DOJ unveils new domestic terror unit as U.S. faces ‘persistent and evolving’ threats a year after Jan. 6, officials warn

The Senate Select Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on July 20, 2021, on Matthew G. Olsen, nominee for assistant attorney general for national security.

The Department of Justice is forming a unit to combat domestic terrorism as national security officials warn of a "persistent and evolving" threat of violent extremism within the U.S.

The first anniversary of the Capitol invasion was the day that the new unit was unveiled.

The attack on the Capitol is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism by the FBI and the DOJ, according to Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for the DOJ's national security division. He said that it's appropriate to do so under the definition of domestic terrorism in federal criminal law.

The domestic terror unit is being established to add to the existing approach.

The group of dedicated attorneys will focus on the domestic terrorism threat, helping to ensure that these cases are handled properly and effectively coordinated across the Department of Justice and across the country.

Since the spring of 2020, the FBI has opened more than doubled the number of investigations into suspected domestic terrorists.

The domestic terror threat is evolving, though foreign threats remain a focus of the government, according to the executive assistant director of the FBI.

Sanborn said that the greatest source of domestic terror threats is from lone actors who become radicalized online, find easily accessible weapons and then attack soft targets, such as public gatherings of civilians.

Racist and antigovernment extremism are the two most prevalent types of domestic violence today. White supremacist extremists and antigovernment extremists are considered the most lethal threats by the FBI.

More than 700 people have been arrested and charged in connection with the DOJ investigation of the January 6 invasion. More than 350 people are being investigated by the FBI for their involvement in violence at the Capitol, and more than 250 of them may have attacked officers.

The politics surrounding the Capitol riot have become a battleground of increasing partisan polarization. Republicans allied with Trump have been against the committee investigating the riot. The GOP has sought to downplay the attack or equate it with violence that occurred during or after protests against police brutality and racism in the summer of 2020.

Ted Cruz, a member of the Judiciary panel, appeared on a Fox News program last week to apologize after coming under fire from the right for calling Jan. 6 a "violent terrorist attack."

CNBC's Sevanny Campos contributed to the report.