Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) called for answers from the Department of Homeland Security after an MRC Free Speech America bombshell uncovered a DHS program funding groups that targeted conservatives, Christians and Republicans.
Rep. Biggs sent a letter on June 2 to embattled DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers concerning the DHS’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP). As part of its new Freedom of Information Act investigations, MRC Free Speech America uncovered TVTP’s weaponization against Christians, conservatives and Republicans under Biden.
Biggs specifically cited MRC’s findings of the infamous program. “The most recent example of this trend targeting conservatives, uncovered by the Media Research Center (MRC), describes a DHS grant program designed to address Americans ‘being targeted for recruitment by al-Qa’ida’ by preventing ‘all forms of terrorism and targeted violence,’” Biggs wrote, quoting an Obama-era document. “Instead, your DHS has reimagined this program to prioritize combatting domestic radicalization and has awarded federal grants to organizations that view conservative beliefs as radicalization in need of suppression.”
The PREVENTS-OH program from University of Dayton was one radical program that DHS funded, Biggs gave as an example. One seminar, highlighted in the taxpayer-funded program, included calls for “targeting and disruption of conservative organizations,” Biggs noted.
One PREVENTS-OH speaker, University of Cincinnati Research Fellow Michael Loandethal, at that event used the now-infamous “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization,” Biggs wrote. The pyramid included organizations such as The Heritage Foundation, Turning Point USA, the American Conservative Union Foundation, PragerUniversity, the Christian Broadcasting Network and the Republican National Committee besides neo-Nazi groups.
Radical, violent leftist groups Antifa and Black Lives Matter also headed University of Dayton seminars. One seminar even compared Republican President Donald Trump to mass murderer Pol Pot, Biggs wrote.
“DHS should under no circumstances award grants relating to combatting domestic radicalization to organizations and municipalities that lack the ability to discern between speech and legitimate political decisions they disagree with and domestic terrorism,” Biggs emphasized to Mayorkas. “It is especially concerning that you called these grants a ‘priority…of the highest performance.’”
Biggs requested answers to a list of questions he included for Mayorkas by June 11. These included questions about DHS’s knowledge of University of Dayton’s extreme seminars and how or if DHS tries to protect free speech.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand DHS be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency on TVTP, clarity on so-called extremism and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.