Georgetown Attorney Says New Law Needed to Confront White Supremacy

WASHINGTON -- A Georgetown University law professor called for a new federal law to clamp down on white supremacist militias during a congressional hearing last week.

She said their threats of violence are growing but local law enforcement personnel are unprepared to deal with them.

“This is not a local problem,” said Mary McCord, legal director at Georgetown’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.

She testified before the House Oversight and Reform subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties during one of a series of congressional hearings following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.

Lawmakers at the hearing repeated assertions that the insurrection was a symptom of a bigger problem that could no longer be ignored.

McCord said law enforcement agencies are hampered in their efforts against the militias because they typically must wait until one of their members violates a criminal law, such as by assaulting someone or trespassing onto government property.

Only rarely are white supremacists arrested on criminal charges, McCord said. When they are arrested, the police action does minimal damage to the militias.

A better option would be a federal law that seeks to undermine and dismantle their organizational efforts that promote violence, McCord said.

“As the January 6 attack demonstrated, [militias] present not only a public safety threat but also a national security threat,” she said.

She recommended a federal law that empowers police and the Justice Department to seek injunctions ordering militia members to cease activities that threaten public safety. 

The law also should allow police to seize their weapons while taking both civil action against the militias and prosecuting them with criminal charges, McCord said.

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