Homework

Should drug offenders who have not committed additional crimes be sent to prison for treatment? How would you create a better plan of action for drug offenders? Or do you believe the prison is instrumental in reducing drug abuse? Why?

In order to receive full credit (25 points) you must use the eText reading material and you must submit at least 3 well developed paragraphs.

Homework

1.      Describe the Sovereign Citizens Movement in terms of beliefs, groups and tactics.

2.      Discuss the two revolutionary books, “The Turner Diaries” and “Hunter” and their reported influence on modern terrorism.

3.      List the six characteristics of Homegrown Terrorists.

4.      Describe the evolution of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and its current status according to the FBI. 

Use lecture notes below to answer questions.

I.                   Understanding Domestic Terrorism

a.      History & Framework:  US has a long history of political violence which was never characterized as “terrorism”

-President Nixon (1970’s) created a national advisory commission on terrorism: focused on police role & the history of terrorism in US

1.      1800’s primarily aimed at protecting the status-quo & the economic environment

2.      America’s frontier had its own form of terrorism, vigilantes

3.      1960’s emerged with radical politics, nationalism, & the international community’s experience with terrorism

4.      Left-wing violence derived from foreign models

5.      American public rejected the violence of revolutionary groups & popularity was never fully achieved

b.      Classifying Terrorism in Criminal Justice

1.      FBI’s classification system: five types of groups (1980’s)

-White leftists

-Puerto Rican leftists

-Black militants

-Right-wing extremists

-Jewish extremists

2.      Three Categories of Terrorist (Brent Smith)

- Right-wing extremists

- Left-wing & single-issue terrorists

- International terrorists

II.                Anti-Government Criminal Extremism

a.      Development of Right-Wing Violence (anti-federal sentiment)

1.      Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794): PA farmers rioted & created general disorder after federal government placed a tax on corn, used to make alcohol

2.      Know-Nothings (1861-1865): operated in eastern US prior to Civil War; anti-Catholic, anti-Irish & anti-immigration

3.      Ku Klux Klan (KKK): Bedford Forrest, Confederate  General created to oppose federal government & preserve Southern culture & tradition; left after group became violent

-Three historical phases:

- 1865-1900: Knight Riders were KKK members who terrorized African Americans in an effort to keep them out of politics & society

-1920’s: KKK sought political legitimacy; became popular, political, & respectable; collapsed after a criminal scandal

-1945-present: fragmented, decentralized, & dominated with hate-filled rhetoric

b.      Sovereign Citizens Movement:

Beliefs

-Common belief: declare themselves free of American citizenship, laws, & taxes; there is no single sovereign citizen ideology

-Anti-Defamation League (2010): movement believes there are two governments

-One government is legitimate & devoid of governmental regulation except the English common law

-Other government is illegitimate, includes all federal & state governments; all taxes, traffic fines, & other government actions are the result of a conspiracy of evil

Groups

- Linked to different racial & ethnic groups

- Some connected to white supremacists, militia groups, religious

 groups, normal citizens who hold jobs but refuse to pay taxes

- Moorish Nation: African American, sovereign citizen type group that does not recognize the validity of the US Government

Tactics

1. Paper terrorism: using false documents to clog legal, financial, or bureaucratic processes

-Filing false liens on property of people who have irritated them

-Write bogus checks against non-existent accounts

-Defraud people by conducting seminars to tell participants how they can fill out special forms & renounce their American citizenship

-Create false drivers licenses vehicle registrations that align with the Constitution as they interpret it  

2. Attack & kill police (30 since 2011) staged armed standoffs against law enforcement; made violent threats against government officials

c.       Contemporary Right-Wing Behavior, Beliefs, & Tactics

1.      Right wing extremism began around 1984

-Tend to follow one of the forms of extremist religions

- Belief in international conspiracy theory: sinister forces are threatening their economic stability & swindle them out of the American Dream

-Embrace patriotism & guns; want to arm themselves for a holy war

2.      Three issues rejuvenated the extremist right

-Brady Bill: federal law that limits gun ownership, named after James Brady, President Reagan’s Press Secretary, was shot in an attempt on the president’s life in 1981

-Ruby Ridge, Idaho, Standoff (1992): survivalists resisted arrest by US Marshals; resulted in deaths of a US Deputy Marshal as well as the suspect’s wife & son

