Katherine Keneally on the rise of far-right extremism in the US

ISD Senior Analyst Katherine Keneally is a guest on C-SPAN speaking about the rise of extremists threats across the ideological spectrum, specifically the far-right, why words matter and the difference between free speech and violent rhetoric.

She points to the recent incident in Cincinnati, where a radicalized individual went offline and decided to take violent action against the FBI following the Mar-a-Lago search. She draws on this example to show how the repetition of inciteful language by political figures can have deadly real-world consequences. And while free speech is a founding principle of the US, there must be an agreed limit against language organizing or promoting violence.

Katherine further explains how this threat isn’t new: “It is not solely because of one person. That is something I do want to stress here. Only when we recognize just how dynamic this threat is, can we actually find a solution to it. That solution will require changes in social media, increased training of law enforcement, increased accountability for people who are amplifying violent rhetoric that leads to real world action. It will require a dynamic response.”

To watch the full interview, please click here.