Kristofer Goldsmith
Task Force Butler
2023
Kristofer Goldsmith is the nation’s most recognized authority on the targeting of American troops and veterans with disinformation and extremist recruiting efforts by hostile foreign and domestic entities.
After leaving the US Army at the rank of sergeant in 2007, he became a top advocate in PTSD treatment and suicide prevention, founding High Ground Veterans Advocacy, which trains veterans to lead movements to shape federal law and regulations.
As the Chief Investigator and Associate Director for Policy and Government Affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America, he led the successful campaign to remove the expiration date of veterans’ education benefits, creating the “Forever GI Bill,” and his work inspired two congressional investigations into the effects of disinformation and extremism on veterans.
Goldsmith earned a degree in Political Science with Honors from Columbia University in 2020 while working full-time for VVA and running High Ground Veterans Advocacy.
Immediately following the attack against the Capitol on January 6, 2021, he founded Sparverius, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business which employs veterans in detecting and disrupting disinformation and extremism campaigns that seek to erode America’s democracy.
He founded Task Force Butler Institute to exponentially expand opportunities to train and engage veterans in the hobby of maintaining a democracy
At the Summit
The catalytic power of this Summit in bringing together those who are devoting their lives to pushing back and working to confront, understand and work towards solutions around hate in our society is a noble and difficult task. The Summit not only energized those who attended but led to connecting the dots in a global network of those doing this work. The stories of the victims of hate were painful to witness but their courage in coming forward was inspirational. Those who attended left energized with the hope that by working together solutions can be forged.
