Read on Twitter
A bit of an "in the weeds" thread about terrorism analysis. It doesn't get much attention but how (or if!) you categorize an extremist action can have real policy implications.
As FBI Director Wray said in 2020, we're seeing extremists blending their ideologies & some extremists are members of multiple groups.
When does a militia group become a white supremacist group? Or an anti-government group?
What difference does it make? Potentially a lot.
When does a militia group become a white supremacist group? Or an anti-government group?
What difference does it make? Potentially a lot.
And while there's general agreement in the field, there's always going to be some discrepancy. Keep that in mind if you're ever comparing statistics between different organizations (even in government).
We'd compare our numbers with DHS and FBI and be pretty close but there'd always be a few cases that'd differ. We might think one person was too mentally ill to be considered, they might think another was personally (vs ideologically) motivated.
If a member of a militia is also a white supremacist and they conduct an attack, in which category do we code that?
One miscoding here or there might not be a big deal if your sample size is big but terrorism in the U.S. (even in a 'busy' year) is usually only a few dozen cases
One miscoding here or there might not be a big deal if your sample size is big but terrorism in the U.S. (even in a 'busy' year) is usually only a few dozen cases
One example was Zale Thompson. In 2014, he attacked four NYC police officers with an ax. An investigation revealed he was a recent Muslim convert, had accessed ISIS propaganda and had some links to the "black power" movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Queens_hatchet_attack#:~:text=On%20October%2023%2C%202014%2C%20a,was%20injured%20in%20the%20arm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Queens_hatchet_attack#:~:text=On%20October%2023%2C%202014%2C%20a,was%20injured%20in%20the%20arm.
So, was he an anti-government extremist? Black separatist/supremacist? ISIS inspired? Motivated by personal animus or emotional problems & not an example of extremism at all?
There wasn't enough information to make a determination w/100% confidence so everyone had to make a call
There wasn't enough information to make a determination w/100% confidence so everyone had to make a call
the far right today is a mush of semi-coherent (at best) ideologies that share a lot of foundational beliefs, iconography, language, and opponents. Trying to fit them into clearly defined buckets can make your head hurt.
Alternately, are they so intertwined that it even makes a practical difference to differentiate them? 
I think it is important to distinguish between them but analysts would be naturally inclined to want to slice and dice whatever they study.
I think it is important to distinguish between them but analysts would be naturally inclined to want to slice and dice whatever they study.
