How to address extremism among veterans

The mob assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 opened a new chapter in domestic terrorism. For the first time in our nation’s history, America experienced its first non-peaceful post-election transfer of power. To date, more than 660 arrests have been made, and more than 12% of those arrested were veterans of the U.S. military.

The pace, scope, and scale of domestic violent extremism has been increasing, and national security experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the efforts of such groups to recruit active-duty military and veterans to their ranks for the purposes of committing violence and overthrowing the government of the United States.

There is a growing movement within the veteran community to partner with researchers, government officials, and private sector companies to counter this threat and play a leading role in blunting the challenges of violent extremism and polarizing misinformation nationally.

On December 3, Brookings hosted an event to discuss these and other developments, their implications for the future of domestic security, and how they should inform U.S. policy going forward.

Viewers submitted questions via email to [email protected] or on Twitter using #VetsProtectDemocracy