Running head: DOMESTIC TERRORISM

Domestic Terrorism
Edward Seavey
DeVry University
April 12, 2014
Professor Browne

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Abstract
In recent times there seems to have been an increase in the violence from other countries
and within our own country. International terrorism is a real threat that Americans have seen
first-hand with the events of 9/11 in which extremist groups hijacked two airplanes and crashed
them into the twin World Trade Centers. Despite the threat from outside sources there is also an
increase in the number of domestic terrorist threats with the most recent being the Boston
Bombing during an annual race in Boston, MA. There have been other domestic terrorist events
in the past such as the Oklahoma City bombing and those events still remain a current threat to
this day.
The question I would like to explore is the validity of the threat of domestic terrorism and
some plans that could possibly curb the occurrence of these events. One of the reasons I chose
this topic is because there is a large focus on dealing international terrorism while the domestic
side of the topic receives little attention until something happens. Throughout the paper I plan to
explore past and recent domestic terror events as well as how the US PATRIOT Act addresses
policy regarding terrorism both here and abroad. I also want to examine how the problem of
domestic terrorism can be addressed and compare and contrast different legislation that governs
how these acts are dealt with.

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DOMESTIC TERRORISM
Terrorism is a very real threat to every country in the world whether it be from foreign or
internal groups. The term domestic terrorism has changed over the years as acts of terrorism have
grown and outside groups are finding ways to commit their acts from within the territory of the
United States. The U.S. has responded to any acts of terrorism with excellent speed in terms of
physical response as well as legislation to combat terrorists and their actions. In order to explore
what should be done to curb terrorism it is important to know the history of domestic terrorism in
the United States as well as current efforts to fight this ever changing enemy.
The current definition of domestic terrorism comes from the USAPATRIOT Act which
defines it as: Acts of domestic terrorism are those which: "(A) involve acts dangerous to human
life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be
intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a
government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass
destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial
jurisdiction of the United States" (USA PATRIOT Act, 2001). The FBI has noted some serious
threats to the US in the form of terrorist groups which they have split into different categories.
Anti-Abortion violence, eco-terrorism and internal members of foreign terrorists are
some of the biggest threats to the US as domestic terrorists. Anti-abortion violence is included in
this category because of the threat to established agencies from violent acts such as murders and
bombers by those who are against their services. The eco-terrorist groups are also labeled as
domestic terrorists because they are a threat to the economy of the United States as they attack
vital companies with similar methods that include major crimes and over $100 million in
property damages. The last group are known terrorist organizations and they include: Animal

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Liberation Front, Alpha 66 and Omega 7, Army of God, Aryan Nations, Black Liberation Army,
Earth Liberation Front, Jewish Defense League, Ku Klux Klan, May 19th Communist
Organization, The Order, Phineas Priesthood, Symbionese Liberation Army, United Freedom
Front, and Weathermen (FBI, 2008).
The groups listed above are those that have been deemed currently and in the past as
major threats to the United States but as international terrorism has grown there may be a need to
expand this list as people are drawn to other organizations. The difference between international
terrorism and domestic terrorism is that the groups in the US are already here and have easy
access to the targets they intend to harm whereas foreign groups may have a different agenda and
will have to find different ways to get to their targets within the US. Citizens of the US have
been far more concerned with foreign terrorists but as Ishaan Tharoor points out in his article
Have We Turned a Blind Eye to Domestic Terrorism, white supremacist and far-right violence
has claimed more lives in the U.S. since 9/11 than its Islamist counterpart (Tharoor, 2014).
Terrorist organizations use threat, crime and pre-planned acts in order to hurt or instill
fear in their targets. Terrorist acts can be committed in various ways with the most common
being: biowarfare, weapons of mass destruction and hijacking. Domestic terrorism also includes
the use of murders by shooting and stabbing as well as property crimes, but the acts that garner
the most attention are the ones that use one or more of the three avenues of terrorism acts.
Weapons of Mass Destruction can be split into four categories: biological, chemical,
nuclear and radiological. They are called of mass destruction because they are intended to kill,
harm and destroy large numbers of populations and structures and can encompass anything that
is used for that purpose on a large scale. Biological warfare is included under the term mass

