Domestic+Terrorism

ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT This group aims to end the “property” status of animals. They don’t believe that animals should be considered as property, instead as their own independent being. They think that animals have their own feelings and that people will eventually come to realize this through their organization and efforts. They participate in removing animals from laboratories and farms, destroying facilities, arranging safe houses and veterinary care, and operating sanctuaries where the animals live out the rest of their lives. They say that they are not terrorists because they haven’t harmed a single human life. The AFL is so hard to catch because it is composed of single people or a few people in each group. Any person who is a vegan or vegetarian and participates in AFL activities is considered a part of the AFL. For example the AFL raided the University of California, Riverside, and caused $700,000 in damage and removed over 400 animals from tested. The University lost years of medical research and had to shut down.



EARTH LIBERATION FRONT Their official mission statement is "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment". The group works closely with the Animal Liberation Front and has the same views as they do. The number one goal of the Earth Liberation Front is to cause economic damage to companies that don’t make environmental efforts a priority. Their latest attack was in 2008 when explosive devices set fire to four multi-million dollar homes from the 2007 Seattle Street of Dreams in Echo Lake, Washington, costing $7 million in damage. ELF was spray painted in red along with sarcastic environmental lurs.

SOVEREIGN CITIZENS MOVEMENT Known as the “extremist anti- government group”. These movement activists believe that they are only subject to common law and do not listen to federal, state, or municipal laws. They most commonly reject taxation. Approximately 100,000 Americans consider themselves Sovereign Citizens. Many members who associate themselves with the group have been arrested and have committed many crimes. A famous example is one of the Oklahoma City Bombing conspirators who aligned themselves with the Sovereign Citizens Movement.

HUTAREE The Hutaree is a militia movement /militia extremism group based in Michigan. According to the group, “Hutaree” means “Christian warriors” and they are a part of the Christian Patriot movement. The group is anti-government and constitutionalists. The ultimate goal of the Hutaree is to form a Christian-based political group called the Colonial Christian Republic. The Hutaree believe that in the future, U.S. police and foreign forces will join under an Antichrist to overthrow the United States’ government. Using their second amendment rights, the Hutaree have been collecting weapons to prepare for this future event. Militia extremists usually stockpile illegal weapons, firearms, and ammunition and believe in protecting the constitution and personal freedoms. They also believe that citizens have the right to take back control of the federal government using violence. In March 2010, nine Hutaree members were charged with an alleged plot to use explosives to attack law enforcement and start an uprising against the government. Religion has an impact on groups such as the Hutaree because they align themselves with the Christian Patriot movement. These people believe that the government has turned against the concepts of freedom and personal rights behind the American Revolution.

American Front

The American Front is a white supremacist group that was founded in 1987 by Bob Heick. Their ideologies include anti-Semitism, white supremacy, and third positionist (rejects both capitalism and communism and is in favor of a “third way”). The American Front is one of the oldest and continuously active groups despite its smaller size. This group has shown support for the Order, other skinhead groups, and neo-Nazi groups in order to degrade the Jewish, immigrants, and other minorities. On May 9, 2012, ten members of the American Front were arrested for an alleged plot to attack an anti-racism group during a rally on May 1st in Melbourne, Florida. The group had a car with firearms and was making other weapons. They said they were preparing for a “race war” that according to the leader, Marcus Faella, will take place in the next few years. They view themselves as the “protectors of the white race.” There is a religious link to the American Front because one of the groups it targets is people who are Jewish.