Lone Wolf Terrorism in Legislation : A Legal Overview
Introduction
Ever since the USA PATRIOT Act brought counter-terrorism laws into the
forefront of American minds , the debate regarding the efficacy of U . S . terrorism policy has grown . Fanning the flames , headlines publishing the latest congressional testimony of new / amended terrorism laws or questioning the “ War on Terror ” are common occurrences in the media ( Turse 2018 ; Zimmerman 2018 ). Usually , the debate and discussion centers around what might be called “ general ” terrorism , especially groups who rely on religious ideologies . The public and policymakers typically create and apply laws , policies , and regulations to these types of violent groups . However , what about the specific issue of law and policy regarding lone wolf terrorism ? Do legislative endeavors meet the needs of the United States Intelligence Community ( USIC ), law enforcement , and policymakers concerning this unique subset of terrorism ? This paper aims to address that question by looking at existing U . S . laws and policies focusing on the narrow , and less often specifically debated , regulations and legal issues regarding lone wolf terrorism currently guiding the USIC and law enforcement community . What this study demonstrates is the legal apparatus at both the federal and state level is significantly lacking in addressing lone wolf terrorism .
Lone wolf terrorism continues to be the scourge of the early twenty-first century . Since 2000 , the number of attacks conducted by individuals and unaffiliated groups has continued to grow ( Worth 2016 ). As mentioned above , while numerous academic papers , articles , and other research venues devote significant pages and time to the study of lone wolf terrorism , there still lacks overarching policy addressing this specific threat . A noteworthy part of the reason for the absence of large-scale , broad U . S . policy toward lone wolf terrorism is due to two factors : lack of an accepted definition of lone wolf terrorism and the current governmental momentum for creating laws and policy addressing terrorist attacks conducted by large violent groups .
Over the past decade , various articles , essays , and books examined the definitional issue of lone wolf terrorism ( Borum 2012 ; Ludwick 2016 ; Pantucci 2011 ). This still unsettled aspect of political violence presents some significant problems for policymakers , academics , and practitioners . Various researchers use the phrase lone wolf terrorism differently making research unstandardized and possibly confusing . If researchers are struggling to determine exact definitions , that will imply that legislators are equally struggling for consistency when creating new laws and policies . For purposes of this paper , lone wolf terrorism is an individual , or very small group , usually less than nine individuals , who commit or threaten the use of violence to influence a government for political or religious change , adapted from ( Ludwick 2016 ).
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