Oral history interview with Daryl W. Johnson, 2021
Abstract
Daryl Johnson discusses his roles as an expert on domestic right-wing extremists at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Johnson describes the history and progression of white supremacist groups and terror acts in the U.S. from the 1990s through the Trump administration and after. He describes Ruby Ridge and Waco in the '90s, which led to a growth of militias and marked the first wave of right-wing extremism. Johnson discusses the resurgence of non-Islamic domestic extremism in 2007 and 2008- leading up to and continuing after Obama's election- after a period of decreasing white supremacy post-9/11/2001. Johnson delves into his DHS report on right-wing extremism, including their broad definition of right-wing extremism; collaborating with federal, state, and local agencies and analysts; and, after the report was leaked, the conservative media's spin and DHS's reaction and eventual disbanding of the domestic terrorism program. Johnson outlines causes of the second wave of right-wing extremism, including Obama's identities, conspiracy theories and misinformation, and the advent of the internet and social media. Also discussed are militias of the '90s; the Army's strategic intelligence on domestic terrorism in the 1990s; how 9/11 shifted focus to al-Qaeda; the development of DHS's domestic terrorism unit; the pattern of domestic extremists being veterans; Johnson's role as a public voice against domestic terrorism; and various recent violent attacks and why the second wave of extremism is so dangerous
Presidents--United States; Domestic terrorism--Law and legislation--United States; Right-wing extremists--United States; White supremacy movements--United States; Waco Branch Davidian Disaster, Tex., 1993; Johnson, Daryl, 1969-; Obama, Barack; United States. Department of Homeland Security; United States. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
41 pages
Note (Biographical)
Daryl Johnson worked in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Office of Intelligence and Analysis from 2004 to 2010, where he headed up a team that focused on non-Islamic domestic terrorism. Prior to his work at DHS, he was a subject-matter expe rt on domestic right-wing extremists at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. In 2010, he launched DT Analytics, a private consulting firm for law enforcement. He is the author of two books on domestic terrorism: "Right-Wing Resurgence: How a Domestic Terrorism Threat Is Being Ignored" (2012) and "Hateland: A Long, Hard Look at America’s Extremist Heart" (2019)
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on April 16, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Daryl W. Johnson, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023