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terrorism-legislature-should-do-more/
Auditors: Oregon ranks high for domestic terrorism, Legislature should do
more
MARCH 31, 2022
FacebookTwitterInstagram
By JUILA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM โ After a decade that included the occupation of a federal wildlife
refuge, clashes between groups of protesters in Portland and a mob
forcing its way into the locked Capitol, Oregon ranks sixth in the nation
for violent extremist attacks, according to a new state report.
The Secretary of Stateโs Audits Division called on the Legislature to
define โdomestic terrorismโ and โdomestic violent extremismโ so
prosecutors can charge suspects and on state police and the Oregon
Justice Department to improve how they plan for and track incidents.
Read the report: Oregon Can Do More to Mitigate the Alarming Risk of
Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremist Attacks
Kip Memmott, the state audits director, said during a news conference
Wednesday that congressional auditors have frequently looked at extremism
at the national level but thereโs not a lot of oversight at the state
level.
โOregonโs risks are not theoretical,โ Memmott said. โTheyโre actually
actual risks that weโre facing that our office needed to move and pivot
in and provide some information to the public and key leadership that
hopefully can mitigate these risks.โ
The report said Oregon has endured high-profile domestic terrorism
incidents dating back to the 1980s, when members of the Rajneesh movement
contaminated 10 restaurants in The Dalles with salmonella and made more
than 750 people ill in a bioterrorist attack.
More recently, far-right extremists occupied the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge outside of Burns for more than a month in 2016, ending in
multiple arrests and the killing of one militant by the Oregon State
Police. In August 2020, after a summer of protests in Portland, a far-
left activist shot and killed a member of a far-right group who had
participated in a caravan for then-President Donald Trump.
And in December 2020, while the Legislature convened to address pandemic
relief, rioters broke into the Capitol with help from a state
representative who was later expelled for his actions. The 31-page report
starts and ends with a photo of a person in a puffy coat and red hat
using a metal bar to smash a glass door of an employee entrance to the
Capitol. Today, security guards and a metal detector sit behind those
doors because of the attack on the Capitol.
Only five states โ New York, California, Florida, Texas and Washington โ
experienced more violent extremist attacks than Oregon between 2011 and
2020, according to the report. The other five are significantly larger
than Oregon, ranked 27th by population.
The report cites the FBI, which says the greatest domestic terrorism
threat comes from individual people who are often radicalized online and
target schools, businesses or houses of worship like chuches, mosques and
synagogues.
โThe U.S. is facing domestic terror and violent extremist threats that
have evolved significantly and became increasingly complex and volatile
in 2021,โ the report said. โSocial media and online forums are
increasingly exploited to influence and spread violent extremist
narratives and activity; these threats are being exacerbated by the
stressful impacts of the ongoing global pandemic.โ
Auditors wrote that recent legislation may mitigate risks of domestic
extremism. In 2021, lawmakers banned firearms in public buildings,
reorganized the state Emergency Management Office and Homeland Security
Council, required all law enforcement agencies to begin using a uniform
background check for new hires and required officers to investigate
crimes that could be motivated by a victimโs gender.
But the auditors said more could still be done, including criminalizing
domestic terrorism. Oregon is one of 16 states that doesnโt define
domestic terrorism in state law, leaving questions about how state and
local law enforcement investigate and charge such crimes and how theyโre
tracked at the state level.
Casey Kopcho, the lead auditor on the report, said auditors didnโt know
of any incidents that couldnโt be prosecuted because the state didnโt
define domestic terrorism. But they found state and local agencies donโt
have a consistent definition of what constitutes terrorism or extremism.
Government responses to terrorism, such as the federal USA Patriot Act
passed after 9/11, often conflict with civil liberties and individual
privacy. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right
to free expression, no matter how hateful or repugnant other people might
find some ideologies, the report noted.
Kopcho and Memmott said they considered the conflict between security and
liberty, and their recommendations include publicly reporting on
incidents or threats of domestic violence in a way that wouldnโt violate
anyoneโs privacy. Ultimately, Memmott said, decisions about how to
balance safety and civil liberties are up to the Legislature and the
laws it passes.
โThere has to be a balance between the right to speech and the right to
privacy and the right to monitor violent extremists and that kind of
stuff,โ Memmott said.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit Salem-based news service that
focuses its reporting on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
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Tony Sidaway Memorial "Drama Queen" Award, November 2006
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Order of the Holey Sockpuppet, September 2007
Barbara Woodhouse Memorial Dog Whistle, September 2006
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AUK Mascot, September 2007
Putting the Awards Out of Order to Screw With the OCD Fuckheads, March
2016
terrorism-legislature-should-do-more/
Auditors: Oregon ranks high for domestic terrorism, Legislature should do
more
MARCH 31, 2022
FacebookTwitterInstagram
By JUILA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM โ After a decade that included the occupation of a federal wildlife
refuge, clashes between groups of protesters in Portland and a mob
forcing its way into the locked Capitol, Oregon ranks sixth in the nation
for violent extremist attacks, according to a new state report.
