Who the Justice Department decides to prosecute as a domestic terrorist has little to do with the harm they’ve inflicted or the threat they pose to human life.
“I was just a human recording machine paid by the government to go into people’s lives and befriend them and find out what they were thinking.”
While militia leader Larry Hopkins remained free to terrorize immigrants, Christopher Daniels was jailed for months, losing his home and his job.
Michael Hari’s story shows how our increasingly divisive, conspiracy-laden culture is pushing troubled people toward extremism and violence.
Since 9/11 federal prosecutors have applied anti-terrorism laws against 34 right-wing extremists compared to more than 500 international terrorism defendants.
The U.S. has a powerful anti-terrorism law — but it’s only been used once against a far-right extremist since 9/11.
Behind the scenes, corporate lobbying laid the groundwork for the Justice Department’s aggressive pursuit of so-called eco-terrorists.
The only connection between the men referenced in the FBI’s “black identity extremism” report, besides their race, is a thread of anger at police violence.
Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have their own anti-terrorism laws.