Crime Subcommittee to Examine ISIL and Threat of Domestic Terrorism
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 10:00 a.m., the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “ISIL in America: Domestic Terror and Radicalization.” At the hearing, members of the subcommittee will examine domestic terrorism, in particular the increasing threat posed by the Islamic State through the assassination of American captives, recruitment of American citizens, self-radicalization, and domestic terror plots.
Since 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group – has expanded its control over areas in Iraq and Syria, threatening the wider region. In the last three-and-a-half years, over 20,000 foreign fighters have traveled to Syria, including roughly 3,400 Westerners, to join the fight against the Assad regime. More than 150 Americans have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria, and the FBI has arrested more than half a dozen individuals seeking to travel to Syria to possibly join the Islamic State. Intelligence and law enforcement officials continue to be concerned about the potential rise in self-radicalized ISIL-inspired jihadists here in the United States.
Witnesses for Thursday’s hearing are:
· Mr. Michael B. Steinbach, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
· Chief Rodney Monroe, Chief of Police, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
· Sheriff Richard W. Stanek, Sheriff, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) issued the joint statement below on this hearing:
“Every day, we hear of new atrocities committed by ISIL terrorists. Their barbarianism and cruelty knows no bounds: they brutally murder aid workers, journalists, and ethnic and religious minorities, among many others. And as we have seen recently in Denmark, France, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany, these terrorists are intent on destroying our way of life. Here in the United States, we must remain vigilant against this real threat so that we protect Americans and our national security.
“Tomorrow, the Crime Subcommittee will hear from law enforcement officials on the threat ISIL poses here at home. We must ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement tools are robust enough to identify terrorist cells and homegrown terrorists within the United States.
Thursday’s hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast live at /. Camera crews wishing to cover must be congressionally-credentialed and RSVP with the House Radio-TV Gallery at (202) 225-5214.