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Right-wing extremists in the United States are using economic worries and the election of the first black US president as recruiting tools, the US government warns in a new report.
Fears of possible new restrictions on firearms, as well as troubled veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, "could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violence attacks," warned the US Department of Homeland Security.
But DHS said in a secret April 7 advisory for local law-enforcement officials that threats so far had been "largely rhetorical" and had "not yet turned to attack planning."
The department said it "has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits" who could someday resort to attacks.
"The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers fo rightwing radicalization and recruitment," according to the report.
The document, clearly marked as not for release to the media, was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy and made available on the organization's web site.
The report said one "primary concern" for law enforcement officials was the "high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists" who fear potential future restrictions on firearms.
The department did not name any active rightwing extremist groups, but did refer to the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead at the hands of US Army veteran Timothy McVeigh, who was later executed.
Increased government scrutiny in the wake of what was the worst terrorist attack on US soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks as well as economic growth put rightwing extremist groups on the wane, according to the report.
But "despite similarities to the climate of the 1990s, the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years," according to the department.
Some extremist groups are using Obama's perceived support for reforming US immigration in a way that could lead to US citizenship for some undocumented immigrants, expansion of social programs for minorities, and firearms curbs, to recruit or radicalize members.
And the Internet access boom has boosted extremist access to bomb-making know-how, weapons training, and the ability to reach out to a broad audience of like-minded people, according to the report.
The Department of Homeland Security, created in direct response to the September 11 attacks, declined to comment on the report
US recession, 1st black president, 'fuel extremism'
Fears of possible new restrictions on firearms, as well as troubled veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, "could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violence attacks," warned the US Department of Homeland Security.
But DHS said in a secret April 7 advisory for local law-enforcement officials that threats so far had been "largely rhetorical" and had "not yet turned to attack planning."
The department said it "has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits" who could someday resort to attacks.
"The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers fo rightwing radicalization and recruitment," according to the report.
The document, clearly marked as not for release to the media, was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy and made available on the organization's web site.
The report said one "primary concern" for law enforcement officials was the "high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists" who fear potential future restrictions on firearms.
The department did not name any active rightwing extremist groups, but did refer to the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead at the hands of US Army veteran Timothy McVeigh, who was later executed.
Increased government scrutiny in the wake of what was the worst terrorist attack on US soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks as well as economic growth put rightwing extremist groups on the wane, according to the report.
But "despite similarities to the climate of the 1990s, the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years," according to the department.
Some extremist groups are using Obama's perceived support for reforming US immigration in a way that could lead to US citizenship for some undocumented immigrants, expansion of social programs for minorities, and firearms curbs, to recruit or radicalize members.
And the Internet access boom has boosted extremist access to bomb-making know-how, weapons training, and the ability to reach out to a broad audience of like-minded people, according to the report.
The Department of Homeland Security, created in direct response to the September 11 attacks, declined to comment on the report
US recession, 1st black president, 'fuel extremism'
