Today, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, chaired a hearing titled, "The Digital Battlefield: How Terrorists Use Online Networks for Recruitment and Radicalization," to learn about how America can simultaneously protect first amendment rights while taking proactive measures to prevent future terrorist attacks.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Pfluger highlighted the importance of taking online threats more seriously, saying in part, "There is no doubt that ISIS actively looks to inspire younger individuals and frequently produces media tailored at juveniles because they think they are more susceptible to terrorist ideologies and more accessible due to their online presence on a range of platforms. We must acknowledge and confront this urgent threat head-on, or we risk having another terrorist attack like New Orleans take place here in the United States. I hope today’s discussion is the first of many productive conversations on the enduring terrorism threats our nation faces and how this subcommittee can find legislative solutions to overcome these challenges."

The witnesses included:

·     Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, PhD, Senior Advisor on Asymmetric Warfare, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

·     Aaron Zelin, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

·     Daniel Flesch, Senior Policy Analyst, Middle East and North Africa, Allison Center for National Security, the Heritage Foundation

·     Kurt Braddock, PhD, Assistant Professor, Public Communication, American University

In his round of questioning, Chairman Pfluger asked the witnesses how we can protect the First Amendment while simultaneously thwarting violence, if we could have known about the New Orleans attack before it happened, how content moderation should be done on a platform level, and what a university's responsibility is versus either federal or state and local enforcement.

Watch Chairman Pfluger's full line of questioning HERE.

Watch the hearing in its entirety HERE.

Watch Chairman Pfluger's opening remarks HERE, or read them as prepared below.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the first Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee hearing of the 119th Congress. I want to begin by welcoming all the members here today. I’d also like to take a second to welcome several new members to the Committee. Representatives Gabe Evans, Ryan Mackenzie, Nellie Pou, and Pablo Jose Hernandez.

Last Congress, this subcommittee held various hearings on pressing national security issues. Those national security threats ranged from the vulnerabilities posed by transnational criminal organizations and known or suspected terrorists at our southern border to the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party and the Iranian regime to U.S. homeland security. We will continue to work on those issues and expand our scope to include new and emerging threats.

This subcommittee also conducted critical oversight work on important DHS entities, such as DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and the ramifications of policy decisions made by the Biden Administration, such as our nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Our nation faces many challenges, and this subcommittee must examine these threats through a clear and objective lens.

Since 9/11 and the formation of this Committee, this subcommittee has worked tirelessly to ensure that our nation understands the threats that face the U.S. and that our law enforcement agencies have the proper tools to safeguard our country and the American people. As chairman of this subcommittee, I am committed to working with everyone to advance these goals.

Unfortunately, we began this year with a sober reminder that the same ideology that radicalized 19 individuals to hijack commercial airliners and fly them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania—drove an individual to commit a heinous ISIS-inspired terror attack that killed fourteen people and injured dozens more on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by this tragedy.

Since the New Orleans terror attack, the nation has learned more about the perpetrator’s background. The individual, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is believed to have self-radicalized online through various propaganda channels affiliated with ISIS. The FBI has also confirmed that Jabbar’s online search history indicated he conducted extensive research into the terror attacks that took place last year at a German Christmas market and that he pledged his support for ISIS on his personal Facebook account.

The case related to Jabbar is not an isolated incident of an individual within the United States becoming radicalized online by a foreign terrorist organization. Online radicalization is a significant terrorism threat our nation currently faces. At a recent Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing, former FBI Director Wray highlighted the severity of this threat when he stated: “[t]he greatest terrorism threat to our homeland is posed by lone actors or small cells of individuals who typically radicalize to violence online, and who primarily use easily accessible weapons to attack soft targets.”

To provide greater context, between April 2021 and January 2025, there were over 50 indictments against individuals who have worked to provide material support or carry out an attack on behalf of foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Hezbollah. Almost all of these individuals had been radicalized by terrorist media propaganda. Americans’ ability to access propaganda from foreign terrorist organizations is easier than ever.

Groups like al Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram are disseminating their propaganda at lightning speed across the globe on platforms, such as Telegram and Redz. Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies have utilized TikTok and other platforms to spread propaganda in the West related to Israel’s war with Hamas in hopes of radicalizing individuals to join their quest to launch a global intifada.

We saw this hateful propaganda mold the actions of radicalized protesters at Columbia University and other colleges across the United States. Another stark example of online radicalization was seen last year when thousands of Americans went on TikTok and attempted to rationalize Osama bin Laden’s letter to America and victim-blame our nation for the atrocities that took place on 9/11.

Moreover, we have now seen an increase in juvenile homegrown violent extremists inspired by foreign terrorist organizations’ media being shared on youth-oriented platforms. For instance, a 16-year-old in Las Vegas, Nevada, was arrested after threatening a lone-wolf terrorist attack in support of ISIS and possessing components and instructions to build a bomb. He wrote in a chatroom that he would be “starting lone wolf operations in Las Vegas against enemies of Allah.” 

There is no doubt that ISIS actively looks to inspire younger individuals and frequently produces media tailored at juveniles because they think they are more susceptible to terrorist ideologies and more accessible due to their online presence on a range of platforms. We must acknowledge and confront this urgent threat head-on, or we risk having another terrorist attack like New Orleans take place here in the United States.

I hope today’s discussion is the first of many productive conversations on the enduring terrorism threats our nation faces and how this subcommittee can find legislative solutions to overcome these challenges. I thank our distinguished panel for their testimony today.