In Atlanta, dozens of activists who oppose a new police and fire training facility are being accused of domestic terrorism. That has alarmed civil liberties and human rights groups.
Police have arrested three key organizers supporting people protesting Atlanta's proposed police and fire training center, which opponents call "Cop City." The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says its agents and Atlanta police on Wednesday arrested three officers of the group that runs the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.
Civil liberties groups and defense attorneys are outraged at the domestic terrorism charges that have been levied against 23 people who were arrested after a masked group attacked an Atlanta-area police training center construction site. Critics have accused officials of levying disproportionate charges to scare off others from joining the "Stop Cop City" movement.
A prosecutor says five people arrested on charges including domestic terrorism as authorities tried to remove the protesters from the site of a planned public safety training center will remain in custody without bond.
The bill creates offices at DOJ, DHS, and the FBI to track domestic terror threats. GOP lawmakers argue it could allow federal officials to ensnare parents, a charge DOJ rejects.
The announcement was made Tuesday by Matthew Olsen, the head of the department's National Security Division, and comes as the nation faces a constellation of extremist threats on the home front.
With all the talk about domestic terrorism, you might assume there's a law against it. There's not. The storming of the Capitol has again raised the question about whether one is needed.
The bulletin did not cite any specific threat but said that the risk of violence will persist for weeks. It warned that some extremists may be "emboldened" by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Some say it's the precise word to describe the actions of the pro-Trump extremists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. But others warn its use will do more harm than good.
Reading from U.S. regulations, Mayor Muriel Bowser describes terrorism as "the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government."