House Democrats to vote on domestic terrorism bill this week

House Democrats are planning this week to vote on a domestic terrorism bill following a mass shooting in Buffalo, NY over the weekend.

On Saturday, an 18-year-old white supremacist walked into a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighbourhood in Buffalo in upstate New York and shot 13 people, killing 10.

Like many mass shooters, the perpetrator had displayed warning signs of violent behaviour - last year, he was investigated by police for threatening students at his high school.

He also regularly consumed right-wing extremist media and wrote a manifesto about why he felt compelled to commit this act.

The bill, called the Domestic Terror Prevention Act, was introduced in January 2021 by Representative Bradley Scott Schneider.

It would authorise the establishment of domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation “to analyse and monitor domestic terrorist activity and require the Federal Government to take steps to prevent domestic terrorism.”

The vote had previously stalled due to some progressive members’ objections, who feared the bill could infringe on people’s privacy and civil liberties, similar to the far-reaching post-9/11 Patriot Act.