ABOUT THE EVENT
Domestic terrorist events have become heartbreakingly familiar in the United States. With shocking frequency, right wing extremists take the lives of innocent bystanders in towns and cities across the country, with January 6th being the starkest example.
Join former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, retired FBI agent turned scholar Michael German,CEO of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, and Professor Robert Pape as they discuss the rise of right wing terrorism, and what can be done to fight it.
Thursday, May 20th, 2021
5:00pm-6:00pm EST
Secretary Jeh Johnson was appointed by President Obama on December 23, 2013, following confirmation by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 78-16. Between 2013 and 2017 he served as Secretary of Homeland Security. Previously, Secretary Johnson was appointed by President Obama to be General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 through 2012. In that position, Johnson was one of the legal architects for the U.S. military’s counter terrorism mission during President Obama’s first term.
In 2010, Johnson co-authored a 250-page report that paved the way for the repeal by Congress of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law that prohibited gays from serving openly in the U.S. military. From October 1998 to January 2001, Johnson served in the Clinton Administration as General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force. From 1989 through 1991, Secretary Johnson was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases.
On September 16, 2020 Secretary Jeh Johnson participated in “Longest War - How Do We End It? Koldenda and Johnson discuss the impact of the war, how it can be ended, and recent events with our military that have made headlines.
Michael German is a retired FBI agent, scholar, and writer..German is a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program, which seeks to ensure that the U.S. government respects human rights and fundamental freedoms in conducting the fight against terrorism. A former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, his work focuses on law enforcement and intelligence oversight and reform. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, German served as the policy counsel for national security and privacy for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington legislative office.
German is the author of Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy. The book chronicles how the FBI transformed itself after the 9/11 attacks from a law enforcement agency famous for prosecuting organized crime and corruption to arguably the most secretive domestic intelligence agency the country has ever seen. A 16-year veteran of federal law enforcement, German served as an FBI special agent, where he specialized in domestic terrorism and covert operations. He left the FBI in 2004 after reporting continuing deficiencies in FBI counterterrorism operations to Congress. German served as an adjunct professor of law enforcement and terrorism at National Defense University. He joined the ACLU’s Washington legislative office in 2006 and the Brennan Center in 2014. His first book, Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent, was published in 2007.
Robert Pape is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs, as well as, a successful publicist. His commentary on international security policy has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, as well as on Nightline, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and National Public Radio.
Before coming to Chicago in 1999, he taught international relations at Dartmouth College for five years and air power strategy for the USAF's School of Advanced Airpower Studies for three years.
His current work focuses on the causes of suicide terrorism and the politics of unipolarity. He is the director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats.
Jonathan Greenblatt is a seasoned CEO with leadership experience in managing complex organizations in business, government and nonprofit environments. He currently serves as CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the oldest anti-hate organization in the world and one of the longest standing civil rights groups in the US. He has been named to the list of Top 50 Nonprofit Leaders by the Nonprofit Times in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Additionally, he has launched and led successful high-growth companies and worked in senior positions at several public companies. Greenblatt is also a former Special Assistant to President Obama and Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation (2011-2014) and co-chaired G7 Task Force on Impact Investing (2012-2013). He developed technology and trade policy as an aide at the National Economic Council in the White House and the US Department of Commerce (1993-1997).
Greenblatt is also a frequent guest on news programs and has appeared on ABC, BBC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, NBC News, PBS and other outlets. His writing has been published in New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, TIME Magazine, and numerous other outlets.
Lastly, he has served on the boards of several high-impact nonprofit organizations including the Ron Brown Scholars program, KaBOOM!, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles. He was a founding board member of the African Leadership Academy (foundation) and Water.org.
