Jeh Johnson calls on voters to demand leaders ‘adopt a more civil tone’ in wake of New Zealand attack

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Sunday that voters should demand leaders “adopt a more civil tone” in the wake of an attack on two mosques in New Zealand that left dozens of people dead.

“There’s a role for our leaders to play in raising the level of civil dialogue in our country and lowering the levels of extremist speech,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

{mosads}“Americans do listen to their leaders,” he added. “And so as we enter this election season, I believe that the voters should demand that a prerequisite for office … is that our leaders adopt a more civil tone in what they say. People do listen to their leaders.”

A 28-year-old Australian man was charged in connection with the shootings at the two places of worship, which have raised fears among Muslims in the U.S. and around the world. The suspect wrote in a manifesto that he supported President Trump “as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”

The attack has also triggered fresh debate about Trump’s rhetoric and whether he is responsible for stoking white nationalism or anti-Muslim views.

Trump said on Friday that white nationalists were not a growing threat around the world.

“I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems,” he said. “It’s certainly a terrible thing.”

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said earlier Friday that the suspect was “wrong” to call Trump a symbol of “white identity” and also called the shooter “evil.”

Johnson on Sunday said officials are equipped to deal with the threat of violent extremism as long as they stay focused.

“Efforts against this type of violent extremism begin with good law enforcement, good investigative techniques,” he said. “But we need to also rededicate ourselves to identifying violent extremism at local levels through community organizations and the like.”

Johnson, who served in the Obama administration, added that the issue also includes social media.

“Social media now, there’re very few barriers to entry, and frankly standards for exit. And so it’s incumbent on social media providers, internet service providers to be vigilant when it comes to hate speech content that violates their very own terms of service.”