The day before the violent political attacks in Minnesota, the last top officials of the program aimed at finding the so-called “lonely actors” were reassigned to other roles.
Suspects charged with “targeted” shooting by Minnesota Sen.
Vance Boelter faces six charges, including murder and stalking, after being told he had “targeted” two Minnesota state legislators at his home.
Just as politically motivated attacks by so-called “lonely actors” surge across the country, President Donald Trump’s management is dismantling the very office that oversees efforts to identify and stop such violent extremists before they attack.
Four months after Trump took office, his administration has reduced the Department of Homeland Security Prevention Programs and Partnerships Center (CP3) with fewer than 10 people from dozens of analysts and supervisors led by a 22-year-old graduate with no experience in law enforcement or homeland security.
In fact, 24 hours before the two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot, killing one couple and seriously injured the other, the CP3 office reassigned its final senior advisor.
“The office is slowly being demolished,” says Branif, now executive director of the American University’s Polarization & Extreme Research & Innovation Lab (Peril). “They explicitly say they’re closing their offices. This is not implied.”
In a statement, DHS officials pushed back the claim that dismantling the CP3 program puts American lives at risk, saying it “plays a nuanced and ineffective role in broader efforts.”
“The Department of Homeland Security has a robust anti-terrorism program,” the official said in a statement. “Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, CP3 was weaponized against political enemies, with its main purpose being to concentrate money on progressive groups. It’s not surprising that the Trump administration is making a keen effort to end waste, fraud and abuse. This office is just an example.”
The DHS did not respond to detailed questions about the program and its effectiveness. National security experts, including those who made counter-terrorism efforts under Trump in the first term, told USA Today that demolition of the CP3 office is dangerous and counterproductive, especially given the stable drumbeat of the politically motivated killing that marked the first half of 2025.
“This is the destruction of our preventive infrastructure,” said Jacob Ware, a researcher on the Council of Foreign Affairs and author of “Gods, Guns, Incitement: America’s far-right Extremism.”
“The only best way to counteract actor terrorism is through a programme, “see something, say something,” Ware said. “If we cut funding to all the great organisations in our country that work every day to prevent violence in our community and redirect resources from law enforcement, the only way we have to counter the terrorism of lonely actors won’t work.”
According to CP3’s annual report last year between 2020 and 2023, 17 different programs opened over 1,100 inquiries to individuals “showing behavioral indicators related to the path to violence.” Of these, over 70% of cases were referred to mental health professionals for counseling, while 77 were sent to law enforcement for potential criminal investigations.
The report laid out several case studies of potential violent extremists identified through CP3-funded programs, including students who brought arms to schools and parents who reported their appeal to violent extremism. The students were counselled and the children were later investigated by the FBI.
The “Only Actor” incident is difficult to predict
Among domestic terrorism and homeland security experts, attacks like the weekend Minnesota shooting are known as “a lonely actor” incidents. They are very difficult for law enforcement to predict or destroy.
Lonely actors usually don’t promote their intentions. They usually publish “manifestos” to lay out frustration and conspiracy during or after the crime. They tend to be not members of organized groups on the radar of law enforcement. Instead, they quietly accumulate weapons, steal the site and investigate the victims.
But very often, only actors send signals for the coming attack – they say suspicious things to their family, friends, or colleagues. For example, the suspect in shooting last weekend sent a creepy text message to a friend, saying he might be dead soon.
For over a decade, programs have existed across the country that support communities, from school teachers to workplace managers to local police officers. Old groups said, “Look something, say something, and say a hotline for the citizens involved to call and report suspicious activities.
These programs are essentially the only weapons to prevent the random acts of political violence with government weapons, and have received funds from CP3 for a long time and are now closed.
It’s happening amid the surge in domestic terrorism for only actors. The Minnesota shooting was the latest in a series of deadly politically motivated attacks from both extremes of political scope. From the beginning of the year, lonely attackers set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, shooting a young Jewish couple in Washington, D.C., and bombing Israeli pro-Israel marching in Boulder, Colorado.
Braniff and others have quickly highlighted programs that were overseen by CP3.
There is no guarantee that the friends, neighbors, or colleagues involved will call a hotline funded by the center. However, given the great challenges of preventing actor attacks only, these programs are at least one effective tool and are being junked by the federal government under Trump.
“Political soccer”
The office, now known as “CP3,” has had a variety of iterations over the years, and has been rare except for controversy.
During Trump’s first term, in early 2017, the administration unilaterally decided to withdraw $10 million in Congress-approved funds from what was known as a program to “oppose violent extremism.” They argue that organizations like the Heartland Democracy Centre, which set up counseling groups for children at risk of radicalization, are biased towards conservatives.
The center, reborn as a CP3 under President Joe Biden, has grown to more than 70 staff at its peak, Braniff said. However, when Trump was re-elected, the office quickly began to abandon staff. A 22-year-old recent graduate with no experience in the extremist prevention program was appointed earlier this year to run the centre. In March, Braniffe left.
“This office was political football,” Branif said.
Javed Ali, senior director of counterterrorism at the National Security Council under Trump in 2017 and 2018, said efforts like those carried out under CP3 for a decade are essential tools in the fight against domestic terrorism.
Importantly, these attackers come from all aspects of the political spectrum, Ali said.
“There’s a big pool of people in this country that are made very radical for some reason, but they aren’t all swimming in the same ideological ocean,” Ali said. “These are all those people flying under the radar but very angry, and in their own timeline they are the moments that make the attacks they decide now.”
Time to reorganize
The programs supported by CP3 are not aiming to identify the only lonely actor. They also help to separate people from extremist groups through counseling, according to the agency’s annual report, which highlighted several counseling programs.
And at the same time, the Trump administration is dismantling the center for prevention programs and partnerships. Researchers monitoring such groups are particularly concerned about the far-right group taking opportunities for reconstruction.
The leaders of two of the most famous far-right extremist groups, the Oath Keeper and the proud boy, both were convicted of inflammatory conspiracy for their role in the January 6th rebellion. Both men were forgiven by President Trump and vowed to rebuild and improve the organization.
Ware said the January 6 pardon sent a clear message to Americans willing to engage in political violence. As long as it is directed at the political left or against President Trump, it will be tolerated, if not encouraged, he said.
“It’s not just that Trump ignores the far right. He says he’s actively sending out violence that can withstand – violence is acceptable – violence is legal and legal as long as it’s being done on our behalf,” Ware said. “And that’s devastating from a messaging perspective.”
Colin P. Clark, research director for the Soo Fan Group, a global intelligence consultant, agreed.
“In the long run, these people, who are groups like guardians of vows, can spend the next four years of stockpile – training, commissimism – without worrying about,” Clark said. “So what you get at the end of this is that there are far more robust militia groups and other violent extremists, just having free reins to rebuild the organization.”
