Chapter 13: Domestic Terrorism

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Chapter 13Domestic Terrorism
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Examining the History of Domestic Terrorism

• Gurr
• Terrorism is a tactic used by the weak to
  intimidate the strong and in turn can be used by
  the strong to repress the weak.
• Terrorism in the 19th century was primarily aimed
  at protecting the status quo and economic
  environment.
• Labor movement of the late 19th century was
  filled with violence.
• Frontier had its own form of violence.
• Settlers developed their own brand of justice.
• Character of domestic terrorism began to change
  in the 1960s
• Rooted in radical politics, nationalism, and the
  international communitys experience with
  terrorism.
• Domestic terrorism defined as a radical
  phenomenon.

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Examining the History of Domestic Terrorism

• Bell Gurr Political revolutionary groups and
  nationalistic groups in the U.S. took their ideas
  from terrorists in the Middle East and Asia.
• U.S. terrorist groups did not have the same
  impact as their foreign counterparts
• American public rejected the violence of
  revolutionary groups.
• Popularity never fully achieved.
• Ended up as small bands of social misfits with
  little effect on the political system.

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Examining the History of Domestic Terrorism

• According to Bell Gurr Two caveats with their
  conclusion
• Although U.S. has avoided significant domestic
  terrorism, criminals and political activists have
  used terrorist tactics bombing and hostage
  taking.
• Nationalistic terrorists from Puerto Rico were
  more successful than revolutionaries at launching
  terrorist campaigns.
• They had Indigenous support
• Gurr outlines three types of terrorism
• Vigilante terrorism
• Insurgent terrorism
• Transnational terrorism

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Examining the History of Domestic Terrorism

• Vigilante Terrorism growth of right-wing
  extremists
• Ku Klux Klan, Christian Identity movement, and
  other white supremacy organizations
• Insurgent Terrorism aims to change political
  policies through direct threats or action against
  the government
• Black militants, white revolutionaries, Puerto
  Rican nationalists
• Transnational Terrorism non-indigenous
  terrorists who cross national borders
• Jihadist movement inside the U.S.

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Problem of Understanding Terrorism in Law
Enforcement

• American law enforcement is a localized affair
• Chiefs and sheriffs report to local boards
• State and federal agencies exercise law
  enforcement power
• Agencies approach terrorism with their own
  interpretations

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Problem of Understanding Terrorism in Law
Enforcement

• Terrorism happens in other place
• Terrorism does not exist in most jurisdictions
• Police officers in the U.S. remain focused on
  local issues
• Terrorism is too exotic for most agencies
• Classifying Terrorism as Normal Crime
• FBI labels the majority of domestic terrorist
  activities under the common titles of crime in
  the Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
• FBI became the only agency coordinating thousands
  of U.S. police departments in a counterterrorist
  direction

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Problem of Understanding Terrorism in Law
Enforcement

• Uneven historical development
• Terrorists did not routinely targeted the U.S.
  until 1982
• previous forms of terrorism before 1982 died from
  lack of support
• Confusing hate crime with terrorism
• Hate crime is frequently used in conjunction with
  domestic terrorism
• Hamm hate crime is an illegal act designed to
  target a particular social group.

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Classifying Terrorism in Criminal Justice

• A label appropriate for theoretical criminology
  does not always lead to a response that solves an
  immediate crime
• Police officers routinely handle terrorism even
  though they call it by variety of names
• Two issues that must be kept in mind
• Patrol officers generally the first responder.
• Investigation techniques used in large,
  sensationalized terrorist incidents are the same
  used to investigate routine crime.
• Counterterrorism depends on the fundamentals
• Good investigative skills
• Good interviewing techniques
• Understanding the context of the crimes
  investigated
• Increased intelligence, (long term surveillance
  and informant development.)

