Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within

Former FBI special agent German (Liberty and National Security Program fellow, NYU Law Sch.; Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Our Democracy), writing with Bethof Zasloff (Hold Fast to Dreams), bases this book on his extensive investigative work on white supremacist and militia groups and law enforcement’s response to their reported violent acts. Many people believe that law enforcement has failed to effectively stop white supremacist and militia groups, and German’s book poses one essential question: how much of a threat to democracy is this perceived failure? Organized in two parts, the book discusses the rise of groups such as the Proud Boys and offers a thorough strategy for addressing and combatting organizations like it. German argues, with convincing evidence, that law enforcement has generally failed to make these groups a high investigative priority, which he says makes these groups’ continued existence a dire threat to democracy.