The government of Biden – prompted by the attack by extremist supporters of Donald Trump on the Capitol on Jan. 6 – has announced a full review of the federal government’s handling of domestic terrorism threats.
The House and Senate leaders have also passed laws that they believe would increase law enforcement efforts to combat domestic terrorism. However, 135 human rights groups have written a joint letter to lawmakers, in which they speak out against the expansion of terrorism laws.
“As well-meaning as it is, we are pretty confident that when these laws come into effect they won’t necessarily persecute the Proud Boys themselves. It’s much more likely to be Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Black Lives Matter protesters. It’s just a pattern that we’re pretty familiar with, unfortunately. “
Maya Berry, Arab American Institute
“As well-meaning as it is, we’re pretty confident that when these laws go into effect they won’t necessarily chase the Proud Boys per se,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, one of the organizations that govern the Have signed the letter to the legislature. “It’s much more likely to be Arab Americans, American Muslims, and Black Lives Matter protesters. It’s just a pattern that we’re pretty familiar with, unfortunately. “
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However, others say law enforcement, under applicable law, has done everything they can and it has not been enough.
Tom O’Connor, an FBI agent who worked in the field of white supremacist criminal activity and domestic terrorism until he retired in 2019, said part of the problem is that there is no law under U.S. law that provides for criminal sanctions only for “domestic terrorism”.
“In the 23 years I’ve worked as a domestic extremist, no one has been charged as a domestic terrorist – and that is what they should be charged for,” he said. “By making domestic political violence a criminal offense under federal law, you are not adding investigative or surveillance agencies to law enforcement agencies. You are only making the crime of political violence illegal in the United States. “
Some legislative proposals would set up a review body to prevent law enforcement abuses as they have in the past, said Jason Blazakis, former director of the State Department’s counter-terrorism bureau. Today he is director of the Center for Terrorism, Extremism and Counter-Terrorism at the Middlebury Institute.
“Unfortunately, I think there is a kind of knee-jerk reaction to the possibility of a domestic terrorism law,” Blazakis said. “I think there are a lot of people who don’t understand that it can be tightly tailored.”
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As it is now, white suspects are not referred to as “terrorists” as often as blacks and other colored people. Blazakis said this creates a look that exacerbates existing racial inequalities.
“So I think an update to domestic terrorism has important symbolic value that would allow the United States to frankly consider white people as terrorists, not just brown or black people or people who might worship a certain belief, ” he said.
That doesn’t convince Berry from the Arab American Institute.
“I appreciate it when people say, ‘We want to call it the same thing to defend your community in a way.’ OK, I mean fine, if you feel strongly about it, that’s great, “she said.” For me, however, it’s about duplicating a deeply flawed and highly discriminatory anti-terror regime that we put in place. “
For example, the FBI monitored Martin Luther King Jr. and infiltrated the Black Panthers. After September 11th, the authorities wiretapped and arrested people without an arrest warrant. They profiled and directed themselves against Muslim Americans and other people of color in the name of national security.
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Berry said new laws that give law enforcement authorities more authority would only lead to more abuse. She said there are already many laws on the books that allow authorities to effectively prosecute white extremists. They just don’t use the legal term terrorism.
“It’s not a situation where I have to call it terrorism for it to be taken seriously. Without that we can take it seriously. “
Maya Berry, Arab American Institute
“It’s not a situation where I have to call it terrorism for it to be taken seriously,” said Berry. “Without that we can take it seriously.”
But Berry said federal law enforcement agencies did not take white extremists seriously and did not fully enforce existing laws despite the dramatic increase in hate crimes against people of color. And the increasing pace of incidents with white nationalists.
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“There were very specific examples of white supremacist violence that should have warranted a more serious response,” said Berry. “We just need the will to take this threat really seriously and do so before we talk about changing the law.”
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