Barack Obama

Alleged Chicago Bombing Targets Included Obama Campaign HQ, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's House

Nick R. Martin | May 19, 2012, 4:12PM

President Barack Obama meets alone with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office on his first full day in office on Jan. 21, 2009.

Prosecutors said on Saturday that a trio of protestors arrested this week in Chicago were allegedly planning to target President Obama's campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house and some of the city's financial institutions with homemade bombs in a series of attacks timed to coincide with this weekend's NATO summit there.

Court documents posted online by the Chicago Tribune said the three men were anarchists who traveled together from Florida to Chicago to carry out the attacks and hoped to recruit as many as 16 people to help.

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White House

As White House Choreographs Raid Anniversary, Bin Laden Death Photos Remain Secret

Eric Lach | May 1, 2012, 4:55AM

As you may have heard, it's the one-year anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Also coming up: the one-year anniversary of the first Freedom of Information Act requests for the photographs taken of bin Laden's body.

Obama and his re-election campaign have embraced bin Laden's death as one of the president's signature achievements, and are currently using it to bludgeon Mitt Romney, but photographs of that achievement are still considered a national security risk.

On "Fox News Sunday" this week, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan was asked why the White House has refused to release the presumably gruesome images.

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Amine El Khalifi

Man Charged In U.S. Capitol Terror Sting Switched Target At Least Five Times

Ryan J. Reilly | February 17, 2012, 5:05PM

The man arrested in an FBI terror sting just as he was allegedly about to attempt what he thought would be a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol had several other targets in mind before he eventually settled on his final plan, according to federal authorities.

An affidavit from an FBI agent filed in federal court Friday says that Amine El Khalifi planned to explode a bomb at an office building in Alexandria that contained military offices, then wanted to attack a synagogue, then decided to target an Army general, then a government building, then a restaurant next to that building because it was frequented by military officials.

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FBI Sting

Feds Say Man Arrested In Terror Sting Wanted To Bomb Capitol

Ryan J. Reilly | February 17, 2012, 1:46PM

Updated 3:19PM

Another FBI terrorism sting operation has led to the arrest of a man who allegedly believed he was plotting an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Virginia resident Amine El Khalifi, 29, had been under federal scrutiny for around a year and had overstayed his visitor visa for a number of years, the Associated Press reported.

Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd confirmed to TPM that there was an arrest of a suspect in connection with a terrorism investigation and that the arrest "was the culmination of an undercover operation during which the suspect was closely monitored by law enforcement."

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Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Conservatives Quiet After Saying Civilian System Couldn't Handle Underwear Bomber

Ryan J. Reilly | February 17, 2012, 11:58AM

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called "underwear bomber," was sentenced to life in prison Thursday following his trial in federal court. Two years ago, Republicans insisted trying Abdulmutallab in federal court was a terrible idea.

There was a time when the circumstances surrounding Abdulmutallab's arrest were part of a lengthy national debate about the best way to handle terrorism cases. There were letters, television appearances and press releases calling on the Obama administration to reverse its position and send Abdulmutallab into the military tribunal system due to perceived weaknesses in the civilian court system.

Now that he's locked up for life, it's pretty much radio silence. A search for press releases mentioning Abdulmutallab from members of Congress this week turns up just one, from Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), who said the sentence 'demonstrations that our federal court system is fully capable of bringing terrorist to justice."

Still it's worth revisiting just what critics of the civilian court system predicted. Some examples:

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Rezwan Ferdaus

Judge: It Doesn't Matter If The Remote Controlled Plane Plot Would Have Worked

Ryan J. Reilly | November 28, 2011, 1:32PM

The plot Rezwan Ferdaus allegedly developed to fly remote controlled planes carrying C-4 explosives into the Pentagon and the dome of the Capitol might have been far-fetched, but a federal judge has ruled he's still a danger to the community and agreed to the government's request to detain him.

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Manssor Arbabsiar

Friends Say Used Car Dealer Was Too Much Of A Mess To Pull Off Iranian Plot

Ryan J. Reilly | October 13, 2011, 6:00AM

Manssor Arbabsiar

Friends of Manssor Arbabsiar, the man accused of trying to get a man he thought was affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel to arrange for the killing of the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S., aren't exactly painting a picture of a criminal mastermind. In fact, they're saying he's not straight out.

"He's no mastermind," David Tomscha, who once owned a used car lot with Arbabsiar, told the Associated Press. "I can't imagine him thinking up a plan like that. I mean, he didn't seem all that political. He was more of a businessman."

