Barr to create task force to address anti-government extremists, report

Attorney General William Barr is reportedly forming a task force to address “anti-government extremists.”

Barr outlined the group in a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

“Although these extremists profess a variety of ideologies, they are united in their opposition to the core constitutional values of a democratic society governed by law,” Barr reportedly wrote in the memo. “Some pretend to profess a message of freedom and progress, but they are in fact forces of anarchy, destruction, and coercion.”

Barr’s efforts come amid weeks of nationwide protests sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police that extremists groups have used to create chaos – including violence and the destruction of property. 

The report about the task force also came on the same day that President Trump signed an executive order that bolsters existing law and that could send those who destroy federal statues to a maximum 10 years in prison.

Trump has said “anarchists” and “extremists” are among those committing such acts. 

Barr said Friday on Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s podcast that the already existing, federal Joint Terrorism Task Force has 500 active investigations into acts of violence during recent protests.