Pentagon issues rules aimed at stopping rise of extremism

WASHINGTON – Warning that extremism successful the ranks is increasing, Pentagon officials are issuing elaborate caller rules prohibiting work members from actively engaging successful extremist activities. The caller guidelines travel astir a twelvemonth aft immoderate existent and erstwhile work members participated successful the riot astatine the U.S. Capitol, triggering a wide section review.

Senior defence officials archer The Associated Press that less than 100 subject members are known to person been progressive successful substantiated cases of extremist enactment successful the past year, but they pass that the fig whitethorn turn fixed caller spikes successful home convulsive extremism, peculiarly among veterans.

Officials said the caller argumentation doesn't mostly alteration what is prohibited, but is much of an effort to marque definite troops are wide connected what they tin and can't do, portion inactive protecting their First Amendment escaped code rights. And for the archetypal time, it is acold much circumstantial astir societal media.

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The caller argumentation lays retired successful item the banned activities, which scope from advocating coercion oregon supporting the overthrow of the authorities to fundraising oregon rallying connected behalf of an extremist radical oregon “liking” oregon reposting extremist views connected societal media. The rules besides specify that commanders indispensable find 2 things successful bid for idiosyncratic to beryllium held accountable: that the enactment was an extremist activity, arsenic defined successful the rules, and that the work subordinate “actively participated” successful that prohibited activity.

Previous policies banned extremist activities but didn't spell into specified large detail, and besides did not specify the 2 measurement process to find idiosyncratic accountable.

What was incorrect yesterday is inactive incorrect today, said 1 elder defence official. But respective officials said that arsenic a survey radical spoke with work members this twelvemonth they recovered that galore wanted clearer definitions of what was not allowed. The officials spoke astir the caller rules connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they person not yet been made public.

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The subject has agelong been alert of tiny numbers of achromatic supremacists and different extremists among the troops. But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and different leaders launched a broader run to basal retired extremism successful the unit aft it became wide that subject veterans and immoderate existent work members were contiguous astatine the Jan. 6 insurrection.

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