Hochul unveils 'comprehensive plan' to fight domestic terror and gun violence

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday unveiled what she called a "comprehensive plan to combat domestic terrorism and prevent gun violence" following a racist rampage that left 10 Black people dead at a Jefferson Avenue supermarket.

"We as a country are facing an intersection of two crises: the mainstreaming of hate speech – including white nationalism, racism and white supremacy – and the easy access to military-style weapons and magazines," Hochul said Wednesday. "This is a wake-up call and here in New York we are taking strong steps to directly address this deadly threat."

Hochul called domestic terror attacks "one of the most pressing threats to public safety across the United States." Her office said research shows such attacks and plots have tripled in the last decades. Last year there were 73 "terrorist attacks and unearthed plots" in the U.S. – 38 of them linked to white supremacists "and similarly like-minded groups."

Hochul's plan includes:

• Asking State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate social media platforms that broadcast the killer's livestream of the attack.

Hochul requested James investigate the platforms including 4chan, 8chan and Discord, as well as Twitch, which she points out is owned by Amazon.

"I am seeking your assistance to investigate the specific online platforms that were used to broadcast and amplify the acts and intentions of the mass shooting that took place in Buffalo on May 14, 2022, and determine whether specific companies have civil or criminal liability for their role in promoting, facilitating, or providing a platform to plan and promote violence," she wrote.

James' office has already agreed.

"The fact that an individual can post detailed plans to commit such an act of hate without consequence, and then stream it for the world to see is bone-chilling and unfathomable," James said in a statement that noted the "real-world devastation that is borne of these dangerous and hateful platforms."

"We are doing everything in our power to shine a spotlight on this alarming behavior and take action to ensure it never happens again," James said.

• Establishing a new Domestic Terrorism Unit within the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

The unit will focus on threat assessments, disbursing funds to local agencies to create their own threat assessment teams and using social media to "to intervene in the radicalization process," Hochul said Wednesday. The unit will also teach law enforcement, mental health professionals and school officials on "domestic and homegrown violent extremism and radicalization."

• Starting a new intelligence unit within the State Police to track domestic terrorism and increase social media monitoring.

• Requiring state police to file an "extreme risk protection" order under the state's "Red Flag Law" when there's reason to believe a person could seriously harm others or themselves.

She's also calling on the Legislature to pass a package of bills related to guns and to help police fight gun violence including:

• Closing gun law loopholes that allow certain specialty guns to be sold without permits.

• Require semiautomatic weapons to be microstamped to leave a unique mark on bullets and cartridge casing. "This allows investigators to link bullets and casings recovered at crime scenes to a specific gun and potentially other crimes," Hochul said.

• Requiring police to report guns used in crimes within 24 hours to a centralized database.