-Waco, Texas Seige (1993): Branch Dividian Religious Cult members refused to comply with a federal search warrant issued by federal agents; four ATF agents & 82 individuals were killed in the siege; David Koresh, leader of the cult, was a dismissed Seventh Day Adventist with no connections to the right wing movement; he did have guns, a survivalist compound & a belief in a warrior God

d.      Revolutionary Literature: Turner Diaries & Hunter

1.      William Pierce, white supremacist, wrote two novels, Turner Diaries (1985) & Hunter (1989)

2.      Turner Diaries (1985): fictionalized account of an international white revolution; targets minorities & Jews; explains how to make bombs,  mortars,  & other violent tactics

-Inspired two terrorist activities:

-Robert Matthews founded the Silent Brotherhood, a terrorist organization based on Turner’s fictional terrorist group

-Timothy McVeigh, Oklahoma City bomber, was carrying a copy of the book when arrested

3.      Hunter (1989): story about a lone-wolf named Hunter who launches a one-man revolution

-stalks the streets killing African Americans, interracial couples & Jews

-book dedicated to a real life killer

                e. Resurgent Violent Right-Wing Extremism

                   - DHS report (2009): evidence that certain issues motivated recruits

                  to violent extremist organizations:

                        -2008 election of President Obama (African American)

                        -Fears of gun-control

                        -Economic downturn

                        -Frustration over illegal immigration

                        -Threats from emerging foreign powers

                      -Right-wing groups will try to recruit military veterans returning

                     from Iraq & Afghanistan

f.       Characteristics of Homegrown Terrorists

1.      Militant religious philosophy

2.      Self-motivated

3.      Motivated by family, peer groups, militant groups in jail/prison

4.      Violent

5.      Select symbolic targets that represent government or religious groups

6.      Utilize Internet

III.             Single - Issue Criminal Extremists

- Left-wing movements became more specific, focusing on

 particular causes

1.      Earth Liberation Front (ELF)

a.      Formed in the 1970’s, inspired by a book, Monkey Wrench Gang (1975); “monkey wrenching” refers to small acts of sabotage against companies undertaking projects in undeveloped areas

b. Heroes drive through western states sabotaging bulldozers, burning billboards, & damaging property of people they deem to be destroying the environment

b.      Review of activities of ELF published in Portland Oregon

 newspaper (1999); Bryan Denson & James Long

ELF had no hierarchy & was not tied to any particular location

(1995-1999) mostly in American West: $28.8 million in damages

Used firebombs on property targets only; placed bomb-making

instructions on the Internet

Raids on farms, destruction of animal research laboratories at University of California & Michigan State University, threats to individuals, sabotage of industrial equipment, & arson

c.       Schabner (2004): ELF activities have increased each year since 1999 & have expanded throughout the country

-Becoming more violent towards individuals as well as property

            - (2002) ELF communique: it would “no longer hesitate to pick up

               the gun”

d.      FBI (2002) reported that supporters of ecoterrorism (ELF) &

                                          animal rights, Animal Liberation Front (ALF) & opponents of

                                          genetic engineering came together in the United Kingdom in

                                         1992; migrated to the United States

                                           - Responsible for more than 600 criminal acts since 1996

                                           - Tactic include tree spiking, sabotage, property damage,

                                               intimidation & arson

2.      Anti-Abortion Violence:

-Violence against abortion clinics & personnel has risen in past three decade

-Debate centers around Constitutional Rights & God’s Will

-1973: US Supreme Court legalized abortion, Roe v. Wade

-Violent actors feel that accepting the status-quo is more evil than using violence to change behavior

-David Nice (1988): researched trends in abortion clinic bombings

-Antiabortion violence appears in areas of rapid population growth where abortion rates are high

-Tactics in violent antiabortion attacks:

1. Assassination-style murders

2. Bombings & arson

3. Threatening letters & phone calls to workers

4. Bombing with secondary devices targeting first responders

5. Suspected anthrax sent through the mail

-Non-violent tactics: Manual of the Army of God (“99 Ways to Stop an Abortionist”)

1. Gluing locks

2. Shutting off water

3. Slashing tires

4. Methods for confronting workers & those seeking abortions before they enter the clinics