The Justice Department is coming under intense pressure from the White House and congressional Democrats to increase investigations and prosecutions of white supremacists and racist crimes in America.
The Justice Department is taking heed.
On the day after federal prosecutors indicted three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, on hate-crime charges, reports surfaced Thursday that the department will ask a federal grand jury to indict former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin and three other officers on charges of civil rights violations related to the death of George Floyd.
On Thursday, House Democrats used a House Appropriations subcommittee to vow that they would make every resource available to keep efforts against racist crimes at the top of the Justice Department’s to-do list.
“This is a cancer on our country,” said Rep. Matt Cartwright, Pennsylvania Democrat.
All the moves signal that civil rights enforcement and combating white supremacy will be the agency’s top priorities over the next four years.
Brad Wiegmann, assistant attorney general for Justice Department’s national security division, told lawmakers the department is “actively considering” asking for a new law that lets prosecutors bring domestic terrorism charges.
Mr. Wiegmann said such a law would cover a broader range of conduct as potentially criminal, though the department has been successful in using existing gun- and hate-crime charges in domestic terrorism cases.
Democratic lawmakers pushed the Justice Department to focus on right-wing terrorism, repeatedly asking Mr. Wiegmann and FBI Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Jill Sanborn to identify funding weaknesses or new laws to bolster the right against white supremacy.
Rep. Grace Meng, New York Democrat, asked the officials if they needed any additional resources or personnel.
But Rep. David Trone, Maryland Democrat, said he worried that funds turned over to the FBI to bolster its efforts against domestic terrorists would be used against Blacks and other minorities.
“What can Congress do to properly ensure that the resources we allocate to protect our national security while also ensuring these resources are not later used to target the very communities that are the most vulnerable and perhaps the most overly surveilled already?” he asked.
Mr. Wiegmann said domestic-terrorism investigations cannot begin based on mere suspicion or potential political dislike, but have specific legal requirements.
Republicans didn’t challenge Democrats’ claims that white supremacy and domestic terrorism are widespread across the country. Instead, they asked the officials to pursue antifa and left-wing extremist groups as vigorously as far-right groups.
“All forms of domestic terrorism must be defeated, including violent extremism from the political left,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt, Alabama Republican.
Republicans on the committee also backed the Democrats’ pledge to support Justice Department efforts against domestic terrorists and white supremacists.
The Justice Department has ramped up its activity to combat crimes allegedly arising from racial conflicts.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors hit three White men in Georgia men with hate crime and kidnapping charges stemming from Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was jogging in Brunswick in February 2020 when he was chased down in a truck by three men and fatally shot.
Minneapolis media outlets reported Thursday the Justice Department plans to ask a grand jury to indict the four officers involved in the fatal arrest of George Floyd on civil rights violations.
One of the officers, Chauvin, last week was found guilty of murder for Floyd’s death.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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