"The emphasis of counterterrorism policy in the United States since Al Qaeda’s attacks of
September 11, 2001 (9/11) has been on jihadist terrorism. However, in the last decade, domestic
terrorists—people who commit crimes within the homeland and draw inspiration from U.S.-based
extremist ideologies and movements—have killed American citizens and damaged property across
the country. Not all of these criminals have been prosecuted under federal terrorism statutes,
which does not imply that domestic terrorists are taken any less seriously than other terrorists.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) do not officially
designate domestic terrorist organizations, but they have openly delineated domestic terrorist
“threats.” These include individuals who commit crimes in the name of ideologies supporting
animal rights, environmental rights, anarchism, white supremacy, anti-government ideals, black
separatism, and beliefs about abortion.
The boundary between constitutionally protected legitimate protest and domestic terrorist activity
has received public attention.
This boundary is highlighted by a number of criminal cases
involving supporters of animal rights—one area in which specific legislation related to domestic
terrorism has been crafted. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (P.L. 109-374) expands the
federal government’s legal authority to combat animal rights extremists who engage in criminal
activity. Signed into law in November 2006, it amended the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of
1992 (P.L. 102-346)..."
Domestic terrorism
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment