Homeland Security identifies top domestic threats to NJ

State homeland security officials have released a new study concluding that New Jersey still faces multiple threats and risks over the next three years.

State Homeland Security Czar Jared Maples says the updated Predictive Threat Analysis identifies recent trends and patterns.

Get our free mobile app

“We’re very well aware of the ideologies that have been taking hold in our country and certainly in our state and how those ideologies adapt to a threat," he said.

He said threats made after the Presidential election leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol caught a lot of people off-guard.

“But now we’re realigning and realizing that those are actual threats that we have to watch out for — for not only a few months, years," he said.  “We want to at least give a heads-up to our law enforcement partners and the public to see what threats we’re looking for."

Homegrown violent extremists have traditionally been influenced by foreign terror groups like Al Qaeda. Now they're influenced by anti-government anarchists, white supremacists and black separatists.

According to the threat analysis:

• Anarchist extremists will likely remain loosely organized and attempt to partner with larger groups in surrounding states to engage in criminal or violent activity challenging any cause they perceive as unjust.
• Anti-government extremists will likely operate individually or coordinate with likeminded individuals who possess varied and unpredictable motivations to target law enforcement and government officials of all levels with threats of violence.
• Militia extremists will likely focus on targeting government officials and law enforcement with threats of violence surrounding issues of perceived government overreach
• White racially motivated extremists will likely organize and operate as small cells or groups that fall under separate national banners, while Black racially motivated extremists will likely engage in low-level criminal activity, conduct military-style training, attend rallies or protests, and attempt to establish a larger presence within the State
• The report also warns of potential threats posed by animal rights and anti-abortion extremists.