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destruction but is its own category because if the wide variety of ways that it can be released.
Biological warfare includes any use of: bacteria, virus, contagious diseases and fungus that is
created and spread in an effort to harm and kill people. Biowarfare is a threat because of the ease
of the agent spreading either through large scale planting of the biological material or spreading
it in small amounts with the effect that it will be very contagious. The last major category of
terrorist acts is hijacking which is when a terrorist takes over an operated machine such as a
vehicle or airplane and intends to use to as a weapon to kill or spread other forms of warfare.
Terrorism has long been around and can be traced back as acts against groups or
countrys before wars or as catalysts for wars. Domestic terrorism can be found in the early
1900s in the United States with one of the most notable cases, The Bombing of the LA Times.
George Lucas writes in his article that the Bombing of LA were, home-grown terrorism, from
1907 to 1911 violent tensions between businesses and unions prompted more than 200
bombings (Lucas, 2013). The bombing during this time caught a lot of people off guard and
instilled a level of fear that many people were not used too. The bombing was a crime committed
by two brothers who wanted a union and their acts were during the Labor Movement when
tensions were high. As time went on there were more attacks on certain groups such as the Wall
Street bombing of 1920, continuing a trend that domestic terrorism would likely never go away.
The Oklahoma City Bombing was one of the largest acts of domestic terrorism done by
American citizens. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were the individuals responsible for the
deadly attack that took 168 lives, injuring 680 and causing more than $600 million in physical
damages. McVeigh and Nichols are prime examples of domestic terrorists as they were directly
affected by their pasts serving in the military and changing to hating the federal government with
an agenda to cause harm. This act of terrorism was so large is prompted the government to create

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legislation that would protect federal buildings and set a precedent for how future terror acts
must also be mitigated and dealt with if they happened (Oklahoma City Police Department,
2007).
While past events of domestic terrorism have been by citizens of the United States it is
also important to note that any act of terrorism that happens on American soil also counts as
domestic terrorism. The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in September 2011 was one of
the greatest tragedies in the history of America and was a stark reminder that terrorism can also
happen to our country from foreign terrorist organizations. It was the spark for renewed federal
programs and policy and also initiated a retaliatory war against the Middle East. The impact of
the 9/11 attacks launched a whole new government response program and legislature that has
changed many laws in the United States.
The recent bombing at the Boston Marathon was once again a reminder that there are
terrorists living in the country and that these events can happen if procedure is not followed and
safeguards are not put into place. The Boston Marathon bombers were Tamerlan and Dzhokar
Tsarnaev who took radical positions on the government based on their disagreement with US
involvement with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Their attack killed four people and injured
280 which also includes the manhunt and shootings leading to their capture. Richard Brookhiser
writes an informative analysis of the bombing and the reasons behind it in his article, Domestic
Terrorism, the Killers next door and states that, Radicalism and bombings are not new. A
century ago America suffered a wave of violence carried out by anarchists. Like the Tsarnaevs
and most terrorists, the anarchists had grievances both real and imagined -- and their attacks were
both simple and deadly (Brookhiser, 2013).

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The response to 9/11 was the creation of many policies to change how domestic terrorism
was dealt with created a lot of new legislation and departments within the federal government.
The most notable piece of legislation was the creation of the USA PATRIOT Act- the acronym
stands for: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required
to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act, 2001). The major
sections of the PATRIOT Act are: enhancing domestic security against terrorism, surveillance
procedures, anti-money-laundering to prevent terrorism, border security, removing obstacles to
investigating terrorism, victims and families of victims of terrorism, increased information
sharing for critical infrastructure protection, terrorism criminal law, improved intelligence and a
last section that deals with miscellaneous policy.
The creation and use of the PATRIOT Act has led to public mistrust of the government as
people feel that they are being spied upon and therefore their rights as US citizens are being
violated. Wayne Logan writes in his review of the government and legality that, law
enforcement agents of different governments will work together to evade a legal limit imposed
by one of the governments. In the past, with the U.S. Supreme Court in the lead, courts were
prone to closely scrutinize intergovernmental investigative efforts, on vigilant guard against what
the Court called improper "working arrangements." Judicial vigilance, however, has long since
waned, a problematic development that has assumed added significance over time as
investigations have become increasingly multijurisdictional and technologically sophisticated in
nature (Logan, 2013). While most citizens are in support of policies that will help curb terrorism
they also have reservations about the means in which the government conducts its investigations
and surveillance which leads to the public mistrust (Best, Krueger & Pearson-Merkowitz, 2012).