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FBI Classification System

• In 1980s, FBI developed a general classification
  system of domestic terrorism
• Harris summarized the FBI view
• White leftists
• Puerto Rican leftists
• Black militants
• Right-wing extremists
• Jewish extremists
• Types of groups were defined by location, and
  since the terrorism tended to be geographically
  confined, it did not seem to affect all local
  police agencies in the same manner

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FBI Classification System

• Modernly, FBI categories terrorism on the basis
  of origin
• Domestic Terrorism (DT)
• Political extremism involves violent left and
  right-wing extremists.
• Single Issues include violent activities
  associated with debates over abortion,
  eco-terrorism, animal rights, and genetic
  engineering.
• Lone Wolves included in DT when actions are
  politically motivated.
• International Terrorism (IT)
• Composed of three subsets
• State-sponsored terrorism
• Clearly defined autonomous groups
• Jihadists

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Using the Classification System

• Smith Roberts place terrorist groups into
  three broad categories
• Right-wing extremists
• Left-wing and single-issue terrorists
• International terrorists
• Factor separating the average criminal from the
  average terrorist is motivation.
• Terrorists remain criminals
• Motivated by ideology, religion, or a political
  cause
• Engage in activities avoided by most criminals

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Terrorist Profile

• Smith
• Characteristic of domestic terrorist
• Native-born U.S. terrorists tend to be older than
  international terrorists
• Foreign operatives working in the U.S. are also
  older
• Comparison of left-wing and right wing extremists
  
• With the exceptions of financing themselves, left
  and right-wing terrorists are quite different

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Left and Right-Wing Terrorists

• Ideology and beliefs about human nature
• Left-wing favor Marxism
• Right-wing terrorists are vehemently anti-Marxist
  and very religious
• Economic views
• Left-wing target economic status quo
• Right-wing support economic system
• Geographic bases of support
• Left-wing base themselves in urban environments
• Right-wing base themselves in rural areas
• Selection of targets
• Left-wing select symbolic targets of capitalism
• Right-wing focus attacks on governmental
  authority
• Tactics
• Both groups use similar terrorist tactics

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Left-Wing Terrorists

• Left-wing terrorists have remained the same from
  the 1960s to the present.
• Left-wing groups tended to act in a coordinated
  fashion.
• Evidence indicated they were linked internally.
• U.S. left-wing terrorist groups include
• May 19 Communist Organization (M19CO)
• United Freedom Front (UFF)
• Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International
  Conspiracy (EMETIC)
• Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
• Earth Liberation Front (ELF)

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American Terrorism Study

• Leaderless resistance
• Several domestic extremists advocated the use of
  leaderless resistance.
• Incorporated in umbrella organizations such as
  Hezbollah, Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
• Purpose of leaderless resistance is to fight
  independent of other groups.
• Harder for L.E. to infiltrate.

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American Terrorism Study

• Damphousse Smith three measurable ideas
• If groups are truly leaderless, groups should be
  smaller.
• (Federal criminal cases should indicate that the
  number of defendants per terrorist case
  declined.)
• If individuals are truly alone, they should be
  committing more crimes as they can only rely on
  themselves.
• If criminals are more committed, they should be
  less likely to cooperate with the government.

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American Terrorism Study

• Damphousse Smith found evidence that may
  indicate leaderless resistance has affected
  terrorist activity
• Size of domestic terrorist groups has been
  decreasing since 1992
• May also indicate that the federal government is
  prosecuting cases differently
• Terrorists are committing more crimes
• Found less plea bargaining among suspects
• May be due to either a change in federal plea
  bargaining or
• Lone wolves cannot make deals because they do no
  have fellow criminals they can testify against

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American Terrorism Study

• 48 of domestic terrorist attacks occur within 54
  miles of a suspects residence.
• Domestic terrorists tend to operate close to
  their home base.
• Most domestic terrorists are also recruited close
  to home.
• Cells operate for an average of 470 days prior to
  an incident.
• This provides a key for counterterrorist
  investigations.
• When a group prepares for an attack, they commit
  about four crimes prior to the attack 3 4
  months before the actual attack.
• If law enforcement is aware of the types of
  crimes terrorists commit they are in a better
  position to stop an attack.

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Jihadists in America

• Jihadists appeared in the U.S. prior to the 9-11
  attack and remain active today.
• Two types of Jihadist terrorist groups
• International Jihadists
• Come to the U.S. to launch an attack or engage in
  criminal activities to support Jihadist terrorism
  (fund-rising)
• Began with a structure but shifted into
  umbrella-style networks.
• Homegrown Jihadist group
• Americans who adopt the Jihadist philosophy
• Interaction of the two may create a third group
• A hybrid combination of homegrown and foreign
  terrorists.

