Domestic terrorism has played a major part in shaping the societies of the United States. The ideologies of individuals can become radicalized. This can lead to a movement. This movement involves the infliction of fear upon the communities, in attempt to make it a better world. It is critical to examine the events created by one man’s extreme ideologies in effort to better understand.
Eric Robert Rudolph seemed to be the typical American. He joined the United States Army. After serving about two years he was discharged. He began working as a carpenter within his community. Eventually he became immersed within Christian Identity movements and anti-Semitic ideologies. “Identity believers are fiercely opposed to race-mixing, abortion and homosexuality.” (Anti-Defamation League.). His beliefs were against homophobic relationships as well as abortion. These beliefs grew stronger with his attendance at the Church of Israel in Schell City, Missouri (CNN Library).
Furthermore, his ideologies grew stronger as part of the Nord Davis community. It is believed by investigators that Rudolph was part of the Army of God. The Army of God believed that the chosen race by God was Caucasians. All other races were inferior to them. Rudolph’s anti-abortion and anti-gay ideologies were used in the determination of his targets. The targets he would bomb include the 1996 U.S. Summer Olympic Games, a night club designated for homosexuals, as well as abortion clinics.
In addition, Rudolph’s most notable attack occurred during the 1996 U.S. Summer Olympic Games. The explosion left two dead and injuring hundreds more. There was a call to emergency personnel informing them of the bomb thirty minutes prior to the detonation. “The Federal B...
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...erview; Olympics park blast kills one, hurts 111; Atlanta games go on. The New York Times website. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/us/bomb-olympics-overview-olympics-park-blast-kills-one-hurts-111-atlanta-games-go.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2005, May 16). The Pursuit and Capture of Eric Rudolph. The Federal Bureau of Investigation website. http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2005/may/swecker_051605
History Channel. (2013). Bombing at Centennial Olympic Park. The History Channel website. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bombing-at-centennial-olympic-park
Thomas, P. (2003, May, 31). Olympic bomb suspect Rudolph. ABC News website. http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=129666
Wyatt, K. (2005, April 14). Eric Rudoplh, proud killer. The Decatur Daily News website. http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/050414/rudolph.shtml
"Terror Hits Home: The Oklahoma City Bombing." FBI. FBI, 21 May 2010. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. .
Himmler thought homosexuals, just like Jews, were weak, decadent and unpatriotic. And he strongly believed their existence threatened the German folk community, mainly because they did not procreate, Himmler was in fact the one who had all German males convicted of homosexual crimes transferred from prison straight into concentration camps. That is when the badges came to action, Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David and homosexuals, rapists, etc were forced to wear the Pink Triangle. From 1933-1944 between 50,000 and 63,000 men were convicted on charges of homosexuality alone. By 1935 every gay German knew that if he was caught, he risked being shipped to a concentration camp. Now, gays were not as easily identified as Jews and gypsies, Many survived the Third Reich undetected.
On 26 February 1993 at 12:17, a yellow RYDER van detonated on level B-2 of the World Trade Center North tower. What was first believed to be a below grade transformer explosion turned into an extensive test of New York Cities Incident Command capabilities. Everyone involved had an intricate part in handling this situation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was able to get all support assets there promptly to assist in rescue operations. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discovered information on the vehicle used. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) used all of the intelligence gathered to apprehend and convict those responsible. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted cleanup of chemical and biological hazards that were left behind from the blast. Numerous agencies worked together to solve the first terrorist attack on American soil and clean up a disaster of epic proportions.
April 19, 1995 at 9:02, in Oklahoma City a bomb exploded; destroying buildings, injuring and killing innocent citizens. Many questions of the city would go unanswered; including who made it, who didn’t, along with who did it and why. All of these citizens deserve answers to the simple questions. The world was in shock and worried about what was going to happen next. This terrorist attack would then be noted as the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Famous Cases & Criminals. Retrieved 05 01, 2014, from The FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing
Adolf Hitler wanted the Jewish race to be destroyed forever. But he didn’t just stop at beliefs. Even if you were a Christian, Catholic, Atheist, etc., you were still in danger. You were still in danger because if you looked Jewish to him then you were swooped up and taken hostage in a concentration camp.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Careers. United States Dept. of Justice, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. .
The 1936 Olympics in Berlin, also known as the “Nazi Olympics”, was a milestone in the history of the world. All of the attention of the Olympics that year was focused on Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. In 1933, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler became leader of Germany and quickly turned the nation's democracy into a one-party dictatorship. He took thousands of political opponents, holding them without trial in concentration camps. The Nazis also set up a program to strengthen the Germanic Aryan population. They began to exclude all one-half million Jews from the population, and German life. As part of the drive to "purify" and strengthen the German population, a 1933 law permitted physicians to perform forced sterilizations of psychiatric patients and congenitally handicapped persons, Gypsies, and Blacks (Encarta Encyclopedia 1996 [CD-ROM]). The 1936 Olympics in Berlin caused many worries, problems, and questions for America and other countries throughout the world.
These days, America is filled with those people who disagree with our system of government. Most times, these people suffer silently, expressing their opinions through their votes, or within the discussions that they hold in their own private homes. When these people act upon this anger, and their disagreement, the feelings are brought beyond the point of normal behavior to vigilantism and violence. This animosity, when pushed to these limits, often results in tragedy, a tragedy that we call domestic terrorism.
"1993 World Trade Center bombing." Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse University Press, 2005. 1723. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
In Module one, I learned that terrorism is a result of physical harm or deadly acts of force with the intent of a political outcome by the use of terror for coercion. There are various types of terrorism such as international terrorism and domestic terrorism. International terrorism occurs outside of the United States with a purpose to influence the policy of a government by intimidation. International and Domestic terrorism both involve violent acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state laws. Domestic terrorism occurs within the United States with the intention of coercion or intimidation by way of mass destruction, etc. Some forms of terrorism include Improvised explosive devices (IED), kidnappings, suicide bombings and
There a small but clear differences between domestic terrorism and international terrorism, that difference is where the terrorist act is planned, supported, and carried out. In the case of domestic terrorism, the act must be planned, supported, and carried out all within the boundaries of the United States. The domestic terrorists must also be domicile to the United States and not be current foreign nationals at the time of the act. If the terrorist act is committed with help from a foreign group, planned or supported in a foreign country or committed by foreign nationals inside the boundaries of the U.S., then the attack may be international terrorism. The 9/11 attack was a clear act of international terrorism as it was planned, supported,
Terrorism has been around for centuries and religion-based violence has been around just as long. (Hoffman, 2). The violence was never referred to as terrorism though. Only up to the nineteenth century has religion been able to justify terrorism (Hoffman, 2). Since then, religious terrorism became motivated and inspired by the ideological view (Hoffman, 3). Therefore, it has turned against the main focus of religion and more towards the views of the extremist and what is happening politically (Winchester, 4).
The FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Retrieved December 14, 2013 http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/fingerprints_biometrics/iafis.
Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,