New brief analyzes terrorist groups in the United States

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism—better known as START—is a university-based research and education center comprised of an international network of scholars committed to the scientific study of the causes and human consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world.

http://www.start.umd.edu/news/new-brief-analyzes-terrorist-groups-united-states

July 30, 2014

Since 1970, more than 145 organizations are known to have engaged in terrorist attacks against targets in the U.S. homeland, according to a new START research highlight that summarizes findings from the Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism in the United States (PPT-US) dataset.

According to the analysis, there is no single “profile” of organizations that target the U.S. homeland with terrorism. Rather, the groups that attacked the United States between 1970 and 2012 had widely varied ideologies, beliefs and goals.

Of the 147 groups:

87 percent had headquarters in the United States
63 percent carried out attacks for less than one year
97 percent emerged before the year 2000
87 percent also engaged in non-violent political activities

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http://www.start.umd.edu/news/sovereign-citizen-movement-perceived-top-terrorist-threat

Sovereign citizen movement perceived as top terrorist threat

July 30, 2014 Jessica Rivinius

Sovereign citizen, Islamist extremist and militia/patriot groups are perceived by law enforcement agencies to pose the greatest threats to their communities, according to a new START study.

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The Sovereign Citizen movement was the most highly ranked threat, with 86 percent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that it was a serious terrorist threat.

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