Week 7: Field of Study Project
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MODELPRESENTATIONtypeA.pptxU.S. Domestic Terrorism Student
“These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us, because we stand in their way.”
- President George Bush
What IS domestic terrorism?
Information gathered from James S. Albanese’s “The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice” highlights three of the most common forms of domestic terrorism:
1) Political
2) Ideological
3) Foreign Nationalist
The FBI defines domestic terrorism as “the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States (or its territories) without foreign direction, committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”
Political Domestic Terrorism
The most common political acts of domestic terrorism stem from either far-left or far-right leaning factions. In the timespan between 1997 and August 2017 there were a total of 3,342 deaths due to domestic terrorism.
The graph below shows that right wing terrorism was the second deadliest cause of death by domestic terrorism, and that left-wing domestic terrorism claimed a total of 23 lives.
(Since the beginning of 2016 deaths caused by left-wing domestic terrorism overtook deaths caused by right-wing domestic terrorism.)
Left-Wing Domestic Terrorist Groups
ANTIFA
The Anti-Fascist (ANTIFA) movement is an anarchist militia group that was inspired by a World War II movement that resisted NAZI oppression.
Antifa history, beliefs, and activity.
The modern day ANTIFA movement has seen a dwindling amount of support from other slightly less aggressive leftist groups movements such as “Black Lives Matter” and tend to come into conflict with any group that they come across.
ANTIFA is classified as an anarchist movement that resurged in Europe in the 1960s before making its way to the United States in the 1970s. Its mission is based upon the belief that the repetition of Nazi occupation can only be prevented through active aggression. Over time, ANTIFA have broadened the definition of fascism to include anybody who either supports conservative political efforts, supports President Donald Trump, or both.
ANTIFA are known for violent, and often misguided, counter-protests that have even escalated to the point where they’ve assaulted themselves by mistake.
Often times police and other peacekeeping groups are targeted by ANTIFA while attempting to stem the violence between them and the groups that they counter-protest. ANTIFA counter-protests are notorious for physical violence, provocation, arrests, and damage to property as well as desecration of the American flag.
Violent acts committed by antifa
In January of 2017, Antifa members violently took to the streets of downtown Washington D.C. Six police officers were injured and 217 Antifa members were arrested.
In February of 2017, Antifa members (in conjunction with “Black Bloc” members) caused over $100,000 in damages to the campus at the University of California at Berkeley. At least six members sustained injuries.
In March of 2017, Antifa Counter-protest efforts turned violent as 10 Antifa members were arrested. Four of those arrested were arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.
Thirteen Antifa members were arrested during a counter-protest to a pro-Trump rally. Police were able to confiscate sticks, knives, flagpoles, helmets and more.
25 arrests were made when Antifa members set fire to the streets in Portland, Oregon. Police property was damaged and vandalized. Officers themselves were assaulted with various projectiles that included rocks, ball bearings, and fireworks.
During the Charlottesville riots in August of 2017 six people were injured and two were hospitalized.
Right wing terrorist groups
Right wing (alt-Right) terrorism
Right wing terrorism has a long history that is ripe with racism and white supremacy, but there is still a crucial political advantage to be had. Right wing terrorists almost always have an ultra-conservative base and will most often times align themselves with policies that best suit their agenda. Alt-right rallies have always found their place in the political scene to this day.
It’s common for right wing terrorists to adhere to multiple militant right wing groups such as Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and skinheads.
The facts.
In 2017, 18 out of 34 extremist killings were committed by far-right radicals according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Over the past decade, 71% of extremist killings have been carried out by right-wing radicals.
2017 was the fifth deadliest year for domestic terrorism since the year 1970.
In multiple cases, right wing extremists have aligned themselves with multiple extremist groups.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, right-wing terror incidents are most often motivated by white supremacy or anti-government beliefs.
American Nazi party (ANP)
Founded in 1959 by George Lincoln Rockwell and based in Virginia, the American Nazi Party is established as an alt-right political organization aimed at implementing fascist policies with its main political objectives being based around racist, anti-semitic, and homophobic foundations. American Nazi Party members (better known as “Neo-Nazis”) place a firm emphasis on white supremacy and have historically been known to commit violent acts against minorities.
