US security agency warns of threats from "right-wing extremist groups"

Washington, Apr. 15 (ANI): The threat from "right-wing extremist groups" is continuously growing and America's law enforcement officials should be prepared to tackle it, a new Department of Homeland Security report has warned.

"The consequences of a prolonged economic downturn - including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit - could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities," the Politico quoted the report, as saying.

The report counts the April 4 shooting of three police officers in Pittsburgh as a "recent example of potential violence associated with right-wing extremism," that was so far had been "largely rhetorical."

Apart from the economic downturn, it's the election of President Barack Obama that document counts potential recruitment tools for militant groups.

"Many right-wing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use," it says.

The department report, which highlights anger directed at illegal immigrants, draws comparisons with the situation in 1990s, a period when the country was rocked by several acts of domestic errorism

"The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today," the report reads.

"During the 1990s, these issues contributed to the growth in the number of domestic right-wing terrorist and extremist groups and an increase in violent acts targeting government facilities, law nforcement officers, banks, and infrastructure sectors," it adds. (ANI)