The COVID-19 Pandemic Narrative and the Link to Domestic Terrorism in the United States

Back in June 2021, the United States National Security Council released its strategy paper on countering domestic terrorism:

 

 

...which specifically mentioned the following with my bolds throughout:

 

"Domestic terrorists have – particularly in recent years – often been lone actors or small groups of informally aligned individuals who mobilize to violence with little or no clear organizational structure or direction. These individuals often consume material deliberately disseminated to recruit individuals to causes that attempt to provide a sense of belonging and fulfillment, however false that sense might be. Their ideologies can be fluid, evolving, and overlapping. And they can, in some instances, connect and intersect with conspiracy theories and other forms of disinformation and misinformation. The often solitary and, at times, rapid nature of such mobilization to violence poses a particularly acute challenge to law enforcement and others seeking to prevent, disrupt, and deter domestic terrorism.

 

These elements combine to form a complex and shifting domestic terrorism threat landscape and create significant challenges for law enforcement. Especially on Internet–based communications platforms such as social media, file–upload sites, and end–to–end encrypted platforms, all of these elements can combine and amplify threats to public safety."

 

...as well as this:

 

"For example, the Department of Homeland Security and others are either currently funding and implementing or planning evidence– based digital programming, including enhancing media literacy and critical thinking skills, as a mechanism for strengthening user resilience to disinformation and misinformation online for domestic audiences."

 

 In other words, a form of government controlled brainwashing.

 

This is also part of the document:

 

"These efforts speak to a broader priority: enhancing faith in government and addressing the extreme polarization, fueled by a crisis of disinformation and misinformation often channeled through social media platforms, which can tear Americans apart and lead some to violence."

 

In my opinion, under the section entitled "Assessment of the Domestic Violence Extremism Threat" on page 10, we find this key paragraph with my bold:

 

"The Intelligence Community (IC) assesses that domestic violent extremists (DVEs) who are motivated by a range of ideologies and galvanized by recent political and societal events in the United States pose an elevated threat to the Homeland in 2021. Enduring DVE motivations pertaining to biases against minority populations and perceived government overreach will almost certainly continue to drive DVE radicalization and mobilization to violence. Newer sociopolitical developments–such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, conditions related to the COVID–19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence–will almost certainly spur some DVEs to try to engage in violence 

 

With the focus on so-called "domestic terrorism" which, according to the aformentioned document can be as simple as "disinformation and misinformation" that is posted on social media platforms and the observation that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of the raison d'être for a domestic terrorism prevention program, a recent release from the Department of Homeland Security is particularly concerning.

 

Before we go any further, let's look at the Department of Homeland Security's definition of mis-, dis- and mal-information or MDM:

 

"Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation make up what CISA defines as “information activities”. When this type of content is released by foreign actors, it can be referred to as foreign influence. Definitions for each are below.

 

Misinformation is false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm.

Disinformation is deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, social group, organization, or country.

Malinformation is based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.

Foreign and domestic threat actors use MDM campaigns to cause chaos, confusion, and division. These malign actors are seeking to interfere with and undermine our democratic institutions and national cohesiveness."

Now, let's look at the Department of Homeland Security National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin dated February 7, 2022:

 

Here is the key sentence:

 

"Meanwhile, COVID-19 mitigation measures—particularly COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates—have been used by domestic violent extremists to justify violence since 2020 and could continue to inspire these extremists to target government, healthcare, and academic institutions that they associate with those measures."

 

Not even eight months after the National Security Council issued its paper on combatting domestic terrorism, particularly as it relates to information that appears on social media platforms, we find that the Department of Homeland Security has already fallen into line by defining the appearance of mis-, dis- and mal-information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination response as a threat to the homeland.  It's a good thing that government bodies through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and their spokespersons have not been responsible for any false or deliberately misleading information over the past two years, isn't it?  We should also note that highly qualified researchers with a COVID-19 narrative that is factual but that differs from the government's could well be considered domestic terrorists under this definition.

 

In case you were curious, this domestic terrorist threat to the American homeland is set to expire on June 7, 2022 at 02:00 p.m. at which time we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

The Biden Administration's efforts to create a domestic terrorist boogeyman out of thin air should concern us all.  How can we be certain that, in the future, anyone who takes a stand against government won't be classified as a terrorist and treated as such by the justice system?