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An interesting voice on the topic of giving up too much freedom in exchange for security
is the man dubbed as the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. He was responsible for a long time act of
mailing bombs to certain individuals in Academia and has recently written a large article talking
about how technology is restricting freedom and has caused a lot of suffering. Jeffrey Young
writes a compelling article in defense of the writings of Kaczynski citing that, The primary
concern of Kaczynski's writings is freedom, and he argues that the complex systems required by
modern technology necessarily force individuals to give up too much liberty in the bargain
(Young, 2012). His writing echoes a lot of citizens thoughts that as time changes, policy must be
changed, but at what point is too much just too much? But with the creation of the
USAPATRIOT ACT there was a need to create an agency that could handle all of the necessary
components of battling terrorism.
In further response to recent large scale terrorist acts the creation of Homeland Security
was instituted by then President George W Bush and his cabinet to bring together many agencies
that dealt with different aspects of the law. The department includes: FEMA, TSA, ICE, Customs
and Border Protection; all of which work to defend against foreign terrorist and respond to
domestic terrorist acts.
The Department of Homeland Security is made up of many agencies that include: US
Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Federal Protective Service,
Transportation Security Administration, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service, Office for Domestic Preparedness, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Nuclear Incident Response Team, Domestic Emergency Support Teams,
National Domestic Preparedness Office, CBRN Countermeasures Programs, National BW
Defense Analysis Center, Federal Computer Incident Response Center, National

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Communications System, National Infrastructure Protection Center, Energy Security and
Assurance Program, US Coast Guard and the US Secret Service (Dhs.gov, 2014).
The core missions of the Department of Homeland Security are: Prevent terrorism and
enhancing security; Secure and manage our borders; Enforce and administer our immigration
laws; Safeguard and secure cyberspace; Ensure resilience to disasters; In addition, we must
specifically focus on maturing and strengthening the homeland security enterprise itself
(Dhs.gov, 2014). As a whole, Homeland Security has been effective at responding to and
preventing acts of terrorism through their daily vigilance and work, even though there are some
negative associations with the need for certain agencies.
One of the main missions of Homeland Security is to safeguard and protect cyber space. This
is a very important aspect of the agency because as technology advances the policies must keep
up with the changes that technology is creating for terrorists and in ways that they can commit
these acts. The increase in technology only adds another layer of complexity to acts of terrorism
and the recruitment of new followers. There are a number of forums that allows people from all
backgrounds to come together to discuss their hatred of one group or another and exchange ideas
and tips on terrorist acts and how to carry them out.
Cyber attacks are rising higher on the list of methods for terrorist organizations to commit
their acts as a lot of daily life is tied up in the internet and new technology. Hackers are a
common culprit of attacking databases and having the potential to destroy the economy by
simply working on their computers and breaking down the systems that run a lot of daily life.
Terrorism does not simply have to kill people in order to be effective, destroying an economy or
government from the inside is just as effective in breaking down the security in order to move

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their way into the US. There are ways to help prevent his scenario from happening and part of
that lies within one of the main missions of Homeland Security.
There is a constant need to stay ahead of the game and keep a sharp vigilance in order to
keep America safe and to prevent further attacks. Homeland Security is the vehicle that drives all
of the agencies in gathering intelligence, working surveillance and working the physical
entrances to the US. In order to mitigate the threat of growing domestic terrorism there is a need
to monitor communications, keep up with technology and maintain relations with other
countries.
One of the best ways to counter terrorism is to have good intelligence and surveillance which
requires the cooperation of many agencies and governments working together to share what they
know and prepare together to respond to anything that comes up. Relations between countries are
the most important to any government as the more allies there are the less there is to worry about
as far as other nations attacking. Beth McMurtrie writes an interesting analysis of a theory that
democracy is a breeding ground for terrorists, formulated by Director Erica Chenoweth.
Chenoweth theorizes that terrorism grows where there is competition and widespread media
attention. If there are competing groups in a new government of a nation then there is a larger
chance that terrorist acts will be committed as each is vying for their own agenda (McMurtrie,
2013).
Terrorism is likely to be a never ending threat from outside the United States and as well
as a growing threat inside the US. As technology advances the country is not only facing the
threat from domestic terrorist acts with specific intent, but also recruitment from foreign sources
that seek to cause harm to the country. While the current legislation may be controversial in

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regard to citizen rights, it is a necessary component in the large scale effort to mitigate and
respond to the acts of domestic terrorists.

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References
Altman, A. (2012). Homegrown terrorism. Time, 180(8), 12.
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Political Behavior, 34(4), 607-625. doi:10.1007/s11109-011-9177-6.
Brookhiser, R. (2013). Domestic terrorism: The killers next door. American History, 48(4), 1718.
Dhs.gov. (2014). Homeland security. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/
Fbi.gov. (2008). Putting intel to work. Retrieved from
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Logan, W. A. (2013). Dirty silver platters: The enduring challenge of intergovernmental
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Lucas, G. (2013). Deadly times: The 1910 bombing of the los angeles times and america's
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Young, J. R. (2012). The unabomber's pen pal. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 58(37), B6-B11.
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