New Jersey Assembly Bill AR94

New Jersey 2024-2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/9/24
• Refer: 1/9/24

Caption

Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize white supremacists as domestic terrorists.

Impact

The resolution seeks to prompt the FBI to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of such crimes by designating them as domestic terrorism. By doing so, it would allocate more resources to these cases, recognizing that the FBI has been directing more resources towards domestic terrorism investigations than towards hate or gang crimes. This could lead to more comprehensive law enforcement responses and increased support for local agencies that may be ill-equipped to handle the unique challenges posed by white supremacist violence.

Summary

Assembly Resolution AR94 urges the FBI to classify crimes committed by members of white supremacist and white nationalist groups as domestic terrorism. This resolution highlights the alarming rate at which white extremists have been committing violent acts, often using firearms in public places. Recent mass shootings, such as those in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, are cited as evidence of this growing threat. The resolution argues that the FBI's current classification of these acts as hate crimes or gang-related crimes fails to adequately reflect the nature of the violence being committed.

Contention

A significant point of contention surrounding AR94 is the classification of domestic terrorism itself. There is currently no federal crime specifically labeled as domestic terrorism, which creates challenges in prosecuting these offenders. The resolution argues for a stronger federal response to a type of violence that has been statistically shown to be more prevalent than terrorism from Islamic extremists since 9/11. Critics may point out concerns regarding the implications of such a classification on civil liberties and the potential for misuse in labeling various political expressions as terrorist activities.