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International Jihadists

• Emerson reports research supporting the
  existence of a Jihadist terrorist organization in
  the U.S.
• Emersons research group, Investigative Project,
  has gathered an array of reports
• Many of the reports point to a Jihadist network
  inside U.S. borders.
• Homegrown Jihadists are appearing in the U.S.
• Causes a concern for Islamophobia

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Homegrown Jihadists

• Wahhabi missionaries covertly preach religious
  militancy in Americas prisons.
• (See Inmate Radicalization materials.)
• Homegrown Jihadists appear in different areas.
• (Groups with limited understanding of Islam or
  the Jihadist movement may become the a domestic
  threat.)
• Self-recruited, self-motivated, and self-trained.
• Only direct contact with the Jihadists is through
  the Internet.

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Homegrown Jihadists

• Homegrown terrorists are produced in various
  ways
• Born in the U.S..
• Immigrate and find themselves alone.
• Gravitate to the Jihad to find a purpose in life.
• Others leave the U.S. to join Jihadists overseas.
• Hybrid form
• U.S. citizens recruited to train overseas.
• Black Muslims who were recruited away from their
  faith to a traditional form of Islam and further
  conversion to militancy.
• Normative U.S. Muslims radicalized in their
  mosques.
• Muslims radicalized in foreign countries and
  return to the U.S.

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Nationalistic Separatism Puerto Rico

• A number of revolutionary organizations in Puerto
  Rico embraced the nationalist terrorist campaign.
• Puerto Rican terrorists have engaged in terrorist
  activities on U.S. soil since the 1950s.
• Planned assassination of President Harry Truman.
• Shooting at members of Congress in the House of
  Representatives.
• The most notorious groups
• The Armed Forces of National Liberation (FANL)
• The Macheteros
• The Volunteers for the Puerto Rican Revolution
  (OVRP)
• The Armed forces of Liberation (FARP)
• The Guerilla forces of Liberation (GEL)
• The Pedro Albizu Campos Revolutionary Forces
  (PACRF)

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Right-Wing Violence

• In the U.S. right-wing extremism has been around
  since the 1700s
• Whiskey Rebellion (Boston Tea Party) .
• Anti-federal attitudes were common in the early
  1800s.
• Questioned the legitimacy of the federal
  government
• Anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, and anti-immigrant
• Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
• Nathan Bedford Forrest (founder)
• Intended to create an anti-unionist organization
  to preserve Southern culture and traditions.
• When KKK started terrorizing newly freed slaves,
  Forrest tried to disband organization, but it was
  too late.
• KKK operated in three phases
• Hooded Knight Riders - terrorized African
  Americans to frighten them into political and
  social submission.
• 1920s sought political legitimacy - became
  political.
• Collapsed in the wake of a criminal scandal.
• Present day is dominated by hate-filled rhetoric.

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Christian Identity

• Blend of Jewish (Old Testament) and Christian
  (New Testament) biblical passages.
• Based on premise God was white.
• Identity theology is based on conflict and hate.
• Christian Identity helped provide basis for
  violence among the extremists.
• Demonize Jews
• White people originated with God
• Jews came from the devil

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Contemporary Right-Wing Behavior, Belief, and
Tactics

• Right-wing extremism came to fruition around 1984
  and has remained active since.
• Issues holding the movement together
• Right-wing tends to follow one of the extremist
  religions.
• The Name of God is usually invoked
• The movement is dominated by belief in conspiracy
  and conspiracy theories.
• Followers feel they are losing economic status
  because of sinister forces.
• Followers continue to embrace patriotism and
  guns.
• They want to arm themselves for a holy war.

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Contemporary Right-Wing Behavior, Belief, and
Tactics

• Stern Three issues rejuvenated the extremist
  right
• The Brady Bill a law the limits the gun ownership
  
• Ruby Ridge standoff between alleged survivalist
  and U.S. federal law enforcement officers.
• Branch Davidian (founder David Koresh) siege near
  Waco, Texas.
• Religious messages changed in the 1990s
• Patriotism and anti-Semitism as strong as the
  Christian Identity message
• Movement mutated after 9-11
• Following the pattern of international terrorist
  groups members of right-wing groups organized
  chains or hubs.
• Small groups operating autonomously engaging in
  more individual violence.

