(U//FOUO) DHS-FBI Bulletin: Twenty Years After Oklahoma City Bombing, Domestic Extremism Remains a Persistent Threat

DHS-FBI Joint Intelligence Bulletin

8 pages
For Official Use Only
April 16, 2015

(U//FOUO) This Joint Intelligence Bulletin (JIB) prepared by the FBI and DHS is intended to provide law enforcement with a summary of significant domestic extremist incidents occurring during the previous 15 months. This product highlights the breadth and frequency of current domestic extremist threats against Homeland targets, and places them in the context of the 20th anniversary of the1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This information is provided to support the activities of the FBI and DHS and to assist other federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial counterterrorism and law enforcement officials and private sector security officials in identifying existing or emerging threats to homeland security.

(U) On 19 April 1995, at approximately 9:02 a.m., an improvised explosive device placed in a rented truck destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people and wounding hundreds of others. Timothy McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry NicholsUSPER were subsequently held responsible for the attack. McVeigh was convicted in federal court of a total of 11 counts, including murder and use of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). He was executed in June 2001. Nichols was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to use a WMD and several counts of involuntary manslaughter. He received a sentence of life in prison.

(U//FOUO) Twenty years later, the Oklahoma City Bombing remains the deadliest mass casualty attack in US history carried out by domestic extremists on US soil. Domestic extremism, however, remains a persistent threat, and the United States has experienced violent ideologically-motivated criminal acts, both prior to and after the Oklahoma City attack. These acts include assaults, arsons, shootings, and use, or attempted use, of improvised incendiary and explosive devices, resulting in death, injury, and property damage. Many of the same motivations used by domestic extremists to justify their criminal acts in the mid-1990s—anti-government and anti-law enforcement sentiment; racial, ethnic, and religious hatred; and advocacy of violent conspiracy theories—continue to influence domestic extremists and their targeting choices in 2015.

(U//FOUO) To understand the scale of the current threat, FBI and DHS have compiled a list of significant domestic extremist incidents and disrupted plots occurring since January 2014. These events, conducted by individuals inside the United States in furtherance of political or social agendas without foreign direction, are criminal and violent in nature and caused, or could have reasonably caused death, grievous harm, or financial losses of at least $1 million.

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(U//FOUO) Domestic Extremists: individuals present in the United States who seek to further political or social goals, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected. This definition does not include or describe homegrown violent extremists, who are defined by the FBI as al-Qa‘ida-inspired individuals based in the United States and radicalized primarily in the United States, and are not directly collaborating with a foreign terrorist organization.

(U//FOUO) Animal Rights Extremists: individuals who seek, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to further their opposition to people, businesses, or government entities perceived to be exploiting or abusing animals. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected.

(U//FOUO) Black Separatist Extremists: individuals who seek, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to attain separation from the non-black US population. This separation includes, but is not limited to, physical separation, political separation, or social separation as demonstrated by separate communities, political institutions, or social organizations. This desire for separation is typically based on either a religious or political belief system, which is sometimes formed around or includes a belief in racial superiority or supremacy. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected.

(U//FOUO) Environmental Extremists: individuals who seek, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to further their opposition to people, businesses, or government entities perceived to be destroying, degrading, or exploiting the natural environment. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected.

(U//FOUO) Lone Offenders: individuals who, operating alone or without the witting support of others, seek to advance, wholly or in part, a particular ideology or social agenda through unlawful acts of force or violence in violation of federal law.

(U//FOUO) Militia Extremists: individuals who seek, wholly or in part, to engage in unlawful acts of force or violence in response to perceived abuses of power or authority by government, perceived threats to Constitutional rights by government, or bureaucratic incompetence in attending to critical tasks. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected.

(U//FOUO) Sovereign Citizen Extremists: individuals who openly reject their US citizenship status, believe that most forms of established government, authority, and institutions are illegitimate, and seek, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to further their claim to be immune from government authority. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected.

(U//FOUO) White Supremacist Extremists: individuals who seek, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to support their belief in the intellectual and moral superiority of the white race over other races. The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute extremism, and may be constitutionally protected.