Right-wing extremists move to encrypted channels to plan for Inauguration Day violence

Описание: Right-wing extremists are using channels on the encrypted communication app Telegram to call for violence against government officials on Jan. 20, the day President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, with some extremists sharing knowledge of how to make, conceal and use homemade guns and bombs.The messages are being posted in Telegram chatrooms where white supremacist content has been freely shared for months, but chatter on these channels has increased since extremists have been forced off other platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.Telegram is a Dubai-based messaging service that does little moderation of its content and has a sizable international user base, particularly in eastern Europe and the Middle East.In the days since the Capitol attack, for example, a U.S. Army field manual and exhortations to "shoot politicians" and "encourage armed struggle" have been posted in a Telegram channel that uses "fascist" in its name.Chris Sampson, chief of research at the defense research institute Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies, said his group is focused on and concerned about users of the channel and has alerted the FBI about it. (TAPSTRI is run by Malcolm Nance, an NBC News terrorism analyst.)“When they start calling for assassinations, when they start calling for action versus sharing information, we flag them a little higher," said Sampson. "Some channels merely swap information, but then they accelerated into conversations of where to be.”Jan. 12, 202102:56Documents shared via the channel's file manager include "US Army explosives and demolitions manual," and "US Army Engineer course," as well as white supremacist content.A post explaining how to radicalize Trump supporters to neo-Nazism has also circulated on the channel as well as other far right extremist channels.Extremists are aware that they are under scrutiny, however, and in the fallout of the riot have been using online platforms to recalibrate their movements.On Monday the FBI sent a memo to law enforcement agencies warning about possible armed protests at all 50 state Capitols starting Jan. 16.RelatedIn response, some Trump supporters with extremist views have used encrypted platforms to post warnings about avoiding local rallies in the coming days and instead wait for a big turnout in Washington at Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20."Do not attend armed protests at state capitols before inauguration! Possible sinister plot hatched by radical left to take away gun rights!" someone posted in a Telegram chatroom with thousands of members favored by the far right.After Jan. 6, far-right extremists starting posting calls to arms for "round 2" on Inauguration Day in Washington.Jan. 12, 202105:48A "Million Militia March" is also being planned, as well as a "Million Martyr March," the latter in honor of Ashli Babbitt, a veteran and a Trump supporter who was fatally shot during the storming of the Capitol. Babbitt has