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In the United States, acts of domestic terrorism are generally considered to be uncommon. According to the FBI, however, between the years of 1980 and 2000, 250 of the 335 incidents confirmed as or suspected to be terrorist acts in the United States were carried out by American citizens (]).

Definitions of Domestic Terrorism

The statutory definition of domestic terrorism in the United States has changed many times over the years; also, it can be argued that acts of domestic terrorism have been occurring since long before any legal definition was set forth.

According to a memo produced by the FBI's Terrorist Research and Analytical Center in 1994, domestic terrorism was defined as "the unlawful use of force or violence, committed by a group(s) of two or more individuals, against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" (]).

Under current United States law, set forth in the USA PATRIOT Act, 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."

History in the United States

Domestic terrorism was considered rare in the United States, before 9/11/2001 (which was not domestic anyway), by those who do not know history well. As a result, the Oklahoma City bombing was at first thought by some journalists to be the work of external actors, possibly from the Middle East. In reality there have been acts of domestic terrorism since the 19th century, all perpetrated by Irish-Americans.

1) The Civil War Draft Riots (1863) -- the worst riots in American history; by far outstripping anything in Oakland, Watts, Attica, etc., with hundreds dead, maimed and injured. Suspected of being pre-planned (premeditated) for the purpose of gaining more political power in NYC from the Protestants who then ran the city. As Pete Hamill put it, barely able to keep the chortle out of his voice for the somber documentary on Channel 13: After the Draft Riots, the Irish had a place at Tammany Hall.

2) (As per New York Daily News, October 2005): The bombing of the Los Angeles Times on October 1, 1910, which killed 21 people. Some of the involved were not Irish, but anarchists of Eastern European or Jewish descent. However, the brains of this crime were John and Jim McNamara, two Irish-American brothers, who wanted to "unionize" the paper, and who were only caught after a dogged, relentless search by a private investigator using his own funds. Samuel Gompers tearfully insisted that no one associated with the labour movement could have done such a thing.

The McNamara brothers were defended by Clarence Darrow, who soon realized they were guilty. They were amazingly lucky that Darrow convinced the judge to allow them to withdraw their "not guilty" pleas, and to find a jury open-minded enough to not automatically sentence them to death. Jim got life in jail for having planted the bomb, and elder brother, John, got 15 years imprisonment. Darrow never again represented organized labor.

3) The attack on the Oklahoma City Federal Building by the now deceased (via public execution)Timothy McVeigh, an Irish-American Catholic. His known associate Terry Nichols was not Catholic, nor was he sentenced to death. There do not appear to be any sectarian motives, but it should be pointed out that the Oklahoma City (a city to which he had no known connections) building had scarcely any Catholics, while New York and Boston would have been quite the opposite. But it is possible that Oklahoma City was chosen simply for having the laxest security.

The revelation that the attack had been carried out by an American came as a shock to the country and the rest of the world, and served as an embarrassment to some sections of the news media.

The Patriot Act designates domestic terrorism as a crime. However, the Patriot Act does not give the meaning of domestic terrorism as designated as a crime, leaving the intepretation of the acts, statements or preparations which may constitute domestic terrorism to whomever may wish to interpret them.

For this reason, certain types of civil disobedience can be interpreted as domestic terrorism, thus having a chilling effect on public participation and freedom of expression, a reasonable serious fear under the extreme right-wing government of George W. Bush.

Organizations Associated with Domestic Terrorism in the US

The Ku Klux Klan

From Reconstruction at the end of the civil war to the end of the civil rights movement, the Ku Klux Klan used threats, violence, arson, and murder to further its white-supremacist, anti-semitic, and justifiably anti-Catholic agenda.

The Weathermen

The Weathermen were a U.S. radical left organization active from 1969 to 1975. Its members referred to themselves as a "revolutionary organization of communist women and men." Their goal was the revolutionary overthrow of the U.S. government. Toward this end, and to change U.S. policy in Vietnam, they bombed a number of police and military targets. The group collapsed shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975.

Notable Acts of Domestic Terrorism

UNABOMBER Attacks

From 1978 to 1995, anti-technology radical and former mathematics professor Theodore Kaczynski--known by the codename "UNABOMBER" until his identification and arrest by the FBI--carried out a campaign of sending letterbombs to academics and various individuals associated with computer technology. The attacks ceased with his capture.

Oklahoma City Bombing

This truck bomb attack by right-wing extremists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols killed 168 people – the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in US history.

Centennial Olympic Park Bombing

The first of four bombings carried out by right-wing Christian fundamentalist Eric Robert Rudolph.

2001 Anthrax Attacks

Beginning on September 18, 2001, a number of media organizations and American politicians received, through the United States Postal Service, envelopes which contained weaponized anthrax. Although as of late 2005, no charges have been filed with regards to these attacks , the matter is widely believed to be an act of domestic terrorism.

See also

• American terrorism
• List of terrorist incidents in the U. S.

• Terrorism in the United States