在纽约布法罗超市枪击案造成10名黑人死亡后，众议院周三批准了一项措施，以加强联邦打击国内恐怖主义和白人至上主义的努力。
投票结果是222-203，伊利诺伊州共和党众议员亚当·金辛格(Adam Kinzinger)与所有民主党人一起投票支持该提案。
来自伊利诺伊州民主党众议员布拉德·施耐德的法案将在司法部、国土安全部和联邦调查局内设立新的办公室，以“监测、分析、调查和起诉国内恐怖主义。”
众议员柯里·布什。和其他进步人士最初对今年早些时候的措施持谨慎态度，但在与领导层和美国公民自由联盟(American Civil Liberties Union)的会谈中，就语言达成了协议，以解决对美国人第一修正案权利可能受到侵犯的担忧。
“我很自豪地领导我的同事成功地加强了这项法案中对抗议者的保护，缩小了国内恐怖主义的定义，并扩大了国会的监督范围，以确保公民权利和公民自由继续得到保护，”布什在美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说。“作为一名活动家，我对执法机构锁定、监视和起诉边缘化群体的方式有着切身体会。”
除了金辛格以外，所有共和党人都反对这项措施，认为这是重复的，可能会被用来针对在当地学校董事会会议上提出担忧的家长。
这可能会危及该法案在参议院的通过，民主党人已承诺举行投票，但需要10名共和党人的支持才能推动立法超过60票的门槛。
“通过转移本可用于实际打击国内恐怖主义的资源，并授权对武装部队和执法部门进行调查，该法案进一步武器化，并鼓励DOJ以美国第一修正案权利为目标，追捕那些他们认为是政治威胁的人，”众议院共和党鞭史蒂夫·斯卡利斯的办公室在一份备忘录中写给共和党议员，鼓励他们投票反对该措施。
司法部和司法部长梅里克·加兰说共和党人误解了去年秋天，美国联邦调查局(FBI)和全国各地的美国检察官办公室发布了一份备忘录，鼓励他们与当地执法合作伙伴会面，以解决越来越多的针对当地学校董事会官员的威胁。
就连与施耐德共同提出最初决议的内布拉斯加州共和党众议员唐·培根(Don Bacon)也表示，他在该法案通过前“左右为难”，最终投了反对票。
“也许在我把我的名字放在那个账单上的四个月里，我参加的每个会议，都有人因为我在那个账单上而感到不安，”他告诉ABC新闻。“他们说，‘我会因为反堕胎而被调查吗?’我听到了压倒性的反馈。"
司法部已经成立了一个国内恐怖主义小组，拜登政府已经向国会申请资金，以支持60名专注于国内恐怖主义案件的律师。
联邦调查局局长克里斯托弗·雷称国内恐怖主义是美国面临的最大威胁之一。
雷在2021年3月告诉国会小组，国内恐怖主义问题已经在全国范围内转移了很长时间，而且不会很快消失。在联邦调查局，我们已经就此发出警报很多年了。"
House passes bill to aid fight against domestic terrorism after Buffalo supermarket shooting
In the wake of the Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting that left 10 Black people dead, the House on Wednesday approved a measure to beef up federal efforts to combat domestic terrorism and white supremacy.
The vote was 222-203, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, voting with all Democrats in favor of the proposal.
The bill from Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, would create new offices within the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation to "monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism."
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and other progressives were initially wary of the measure earlier this year, but reached an agreement on language in talks with leadership and the American Civil Liberties Union to address concerns about the potential infringement on Americans' First Amendment rights.
"I was proud to lead my colleagues in a successful effort to strengthen protections in this bill for protesters, narrow the domestic terrorism definition, and enhance the scope of Congressional oversight to ensure that civil rights and civil liberties continue to be protected," Bush said in a statement to ABC News. "As an activist, I know first-hand the ways in which law enforcement agencies have targeted, surveilled and prosecuted marginalized communities."
All Republicans besides Kinzinger opposed the measure, arguing that it would be duplicative and could be used to target parents raising concerns at local school board meetings.
That could jeopardize its passage through the Senate, where Democrats have pledged to hold a vote but need the support of ten Republicans to advance legislation past the 60-vote threshold.
"By diverting resources that could be used to actually combat domestic terrorism and mandating investigations into the armed services and law enforcement, this bill further weaponizes and emboldens the DOJ to target Americans' First Amendment rights and go after those who they see as political threats," House GOP Whip Steve Scalise's office wrote to Republican lawmakers in a memo encouraging them to vote against the measure.
Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
In this April 26, 2022, file photo, Merrick Garland, U.S. attorney general, arrives for a Se...
The Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garlandhave said Republicans are mischaracterizinga memo issued last fall to the FBI and U.S. attorneys' offices around the country encouraging them to meet with local law enforcement partners to address a rising number of threats against local school board officials.
Even Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who co-sponsored the original resolution introduced with Schneider, said he was "torn" on the bill ahead of passage, and ultimately voted against it.
"Maybe for four months after I put my name on that bill, every meeting I went to, I had people upset I was on that bill," he told ABC News. "They said, 'Will I be investigated because I am pro-life?' I heard overwhelming feedback."
The Justice Department has already established a domestic terrorism unit, and the Biden administration has requested funding from Congress to support 60 attorneys focused on domestic terrorism cases.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has called domestic terrorism one of the greatest threats to the United States.
The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a long time now and it's not going away anytime soon," Wray told a Congressional panel in March of 2021. "At the FBI, we've been sounding the alarm on it for a number of years now."
