Friend,

In a new video from the SPLC released on the one-year anniversary of Jan. 6, SPLC President and CEO Margaret Huang and SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks discuss the “dichotomy of perspective” that has divided the nation, and why protecting voting rights will be key to ensuring that elected officials who incited this “unsuccessful coup” are held accountable.

Jan. 6 Video

In addition to monitoring and exposing the hate groups behind the attack, the SPLC has worked to create a series of concrete, forward-looking policy recommendations to address both long-festering issues and those unearthed in the wake of the insurrection. Below is a summary of those recommendations. For further details about our policy proposals, you can read more here.

Protect Democracy and Restore the Voting Rights Act

States across the country have enacted laws restricting voting access, including efforts to limit voting by mail, enacting barriers to registering new voters, establishing tougher voter identification laws, empowering partisan poll watchers and shifting election authority, which will make administration of elections more partisan. To defend our democracy, we must overcome the Senate gridlock and enact The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to stop the escalating attacks on voting rights and prevent election subversion in the future.

Speak Out Against Hate, Political Violence and Extremism

Words matter, especially from our leaders. It is impossible to overstate the importance of elected officials, business leaders and military commanders using their public platforms to condemn the events of Jan. 6 – and the deeply anti-democratic ideology and extremism behind it. It must also be made clear to violent insurrectionists and those propagating white supremacist ideas that there is zero tolerance for political-based intimidation and violence.
 
Hold the Planners and Perpetrators of the Jan. 6 Attack Accountable

Those responsible for the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection – and elected officials who explicitly or subtly encouraged this political violence – must be held accountable and suffer real consequences. Anyone indulging conspiracy theories or engaging with movements that exploit bigotry to raise campaign dollars is complicit.
 
Act to Prevent This From Ever Happening Again

Preventing another assault on our democracy is a challenge that requires our leaders to step up and address the failures that allowed extremists to reach a boiling point and cause catastrophic harm on Jan. 6. The following recommendations are ideal first steps towards ensuring our nation does not repeat those failures.

Improve government response to domestic extremism 

A March 2021 Intelligence Community Threat Assessment found that the most dangerous threats to our nation are white supremacist violent extremists and anti-government violent extremists, including some militia groups. The Biden administration and Congress should continue to closely track and assess the nature and magnitude of the problem of domestic extremism and should fund resilience and digital literacy initiatives and government and academic research on best evidenced-based prevention programs.

Confront white supremacy and extremism in the military

The Justice Department has so far charged more than 700 individuals in connection with the Capitol breach. Disturbingly, more than 80 of the defendants charged in relation to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have ties to the U.S. military — mostly veterans. In April, the Secretary of Defense established the Countering Extremist Activities Working Group (CEAWG) to study the issue and offer recommendations. The Department of Defense must promptly implement the December CEAWG report commitments, which include inoculating active-duty personnel against radicalization.

Enforce current laws 

Every state prohibits private militias, and many states have laws prohibiting political violence, restricting firearms in state capitols/government buildings and near polling places and banning paramilitary training in furtherance of, or in preparation for, a civil disorder. Federal and state authorities should take action to raise awareness about these laws – and enforce them. 

Fund prevention initiatives to steer individuals away from hate and extremism

Disinformation and conspiracy theories are galvanizing attacks on democracy and government institutions. Since it is not possible to legislate, regulate or tabulate hatred and extremism out of existence, we need federal and state government leadership to promote anti-bias, anti-hate and democracy-building education programs – like the SPLC’s Learning for Justice resources – in our nation’s schools. Programs and processes that intervene ethically in the lives of individuals – often called “pre” or “deradicalization” efforts – should also be promoted and funded on a larger scale.

Promote online safety and hold tech and social media companies accountable

Social media companies should not enable the funding or amplifying of white supremacist ideas or provide a safe haven for extremists. There is broad, bipartisan support in Congress for legal reforms to promote tech safety, accountability and transparency. Tech companies must create and enforce terms of service and policies to ensure that social media platforms, payment service providers and other internet-based services do not provide forums where hateful activities and extremism can grow and lead to domestic terrorism.

Teach truth, democracy-building and civics education and engagement

To fulfill the full promise of our democracy, it is necessary to build community resilience against hate, with a particular focus on the systemic racism that supports it. We must ensure that our youth are taught critical thinking skills and digital literacy so they can fend off misinformation, disinformation and online radicalization. It is through inclusive education, teaching about the Bill of Rights and our democratic institutions and teaching the truth about our nation’s history of slavery and oppression that we will truly be able to move forward.

Restrict access to firearms for extremists

Brandishing firearms emboldens extremists, intimidates the public and can spark escalating tensions at anti-government rallies and protests. Researchers documented at least 100 instances of armed groups and incidents involving guns at protests at state capitols in the six months before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Federal and state officials should adopt reasonable gun violence prevention initiatives to help prevent violent extremists from acquiring weapons.

Sincerely,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center


 
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