White supremacists want to weaponize coronavirus, DHS says
A man makes a slashing motion across his throat toward counter-protesters as he marches with other white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the ‘alt-right’ during the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Image by Getty Images
By Aiden Pink March 22, 2020
Multiple white supremacists have discussed using the novel coronavirus as a biological weapon, Yahoo News reported on Saturday, citing a document from a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
An intelligence brief issued Feb. 24 by the Federal Protective Service, which protects federal government buildings, claimed that “White Racially Motivated Violent Extremists have recently commented on the coronavirus stating that it is an ‘OBLIGATION’ to spread it should any of them contract the virus.”
The memo, which was based on online conversations on the messaging app Telegram that the government had gained access to, claimed that some extremists had proposed targeting government offices as well as minority communities. Among the ideas proposed included having infected white nationalists purposefully spend time in non-white neighborhoods in order to infect others, as well as leaving “saliva on door handles” and spitting on elevator buttons in office buildings.
As a public service during this pandemic, the Forward is providing free, unlimited access to all coronavirus articles. If you’d like to support our independent Jewish journalism, click here.
The Telegram channel is devoted to “accelerationism,” the idea that inciting or conducting violent attacks on minorities and the government will accelerate the creation of a white ethno-state.
DHS did not respond to Yahoo News’ requests for comment.
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