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Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

'Hey, Dude, Your Pants Are On Fire': 'Underwear Bomber' To Plead Guilty

Ryan J. Reilly | October 12, 2011, 10:20AM

Flight 253 bomb attack suspect Umar Abdulmutallab

Updated:Oct. 12, 12:42PM

Some breaking news from the trial of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: the Nigerian man who allegedly tried to blow up an airplane with a bomb in his underwear plans to plead guilty, according to the Associated Press.

The development came on the second day of the trial. On Monday, witness Mike Zantow testified that he heard another passenger tell Abdulmatallab: "Hey, dude, your pants are on fire."

Jurors were supposed to hear from a flight attendant and other passengers on the December 2009 flight today.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the outcome proved that civilian courts could handle terrorism cases.

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Wikileaks

Wikileaks: Are 'Jamaicans' The Next Great Terror Threat?

Brian Fung | October 10, 2011, 5:03AM

Forget fundamentalist Wahhabi Muslims. Could bands of roving Rastafarians be far from wreaking havoc and fear on American society?

That's what a secret U.S. diplomatic cable written in 2010 and shared by Wikileaks alleges. The cable, issued by an unnamed State Department official from the bureau's outpost in Kingston, Jamaica, warns that the country's dizzying domestic crime rate has already had ill consequences for the United States -- and it could get worse.

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Reed Berry

Michigan Terror Suspect Feeling 'Caged' By Federal Tail Tried To Crash Into FBI Agent's Car

Ryan J. Reilly | October 3, 2011, 2:45PM

Reed S. Berry

A 26-year-old Michigan man the feds suspected of supporting terrorist groups has been ordered held by a federal judge after he crashed into the car of an FBI agent following him around the anniversary of Sept. 11.

Reed S. Berry, 26, of St. Joseph was being tailed by an FBI special agent and a Michigan state police detective on the night of Sept. 9.

Berry, described as "very surveillance-conscious," had spotted an FBI agent earlier in the day and allegedly got out of his car and "ran directly at her parked vehicle while staring directly at her." Around 10:30 p.m., Berry allegedly did the same thing to a Michigan detective who had been trailing him, except he screamed this time.

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FBI

The Five Most Bizarre Terror Plots Hatched Under The FBI's Watch

Ryan J. Reilly and Brian Fung | October 3, 2011, 6:00AM

Undercover FBI agents have helped and informants have watched as alleged wanna-be terrorists form some pretty bizarre and improbable terror plots in the years since Sept. 11. But the plot 26-year-old Rezwan Ferdaus allegedly hatched to fly model airplanes loaded with C-4 into the Pentagon and the dome of the Capitol might be the most unlikely yet.

"I'm hard pressed to think of a case that I looked at that I would describe as more outlandish than this one," Trevor Aaronson, who wrote an extensive report for Mother Jones after studying 508 federal terrorism cases over the past decade, told TPM. "As far as sting operations, this has been one of the more outlandish."

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FBI

FBI Arrests Man For Plotting To Attack Capitol, Pentagon With C-4 Loaded Remote Controlled Planes

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2011, 3:30PM

Updated: 5:55PM

Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old Massachusetts resident was arrested in an FBI sting on Wednesday after allegedly plotting to use large remote controlled model airplanes packed with C-4 plastic explosives to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.

Ferdaus allegedly traveled to Washington, D.C. to take photos of his targets in May 2011, all while under FBI surveillance. The Northeastern University graduate allegedly began planning to commit "jihad" against the United States in early 2010 and obtained mobile phones that he modified to act as an electrical switch for an IED.

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FBI

Muslim Groups Press FBI, DOJ On Anti-Islamic Training

Ryan J. Reilly | September 16, 2011, 11:10AM

FBI Director Robert Mueller

Two Muslim groups that have had generally positive relationships with the federal government have separately written the Justice Department and the FBI asking for investigations of anti-Muslim information used in FBI counterterrorism training.

Salam Al-Marayti, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), wrote FBI Director Robert Mueller asking for an immediate internal investigation and a reassessment of the vetting process of trainers.

Al-Marayti wrote that MPAC was "greatly concerned" about the training materials used by the FBI, which he said employed "highly selective use of quotes and sources from Islamic scripture; and, Dangerously false and reductive presentation of one of the most vibrant and visible faith communities in America."

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Joe Lieberman

Lieberman, Collins: If Obama Won't Do Something About Anti-Muslim Counterterrorism Training, We Will

Ryan J. Reilly | September 12, 2011, 6:05PM

Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) aren't messing around when it comes to stopping federal dollars from flowing to anti-Muslim terrorism training. In a letter to Obama on Tuesday, the duo said that if the administration can't develop criteria to keep bigoted information out of counter-terrorism training, they'll "consider drafting a legislative mandate or even imposing standards by statute."

