Homegrown Extremists

Domestic terrorist groups are violent extremists that want to attack the U.S. from the inside. Their intent is to frighten, pressure, and/or influence national principles. Today’s terrorist organizations are using cyberspace to spread their message. Training and online recruitment are also being made available by the Internet and social media websites. Some of the acts are lone-wolf attacks and others are collective attacks. Some examples of domestic terrorist groups that use cyberspace are Army of God, Sovereign Citizens, and Phineas Priesthood. The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on terrorism, stating that more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists (Henderson, 2015). Terrorist

“Special interest terrorism differs from traditional right-wing and left-wing terrorism in that extremist special interest groups seek to resolve specific issues, rather than effect widespread political change. Special interest extremists continue to conduct acts of politically motivated violence to force segments of society, including the general public, to change attitudes about issues considered important to their causes. These groups occupy the extreme fringes of animal rights, pro-life, environmental, anti-nuclear, and other movements. Some special interest extremists -- most notably within the animal rights and environmental movements -- have turned increasingly toward vandalism and terrorist activity in attempts to further their causes” (Jarboe, 2002).

This weekend, there was an alleged ISIS-Inspired knife attack in Roanoke, Virginia. An adult Arab male, allegedly hollered “Allahu akbar” while attacking two people, which was described by police as an attempt to decapitate at least one of the victims. The suspect was arrested by the Roanoke County Police Department for malicious wounding. According to the media, the FBI is investigating this as a terrorist attack (FBI investigating whether Virginia stabbings were ISIS-inspired, 2016).

The tragedy in Chattanooga left "… officials deeply concerned that the military [appeared] to be a target. Again, an act of terrorism…,” (Pierre Thomas). On July 16, 2015, Mohammed Abdulazeez opened fire at two military facilities; investigators searched for a motive that could have driven the twenty four year old to take five lives (Truesdell 48).

An example of domestic homegrown terrorism is the June 17, 2015 Charleston church shooting. The gunman was Dylann Storm Roof an American who killed nine African Americans during a prayer service in hopes of igniting a race war. This occurred at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Shelby, North Carolina. Now an example of an international one is the 2014 Jerusalem tractor attack. This terrorist ramming attack occurred on August 4, 2014 in Jerusalem, Israel, the perpetrator was an Arab man named Muhammad Naïf El-Ja’abis. He drove an excavator type of tractor, injured eight pedestrians, and killed one, which was before ramming into a public bus. Not only did the bus flip, but he also kept hitting it repeatedly. Now a lone

Misunderstanding that each homegrown radicalized individual should be treated the same, will affect investigation process, and response efforts

John Allen Muhammad, along with his partner Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out a series of murders in the Metropolitan D.C. area in October of 2002. Armed with a high powered sniper rifle, Muhammad and his underage accomplice murdered 10 people and wounded three others over the course of 20 days. Muhammad and Malvo targeted civilians going about their everyday lives in a series of seemingly random attacks. This included people filling their car up with gas, exiting gas stations, and mowing the lawn. With no clear and apparent reason for these murders, Muhammed and Malvo caused panic throughout the country and shut down the D.C. area as authorities tried to identify and capture the suspects. John Allen Muhammad’s early life, military history, marital issues, and personality traits give insight as to why he would commit such violent crimes.

After all, it is not as if right-wing extremism disappeared after September 11. The history of right-wing extremism from 1995 to the present day has been one of a steady stream of plots, conspiracies, terrorist acts, and hate crimes. The recent history of extremist violence in the United States has in most respects been dominated by right-wing extremists.

They elucidate that terrorism is a “premeditated, politically motivated, violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups of clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience,” (National Institute of Justice).

It is still undetermined if Al Qaeda was directly responsible to the Fort Hood Shooting. It is known that Hasan was in contact with Anwar al Awlaki, a known Al Qaeda supporter/member for months before the Fort Hood attack. The FBI Agents in San Diego had been investigating Awlaki, a former San Diego resident, for his possible connections to the 9/11 hijackers. During their investigation is when agents discovered the emails that Hasan had sent Awlaki (http://abcnews.go.com). The investigation into the shoot has not revealed any evidence that Hasan was directed by anyone to commit the shooting. It is believed that Hasan acted alone and that Awlaki or Al Qaeda had no direct involvement in the incident. Hasan is considered a lone wolf terrorists or a terrorist who commits acts of terrorism without being directed by anyone. After the Fort Hood attack Awlaki did comment on his web site by stating that Hasan was a hero and that every Muslim should do the

Americans feel that after 911, the sense of patriotism and support for the government should have been at an all time high. However, strict government reforms and new laws that have tightened and, what some feel, interfere with some of our freedoms since 911 have drastically upset many of the extremist groups and militias. Militia members have intense hatred or fear toward the government and believe that there are federal conspiracies in which the government is planning to disarm its citizens. Hatred for the government grows out of these faucets as it faces these groups with opposition and attempts to expose them. Anti-government extremists are a large part of the radicals that cause a lot of the domestic terrorism. They are driven by their strong beliefs and goals and believe that they are correct in their thinking and the government is wrong. Domestic extremists are driven by internal factors and pursue a domestic agenda.

On November 5, 2009, Nidal Malik Hassan, a Muslim terrorist went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others (Ernst, 2017). This was the worst mass murder at a military installation in U.S. history.

These extremist are cowards, their ideology and beliefs are inferior to ours, their will to destroy the American way of life will ultimately be their downfall. This isn't a war of attrition, but a war for survival and rest assure America will win this war! Long after these extremist, their barbaric ideology, and their asinine causes have been discarded from history; America will still be here shining brighter than

Abu al-Hindi, though not a member of ISIS, is a radical Muslim who has been spreading his extreme beliefs throughout the St. Louis community. During a gathering near his mosque, al-Hindi gave a speech where he stated: “A time may soon come when we must act against the infidels. When that time does come, we will not be afraid to wage war against our enemy. Blood will be shed, and all martyrs will find salvation.” A follower of al-Hindi posted his speech on a blog that is visited by radical Muslims. A few days after this occurred; a man was arrested for attempting to blow up a MetroLink train. Although he was not a loyal follower of al-Hindi, he had visited the same blog site that al-Hindi’s speech was posted on. To explain

Foreign fighters have been a staple of the modern wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. An interesting aspect of these foreign fighters in these conflicts is the amount of Westerners taking part in the insurgencies. The latest chapter in the war in Iraq is the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which has become notorious in recent months for its brutality and its military successes. A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that over 28,000 individuals from eighty six countries have come to Iraq and Syria to fight for the Islamic State . Who are these Westerners who forsake a life of relative comfort and freedom for the rigors and danger of jihad? There are certain indicators in behavior of those who join the ranks of foreign fighters. While by no means a profile in any sense, the indicators observed by foreign fighters studied in this paper will provide policy makers and law enforcement with an idea of who could be likely to join foreign fighters abroad. Western foreign fighters are a major security concern for Western governments as they return home . The training and indoctrination they receive abroad makes reintegration into Western society difficult if not impossible. While every individual is different, all foreign fighters have observable behaviors prior to joining Islamic extremist movements. Learning how Westerners become radicalized is crucial to depriving groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS with valuable manpower.