Attorney General William P. Barr late Friday ordered the formation of a task force to take on the “anti-government extremists” he says have disrupted peaceful protests against police brutality by causing chaos and sowing discord.
Mr. Barr wrote that the task force will work to develop information about “extremist individuals, networks and movements” and share that data with local law enforcement. It will also provide training and resources to local authorities to build criminal cases against extremists, according to the memo.
“The ultimate goal of the task force will be not only to enable prosecutions of extremists who engage in violence, but to understand these groups well enough that we can stop such violence before it occurs and ultimately eliminate it as a threat to public safety and the rule of law,” Mr. Barr wrote.
In a memo to top Justice Department officials, Mr. Barr said the anti-government extremists had “engaged in indefensible acts of violence designed to undermine public order.”
“Among other lawless conduct, these extremists have violently attacked police officers and other government officials, destroyed public and private property, and threatened innocent people,” Mr. Barr wrote. “Although these extremists profess a variety of ideologies, they are united in their opposition to the core constitutional values of a democratic society governed by law.”
Mr. Barr said the anti-government extremists “pretend to profess a message of freedom in progress,” in the wake of the protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in the custody of for four White police officers in Minneapolis.
However, he said the anti-government extremists are actually “forces of anarchy, destruction and coercion.”
In the memo, Mr. Barr named both Antifa, a left-leaning anarchy group that includes socialists and communists, and “Boogaloo,” a radical right-wing group organization that used the chaos amid the civil unrest to kill a federal officer in Oakland.
Mr. Barr said the extremist groups may be “fortified by foreign entities seeking to cause chaos and disorder in our country.” Although he has frequently claimed foreign adversaries have used the protests to fan the flames of division, Mr. Barr did not offer evidence to back up his claim.
Earlier this month, Mr. Barr said a “witch’s brew” of extremist groups have taken advantage of the protests to cause anarchy.
The Justice Department, he wrote in the Friday memo, “will respond to these violent groups the same way we respond to other organized criminal or terrorist network — by disrupting their violent activities and ultimately dismantling their capability to threaten the rule of law.”
The task force will be led by Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and Erin Nealy Cox, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Representatives of the FBI and other federal agencies will be part of the task force, according to the memo.
Mr. Barr said this week the Justice Department has roughly 500 investigations into the violence that has occurred during riots nationwide over the past month.
The task force comes as the Trump administration threatens to escalate the force used against violent protesters. President Trump has directed the Justice Department to seek stronger sentences against people who destroy memorials and statues.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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