VETDERAD

Speaker 1: 00:00 Some of the people who participated in the siege of the Capitol were veterans. While the VA and veterans groups are aware of extremism in their ranks. At the moment, there are very few resources out there to pull them back from the brink KPBS, military reporter, Steve Walsh has been following the story. Speaker 2: 00:20 35 year old Ashley Babbitt was an air force veteran from San Diego. She was killed by police as she tried to push deeper into the Capitol on January 6th for social media is a mix of Q Anon, conspiracies and posts. Falsely claiming that the election was stolen in one video, the avidly pro-Trump Babbits segwayed from immigration to California, politicians as she drew. Speaker 1: 00:43 That's so sick of these politicians in this state, I can't take it anymore. They're all worried about what Trump is doing. How about we worry about what the hell you're doing. Speaker 2: 00:50 VA and major veterans groups have condemned the insurrection at the us Capitol, but some groups worry that vets are being unfairly singled out. John router is the spokesman for the American Legion, Speaker 3: 01:01 The radicalization among certain fringe elements. We don't see it as more of a problem for veterans of America. In general, Speaker 2: 01:10 The American Legion has a program to confront suicide among veterans. They even have Legion posts inside prisons that help rehabilitate veterans. They don't have similar programs to confront extremism directly, even though days before the insurrection, the union Tribune uncovered a local post commander who boasted being a member of the far-right group. The proud boys, veterans groups are not alone. Pete's see me. Research is violent extremism at Chapman university. Speaker 3: 01:37 We're way behind the April. I mean, we just have not dealt with this problem in a meaningful way. We don't have a national strategy and state and local resources. Aren't there. Speaker 2: 01:49 See me. It says the number of hate groups spike during the Obama administration. Speaker 3: 01:52 There was a major resurgence after Obama's election in Oh eight. And there was a number of different factors, not unlike what we see today that were helping propel that. And we did nothing. We did. We, in fact, we denied that it was a problem. Speaker 2: 02:04 The research into deradicalizing people who have taken up violent extremism centers around Islamic extremism, Simi says yes, Speaker 3: 02:13 As far as specific intervention programs designed specifically for veterans, um, it's just, it's not there. Speaker 2: 02:21 McAleer author of the cure for hate says vets have long been a target of extremist groups. Speaker 3: 02:26 I can see how perhaps people get manipulated by their patriotism, you know, and duped into doing things that you know, when they take a step back on. I, you know, I can't believe I did that Speaker 2: 02:40 Former neo-Nazis and a Canadian vet councils, people trying to leave extremist groups. He says some veterans of recent Wars come back to sensitize to other cultures after being put into situations where they cannot always tell friend from foe, Speaker 3: 02:53 You have to dehumanize other human beings, you know, to prepare people for violence. You have to dehumanize the target. First, Speaker 2: 03:00 Nearly a decade ago. McAleer also helped found life after hate, which now has a federal grant to help those trying to leave violent extremist groups. Spokesman Dimitrios Collins's says the difference between now and a decade ago is that people are speaking more openly about the threat of domestic radical extremism. Speaker 4: 03:19 People will, hopefully more people will get the help they need before they become radicalized to violence. Before they actually take that last and final step Speaker 2: 03:31 In the wake of the seizure of the Capitol. And as awareness grows, there's a hope that veterans groups will be more openly involved themselves in deradicalization programs after all, these are the groups that veterans often turn to first for help. Steve Walsh, KPBS news.