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Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Feds Built Their Own Underwear Bomb For Abdulmutallab Case

Ryan J. Reilly | September 12, 2011, 2:10PM

The underwear bomb allegedly worn by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

An expert witness for the federal government in the case against alleged "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has constructed a version of the bomb the Nigerian 24-year-old allegedly tried to set off on a plane en route to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.

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John McCain

Report: McCain Inserted Provision To Put Terror Suspects Into Military Custody

Ryan J. Reilly | September 6, 2011, 12:50PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) inserted a little-noticed provision into the National Defense Authorization Act that would put all terror suspects into immediate military custody, the National Journal reports.

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Emerson Begolly

'Nazi Jihadist' Pleads Guilty To Soliciting Extremists To Attack U.S.

Ryan J. Reilly | August 15, 2011, 1:45PM

TPM Illustration

Pennsylvania 22-year-old Emerson Begolly pleaded guilty last week to soliciting others to engage in acts of terrorism and to attempting to use a firearm in an assault on FBI agents.

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Emerson Begolly

Feds: 'Nazi Jihadist' Solicited Extremists To Attack Daycare Centers

Ryan J. Reilly | July 14, 2011, 2:12PM

Federal prosecutors have charged Emerson Begolly, the Nazi uniform wearing Pennsylvania man being held for allegedly biting an FBI agent who tried to question him about his activity on jihadist websites, with inciting violent attacks in the United States.

An indictment announced on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia charges that Begolly used an extremist web forum to solicited others to engage in acts of terrorism and disseminated instructions for making different kinds of explosives that could be used in terrorist attacks.

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Terrorism

McConnell On Casey Anthony Trial: It Means Terrorists Could Win

Ryan J. Reilly | July 11, 2011, 1:15PM

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Casey Anthony

The top Republican in the Senate invoked the high-profile acquittal of Casey Anthony on charges she murdered her daughter as a reason to oppose the use of civilian trials for terrorism suspects.

"These are not American citizens. We just found with the Caylee Anthony case how difficult is to get a conviction in a U.S. court," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on "Fox News Sunday." McConnell has called on the Obama administration to place suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay and prosecute them in the military justice system.

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FBI

Feds: Terror Suspects Struggled To Afford Bullets, Worried They'd 'Look Like Fools'

Ryan J. Reilly | June 23, 2011, 5:58PM

Military Entrance Processing Station

The two men the feds just charged with terrorism and firearms related charges for plotting to attack a military installation in Seattle allegedly worried they were "gonna look like fools" if they ran out of ammunition and used the password "OBL" (for Osama bin Laden) for picking up bus tickets.

FBI officials were monitoring 33-year-old Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif (aka Joseph Anthony Davis) of Seattle and 32-year-old Walli Mujahidh (aka Frederick Domingue) of Los Angeles when they took possession of machine guns they purchased and were planning to use to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) located on East Marginal Way, Seattle.

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Eric Holder

Holder Slams Anti-Civilian Court Politicians For Disparaging Justice System (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | June 17, 2011, 6:00AM

In some of the strongest comments he's made to date in defense of the use of civilian courts to try suspected terrorists, Attorney General Eric Holder slammed members of Congress who he said are putting the nation at risk when they "disparage the American criminal justice system."

"Politics has no place - no place - in the impartial and effective administration of justice," Holder said during a speech at the liberal American Constitution Society's annual convention.

"Decisions about how, where, and when to prosecute must be made by prosecutors, not politicians," Holder said. "And this is true for every case, whether it involves brutal terrorists or white collar criminals."

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South Carolina

SC GOPer: 99% Of Recent Terrorist Acts Were Committed By Muslims

Jillian Rayfield | May 19, 2011, 11:59AM

State Sen. Mike Fair (R-SC)

South Carolina State Sen. Michael Fair (R) doesn't quite seem to know what his proposed sharia ban bill has to do with terrorism, but he does know that "ninety nine percent probably, of the acts of terrorism around the world" have "occurred at the hands of Middle Eastern men who happen to be advocates of the Islam religion."

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New York City

NYC Police Commissioner: Would-Be Synagogue Bombers Said 'I Hate Jews, I Want To Kill Them'

Jillian Rayfield | May 12, 2011, 4:58PM

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly described Thursday how the NYPD investigated and arrested two men week who allegedly plotted to blow up a Manhattan Synagogue.

Kelly said in his Thursday press conference that Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, both residents of Queens, were arrested on Wednesday evening on conspiracy, weapons, and hate crimes charges, following a seven-month long undercover operation. Just before his arrest, Kelly said, Fehrani explained that he was "fed up with the way Muslims were being treated around the world. They are treating us like dogs."

