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Resolution

Stop the Infiltration of the U.S. Military by Violent Far-Right Extremist Organizations

WHEREAS, the United States Military has witnessed a disturbing rise in far-right extremism and white supremacist terrorist violence; and 

WHEREAS, the white supremacist movement in the United States is surging in growth and presents a distinct and present danger to this country and its institutions, including the U.S. Armed Forces (recent investigations have demonstrated a consistent and disturbing increase in veterans and active-duty service members who are affiliated with white supremacist activity); and 

WHEREAS, on February 11, 2020, Southern Poverty Law Center's Chief Workplace Transformation Officer, Lecia Brooks, testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Military Personnel of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, about the alarming growth of the infiltration of the U.S. Military by white supremacists; and 

WHEREAS, armed service members often possess unique and deadly training and capabilities, and if indoctrinated by white supremacist and/or white supremacist organizations may represent a major threat to national security and the safety of our communities; and 

WHEREAS, in December 2019, it was reported that the National Defense Authorization Act was altered in the U.S. Senate to remove mention of "white nationalists" in the screening process for military enlistees; and 

 WHEREAS, under this change, the Department of Defense is instructed only to screen for "extremist and gang-related activity" a significant change when we consider that service members are allowed to serve in the White House, and any number of other sensitive military and political posts with access to sensitive information and dangerous high-tech weaponry; and 

 WHEREAS, a September 19, 2019, document from the Department of Homeland Security (Strategic Framework for Targeting Terrorism and Targeting Violence) read, "[w]hite supremacist violent extremism, one type of racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism, is one of the most potent forces driving domestic terrorism"; and 

 WHEREAS, on February 17, 2020 The Federal Protective Service (part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) reported that white supremacists planned on targeting law enforcement and "non-white" people in particular in plans to weaponized and spread the COVID-19 virus to these populations; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP supports amending the U.S. Senate National Defense Authorization Act, to include a provision which disqualifies anyone seeking to serve in any branch of the United States military if they are proven "white nationalists."

 BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP advocate for federal policy that dishonorably discharges any and all active members, to include reservists and National Guard, of the U.S. military if they are proven to be a member or active supporter of white supremacist organizations or associations. 

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