Domestic Terrorism

Andrew Jon Thomasberg, a member of the white supremacist organization Attomwaffen Division, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to possession of firearms while being an unlawful drug user and to making a false statement in order to illegally purchase a firearm. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The plea agreement and the criminal complaint are available below.

An affidavit written by F.B.I. special agent John W. Smith was unsealed on Nov. 4 that lays out facts supporting the arrest of Richard Holzer, a white supremacist who allegedly sought to blow up a Jewish synagogue in Colorado. The affidavit claims the evidence meets the definition of “domestic terrorism.” The document can be found here and below.

Following recent attacks in Gilroy, California; El Paso, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio, we have seen a renewed call for domestic terrorism laws to give federal law enforcement the same types of tools that are available to combat violent acts committed by international terrorists. Proposed bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will help the FBI confront domestic terrorism on the terms it favors—left of boom.

Sen. Martha McSally has proposed a draft bill to make domestic terrorism a federal crime, following the recent mass shootings in Texas, Ohio and California. The bill would also require an annual report from the attorney general, the director of the FBI and the secretary of homeland security assessing the current domestic terrorism risk as well as providing an analysis of domestic terrorism incidents or attempted incidents.