The Minneapolis City Council couldn't muster votes needed to accept a $300,000 U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant meant to counter violent extremism -- partly because Councilmembers were concerned that communities of color might be unfairly targeted, KSTP reports. The grant would have used a public health approach to intervene with teenagers and young adults who might be vulnerable to indoctrination from known terrorist organizations.
Yet some on the Council opposed acceptance of the grant money because they believed it could unfairly target people of color and specific communities that did not include white supremacist groups. (The Brennan Center, for Justice, among others groups, has repeatedly called for DHS to abandon the grants.) City Council Member Aisha Chughtai said that some past federal grants have negatively affected minority communities like hers. “It turns into hyper-surveillance. It means our kids are watched like they are a problem and like they’ve committed crimes,” Chughtai said. “And we shouldn’t do that. We should not re-live what happened to our community again and again and again.”