Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson called on officials to beef up their response to domestic extremism following the arrest of a Coast Guard lieutenant accused of stockpiling weapons and a hit list of Democrats and journalists.
“We do, I think, need to do a better job of rooting out people who harbor extremist views that could turn to violence,” Johnson told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday in a “Meet the Press” interview that touched on white supremacists, anti-Semitism and last year’s pipe bomber.
Johnson served in his role under the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017, and expressed strong disapproval of the decline in DHS staffing and funding targeting violent domestic extremism since he left his post.
