Eye on 4R Network: Coming Home - A first-hand account of reintegration stories from two former extremists

02/14/23 • 52 min

In today's episode of our series on the 4R Network, Lucinda speaks to two former extremists, Ryan Lo’Ree and Bryant Vinas.
Ryan was once a right-wing extremist with one of the largest Nazi movements in the United States. After being confined, Ryan went through a process of transformation that focused on healing from trauma. As part of his healing and deradicalization, Ryan created the Team Revelation Mixed Martial Arts, a program utilized to prevent troubled youth from entering gang and extremist cultures. Today, he contributes his expertise to Parallel Networks as Programme Director and Interventionist.
Bryant was the U.S. first foreign fighter after 9/11. In September 2008, he participated in al-Qaeda attacks against U.S. Army bases in Afghanistan. After he was arrested in Pakistan in November 2008, he pled guilty in a New York federal court. While incarcerated, Bryant cooperated with U.S. law enforcement and provided helpful intel. U.S. authorities have called him the “single most valuable cooperating witness” in disrupting al-Qaeda operations.

In this final episode of our series on the 4R Network, Bryant and Ryan will share what it is like to come home after being convicted for offences related to extremism. The episode will explore differences and similarities in their reintegration processes, and we will learn which factors were essential for a successful reintegration process.
And just like that, our eight-episode series on the 4R-Network comes to an end. In case you have not listened to any of the previous episodes, we strongly encourage you to do so to learn more about the new CEP initiative, the 4R Network.
For more information about the 4R Network, see below the website:
https://4rnetwork.org/
You can find the video recording of the 4R Network launch event here:
https://www.counterextremism.com/video/cep-webinar-launch-4r-network-november-16-2022

Previous Episode

undefined - Eye on 4R Network: Preventing Recidivism - A law enforcement perspective on minimizing the risk of extremist offender reintegration and rehabilitation

Eye on 4R Network: Preventing Recidivism - A law enforcement perspective on minimizing the risk of extremist offender reintegration and rehabilitation

In today's episode of our series on the 4R Network, Lucinda talks to Mitch Silber. He is the executive director of the Community Security Initiative, visiting lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the author of the book The Al Qaeda Factor & Radicalization in the West.
Mr. Silber’s CV is extensive, ranging from more than 20 years of experience in providing high-end finished intelligence, bespoke consulting and advisory work for a wide range of corporate, financial and governmental clients to being a former Director of Intelligence Analysis at the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”). At NYPD, he supervised the research, collection and analysis for the Intelligence Division’s entire portfolio of ongoing terrorism related investigations and was responsible for strategic assessments of emerging and future threats to the City of New York.
In today’s episode of our series on the 4R Network, Mitch will discuss concerns faced by law enforcement regarding rehabilitation and reintegration of extremist offenders, and how partnerships with civil society could help mitigate associated risks.
For more information about the 4R Network, see below the website:
https://4rnetwork.org/
You can find the video recording of the 4R Network launch event here:
https://www.counterextremism.com/video/cep-webinar-launch-4r-network-november-16-2022

Next Episode

Breaking News: Responding to the Prevent Strategy Review

Last Wednesday, the long-awaited Prevent review was published by the Home Office. Led by William Shawcross, who was appointed Independent Reviewer of Prevent in 2021, the review sets out to understand how effectively this strand of the government’s counterterrorism strategy works and how it can be improved.
But what is Prevent? Why was it created and why was last week's review commissioned in the first place ? What are the key takeaways from Shawcross' review and will Prevent make Britain safer? In this breaking news episode, Lucinda speaks with CEP experts, Ian Acheson and Liam Duffy, and explores the heated debate around the recent Prevent review.
ICYMI: