Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within

A former FBI agent’s urgent call for law enforcement to prioritize far-right violence and end tolerance for police racism. As a long-serving FBI agent, Mike German worked undercover in white supremacist and militia groups, developing a deep understanding of their mindsets and strategies. In Policing White Supremacy, German issues a wake-up call about law enforcement’s dangerously lax approach to far-right violence.Because the FBI refuses to prioritize violence by white supremacists, it can continue to use its domestic terrorism powers to target much less violent groups, such as Black Lives Matter and environmental activists. By contrast, far-right militants have committed over one hundred deadly acts just since the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and attempted to obstruct transfer of power to a duly elected U.S. president.Noting that the FBI does not even compile accurate national data on white supremacist violence, German exposes tolerance of overt racism in law enforcement and police membership in white supremacist organizations. The threat these officers pose became clear when at least nineteen current and former law enforcement officials participated in the January 6 breach of the Capitol.A book with profound relevance as we head into what is sure to be a contentious presidential election, Policing White Supremacy urges us to recognize and address a serious threat to democracy.