OH THE IRONY

German anti-terrorism org launches U.S. operations in Pittsburgh with goal of preventing homegrown extremism


JESSE BUNCH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
JUN 1, 2022

Imagine this scenario: a mother begins to notice a change in her teenage son, who spends an increasing amount of time online in chat rooms and on fringe forums. Around the house, the teen begins to spout racially-charged, anti-immigrant sentiments.

With nowhere to turn, she looks at his Google search history and finds he has been researching where to purchase a firearm nearby.

In the anonymity of the online world, it’s for outsiders to tell when someone is becoming radicalized by extremist groups that target vulnerable users. In Pittsburgh, which FBI officials recently warned was becoming a hotbed for far-right nationalist groups, a German-based nonprofit is hoping it can intervene in these scenarios before they escalate to tragedy.

The Violence Prevention Network convened in Downtown on Wednesday to announce its flagship U.S. operation. Board members explained that the choice to launch in Pittsburgh was very deliberate given the city’s relationship to extremist groups.

Citing the tragedy of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting coupled with budding activity from far-right groups like Sovereign Citizens and Patriot Front, VPN sees an opportunity to partner with local law enforcement agencies to spot would-be extremists and deradicalize them through its unique intervention program.

“There’s many organizations that work in the field of violent extremism, and one thing that’s very important to us, is that we talk to extremists, not about them,” said Michele Leaman, a director at the Violence Prevention Network.

Alongside Judy Korn, a VPN co-founder and director, Ms. Leaman detailed VPN’s strategy in Germany that it plans to mirror here. Originating in Berlin in 2002, the nonprofit has since received support from the country’s government along with the the European Commission, a branch of the European Union.

In Pittsburgh, VPN plans to operate telephone and digital hotlines for friends and family of potential extremists, who can call to receive support and education on the early warning signs of extremism that can crop up both online and in-person.

According to Ms. Leaman, VPN’s staff educates family members on how to maintain their relationship with the at-risk person while seeking help, instead of cutting them off completely.

Should the at-risk person escalate their interest in extremist groups, Ms. Leaman said VPN works with law enforcement to monitor their behavior. In addition, the group provides police departments with training on how to detect risks.

Already, the nonprofit of 120 employees claims it’s intervened and prevented at least eight would-be terrorist attacks in Europe through its program, including extremist Islamic activity that would have targeted Christmas Villages.

Ms. Korn said details or locations of the thwarted attempts could not be shared due to security concerns.

But because VPN values working alongside extremists, the nonprofit has a robust program though prisons in Germany that it hopes to eventually remodel in Western Pennsylvania’s correctional facilities.

“Our training and our program won’t stop if they are in prison,” Ms. Korn explained. “We go on with the relationship, we go on with the dialogues.”

VPN claims that it’s worked with over 800 far-right extremists and over 1,000 Islamic extremists in German prisons, 50% who were sentenced on terrorism-related charges.

Ms. Korn shared data provided by VPN that showed only around 13% of violent-offenders who passed through their education program were eventually reincarcerated, as opposed to the national German average of 41.5%.

According to Ms. Korn, the group has a presence in a quarter of all German prisons and has worked on over 1,800 individual cases.

Already, Ms. Leaman and Ms. Korn have presented their strategy to law enforcement in Fox Chapel, where one member of the nonprofit’s U.S. team resides.

Anne Clarke Ronce, a U.S. team member, said on Wednesday that law enforcement have expressed interest in partnering with VPN as they receive increasing alerts of potential far-right extremists in the Pittsburgh region.

Ms. Ronce mentioned concern over past gatherings of a group called the Iron City Militia, who self-describe on their website as a “well-regulated, well-trained, well-equipped and knowledgeable militia unit comprised of ordinary citizens, based out of the greater Pittsburgh area” that are a “last line of defense against a tyrannical government.”

VPN members cited additional concern over the organization of Sovereign Citizen members in the Pittsburgh region.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, classifies the Sovereign Citizen movement as racist and antisemitic, citing its founder’s belief that “non-white people were not human, and that Jews possessed a satanic plot to take over the world.”

As of May, VPN claims to have $100,000 in funding secured for its U.S. launch, partially thanks to a German donor whose identity was not disclosed.

After launching its Pittsburgh-based hotline, VPN hopes to extend its program into Western Pennsylvania jails and prisons, though Ms. Leaman said that could take a year or more.

A step in VPN’s U.S. launch includes hiring and training 15 “everyday heroes,” or staff specialists who work to deradicalize both rising and incarcerated extremists.

The launch comes as the national conversation around extremism and gun-control reaches a high-water mark. This month alone, a racially-motivated shooting in Buffalo left 10 Black people dead, while a gunman in Uvalde, Texas terrorized Reed Elementary last week, claiming 21 lives — most of them young children.

Bruce Bowden, a U.S. VPN board member, made that connection as he introduced Ms. Korn, who was visiting Pittsburgh from the nonprofit’s German office.

“This trip was planned before the recent incidents in Texas and other places,” Ms. Bowden said. “That’s just a very horrible coincidence that those things happened just before they came. But it makes this, I think, all the more timely.”

First Published June 1, 2022, 3:42pm