Why far-right attackers aren't charged as domestic terrorists

[Soph0571]

According the Anti-Defamation League, far-right extremists were responsible for every extremist-related murder in the United States in 2018, bar one. A November report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies noted that far-right terrorist attacks in the United States have increased from less than five per year between 2007 and 2011, to 31 in 2017. Europe has seen a similar resurgence, with security services in Sweden, Germany, and the U.K. all foiling separate plots over the last year alone.

This increase in far-right extremism, paired with a lack of terror charges, has exposed the gray areas within the U.S. legal system. While authorities have been amply equipped since 9/11 to deal with cases involving international terrorist groups, they lack the ability to prosecute right-wing extremists as domestic terrorists due to a loophole in existing laws.
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According to Dr. Erroll Southers, a former FBI Special Agent and professor at the University of Southern California, there’s an unfortunate reason for that.

“We don’t charge people with terror offenses unless they’re connected with a foreign country or ideology,” Southers told ThinkProgress. “While a hate crime charge can still send a person to prison for life, there’s something unique about being labeled a terrorist. It’s a very pejorative term and it’s used with care.”
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The problem, experts argue, is a lack of political will to pursue domestic extremists, as well as bias against certain minority communities, which means any sort of legislative response inevitably impacts them to a greater extent.
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“There are laws on the books that can be used right now against domestic terrorists,” Gyamfi also added. “…They can and do cover the acts we’re talking about that are being perpetrated by white nationalists.”

Southers also urged a renewed focus on far-right extremism, which he and other terrorism analysts have watched metastasize into an increasingly dangerous threat.

[link:https://thinkprogress.org/why-far-right-extremism-isnt-prosecuted-as-domestic-terrorism-808753a2a2b7/|

Brown or black = terrorist
White = lone wolf attacker...

Heh

[gratuitous]

1. A "lack of political will" and "bias against certain minority communities"

I suppose for some observers, this is "Thank you Captain Obvious" material, but it's useful to have it spelled out like that.