Combating Domestic Violent Extremism Is No Longer a FEMA Priority

Source: Wired

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is planning to direct states and tribes to immediately stop certain activities intended to combat domestic violent extremism, according to a draft of an information bulletin obtained by WIRED. These changes, according to a separate document also obtained by WIRED, appear to have been suggested following a meeting between FEMA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where the two agencies essentially discussed how to legally stop funding dedicated to combating domestic extremism.

The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration cuts funding and support across multiple parts of the government for domestic extremism initiatives.

The unreleased bulletin, which is undated and is addressed to a variety of state and tribal nation points of contact, orders grant recipients to immediately “pause and review” all activities using FEMA grants to address domestic violent extremism. Some of these activities, the bulletin states, should be “repurposed” in order to continue to receive funding. Activities exclusively dedicated to combating domestic violent extremism in the US—including running public awareness campaigns, hosting forums or trainings on the “identification or prevention” of domestic violent extremism, and funding organizations whose exclusive focus is on this issue—would no longer longer permitted to be funded by FEMA grants.

“All [domestic violent extremism] elements must be fully removed for the project to proceed,” the draft bulletin states. The review of the grants is intended to ensure “federal grant funds support activities aligned with current administration priorities.”

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Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/extremism-domestic-violence-fema-dhs-priority/