The Secretary of Stateโs Audits Division called on the Legislature to
define โdomestic terrorismโ and โdomestic violent extremismโ so
prosecutors can charge suspects and on state police and the Oregon
Justice Department to improve how they plan for and track incidents.
Read the report: Oregon Can Do More to Mitigate the Alarming Risk of
Domestic Terrorism and Violent Extremist Attacks
Kip Memmott, the state audits director, said during a news conference
Wednesday that congressional auditors have frequently looked at extremism
at the national level but thereโs not a lot of oversight at the state
level.
โOregonโs risks are not theoretical,โ Memmott said. โTheyโre actually
actual risks that weโre facing that our office needed to move and pivot
in and provide some information to the public and key leadership that
hopefully can mitigate these risks.โ
The report said Oregon has endured high-profile domestic terrorism
incidents dating back to the 1980s, when members of the Rajneesh movement
contaminated 10 restaurants in The Dalles with salmonella and made more
than 750 people ill in a bioterrorist attack.
More recently, far-right extremists occupied the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge outside of Burns for more than a month in 2016, ending in
multiple arrests and the killing of one militant by the Oregon State
Police. In August 2020, after a summer of protests in Portland, a far-
left activist shot and killed a member of a far-right group who had
participated in a caravan for then-President Donald Trump.
And in December 2020, while the Legislature convened to address pandemic
relief, rioters broke into the Capitol with help from a state
representative who was later expelled for his actions. The 31-page report
starts and ends with a photo of a person in a puffy coat and red hat
using a metal bar to smash a glass door of an employee entrance to the
Capitol. Today, security guards and a metal detector sit behind those
doors because of the attack on the Capitol.
Only five states โ New York, California, Florida, Texas and Washington โ
experienced more violent extremist attacks than Oregon between 2011 and
2020, according to the report. The other five are significantly larger
than Oregon, ranked 27th by population.
The report cites the FBI, which says the greatest domestic terrorism
threat comes from individual people who are often radicalized online and
target schools, businesses or houses of worship like chuches, mosques and
synagogues.
โThe U.S. is facing domestic terror and violent extremist threats that
have evolved significantly and became increasingly complex and volatile
in 2021,โ the report said. โSocial media and online forums are
increasingly exploited to influence and spread violent extremist
narratives and activity; these threats are being exacerbated by the
stressful impacts of the ongoing global pandemic.โ
Auditors wrote that recent legislation may mitigate risks of domestic
extremism. In 2021, lawmakers banned firearms in public buildings,
reorganized the state Emergency Management Office and Homeland Security
Council, required all law enforcement agencies to begin using a uniform
background check for new hires and required officers to investigate
crimes that could be motivated by a victimโs gender.
But the auditors said more could still be done, including criminalizing
domestic terrorism. Oregon is one of 16 states that doesnโt define
domestic terrorism in state law, leaving questions about how state and
local law enforcement investigate and charge such crimes and how theyโre
tracked at the state level.
Casey Kopcho, the lead auditor on the report, said auditors didnโt know
of any incidents that couldnโt be prosecuted because the state didnโt
define domestic terrorism. But they found state and local agencies donโt
have a consistent definition of what constitutes terrorism or extremism.
Government responses to terrorism, such as the federal USA Patriot Act
passed after 9/11, often conflict with civil liberties and individual
privacy. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right
to free expression, no matter how hateful or repugnant other people might
find some ideologies, the report noted.
Kopcho and Memmott said they considered the conflict between security and
liberty, and their recommendations include publicly reporting on
incidents or threats of domestic violence in a way that wouldnโt violate
anyoneโs privacy. Ultimately, Memmott said, decisions about how to
balance safety and civil liberties are up to the Legislature and the
laws it passes.
โThere has to be a balance between the right to speech and the right to
privacy and the right to monitor violent extremists and that kind of
stuff,โ Memmott said.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit Salem-based news service that
focuses its reporting on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
Related Posts
Oregon Legislature wants its day in court for redistricting
By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau Democrats and Republicans in the
Legislature are uniting toโฆ
Proposal to pay farmworkers overtime overcomes first hurdle in Oregon
Legislature
The first vote on the plan, which would establish a 40-hour workweek, is
partisan, withโฆ
Auditors find that Oregon state agency handled wildfire cleanup well
despite complaints
Wildfire in September 2020 swept through the Santiam Canyon,
destroying homes, businesses and vehicles.โฆ
FILED UNDER: OREGON NEWS
--
Golden Killfile, June 2005
KOTM, November 2006
Bob Allisat Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, November 2006
Special Ops Cody Memorial Purple Heart, November 2006
Special Ops Cody Memorial Purple Heart, September 2007
Tony Sidaway Memorial "Drama Queen" Award, November 2006
Busted Urinal Award, April 2007
Order of the Holey Sockpuppet, September 2007
Barbara Woodhouse Memorial Dog Whistle, September 2006
Barbara Woodhouse Memorial Dog Whistle, April 2008
Tinfoil Sombrero, February 2007
AUK Mascot, September 2007
Putting the Awards Out of Order to Screw With the OCD Fuckheads, March
2016
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