January 6, 2021. To use the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it is a day that will live in infamy. Historians, political scientists, and others will write about the events of that day for many decades to come. There were a number of underlying causes for the mayhem and the attempted coup. There are a number of bad actors who played part in the insurrection. Further, there have been a number of far-right extremist groups who have been named as part of the planning and execution of the insurrection.
For this assignment, you are to write a succinct background report as if you were going to give it to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. (You will not actually be sending him this—pretend I am the FBI director!).
• Create an actual timeline of the major events of the day (there are free programs to help construct these);
• Identify the major underlying causes of the insurrection;
• Identify the major far-right extremist groups involved in the coup and violence; and
o Are these groups domestic terrorist? Why/why not?
o Why are they being called domestic terrorists?
o What forms of group violence have been attributed to these groups on the day of the insurrection and other times?
• What mechanisms would you recommend using to combat these types of groups?
