"Domestic Right Wing Terrorists" Greater Threat Than ISIS Debunked
CNN ran a story, in which they stated that DHS and federal officials viewed “Domestic Right-Wing Terrorists” as being a greater threat than ISIS. They kept referencing a report that DHS and FBI. The wording that CNN used, implied that the report specifically names “Right-Wing Terrorists” as being one of our countries biggest geopolitical threats.
Here’s the document, and guess what? You won’t find “ISIS”, “Republican”, “Right Wing” in the report. Seriously, do a ctrl+F and search for it. The report is on “Sovereign Citizen Extremists” (SCEs) and never once does it state the SCE threat is greater than ISIS
Shame On CNN For Fear Mongering
I am not an extremist, but I am one of those freedom-loving people who refuses to accept nanny-state laws. To go and state that those who put themselves “above the law” pose a greater geopolitical threat than ISIS affects me personally. CNN is stating that I’m this countries biggest threat. Talk about Casus Belli, starting to throw comments around like that. Next CNN will be stating that we need to be hunting down anyone who loves personal liberty and freedom.
Most Sovereign Citizens Are Non-Violent
In the scope of the report, it states very blatantly that; “Most sovereign citizens are non-violent”. The 24 cases outlined in the report are part of a very small sector of sovereign citizens. That still doesn’t stop the media from labeling the non-violent “Sovereign Citizens” as terrorists. Just look at the flak the Anonymous group has had over the years.
Anons preach peaceful reform through education, social media, leaking sensitive material they feel the public should have access to and defacing or taking down websites through DDOS. All of these are non-violent acts, but it didn’t stop Anons from being the first group to be labeled as a “Domestic Terror Threat”, and through the indefinite detaining of several Anons, it’s very clear that the feds view the non-violent acts of “Terror” as being just as big of a geopolitical threat as the SCEs.
SCEs VS “Violent Extremists”; Attacks Reactive and Personal, Not Symbolic.
The report also made one major distinction between SCEs and “Violent Extremists”, such as ISIS. The report states that the majority of SCE events are personal and directed at the individual or part of government that the SCE believes has impacted his or her personal freedoms and liberties.
To whereas “Violent Extremists” (like ISIS) aren’t trying to just take down a specific individual. They’re trying to destroy anything to forward their agenda and ideology. This seems like the greater geopolitical risk to me, as “Violent Extremists” are willing to incite greater casualties and destruction, as that has a greater emotional impact and will be more newsworthy, thus achieving their goal of syndicating the emotional impact of the terror plot.
Report Written Before Ferguson Protests
This report was written prior to Ferguson, which inspired anti-police protests on a national level. The unrest and protest that started with Ferguson escalated to multiple cop shootings and fatalities. This report was written prior to the Ferguson event and protests. I would be very interested in reading what this report would read had it been written after the protests and cop fatalities.
I wonder if the report would go as far as to make reference to “Treat from Black SCE unrest in response to Ferguson event”, and how those SCE events would have impacted CNNs story. Statistically, the black population is more likely to vote Democrat. This isn’t racist, but based on voting and polling data.
It would be hard to label these events of cop violence as “Right-Wing Domestic Terror”, but could feasibly be labeled as “Left Wing Domestic Terror”. This would mean that there’s either a balance in SCE extremism, and depending on the content of the report, there might be a greater emphasis on protester violence, due to the recency of the events. Especially since the Ferguson protests and riots can be viewed as “Ideologic” instead of “Personal”. As per the report, the “Ideological” attacks is what distinguishes a “Violent Extremist” from most SCEs.
Stories Mentioned In The Report
Here are all the stories and references mentioned in the report, for your reference:
Victor White, an Odessa, Texas SCE, engaged in a 22-hour armed standoff and gun battle with police in 2010 and was convicted of shooting two officers and a utility worker. White initiated the violence because the police officer was escorting the utility worker onto White’s property. White claimed he was “defending and protecting my dignity and the sovereignty of my domain” in a jailhouse interview with media.
A SCE father and son claimed police had no authority over them and refused to produce identification when stopped for a traffic violation in Louisiana in 2012. The son then allegedly shot and wounded the police officer who stopped them with an AK-47 assault rifle before fleeing the scene. Later that day, police officers located the suspects at a residence in a mobile home park. The son emerged from the home and allegedly started shooting, killing two police officers and wounding two others, according to media reports.
A Denver-based SCE threatened a state employee who handled his unresolved tax dispute with a hoax terrorism letter in 2012. He was convicted after sending an envelope containing white powder specifically to the employee, resulting in the evacuation of a Colorado Department of Revenue building, according to media reports.
A Washington-based SCE was convicted in December 2011 for threatening to arrest and kidnap specific law enforcement and government officials involved in giving him a traffic citation, according to the Department of Justice.
Francis Shaeffer Cox, an Alaska-based SCE, conspired to kill a US district court judge and an Internal Revenue Service officer in March 2011. He targeted them in retaliation for their involvement in law enforcement and judicial actions against him, according to media reports of his trial and conviction.
Other recent domestic terrorism attacks committed by individuals motivated by anti-government ideologies but who are not SCEs targeted random law enforcement and government employees due to their symbolic value as targets rather than a personal grievance against those individuals, according to case documents. These cases include the shooting attack on three TSA agents at Los Angeles International Airport in November 2013 (killing one); the murder of two Las Vegas policemen and a civilian in May 2014 by Jerad and Amanda Miller (who were killed during the attack); and Eric Michael FreinUSPER , who allegedly shot and killed a policeman and injured another in September 2014.
Law enforcement officers were targeted in 83 percent (20 of 24) of violent sovereign citizen incidents between 2010 and 2014, according to a review of DHS, law enforcement, and open source data.
An alleged SCE shot two federal and state law enforcement officers in California in June 2014. He justified his actions in a local media interview by claiming that the law enforcement officers were there “to provoke me” and “murder me if possible.”
Earl Cranston Harris, an Oregon SCE, was shot and killed after threatening to shoot deputies who came to his home to enforce an eviction order stemming from a long-running, but previously peaceful, property dispute in June 2014, according to media accounts.
An alleged SCE made a series of verbal and written threats to CBP and other law enforcement officials at a port of entry between 2010-2013, including mailing threatening statements and manifestos, simply for processing him at the international border. He threatened to retaliate against law enforcement if they continued to stop and question him during border crossings, according to DHS reporting.