FBI Saw Uptick In Domestic Terror Arrests At End Of 2018
FREDRICKA: Even after 49 people were brutally murdered in an terrifying anti-Muslim attack. President Trump says he still doesn't think the presence of white nationalism is growing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you see today white nationalism as rising threat around the world?</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. I guess, if you look at what happened in New Zealand perhaps that's a case. I don't know enough about it yet. They are just learning about the person and the people involved. But it is certainly a terrible thing. Terrible thing.</s>FREDRICKA: New data from the FBI suggests domestic terror arrests have been on the rise in recent months. Let's bring in Josh Campbell, former Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI. Good to see you Josh.</s>JOSH CAMPBELL, FORMER FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Hi Fred.</s>FREDRICKA: So what more can you tell us about the recent uptick?</s>CAMPBELL: Yes, we're getting some new data from the FBI and first it's important to point out a caveat in what this information doesn't tell us. Now, what the FBI is essentially saying and I think with a graphic there is look at some of the numbers is looking at the last quarter, last three months of 2018, they saw what they are calling an increase in volume in arrests with approximately 25 domestic terrorism arrests in the last three months. And again, if you look at the past couple years that we can't yet draw a line as an annual increase, but as a snapshot in time as of today the most recent available information, they do see an increase in the arrests that spend across the ideological spectrum. One thing that's interesting that it tells us is that although so much focus is on international terrorism, groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, the FBI very much has a robust component both at headquarters and in the field that's focused on stopping these domestic terrorism threats that we've seen similar to what's going on right now in New Zealand, Fred.</s>FREDRICKA: And so what are authorities doing to mitigate domestic terror threats?</s>CAMPBELL: So we're getting some new information from the FBI as far as their response to the attacks in New Zealand, an official was telling us that law enforcement officers are going through their intelligence databases looking for any possible information that might help authorities in New Zealand trying to identify in addition any U.S. based connections to that attack. And then also they're going through these systems looking for known subjects who might be in a position or prone to possible retaliatory attacks. So again, it's an all hands on deck approach here for the FBI. We're also told from a law enforcement official that agents in the field are being directed to proactively go out and talk to their human informants, people who are on the books reporting information and asking about anything that might help officials in New Zealand as well as here protecting the homeland. And lastly we're told that officials are closely lashed up with authorities over in New Zealand. They're part of an intelligence sharing arrangement that share information already daily, but really trying to ensure if there is anything that the U.S. Government knows, and anything the FBI knows domestically, that that information is quickly shared with authorities over in New Zealand both to protect them and also the homeland here. Fred.</s>FREDRICKA: All right, Josh Campbell, thank you so much.</s>CAMPBELL: Thanks.</s>FREDRICKA: And we'll be right back.