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MEK

'Black And White': Ex-MEK Spokesman Defends Terror-Listed Group

Eric Lach | April 6, 2011, 11:26AM

MEK supporters at a February 2010 demonstration in Paris.

"As I'm speaking to you, you must either think I'm a con man sitting in front of you, plain and simple, or I'm genuine," Ali Safavi, a former spokesman for the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, told TPM in an interview last week. "There is nothing in between."

As TPM has reported, a growing number of former U.S. government, military and intelligence officials have recently been attending events in support of the MEK, an Iranian opposition group classified as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. These officials have called the MEK critical to any chance of regime change in Iran, and have urged President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take the group off the terror list. Furthermore, supporters have called for the protection of the roughly 3,400 MEK members who currently reside at Camp Ashraf, the organization's main base, in Iraq. Ashraf has fallen into a kind of diplomatic no-man's land between Iraq, Iran and the U.S., and the MEK says its members there have been subject to attacks and other privations.

Safavi, a former MEK spokesman and current member of the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), which the State Department considers the MEK's "political arm," spoke to TPM about the controversy surrounding the group. Several times, he put the debate in the starkest possible terms.

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Jihad Jane

'Jihad Jane' Ally Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Help Terrorists

Melissa Jeltsen | March 8, 2011, 6:30PM

Jamie Paulin Ramirez

A Colorado woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Jamie Paulin Ramirez, 32, teamed up with Colleen LaRose, a.k.a 'Jihad Jane', in a plot to acquire military-style training and then travel to Europe to participate in violent jihad, according to prosecutors. Ramirez faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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Terrorism

Feds: Saudi Man In Texas Planned Attack On George W. Bush's Home

Ryan J. Reilly | February 24, 2011, 11:08AM

George W. Bush

A 20-year-old Saudi man living in Texas was arrested Wednesday and charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment used to make an improvised explosive device (IED).

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Domestic Violence

Brothers Of Alleged Metro Threatener Busted For Possession Of Pot, Gun

Ryan J. Reilly | February 16, 2011, 8:40AM

Two brothers of the Virginia man who allegedly threatened to blow up the Metro system could end up heading to jail, too, because of a gun and marijuana were found when FBI agents searched their home.

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Peter King

Peter King To Critics: 'Political Correctness' Won't Stop Muslim Radicalization Hearings

Ryan J. Reilly | February 8, 2011, 12:50PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said Tuesday that he plans to move forward with a series of hearings to examine the threat of Islamic radicalization, and said he "will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States."

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) wrote a letter to King earlier this month asking him to expand the purpose of the hearings into "a broad-based examination of domestic extremist groups regardless of their ideological underpinnings."

But King said that the hearings will serve an important purpose, and that the committee "cannot ignore the fact that al Qaeda is actively attempting to recruit individuals living within the Muslim American community to commit acts of terror."

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Muslims

Report Says Half As Many Muslims Accused In Terror Plots In 2010

Ryan J. Reilly | February 4, 2011, 8:40AM

The number of U.S. Muslims accused in terror plots dropped by more than half in 2010, according to a new report by a professor with the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

The report notes that 20 American Muslims were suspects in terror plots last year, whereas 47 were suspects in 2009. The 2009 spike, as the Associated Press reports was due mainly to a large number of Somali-Americans who tried to join Somalia's al-Shabab militant movement.

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Jihad Jane

Report: 'Jihad Jane' To Plead Guilty Today In Terror Case

Eric Lach | February 1, 2011, 11:05AM

Colleen LaRose, a.k.a. Jihad Jane

At a hearing today, Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania woman facing terrorism charges and allegedly known as 'Jihad Jane' online, is expected to change her plea to guilty, CNN reports. The government alleges that LaRose used the Internet to recruit people for violent global Jihad, and that she planned to murder the Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.

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Roger Stockham

Alleged Mosque Plotter Had Long History Of Crime, Mental Illness

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 10:30AM

Roger Stockham, the 63-year-old Vietnam vet who was arrested last week for allegedly plotting to attack the largest mosque in North America, has a long history of run-ins with the law and mental health issues.

Contemporaneous news reports spanning the past five decades chronicle a number of troubling incidents that resulted in both state and federal charges. Stockham has frequently argued that he's insane and has been put in a variety of programs.

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Roger Stockham

Imam Says Alleged Mosque Attack Plotter, Loughner Should Be Called Terrorists

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2011, 9:45AM

Police and officials informed about the arrest of a man who allegedly threatened to attack mosques and was found with explosives outside of the largest Islamic center in North America last week had planned to keep it quiet. Then the imam of the threatened mosque weighed in.

