside from that, nothing indicated he was qualified for the post at CP3, the reports indicated. In contrast, CP3's previous director, Bill Braniff, was a U.S. Army veteran. He brought to the position more than 20 years of experience in counterterrorism, according to his LinkedIn profile. He left CP3 in March 2025 to become the executive director of the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab at the School of Public Affairs at American University. Fugate's appointment sowed concern among anonymous counterterrorism experts ProPublica interviewed, who called it "reckless." Some described it as symptomatic of the direction the Trump administration was taking, focusing on immigration and away from preventing homegrown violent extremism. Snopes has contacted DHS and CP3 to confirm reporting on the various elements of Fugate's résumé and to inquire further about what, in their view, made Fugate an ideal candidate for this job. We will update this report should they respond. Allam, Hannah. "'The Intern in Charge': Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump's Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention." ProPublica, 4 June 2025, Accessed 6 June 2025. "DHS Creates New Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships and Additional Efforts to Comprehensively Combat Domestic Violent Extremism | Homeland Security." U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 11 May 2021, Accessed 6 June 2025. Latchem, Tom. "Trump Appoints 22-Year-Old Ex-Gardener and Grocery Store Assistant to Lead U.S. Terror Prevention." The Daily Beast, 5 June 2025, Accessed 6 June 2025. "PERIL Welcomes New Executive Director Bill Braniff." American University, 24 Mar. 2025, Accessed 6 June 2025. "Who We Are | Homeland Security." Accessed 6 June 2025. Wrona, Aleksandra and Nur Ibrahim. "What's Project 2025? Unpacking the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government." Snopes, 3 July 2024,
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump team ends $18m terrorism prevention program designed to ID lone wolves before they attack
The Trump administration is axing a division of the Department of Homeland Security designed to prevent domestic terrorism attacks committed by individual perpetrators and train officials to negate future attacks, worrying prevention advocates. The Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) was an arm of DHS that provided federal resources to local and state officials to thwart lone wolf attacks, an increasingly common type of terrorism. In those instances, attacks are carried out by an individual not part of an organized group. Examples include the recent Boulder, Colorado attack in which a man threw incendiary devices at a group of Israeli hostage advocates as well as the murder of two young Isreali Embassy staffers outside the Captiol Jewish Museum. CP3 aimed to reduce the instances of those attacks by understanding domestic violence trends, such as those tracked by the Terrorism and Targeted Violence database (TV2), and providing training through programs such as the Targeting Violence and Terrorism Prevention grant. But President Donald Trump's budget said DHS could re-allocate roughly $18 million by axing the center and its grants, which the administration claims 'were weaponized to target Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.' The program, which NBC News estimates only costs 4 percent of the military's marching band budget, has been successful at stopping lone wolf attacks – though publicly available data on this is scarce. In one instance, the Palm Beach Sheriff's Department, which received money through the Terrorism and Targeted Violence grant, was able to identify and detain an individual at Palm Beach State College who threatened mass violence. But the Trump administration claims it does not align with president's policies and has proposed eliminating it. Approximately 20 percent of CP3's staff was eliminated during federal funding cuts in March. In addition, the administration tapped a 22-year-old recent college graduate to lead CP3. William Braniff, the former director of CP3, told the Guardian that the government is making itself more susceptible to attacks by getting rid of the program. 'It's simple: we will see more school and workplace violence, more hate-fueled violence and terrorism and our political leadership will see more assassination attempts,' Braniff said. Joe Griffin, the executive director of Youth Alive!, a California-based violence prevention organization, told CBS News that cutting funding before summer would have a negative impact on communities. "To do this ahead of summer, when we know there will likely be an uptick in violence, is really troubling," Griffin said. "We need our government to show up for our young people the way we do—every day, without fail." In a statement, a senior DHS official refuted any concerns. 'Any suggestion that DHS is stepping away from addressing hate crimes or domestic terrorism is simply false. Under Secretary Noem's leadership DHS has streamlined funding to cut waste while strengthening our partnerships with state and local law enforcement to tackle these critical threats head-on,' the senior DHS official said. Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, said 'President Trump is keeping his promise to Make America Safe Again by empowering state and local law enforcement to relentlessly pursue criminals and protect American communities.' 'Whether it be maximizing the use of Federal resources to improve trainings or establishing task forces to advance Federal and local coordination, President Trump is keeping innocent Americans safe.' Jackson added. She pointed to Trump's April executive order that called for providing pro bono legal assistance for officers facing unjust legal expenses, maximizing the use of federal resources to train officers, increasing surplus military assets to support local law enforcement, and more.
The Independent
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump team ends $18m terrorism prevention program designed to ID lone wolves before they attack
The Trump administration is axing a division of the Department of Homeland Security designed to prevent domestic terrorism attacks committed by individual perpetrators and train officials to negate future attacks, worrying prevention advocates. The Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) was an arm of DHS that provided federal resources to local and state officials to thwart lone wolf attacks, an increasingly common type of terrorism. In those instances, attacks are carried out by an individual not part of an organized group. Examples include the recent Boulder, Colorado attack in which a man threw incendiary devices at a group of Israeli hostage advocates as well as the murder of two young Isreali Embassy staffers outside the Captiol Jewish Museum. CP3 aimed to reduce the instances of those attacks by understanding domestic violence trends, such as those tracked by the Terrorism and Targeted Violence database (TV2), and providing training through programs such as the Targeting Violence and Terrorism Prevention grant. But President Donald Trump 's budget said DHS could re-allocate roughly $18 million by axing the center and its grants, which the administration claims 'were weaponized to target Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.' The program, which NBC News estimates only costs 4 percent of the military's marching band budget, has been successful at stopping lone wolf attacks – though publicly available data on this is scarce. In one instance, the Palm Beach Sheriff's Department, which received money through the Terrorism and Targeted Violence grant, was able to identify and detain an individual at Palm Beach State College who threatened mass violence. But the Trump administration claims it does not align with president's policies and has proposed eliminating it. Approximately 20 percent of CP3's staff was eliminated during federal funding cuts in March. In addition, the administration tapped a 22-year-old recent college graduate to lead CP3. William Braniff, the former director of CP3, told the Guardian that the government is making itself more susceptible to attacks by getting rid of the program. 'It's simple: we will see more school and workplace violence, more hate-fueled violence and terrorism and our political leadership will see more assassination attempts,' Braniff said. Joe Griffin, the executive director of Youth Alive!, a California-based violence prevention organization, told CBS News that cutting funding before summer would have a negative impact on communities. "To do this ahead of summer, when we know there will likely be an uptick in violence, is really troubling," Griffin said. "We need our government to show up for our young people the way we do—every day, without fail." In a statement, a senior DHS official refuted any concerns. 'Any suggestion that DHS is stepping away from addressing hate crimes or domestic terrorism is simply false. Under Secretary Noem's leadership DHS has streamlined funding to cut waste while strengthening our partnerships with state and local law enforcement to tackle these critical threats head-on,' the senior DHS official said. Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, said 'President Trump is keeping his promise to Make America Safe Again by empowering state and local law enforcement to relentlessly pursue criminals and protect American communities.' 'Whether it be maximizing the use of Federal resources to improve trainings or establishing task forces to advance Federal and local coordination, President Trump is keeping innocent Americans safe.' Jackson added. She pointed to Trump's April executive order that called for providing pro bono legal assistance for officers facing unjust legal expenses, maximizing the use of federal resources to train officers, increasing surplus military assets to support local law enforcement, and more.