During the ANP’s rise in the the 1960s, TIME magazine reported that there were initially between twenty to one hundred active APN members. During Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C. it was reported that fewer than one hundred Neo-Nazis participated in counter-protest, and that police arrested the only Neo-Nazi who attempted to make a speech.
THE ANP TODAY
In May of 2017, Jason Keller, a devout white supremacist and alt-right activist, organized the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The theme of the rally was to promote white supremacy as well as protest the city council’s decision to remove confederate statues and other confederate historical monuments.
The rally was immediately met by counter-protestors. Because of the violence that ensued on both sides, police were forced to end the rally shortly after it had begun.
As events progressed, a man by the name of James Fields, a known Nazi Sympathizer, drove his car into a crowd of counter protestors killing one and injuring nineteen others.
According to a Washington POST ABC poll held after the Charlottesville rally, it is estimated that upwards of 22 million Americans view white supremacist or Nazi ideals as acceptable.
Jeremy Christian, a known Neo-Nazi activist, stabbed three men who attempted to stop him from insulting Muslim teenage girls. Two of those men passed.
Ideological terrorism
Animal liberation front (A.l.f)
The Animal Liberation Front became increasingly active in the 1980s more so than it did in the 1970s when it was founded by Ronnie Lee.
The Animal Liberation Front states that its ultimate objective is to end animal abuse. ALF members have been known to attempt to accomplish this task by any means necessary. ALF is notorious for destruction to property, unlawful entry, and arson. ALF members act anonymously and adhere to “leaderless resistance”. The group as a whole has no established leadership and vows non-violence towards animal life, both human and non-human.
In 2006 ALF activists placed a Molotov cocktail on the wrong property that was intended for UCLA researcher Lynn Fairbank. A year prior, ALF claimed to have targeted Corpus Christi College when another incendiary was instead discovered at Christ Church College. 2006 also saw the arrest of Donald Currie, an important asset to ALF due to his bomb crafting skills. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In 2008 ALF set fire to Edythe London’s home in Los Angeles. ALF are most well known for their death threats and targeting of individuals.
In 1991 ALF was named a domestic terrorist group and were once again rated as such by the Department of Homeland Security in 2005.
Environmental liberation front (E.L.F)
The Environmental Liberation Front started catching the country’s attention in the 1990s on account of several bombing and arson attacks on mines and logging companies. Modern day ELF members have expanded to torching vehicles on private property, causing millions of dollars in damages to companies, and have burned colleges and apartment complexes.
In similar fashion to the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F), the Environmental Liberation Front has no organized leadership, or hardly any leadership whatsoever. Everything they communicate to the public is delivered through their website, and attacks are usually done and claimed anonymously.
In an archived transcript from James F. Jarboe, a former FBI Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, admitted that environmental terrorism is one of the most pressing forms of terrorism to date.
Religious terrorism
The threat of militant religious ideology continues to rise after 9/11, an event which many know to be the most significant act of domestic terrorism in US history.
Religious terrorism has played a part in domestic terrorism in more ways than one. One of the most pressing issues concerning religious terrorism is the Islamic radicalization of the youth. Radical religious terrorist groups like ISIS are quickly adopting a virtual recruitment platform in order to attract potential jihadists from abroad. This involves the indoctrination of youth by supplying them with what many Muslims deem to be a demented interpretation of Islam.
According to the “Combating Terrorism Center” at West Point, at least 8 out of 38 Islamist inspired attacks between March, 1, 2014 and March , 1, 2017 have involved some form of domestic terrorism. This type of online activity has led to several attacks on nearly every continent including the continental United States. Since 2014 there have been over 82 ISIS inspired killings in the US. There was an ISIS beheading in Moore, Oklahoma in 2014 as well as a 3 month killing spree from Washington to New Jersey that same year. Other religious attacks include the 11 killings at abortion clinics by self-claimed Christians.
Foreign nationalist TERRORISM
The statistics
On January 16, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice released a statement that three-fourths of individuals convicted of international terrorism between 2001 and 2016 were foreign born. Most never became U.S. citizens.
More than 150 Americans have been charged with terroristic activity linking them to the Islamic-State. This includes cases like the case involving Mohamed Elshinawy who was supplied thousands of dollars by ISIS in order to fund an attack that was thwarted by the Department of Homeland Security.
