Call it domestic terrorism
Right after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, New York lawmakers created a new crime of terrorism. It didn’t matter whether it was foreign or domestic; what the law targeted was any crime intended to terrorize society or influence government.
Yet Congress has shied away from such an all-inclusive law. While law enforcement may use the term “domestic terrorism,” as far as the legal system is concerned, it doesn’t exist.
Tell that to the relatives of the 22 people killed in a Wal-mart in El Paso, allegedly by a man who frequented white supremacist bulletin boards on the web and was obsessed with illegal immigration. Tell it to the survivors of the car rampage by a neo-nazi in Charlottesville, Va., during a rally of white supremacists. Tell it to the recipients of pipe bombs — fortunately inoperative — mailed to politicians, former public officials, Democratic donors and activists and CNN’S headquarters for their criticism of President Donald Trump. And on and on.
America has treaded lightly on the issue of criminalizing domestic terrorism, with some good reasons. A poorly crafted law could allow authorities to chill free speech. And it’s not hard to see how it could be weaponized for political purposes; Mr. Trump and several Republican senators recently gave us a preview when they suggested that the anti-fascist movement known as Antifa be designated a domestic terrorist organization, but not the white supremacist groups with which Antifa members have clashed.
Federal law enforcement has long been concerned about domestic terrorism but has been restrained when it comes to addressing it. A 2009 Department of Homeland Security report, for instance, raised concerns about the potential for violence in a growing antigovernment movement and warned that veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were targets for recruitment. The report was retracted after an uproar from Republican lawmakers and conservative media over what they saw as an attack on legitimate criticism of government.
Yet domestic terrorism is undeniably real. A 2017 report by the Government Accountability Office found that since 9/11, there were far more fatal attacks on U.S. soil by right-wing violent extremist groups — 62 — than by radical Islamist extremists — 23.
Surely it is possible to craft a law that recognizes the reality of domestic terrorism, allows it to be prosecuted and punished, and provides law enforcement tools to fully investigate it without infringing on civil rights. There have been no indications of abuses with New York’s law — which Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposes to strengthen by classifying hate-fueled murder with the intent to cause mass casualties as domestic terrorism, punishable by life without parole. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has proposed legislation to make domestic terrorism a federal crime; the Confronting the Threat of Domestic Terrorism Act includes provisions for protecting civil rights and monitoring its application.
Beyond the legal system, we need to acknowledge it if we’re going to address it — to understand how and why some of our own citizens are drawn into extreme violent ideology, and what can be done to counteract it.
Or we can just be forever braced for the next domestic terrorist to lash out in a department store, church, synagogue, school ... and on and on.