An annual report from the Pentagon’s inspector general has exposed probes into allegations of extremism and other prohibited activities among U.S. military personnel, with 78 service members investigated for “advocating” for the overthrow of the U.S. government.
The report, released Thursday by the Department of Defense (DOD) Office of the Inspector General, disclosed a total of 275 cases involving service members suspected of advocating or supporting extremist and other prohibited activities in the fiscal year 2023.
While addressing concerns related to diversity, inclusion, and sexual harassment, the report specifically highlighted cases of military personnel allegedly “advocating for, engaging in, or supporting the overthrow of the U.S. government or seeking to alter the form of the government by unconstitutional or other unlawful means.”
According to these policies, allegations of extremism were reported across all military branches, with 130 in the Army, 33 in the Air Force (including Space Force), and 20 in the Navy and Marine Corps combined. Additionally, the report noted 58 alleged cases of criminal gang activity spread across all branches of the military.
The list of allegations related to extremism encompass a range of activities involving advocating or engaging in unlawful force, violence, or other illegal means to deprive individuals of their rights under the U.S. Constitution or laws of the United States. It also includes advocating for or participating in unlawful force or violence to achieve political, religious, discriminatory, or ideological goals.
Additionally, the allegations involve advocating, engaging in, or supporting terrorism within the United States or abroad, advocating for or supporting the overthrow of the U.S. government, or attempting to alter the form of the government through unconstitutional or other unlawful means.
Furthermore, the list extends to advocating or encouraging military, civilian, or contractor personnel within the DOD or U.S. Coast Guard to violate U.S. laws or disobey lawful orders or regulations with the intent of disrupting military activities or personally undertaking such actions. Lastly, the allegations include advocating for widespread unlawful discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Of the 275 total combined allegations of extremism and prohibited activities investigated, 68 were found to be unsubstantiated or cleared of wrongdoing by investigators. The report does not indicate which allegations were cleared.
The report also noted that 136 allegations were referred to military or civilian law enforcement, 20 to the inspector general, and 119 to a military or DOD organization or official.
At the time of the report, 50 of the 69 substantiated allegations were addressed through administrative actions. This included 19 cases resulting in involuntary discharge, three with “counseling,” 17 through nonjudicial punishment, and two proceeding to court martial.
According to the report, 136 allegations are still under investigation, most of which are in the Army.
Military Currently Has ‘Difficulty Validating’ Data Accuracy
However, the report notes that military departments currently have “difficulty validating the accuracy of reported data.”This is because standardized processes, while approved, have not yet been implemented, according to the report. This means that the DOD “will have inconsistent tracking of” service members who allegedly participate in prohibited activities, as well as “problems identifying, collecting, and reporting data from multiple, decentralized systems.”
The report further disclosed shortcomings in screening prospective recruits before enlistment. Some recruiters failed to complete all screening steps, potentially leading to oversights in identifying applications with extremist or criminal gang associations.
The inspector general’s audit found that one military service entered data indicating applicants disclosed extremist or gang associations, “even though the applicants had not made such disclosures.”
Under the administration of President Joe Biden, the DOD has focused on extremism. In February 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an unprecedented military-wide stand-down “to gain a better understanding of the scope of the problem of extremist activity within the ranks” following the events of Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. Veterans and active-duty troops were among the protesters and those who breached the Capitol building.
He later issued a memo on April 9, 2021, announcing immediate actions to counter extremist activity in the military. This move also established the Countering Extremist Activity Working Group, which was directed to oversee the implementation of reviewing and updating the definition of prohibited activities. The revised policy became effective as of Dec. 20, 2021.
U.S. military veterans and service members have made headlines in recent years for incidents of violence.
In May 2020, Larry Raynold Williams, U.S. airman from Utah, was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and later convicted of using fire and explosives to destroy a Salt Lake City Police Department patrol car during a riot following the death of George Floyd.
That same month, Steven Carrillo, also a U.S. airman, was convicted of killing a federal security officer in Oakland and of killing a Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy in a separate attack a week later.
In February, Brandon Russell, a former National Guardsman who prosecutors allege to be a “National Socialist,” was charged for allegedly plotting attacks on the Baltimore, Maryland, power grid.
