Takeaways from The Associated Press’ reporting on extremism in the military
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An Associated Press investigation examined extremism among members of the U.S. military and veterans. Here are highlights from the reporting.
How many active-duty military and veterans are involved in extremism?
The AP received exclusive access to data collected and analyzed by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, at the University of Maryland.
According to this data, there were more than 480 people with a military background accused of ideologically driven extremist crimes from 2017 through 2023, including the more than 230 arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. The vast majority of those included in the data were veterans, rather than active-duty servicemembers.
While the pace at which the overall population has been radicalizing has increased in recent years, people with military backgrounds have been radicalizing at a faster rate.
START researchers found that more than 80% of extremists with military backgrounds identified with far-right, anti-government or white supremacist ideologies, with the rest split among far-left, jihadist or other motivations.
The number of service members and veterans who radicalize make up a tiny fraction of a percentage point of the millions and millions who have honorably served their country.
What special dangers are posed by extremists with military backgrounds?
Content retrieved from: https://www.whec.com/national-world/takeaways-from-the-associated-press-reporting-on-extremism-in-the-military/.
