To the editor:

In his June 1st speech at Tulsa, Oklahoma President Joe Biden said, based on intelligence reports: “Terrorism from white supremacy is the most lethal threat to the homeland today, not Isis, not Al-Qaeda — white supremacists.”

More lethal to the homeland than widespread consequences from cyber attacks, and risk of future such attacks?

His Commerce Secretary said they are here to stay and will intensify.

His Energy Secretary said they have the ability to make our power grid go dark.

It is not clear to me what “intelligence reports” President Biden was referencing.

As an overview, Statisca Research Department documented 67 domestic terror incidents in the United States in 2016; 66 in 2017; 67 in 2018 and 68 in 2019.

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) reported 110 domestic terror incidents in 2020.

The report also indicates those attacks were usually committed by lone offenders motivated by a mix of socio-political goals and personal grievances.

Comparing the May 14, 2021 FBI-DHS report (Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic Terrorism) for calendar year 2019 with the CSIS report for 2020 the rate of increase in far-left incidents was significantly greater than the rate of increase in white supremacist incidents.

In its October 2020 Homeland Threat Assessment the Department of Homeland Security outlined domestic terrorist threats but provided no statistical data.

Obviously all domestic terrorism is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

But in my opinion President Biden’s June 1, 2021 claims were misguided political hyperbole.

Bob Jentges

North Mankato