From the Oklahoma bombing in 1995, the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre in 2018 and the attack on the US Capitol in 2021, home-grown extremism has become an increasing threat in the US.
Groups including QAnon, which promotes conspiracy theories, the Proud Boys, a men-only neo-fascist organisation, and Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia, became more visible following the Capitol riot, which has been denounced by the White House and the Justice Department as an act of domestic terrorism.
“On January 6, 2021, Americans witnessed an unprecedented attack against a core institution of our democracy: the US Congress,” the White House wrote in its strategy on domestic terrorism, released last June.
The document, the first in US history focused on domestic terrorism, addresses the transnational dimensions of white supremacist and other domestic terrorist violence and expands the scope of the federal government and law enforcement authorities in countering this threat.
But a year on from the January 6 attack, experts who follow US domestic extremism that current efforts are not enough, and that the more localised and entrenched these groups become, the more difficult they become to defeat.
Lorenzo Vidino, director of extremism programme at George Washington University, sees the current federal response to domestic extremism as lacking.
“The US government for the most part and for a long time has underestimated and overlooked the problem of domestic extremism,” Mr Vidino told The National.
He pointed to the heightened focus on extremist groups such as Al Qaeda after the September 11, 2001 attacks and ISIS later on, the entrenchment of some far-right groups in law enforcement and the military, and legal barriers as the main reasons behind the lag.
“We are seeing a number of people within law enforcement or the military who belong to some of these groups like the Oath Keepers that have sheriffs and deputies in their rank,” the expert said.
In the year since January 6, federal authorities have charged more than 700 people in connection to the riot at the Capitol. Prosecutors say the sprawling investigation is now the biggest probe in US history, both in terms of the number of defendants and the sheer quantity of evidence.
The extremism programme reported that 12 per cent of those facing charges have a military background.
Mr Vidino sees certain commonalities between domestic and foreign extremists, one of them being that the majority of the people involved in such groups tend to be men (87 per cent in the case of January 6), averaging between 30 and 40 years of age.
But unlike countering foreign extremism, the US government has a limited set of tools for going after domestic extremists.
Though Congress tends to be all in when it comes to pursuing foreign extremists, when it comes to laws allowing domestic surveillance or cracking down on communications between far-right group members, Mr Vidino says there is ample political resistance.
“The strategy is very much in its infancy … In the last two decades, bills to introduce domestic terrorism laws similar to those applied to foreign groups to domestic never made it [in Congress]," he said.
Even the White House document addressing domestic terrorism came under attack from both the right and left for threatening individual freedoms.
“It relies too heavily on law enforcement suspicion, investigation and policing of beliefs rather than actual conduct — violence or attempted violence,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in its criticism of the document.
Beyond the federal response, other experts are concerned that far-right extremism has become more resilient since January 6.
Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Centre where he studies extremism, said the movement is now more locally focused and has adjusted to the post-Donald Trump era.
“We have seen a clear re-orientation of the far-right extremist threat in the US. Now that Trump is gone, there has been something of a shift to more of a grassroots movement, which is manifesting itself in threats to local school boards and more politicians running for local office that are resorting to extremist rhetoric,” Mr Clarke said.
Mr Trump frequently fanned the flames of far-right extremist conspiracies or looked the other way as racist and anti-Semitic attacks took place in Charlottesville and Pittsburgh.
Mr Clarke describes a more durable and evolved far-right extremist ecosystem, focused on community activism.
“It is now a much broader tent and includes not just anti-government and anti-authority extremists, but also conspiracy theorists and [anti-vaccination activists],” he said.
Steven Bannon, Mr Trump’s former aide who has been charged with contempt by the Department of Justice over the January 6 investigation, encouraged the far-right movement to pivot to local elections.
“We're going to take this back village by village … precinct by precinct,” Mr Bannon told his supporters in February, an investigation by ProPublica showed.
The movement has utilised the pandemic to promote anti-vaccine rallies and reject school safety restrictions.
“The pandemic has been an ideological godsend for the far right,” Mr Clarke said.
While Canada designated the Proud Boys a terrorist entity after the Capitol siege, it remains unlikely the US will follow suit, both Mr Clarke and Mr Vidino said.
Still, Mr Clarke sees a break in the national momentum for these groups.
“The Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers have likely been deterred by the arrests, charges in the insurrection and lawsuits, leading to financial concerns and threatening their viability,” he Clarke said.
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RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
