The Daily - The Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, and How U.S. Law Enforcement Ignored It

Despite repeated warnings over the past two decades, federal law enforcement officials in the United States have ignored the threat of violence from far-right extremists. Now, they have no idea how to stop it. Guest: Janet Reitman, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who is working on a book about the rise of the far right in post-9/11 America. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Duration: 30m
Broadcast on: 13 Dec 2018
Audio Format: other

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by the Capital One Venture X Card. Venture X offers the premium benefits you expect, like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit for less than you expect. Elevate your earn with unlimited double miles on every purchase, bringing you one step closer to your next dream destination. Plus, enjoy access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. The Capital One Venture X Card, what's in your wallet? Terms apply, lounge access is subject to change. See CapitalOne.com for details. From the New York Times, I'm Michael Warborough. This is The Daily. Today, despite repeated warnings over the past two decades, federal law enforcement officials have ignored the threat of violence from right-wing extremists. Now, they have no idea how to stop it.

It's Thursday, December 13th. It's mid-August 2017, and there's a police lieutenant named Dan Stout. Janet Reitman is a contributing writer for The Times Magazine. Who is sitting in his living room in Gainesville, Florida, watching TV. I was doing tours around the home and had the news channels on and flipping around. Good afternoon. We're coming on the air now with breaking news from Charlottesville, Virginia. That is the scene. Suddenly, everybody started covering the protest in Charlottesville, and I just sat down and started watching the event. He's watching people that are carrying long guns, guys with a flamethrower, guys with flagpole spears. Seeing the violent protest and just sheer mayhem. And he's... And I was just like probably everyone else, just shocked. And he was also just really perplexed. As a law enforcement officer, I was wondering, why were the officers? Why weren't they engaging? Why was this level of violence being allowed to continue unchecked? As he is watching all of this play out, he hears on TV that... The part that really just about pulled the rug out from underneath my feet is that, "Okay, and where is Richard Spencer going to go to next?" Richard Spencer, who is one of the key organizers of the event. Richard Spencer will speak at the University of Florida. He's speaking at the University of Florida in Gainesville. That's going to be going to Gainesville, Florida. Is coming to his town next. We'll take a stand anywhere and everywhere. So you're going to have to get used to it. And at that point, Dan goes... Oh my God. Oh my God. This is coming to my town. And he just knows that... The only thing I could think of was, we're not ready for this.

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