Orlando attack
In 2016, a 29 year old man by the name of Omar Mateen, single-handedly killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. After the first stage of his attack he reportedly called emergency services and swore allegiance to ISIS. In May 2013, Omar was interrogated by the FBI but was later released. The next year he was interrogated again after an associate of his joined the Nusrah Front in order to become a suicide bomber.
Boston marathon bombing
On April 15, 2013 two bombs went off at the finish line during the 117th Boston Marathon. The blast killed three people and wounded 260 others. Sixteen people received amputations. The Tsarnaev brothers were both partially raised in the Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan.
Dzhokar Tsarnaev (aged 19) was captured while his older brother, Tamerian Tsarnaev, died in a shootout with police. The brothers used pressure cooker bombs hidden in backpacks that would detonate within moments of each other.
The brothers shot and killed 27 year old officer Sean Collier dead in his patrol car at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s campus in Cambridge. They then stole an SUV at gun point. They were not found to be connected to any terrorist groups and operated on their own.
9/11 Attacks
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists loyal to Al-Qaeda carried out a three-pronged operation that would go down as the most devastating terrorist attack in United States History. Aerial suicide attacks demolished the World Trade Center in New York City, tore through the west side of the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and Flight 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers learned of events in New York and Washington D.C.. They forced flight 93 into a downward crash at speeds of over 500 miles per hour. All 44 people onboard flight 93 were killed at 10:10 am.
2,763 people died at the World Trade Center and 189 people died at the Pentagon. The resulting reaction from the United States of America would spark the beginning of a war lasting almost two decades.
Domestic terrorism prevention
According to the Department of Homeland Security, their mission includes “…preventing terrorism and enhancing security; managing our borders; administering immigration laws; securing cyberspace; and ensuring disaster resilience.”
The Department of Homeland Security is a joint effort between 22 federal departments and agencies. The combination of these departments forms the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). On October 8, 2001 executive order 13228 was issued by President Bush. This executive order would determine homeland security policy and initiate the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Advisory Council was established on March 21, 2002.
Threat prevention today
Domestic terrorist attacks can come in many forms that include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive weapons, and cyber attacks. The DHS states that their main approach to preventing domestic terrorism involves enhancing their ability to detect explosives, safeguarding cyber networks and “critical infrastructure”, and to nurture relationships that promote the sharing of information. This involves cooperation with international partners in the hopes of collecting intel that will lead to the prevention of an attack.
By 2015 the Department of Homeland Security claimed to have foiled over 60 ISIS-related attack attempts in the US.
The Department of Homeland Security works in conjunction with the Department’s Office for Community Partnerships (OCP) to combat terroristic threats by conducting targeted threat briefings. This organization operates in accordance with state and local authorities in order really information from the street level to Washington. The Department of Homeland Security utilizes several awareness programs to stay ahead of terrorists. These programs include the National Network of Fusions Center and the National Terrorism Advisory System. These programs gather information, tips, and reports that can be compiled in order to establish a plan of action to stop terrorists. They also help alert the public to possible and ongoing attacks.
Suggested Domestic terrorism prevention tips
The New York State police released a series of tips that can be practiced on an individual and community level.
Individuals should know how to contact emergency services and report suspicious activity. The individual person should also have emergency supplies set aside in case of a significant attack that may require him/her to assist others.
Communities should establish community watch teams and make an effort to familiarize themselves with each other. Training and seminar events should be held to enhance community members’ abilities to effectively protect themselves against terrorism.
Schools should have reliable security cameras and volunteer emergency relief teams. Also, assemble an emergency reaction team that’s intended to meet and neutralize threats as they appear.
Citations
Balhorn, L. (2017, May O8). The Lost History of Antifa. Retrieved May 26, 2018, from https:// www.jacobinmag.com /2017/05/antifascist-movements-hitler-nazis-kpd-spd-germany-cold-war
Baynes, C. (2018, January 18). Murders by white supremacists in America more than doubled last year. Retrieved June 19, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/white-supremacist-murders-us-figures-double-2017-racist-hate-crime-las-vegas-shooting-extremist-a8165416.html
Beckett, L. (2017, August 27). George Lincoln Rockwell, father of American Nazis, still in vogue for some. Retrieved June 12, 2018, from https:// www.theguardian.com /world/2017/aug/27/george-lincoln-rockwell-american-nazi-party-alt-right-charlottesville
Haltiwanger, J. (2017, December 11). ISIS in America: How many times has the Islamic State attacked the U.S.? Retrieved June 18, 2018, from http://www.newsweek.com/islamic-state-america-attacks-744497
LaFree, Gary and Bianca Bersani. “County-level Correlates of Terrorism in the United States, 1990 to 2010,” Final Report to the Resilient Systems Division, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. College Park, MD: START, 2013.
