Type: Public event
Host: Ford School

Domestic violent extremism: Threats, policies, and new approaches

Remote video URL

Date & time

Mar 29, 2021, 4:00-5:00 pm EDT

Location

This is a Virtual Event.

Free and open to the public. Join the conversation: #PolicyTalks

Watch this event on YouTube.

In the aftermath of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, a fierce debate has emerged in the media, academia, and public policy about the threat of domestic violent extremism in the United States and what solutions and new approaches are needed to confront this. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence Javed Ali will host Janet Reitman from the New York Times Magazine and Heidi Beirich, Co-Founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, for an in-depth conversation on these and related issues. They will explore what key factors led to the insurrection on January 6, what policy gaps were exposed in the run-up to the events, and how different approaches are needed to tackle this threat before it worsens.

This event is hosted by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and co-sponsored by the Political Science Dept., Center for Political Studies, and Wallace House.

From the speakers' bios

Heidi Beirich is the Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, She is an expert on American and European extremist movements, including white supremacy, nativism, antisemitism and anti-government movements. For nearly a decade, Beirich led the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, the premier organization tracking hate and anti-government movements in the United States. 

Janet Reitman is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, covering extremist movements and national security. She has twice been a finalist for the National Magazine Award and is the author of the best-selling Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2011), a NY Times Notable Book. She is currently writing a book for Random House on America’s draft towards authoritarianism in the post 9/11 era.