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Right-Wing Resurgence: How a Domestic Terrorist Threat is Being Ignored
In 2008 there were 149 militia groups in the United States. In 2009, that number more than tripled to 512, and now there are nearly 600. In Right Wing Resurgence, author Daryl Johnson offers a detailed account of the growth of right wing extremism and militias in the United States and the ever-increasing threat they pose. The author is an acknowledged expert in this area and has been an intelligence analyst working for several federal agencies for nearly 20 years. The book is also a first-hand, insider s account of the DHS Right Wing Extremism report from the person who wrote it. It is a truthful depiction of the facts, circumstances, and events leading up to the leak of this official intelligence assessment. The leak and its aftermath have had an adverse effect on homeland security. Because of its alleged mishandling of the situation, the Department s reputation has declined in the intelligence and law enforcement communities and the analytical integrity of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis was undermined.Most importantly, the nation s security has been compromised during a critical time when a significant domestic terrorist threat is growing. This book is replete with case studies and interviews with leaders which reveal their agendas, how they recruit, and how they operate around the country. It presents a comprehensive account of an ever-growing security concern at a time when this threat is only beginning to be realized, and is still largely ignored in many circles.
422 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2012
8 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Daryl Johnson
2 books7 followersDaryl Johnson is one of the foremost experts on domestic terrorism in the U.S. Beginning his career as a civilian in the U.S. Army, Johnson has held several government positions, most recently as senior analyst at the Department of Homeland Security. He is the Owner of DT Analytics, a private consulting firm for law enforcement, academia, and other organizations. In 2020, Daryl was invited to serve as an Honorary Board member for We Are Many-United Against Hate in Madison, Wisconsin. He also accepted the position of Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Policy in Washington, D.C. In 2019, Daryl co-founded Jolly & Johnson Consulting to provide specialized training for BSA/AML professionals. Johnson is regularly cited, featured, or quoted in the media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Public Radio, MSNBC, CNN, and NBC Nightly News, among many others at home and abroad. He is the author of "Hateland: A Long, Hard Look at America's Extremist Heart" (Prometheus Books, 2019) and "Right-Wing Resurgence: How a Domestic Terrorism Threat Is Being Ignored" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012). Johnson is also a freelance writer for various media and civil rights organizations. In 2012, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on hate crimes and the threat of domestic extremism.
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July 17, 2013
In April of 2009, Daryl Johnson was a veteran intelligence analyst for the Department of Homeland Security and the leader of the Domestic Terrorist Analysis Team for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. His job, and that of his team, was to monitor the activity of right-wing militias and other domestic terrorist groups and prepare reports for his supervisors. On April 11 of 2009, one of those reports was leaked to the press, causing a firestorm on the right. Senators, congressmen, and right-wing pundits demanded that “whoever wrote the report” be fired immediately. RIGHT WING RESURGENCE is the story of the “whoever” who wrote the report.
Actually, RIGHT WING RESURGENCE is three different books--or, at the very least, three separate projects. First, it is the memoir of a dedicated public servant who became a pawn in a tug-of-war between conservative politicians and a liberal president. It did not much matter that Johnson was a conservative Republican and an active Mormon himself, or that the report he wrote was commissioned by the Republican Bush administration. Once he wrote a report detailing the activities of conservative extremists in the United States—and the danger that they might recruit heavily among recent veterans—he was vilified as a godless leftist. No less an authority than Pat Robertson declared that he was “either a convinced leftwinger or somebody whose sexual orientation is somewhat in question” (26).
Rather than standing behind Johnson and his team, the new DHS leadership decided to placate the conservatives in congress who were calling for their heads. The domestic terrorism team was shut down, and DHS leaders intimated that the report was written by rogue agents deep in the belly of the operation who acted without knowledge the knowledge or permission of their superiors. Johnson and his team—who had done precisely the job they were assigned to do—were sacrificed to appease the barbarians at the gate.
If RIGHT WING RESURGENCE did no more than tell Johnson’s story, it would be well worth reading. But it does much more. In addition to telling us his story, Johnson gives readers the benefit of his more than 20 years studying right-wing terrorist organizations. He gives crucial background on well-known incidents such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the Waco fire, but he gives much less-known details about the actions of the extreme anti-government activists who have been active over the last two decades. Some of these stories are horrifying, others are enlightening. But they are all important.