Masters, J. (2011, March 11). Radicalization and U.S. Muslims. Retrieved June 20, 2018, from https:// www.cfr.org /interview/radicalization-and-us-muslims
Citations
Myre, G. (2017, October 02). What Is, And Isn't, Considered Domestic Terrorism. Retrieved May 26 2018, from https:// www.npr.org /2017/10/02/555170250/what-is-and-isnt-considered-domestic-terrorism
Murse, T. (2018, January 15). How the Department of Homeland Security Was Created. Retrieved June 14, 2018, from https:// www.thoughtco.com /department-of-homeland-security-4156795
Nowrasteh, A. (2017, October 2). Which Ideology Has Inspired The Most Murders In Terrorist Attacks On U.S. Soil? Retrieved May 26, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ realspin /2017/08/21/which-ideology-has-inspired-the-most-murders-in-terrorist-attacks-on-u-s-soil/# 6dfccc1c1e74
Pengelly, M. (2015, July 19). US missed Chattanooga attack but foiled 'over 60' Isis-linked plots: Security chair. Retrieved June 13, 2018, from https:// www.theguardian.com /us-news/2015/jul/19/chattanooga-isis-terror-plots-homeland-security
Ray, M. (2018, June 05). Orlando shooting of 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2018, from https:// www.britannica.com /event/Orlando-shooting-of-2016
Tsukayama, H., Berman, M., & Markon, J. (2016, June 13). Gunman who killed 49 in Orlando nightclub had pledged allegiance to ISIS. Retrieved June 17, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonpost.com /news/post-nation/ wp /2016/06/12/orlando-nightclub-shooting-about-20-dead-in-domestic-terror-incident-at-gay-club/? noredirect =on& utm_term =. 16a70e671ea2
Vadum, M. (2018, April 16). Origins of Antifa. Retrieved May 26, 2018, from https:// capitalresearch.org /article/origins-of-antifa/
Citations
The Only Islamic State-Funded Plot in the U.S.: The Curious Case of Mohamed Elshinawy. (2018, March 11). Retrieved June 18, 2018, from https:// www.lawfareblog.com /only-islamic-state-funded-plot-us-curious-case-mohamed-elshinawy
A Dark and Constant Rage: 25 Years of Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2018, from https:// www.adl.org /education/resources/reports/dark-constant-rage-25-years-of-right-wing-terrorism-in-united-states
ADL Report: White Supremacist Murders More Than Doubled in 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2018, from https:// www.adl.org /news/press-releases/adl-report-white-supremacist-murders-more-than-doubled-in-2017
Wright, Marie (Winter 2011). Domestic Terrorism, Cyber-Radicalization, & U.S. COLLEGE STUDENTS. Springfield. Vol. 20, Iss. 3. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ docview /1315747980? pq-origsite =summon& accountid =8289
Zalman, A. (2018, May 21). The History and Background of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Retrieved June 19, 2018, from https:// www.thoughtco.com /animal-liberation-front-3209117
Citations
History.com Staff. (2014). Boston Marathon Bombing. Retrieved June 22, 2018, from https://www.history.com/topics/boston-marathon-bombings
New York State Police. (n.d.). Crime Prevention: What Teens Can Do Against Terrorism. Retrieved June 22, 2018, from https:// troopers.ny.gov /Crime_Prevention/Preparedness/What_Teens_Can_Do_Against_Terrorism/
Origins of Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist Terms and Symbols. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2018, from https:// www.ushmm.org /confront-antisemitism/origins-of-neo-nazi-and-white-supremacist-terms-and-symbols
The Only Islamic State-Funded Plot in the U.S.: The Curious Case of Mohamed Elshinawy. (2018, March 11). Retrieved June 18, 2018, from https:// www.lawfareblog.com /only-islamic-state-funded-plot-us-curious-case-mohamed-elshinawy