Imad Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini informed worshippers about the arrest of Roger Stockham during his sermon on Friday, and a video of his speech was posted to YouTube. That's when the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) decided to put out a press release over the weekend.

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Terrorism

Michigan Cops: Army Vet Threatened Mosques At Bar, Found With Explosives Outside Islamic Center

Ryan J. Reilly | January 30, 2011, 3:35PM

Roger Stockham, a 63-year-old Army veteran from California who was reportedly angry at the U.S. government, was arrested by police in Michigan and charged with allegedly threatening to blow up a Mosque in Dearborn.

Dearborn police allegedly found Stockham inside his vehicle outside the Islamic Center of America with a load of M-80s in his trunk and other explosives, the Detroit News reported.

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Surveillance

Leahy Intros Patriot Act Bill With Some Restrictions; ACLU Says Not Enough

Rachel Slajda | January 27, 2011, 12:17PM

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Following on the heels of a House Republican's alteration-free one-year extension of the expiring Patriot Act provisions, Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has introduced his own extension that would add some restrictions to the so-called library provision.

That's great, says the ACLU. But it's not enough.

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Terrorism

Spokane Official: MLK Day Bomb May Have Been Filled With Rat Poison

Rachel Slajda | January 26, 2011, 11:44AM

The FBI released photos of the backpack and the T-shirts inside.

The bomb found along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Wash., may have been packed with a blood-thinning chemical that's found in rat poison in an effort to inflict worse injuries.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told the Spokesman-Review that the bomb -- which officials have already described as sophisticated, with the potential to be devastating -- had some sort of chemical in it, and authorities have speculated that it may be a chemical found in rat poison. The bomb, which was defused without incident last Monday, has been sent for testing to a lab at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va..

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Eric Holder

Holder: Ghailani Life Sentence Shows Strength Of Justice System

Ryan J. Reilly | January 25, 2011, 1:55PM

Attorney General Eric Holder said the life sentence given to the first former Guantanamo inmate tried in a civilian courtroom today shows the ability of the American legal system to deal with terrorism cases.

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Terrorism

Aryan Nations: We Didn't Plant MLK Parade Bomb. We're Waiting For The Race War (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | January 25, 2011, 10:47AM

Morris Gulett, leader of the Aryan Nations

The leader of the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group once strong in the Northwest, has condemned the planting of a bomb along the route of a Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Wash., and says his group isn't responsible.

Morris Gulett, the leader of the group, said in a six-minute video press release that he condemns any violence that could harm innocent children.

"We absolutely do not condone this type of activity, but emphatically do condemn the use of force and terror," he said. Gulett said he was responding to those who've speculated that the Aryan Nations was responsible for the bomb.

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Department of Justice

Effort To 'Modernize' Miranda Looks Dead, But DOJ Wouldn't Release New 'Guidance'

Ryan J. Reilly | January 21, 2011, 12:15PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Nine months after it was first floated by the Obama administration, a plan to "modernize" Miranda rights doesn't seem to be going anywhere in the legislative branch. But Attorney General Eric Holder issued a guidance a few months ago that the Justice Department says sets no specific time limit on the so-called public safety exception.

The Justice Department has indicated that the guidance, which is still not public, takes care of most of the issues about which they were concerned without any input from Congress or the courts.

"While law enforcement has been employing this practice for some time - including during the Dec. 25 attempted bombing, we wanted to make clear this guidance and undertook process to refine it and once that process was complete - sent it out," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd told TPM.

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Terrorism

Official: Spokane MLK Day Bomb 'Worst Device I've Ever Seen'

Rachel Slajda | January 20, 2011, 12:19PM

The FBI released photos of the backpack and the T-shirts inside.

A bomb found along the route of a Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Wash., on Monday was a sophisticated device with the potential to devastate, an official on the case tells the AP.

"They haven't seen anything like this in this country," the official said. "This was the worst device, and most intentional device, I've ever seen."

The official also said the device was rigged to a remote detonator.

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Washington State

FBI: MLK Day Parade Bomb Is 'Domestic Terrorism'

Rachel Slajda | January 19, 2011, 1:04PM

The FBI released photos of the backpack and the T-shirts inside.

A bomb found on the route of a Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Wash., was left in an act of "domestic terrorism," an FBI spokesman said today.

"Clearly the confluence of the parade route, the timing, the fact that the device was likely placed on that route roughly an hour before the parade ... falls squarely within the realm of domestic terrorism," Frank Harrill, the special agent in charge of FBI operations in Spokane, told TPM.

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