The third project that Johnson undertakes in RIGHT WING RESURGENCE is to sound the warning trumpet: militias, radical tax protesters, “sovereign citizens,” and scores of other potential terrorists did not disappear when the Department of Homeland Security disbanded Johnson’s team. These groups have become increasingly radical under the Obama administration and are now much stronger, and potentially threatening, than they were in the months and years following the Oklahoma City bombing. We are in danger, and Daryl Johnson knows it. He does not ask us to take his word for it; he presents the evidence for all to see.
Ultimately, the question at the heart of RIGHT WING RESURGENE is, “Just what is the War on Terror?” Johnson sees it as a defensive war designed to keep America safe. If this is true—and I firmly believe that it is and must be—then it makes no sense to ignore groups of people, whatever their ideology, who stockpile weapons, commit multiple acts of aggression, and make no secret of the fact that they want to take down the government of the United States. On the other hand, if the “War on Terror” is just a code word for “The Conquest of Islam,” then Daryl Johnson’s position makes no sense, and we should turn the war effort over to Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh to conduct as they see fit.
I think that Johnson has it right. But don’t take my word for it. Read the book and see for yourself! I think you will be impressed. I hope you will be in time.
Actually, RIGHT WING RESURGENCE is three different books--or, at the very least, three separate projects. First, it is the memoir of a dedicated public servant who became a pawn in a tug-of-war between conservative politicians and a liberal president. It did not much matter that Johnson was a conservative Republican and an active Mormon himself, or that the report he wrote was commissioned by the Republican Bush administration. Once he wrote a report detailing the activities of conservative extremists in the United States—and the danger that they might recruit heavily among recent veterans—he was vilified as a godless leftist. No less an authority than Pat Robertson declared that he was “either a convinced leftwinger or somebody whose sexual orientation is somewhat in question” (26).
Rather than standing behind Johnson and his team, the new DHS leadership decided to placate the conservatives in congress who were calling for their heads. The domestic terrorism team was shut down, and DHS leaders intimated that the report was written by rogue agents deep in the belly of the operation who acted without knowledge the knowledge or permission of their superiors. Johnson and his team—who had done precisely the job they were assigned to do—were sacrificed to appease the barbarians at the gate.
If RIGHT WING RESURGENCE did no more than tell Johnson’s story, it would be well worth reading. But it does much more. In addition to telling us his story, Johnson gives readers the benefit of his more than 20 years studying right-wing terrorist organizations. He gives crucial background on well-known incidents such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the Waco fire, but he gives much less-known details about the actions of the extreme anti-government activists who have been active over the last two decades. Some of these stories are horrifying, others are enlightening. But they are all important.
The third project that Johnson undertakes in RIGHT WING RESURGENCE is to sound the warning trumpet: militias, radical tax protesters, “sovereign citizens,” and scores of other potential terrorists did not disappear when the Department of Homeland Security disbanded Johnson’s team. These groups have become increasingly radical under the Obama administration and are now much stronger, and potentially threatening, than they were in the months and years following the Oklahoma City bombing. We are in danger, and Daryl Johnson knows it. He does not ask us to take his word for it; he presents the evidence for all to see.
Ultimately, the question at the heart of RIGHT WING RESURGENE is, “Just what is the War on Terror?” Johnson sees it as a defensive war designed to keep America safe. If this is true—and I firmly believe that it is and must be—then it makes no sense to ignore groups of people, whatever their ideology, who stockpile weapons, commit multiple acts of aggression, and make no secret of the fact that they want to take down the government of the United States. On the other hand, if the “War on Terror” is just a code word for “The Conquest of Islam,” then Daryl Johnson’s position makes no sense, and we should turn the war effort over to Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh to conduct as they see fit.
I think that Johnson has it right. But don’t take my word for it. Read the book and see for yourself! I think you will be impressed. I hope you will be in time.
August 12, 2022
Not gonna lie, I really started skimming a lot in the second half of this.
It's clear this author makes his living writing intelligence reports, because that style does not go away when he's trying to write here. It was alright at first, when what was being discussed was interesting.
Then it devolved into just a memoir of his career and getting promoted to this team or that and the thrilling world of government bureaucracy!
I get it, but if I read one more lengthy acronym parenthetically explained despite never being referenced again I was going to throw my kindle across the room.
It's clear this author makes his living writing intelligence reports, because that style does not go away when he's trying to write here. It was alright at first, when what was being discussed was interesting.
Then it devolved into just a memoir of his career and getting promoted to this team or that and the thrilling world of government bureaucracy!
I get it, but if I read one more lengthy acronym parenthetically explained despite never being referenced again I was going to throw my kindle across the room.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews