Is this man a terrorist?

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salon.com/2012/04/20/is_this_man_a_terrorist/?=5
On Tuesday, 50-year-old Francis Grady pleaded not guilty to trying to burn down a Planned Parenthood in Grand Chute, Wis., on April 1. Earlier this month, however, during his first court appearance, Grady sang a different tune, telling the U.S. district judge he did it because “they’re killing babies there.”
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An open and shut case of domestic terrorism for the state, it would seem. But curiously Grady is not facing any domestic terrorism charges, once again raising the question of whether the FBI and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices apply terrorism laws equally when prosecuting ideologically motivated crimes. While Islamists and animal rights and environmental activists regularly spend years behind bars under terrorism sentences, antiabortion criminals are seldom punished as severely. Grady, it would seem, is the latest antiabortion activist accused of a crime that would be harshly punished if, say, he had done it in the name of Allah or Mother Earth.
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It might be difficult to make terrorism charges stick since he deliberately set the fire in the middle of the night when nobody was in the building. If it had been during business hours, then certainly he would be a terrorist. In general I agree with the article that if terrorism charges are used against animal rights activists or environmental activists they should be used equivalently against anti-abortion activists committing similar crimes.
 
DhuAlQarnayn said:
It might be difficult to make terrorism charges stick since he deliberately set the fire in the middle of the night when nobody was in the building. If it had been during business hours, then certainly he would be a terrorist. In general I agree with the article that** if terrorism charges are used against animal rights activists or environmental activists they should be used equivalently against anti-abortion activists committing similar crimes**.
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When are animal rights activists or environmentalists ever considered terrorists?
 
IIRC, terrorism requires that you should be terrorising someone in the act. If his sole intention was to destroy the building, and not to frighten, hurt, or kill anyone who was in the building, he’s not guilty of terrorism.

He is guilty of arson, though.
 
TheTrueCentrist said:
salon.com/2012/04/20/is_this_man_a_terrorist/?=5
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Based on the quote, I think the man meets the definition of a terrorist. I just finished the 40 Days For Life campaign. We made it a point to distance ourselves for others who behaved in harrassing and inflamatory ways. I don’t think it helps us when we can be categorized as dangerous and threatening.

On the other hand, maybe the question should have been, “Does God consider this man to be a terrorist?”
 
Terrorism, by definition, is the attempt to use violence against people, even non-combatants, to erode an enemies will to resist the terrorist’s agenda.

I’m not sure that arson of an unoccupied building (while a serious crime in its own right) qualifies as terrorism. A campaign of arson targeting a particular group or organization could also qualify as a crime of conspiracy (possibly under RICO laws), but still not terrorism, per se.

It’s important to use words correctly. The temptation to hyperbole is common in journalism and society today. It’s not helping things get better. (and I’m guilty of it too).
 
manualman said:
Terrorism, by definition, is the attempt to use violence against people, even non-combatants, to erode an enemies will to resist the terrorist’s agenda.

I’m not sure that arson of an unoccupied building (while a serious crime in its own right) qualifies as terrorism. A campaign of arson targeting a particular group or organization could also qualify as a crime of conspiracy (possibly under RICO laws), but still not terrorism, per se.

It’s important to use words correctly. The temptation to hyperbole is common in journalism and society today. It’s not helping things get better. (and I’m guilty of it too).
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It is in a category with the political construct known as “hate crimes” in that what is actually done is of less consequence than the mindset or thought process of the perpetrator. It is intended to placate radical political minorities as well as justify increasing government surveillance and prosecution of pro-life organizations.
 
FaithBuild18 said:
When are animal rights activists or environmentalists ever considered terrorists?
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The answer may be in testimony given before the US Congress back in 2002. This is from the testimony of James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States (or its territories) without foreign direction, committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
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During the past several years, special interest extremism, as characterized by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), has emerged as a serious terrorist threat. Generally, extremist groups engage in much activity that is protected by constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. Law enforcement becomes involved when the volatile talk of these groups transgresses into unlawful action. The FBI estimates that the ALF/ELF have committed more than 600 criminal acts in the United States since 1996, resulting in damages in excess of 43 million dollars.
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The FBI defines eco-terrorism as the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature.
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fbi.gov/news/testimony/the-threat-of-eco-terrorism

There are more details there, although the testimony is a decade old so newer examples of eco-terrorism must be available.
 
FaithBuild18 said:
When are animal rights activists or environmentalists ever considered terrorists?
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Leftist groups are never considered terrorists under our government. Only people who disagree with leftist beliefs are terrorists.
 
BobCatholic said:
Leftist groups are never considered terrorists under our government. Only people who disagree with leftist beliefs are terrorists.
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I am not sure why you say that. I know here in Iowa we’ve had several crimes committed against university laboratories or fur ranches which have officially been termed terrorism.

For a wider picture, this is from a 2006 news article:
These eco-terrorists often operate alone or in small groups, making them extremely difficult to penetrate. They target structures they feel are infringing on nature, leaving low-tech detonators that allow the fires to start after they’ve left.
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In 2006, a nine-year federal sting dubbed “Operation Backfire” was able to dissolve a cell responsible for 20 acts of arson in five Western states over five years.
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The FBI currently has 180 ongoing eco-terror investigations and over the last several years has tied them to some 1,800 criminal acts, Kolko said.
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foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343768,00.html
 
FaithBuild18 said:
When are animal rights activists or environmentalists ever considered terrorists?
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Well, there’s the rather famous Earth Liberation Front. They’ve done things like burn down entire housing developments that are under construction before.
 
Dale_M said:
I am not sure why you say that. I know here in Iowa we’ve had several crimes committed against university laboratories or fur ranches which have officially been termed terrorism.
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I’m talking about the federal government level. This is the same administration who thinks that the Bill Ayers (who was a real 1960’s terrorist) is a role model and the Tea Party are terrorists. The tone is set from the top.
 
BobCatholic said:
I’m talking about the federal government level. This is the same administration who thinks that the Bill Ayers (who was a real 1960’s terrorist) is a role model and the Tea Party are terrorists. The tone is set from the top.
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In my examples I was referring to the federal authorities as well. The FBI considers those incidents to be acts of eco-terrorism, and have been involved in the investigations.
 
FaithBuild18 said:
When are animal rights activists or environmentalists ever considered terrorists?
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If you had read the article, you would find that the answer is “frequently, when they engage in violent activities.”
 
Dale_M said:
In my examples I was referring to the federal authorities as well. The FBI considers those incidents to be acts of eco-terrorism, and have been involved in the investigations.
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Bill Ayers was arrested when on charges of terrorism?

Oh wait, he never was. In fact, our state government gave him a professorship at UIC. And our president considered him so good, he hung around with him a lot.
 
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