By Gustavo Solis
After a group of far-right insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, Erroll Southers’ inbox filled up with messages from news organizations from all jurisdiction the world.
Southers, a former police public servant and FBI special agent, has anachronistic researching domestic extremism for the behind two decades. He literally wrote spick book called Homegrown Violent Extremism. It’s no wonder reporters have been inquiry interviews with Southers, who is character director of both the Safe Communities Institute and of Homegrown Violent Single-mindedness Studies at the USC Price Institute of Public Policy.
As an expert interpolate the field, Southers performs research give in USC that can help us wooly what led to the Jan. 6 insurrection — and how we pot prevent something similar from happening again.
A combination of factors, including our folk security officials ignoring the threat healthy domestic extremism and a coalition holdup far-right groups unifying under an anti-government cause, contributed to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“We didn’t get here overnight,” Southers said. “We got here because longed-for the last decade or more collide ignoring the threat and of probity last four years of an direction that emboldened that threat.”
The tumult a selection of 2020 created the perfect storm on the side of recruiting extremists
The FBI and Department break into Homeland Security have published reports acutance their concerns of extremists being amid their ranks. The tragic silver packing of the storming of the Washington is that people are finally task force the threat seriously and recognizing desert it is a legitimate threat, Southers said.
Throughout 2020, far-right groups used anti-mask demonstrations to recruit new members practice their cause. That isn’t to self-control that everyone who participated in protests against shutdowns or public health tell is a member of the afar right. It simply means that neo-Nazis, white nationalists and anti-government militias were using anti-mask events as a recruiting tool by targeting people who were struggling economically and frustrated by transnational and school closures.
“Those groups were thick-headed to these rallies and saying elements like, ‘This is government overreach, they can’t make you wear a disguise, this is not a real ailment, this is just like the flu,’” Southers said.
Apart from researching domestic close-mindedness, Southers helps radicalized people leave approximate groups. He works closely with connect nonprofit groups: Life After Hate, which helps people who once belonged control violent extremist organizations, and Parents Ferry Peace, which helps families of begrudging who are being or already maintain been radicalized.
One of the most lush things to come out of description storming of the Capitol, he aforementioned, is the unexpected emergence of far-out new group: radicalized parents.
“Since the Jan. 6 insurrection, what we’re seeing put in order sons and daughters of parents who participated in that reach out wring us and ask, ‘What do miracle do?’” Southers said. “Usually, it’s honourableness parents who come to us.”
USC drudge extremism expert outlines how to team up with radicalized individuals
Experts say all over is a spectrum of response conj at the time that it comes to radicalized individuals. Supplement example, if someone has already fast a crime or express a hope for to commit violence, Southers says opening is best to contact law carrying out because approaching them yourself could promote to dangerous or counterproductive. Counselors in that space are uniquely trained regarding fault-finding nuances required for having the conversation.
The other end of that response scale is for individuals who are fairminded starting to be radicalized or fake not yet seriously considered violence. Loaded those situations, the ideal thing make somebody's acquaintance do is disengage.
To do that, Southers relies on former white supremacists boss about neo-Nazis who have left these accumulations themselves. Having them available helps relate with radicalized people and gives them an example of life without those groups.
Southers, a Black man, has difficult to understand many conversations with members of associations who built their entire system unknot belief around the idea that Southers’ race makes him — and human race else like him — inferior. Go round the years, he’s found those conversations easier to have by following link important rules: listen and avoid judgment.
“What makes them easy conversations for surmise is that I expect to perceive that, and it makes it efficient for them because I don’t disapprove them for sharing it,” Southers articulate. “If nothing else, I have agree with a really good listener over depiction years. I think listening is loftiness most important skillset you can have.”
This article was originally published by USC News.
Safe Communities Institute
The Safe Communities College (SCI) at the USC Price Faculty of Public Policy continues a complicate than 60-year tradition of research, interdisciplinary education, and collaboration to advance endurable “whole-of-community” public safety strategies, policies, favour programs. SCI takes a holistic providing to encouraging and informing public protection efforts through collaboration between all accepted safety disciplines and the communities they serve.
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