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Right-Wing Conspiracies, Militias, and the Call
to Arms

• 1990s Nordic Christianity took root in Michigan,
  Wisconsin, Montana, and Idaho.
• Claim to worship the Triune Christian Deity.
• Creatorism (World Church of the Creator)
  (Creativity Movement)
• Rejects Judaism and Christianity.
• Claims the Creator left each race to fend for
  itself.
• Call for a racial holy war (RAHOWA)
• The White Mans Bible
• White people must struggle to defeat Jews and
  non-white race
• Embracing the urban Skinheads movement
• Racial hatred and white supremacy
• Free-Wheeling Fundamentalists include in its
  ranks a majority of right-wing extremists.
• Federal and local governments are the enemy.
• God will assist them in their confrontation of
  evil.

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Right-Wing Conspiracies, Militias, and the Call
to Arms

• Militias thrive on conspiracy theories.
• Believe the U.S. government is leading the
  country into a single world government.
• New World Order
• Militias are generally issue oriented
• Groups gather around taxes, abortion, gun
  control, and/or Christian Identity.
• Militias are almost always religious.
• Rely on violent passages of Christian scripture
  as justification.
• Many militia members unable to cope with changes
  in the modern world are frustrated.
• May be extremists, - but not necessarily
  terrorists.

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Right-Wing Conspiracies, Militias, and the Call
to Arms

• Paramilitary groups consist of armed civilian
  militias organized into a military manner.
• Operate on different levels
• i.e. Freemen of Montana
• Paramilitary groups come in a variety of shapes
  and sizes.
• Most of their action is rhetorical.
• Third Position movement tried to unite left-wing
  radicals and right-wing reactionaries.
• Both share hatred of government and large
  corporations as well as distrust of the media.
• William Pierce as Andrew MacDonald Turner
  Diaries, Hunter

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Decline of the Left and Rise of Single Issues

• Left-wing terrorist groups dominated terrorism in
  the U.S. from 1967-1985.
• Riley Hoffman left-wing groups engaged in
  symbolic violence
• Intellectual elites controlled the movement .
• Lost its base when student activism began to
  disappear from American academic life.
• (May see a resurgence from the Occupy
  Movement.)
• Government actions, improved police tactics, and
  lack of toleration for violent activities may
  have contributed to the decline of left-wing
  terrorism in the U.S. and Europe.

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Decline of the Left and Rise of Single Issues

• Left-wing terrorism transformed
• Ecological and animal-rights extremists have
  united.
• Variety of names
• Myriad of extremist causes
• Focus on particular causes
• Individual harassment and property destruction
• Earth Liberation Front (ELF)
• Monkey Wrench Gang
• Ecoterrorists
• From 1995-1999, damages totaled 28.8M
• Destruction of animal research laboratories,
  sabotage against industrial equipment, raids
  against farms, damage at auto dealerships.
• Ecology as surrogate religion
• Positions are contradictory

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Black Hebrew Israelism

• Black Hebrew Israelism is an African American
  version of Christian Identity.
• Claims black Africans were the original
  Israelites.
• Hulon Mitchell Jr., leader, changed the name into
  Hebrew Jahveh ben Jahveh
• Nation of Yahweh
• Demonized whites, called for their destruction
• Internal group BROTHERHOOD required killing of
  the white person to obtain a membership
• Death Angels selected members of the
  brotherhood, sent to kill whites in Miami area
• Were ordered to bring victims severed body parts
  of a victim to Mitchell as proof that killing had
  occurred
• Beheaded members who tried to leave

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Anti-Abortion

• Most pro-lifers denounce violence as
  contradictory to their beliefs.
• Violent pro-lifers justify their actions in the
  same manner as other political extremists.
• Manual of the Army of God
• Nice abortion clinic bombings are related to
  several social factors
• Most occurred in expanding areas of population
  (urban areas).
• Abortion bombers feel compelled to act by social
  and political circumstances.
• Individuals who kill abortion doctors felt
  murders were necessary to make a political
  statement.
• Abortion debate represents a political issue with
  positions identified by militant extremes.
• (Perfect example of terrorism)

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Critical Engagement Police Operations and the
Future

• Brian Jenkins
• The most effective action in preventing terrorism
  is to gather local criminal intelligence through
  police agencies committed to community policing
  models.
• Information sharing
• Fusion centers and criminal intelligence units in
  large police agencies are able to analyze
  possible violent activities.
• The effectiveness of crime analysis increases
  when officers are routinely gathering information
  and forwarding it to through intelligence
  channels.