Trump administration gutted program aimed at preventing targeted violence

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By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration gutted a program that aims to prevent targeted violence as part of its effort to downsize the federal government, a move that could come under fresh scrutiny after the deadly shooting of state lawmakers in Minnesota on Saturday.

The Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, part of the Department of Homeland Security, works to reduce violent extremism through intervention programs in schools, workplaces and government offices.

William Braniff, a former director of the office who resigned in protest in March, said the office went from having 45 full-time staff and several dozen contract workers to just a handful of employees now.

The Trump administration has prioritized combating illegal immigration while shrinking other DHS offices, a factor Braniff cited. “DHS is drastically reducing everything that is not related to border and immigration security,” he said.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the office had backed liberal groups and that staff reductions were part of the administration’s efforts to fight government waste.

“Any suggestion that DHS is stepping away from addressing terrorism is simply false,” McLaughlin said. “The department has a robust counterterrorism program, and the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) office plays an insignificant and ineffective role in the broader efforts.”

A gunman posing as a police officer killed a senior Democratic state assemblywoman and her husband on Saturday in an apparent “politically motivated assassination,” and wounded a second lawmaker and his spouse, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and law enforcement officials said.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Franklin Paul and William Mallard)