Lexicon

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(U) aboveground (U//FOUO) A term used to describe extremist groups or

individuals who operate overtly and portray themselves as

law-abiding.

(U) alternative media (U//FOUO) A term used to describe various information

sources that provide a forum for interpretations of events and

issues that differ radically from those presented in mass

media products and outlets.

(U) anarchist

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who

advocate a society devoid of government structure or

ownership of individual property. Many embrace some of the

radical philosophical components of anticapitalist,

antiglobalization, communist, socialist, and other movements.

Anarchist extremists advocate changing government and

society through revolutionary violence.

(U) animal rights

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who

ascribe equal value to all living organisms and seek to end the

perceived abuse and suffering of animals. They believe

animals are sentient creatures that experience emotional,

physical, and mental awareness and deserve many of the

same rights as human beings; for example, the right to life

and freedom to engage in normal, instinctive animal behavior.

These groups have been known to advocate or engage in

criminal activity and plot acts of violence and terrorism in an

attempt to advance their extremist goals. They have targeted

industries, businesses, and government entities that they

perceive abuse or exploit animals, including those that use

animals for testing, human services, food production, or

consumption.

(U) antiabortion

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who are

virulently antiabortion and advocate violence against

providers of abortion-related services, their employees, and

their facilities. Some cite various racist and anti-Semitic

beliefs to justify their criminal activities.

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(U) anti-immigration

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who are

vehemently opposed to illegal immigration, particularly along

the U.S. southwest border with Mexico, and who have been

known to advocate or engage in criminal activity and plot acts

of violence and terrorism to advance their extremist goals.

They are highly critical of the U.S. Government’s response to

illegal immigration and oppose government programs that are

designed to extend “rights” to illegal aliens, such as issuing

driver’s licenses or national identification cards and providing

in-state tuition, medical benefits, or public education.

(U) antitechnology

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals opposed to

technology. These groups have been known to advocate or

engage in criminal activity and plot acts of violence and

terrorism in an attempt to advance their extremist goals.

They have targeted college and university laboratories,

scholars, biotechnology industries, U.S. corporations

involved in the computer or airline industry, and others.

(U) Aryan prison

gangs

(U//FOUO) Individuals who form organized groups while in

prison and advocate white supremacist views.

Group members may continue to operate under the auspices

of the prison gang upon their release from correctional

facilities.

(U) black bloc (U//FOUO) An organized collection of violent anarchists and

anarchist affinity groups that band together for illegal acts of

civil disturbance and use tactics that destroy property or strain

law enforcement resources. Black blocs operate in

autonomous cells that infiltrate nonviolent protests, often

without the knowledge of the organizers of the event.

(U) black nationalism (U//FOUO) A term used by black separatists to promote the

unification and separate identity of persons of black or

African American descent and who advocate the

establishment of a separate nation within the United States.

(U) black power (U//FOUO) A term used by black separatists to describe their

pride in and the perceived superiority of the black race.

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(U) black separatism (U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals of black or

African American descent who advocate the separation of the

races or the separation of specific geographic regions from

the rest of the United States; some advocate forming their

own political system within a separate nation. Such groups or

individuals also may embrace radical religious beliefs.

Members have been known to advocate or engage in criminal

activity and plot acts of violence directed toward local law

enforcement in an attempt to advance their extremist goals.

(U) Christian Identity (U//FOUO) A racist religious

philosophy that maintains

non-Jewish whites are “God’s

Chosen People” and the true

descendants of the

Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Groups or individuals can be

followers of either the Covenant

or Dual Seedline doctrine; all believe that Jews are conspiring

with Satan to control world affairs and that the world is on the

verge of the Biblical apocalypse. Dual Seedline adherents

believe Jews are the literal offspring of Satan and that nonwhites,

who are often referred to as “mud people,” are not

human beings.

(U) Cuban

independence

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who do

not recognize the legitimacy of the Communist Cuban

Government and who attempt to subvert it through acts of

violence, mainly within the United States.

(U) decentralized

terrorist movement

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who

pursue shared ideological goals through tactics of leaderless

resistance independent of any larger terrorist organization.

(U) denial-of-service

attack

(U//FOUO) An attack that attempts to prevent or impair the

intended functionality of computer networks, systems, or

applications. Depending on the type of system targeted, the

attack can employ a variety of mechanisms and means.

(U) direct action (U//FOUO) Lawful or unlawful acts of civil disobedience

ranging from protests to property destruction or acts of

violence. This term is most often used by single-issue or

anarchist extremists to describe their activities.

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(U) environmental

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who use

violence to end what they perceive as the degradation of the

natural environment by humans. Members have advocated or

engaged in criminal activity and plot acts of violence and

terrorism in an attempt to advance their extremist goals.

They target industries, businesses, and government entities

that they allege are engaged in habitat destruction, citing

urban sprawl and development, logging, construction sites

and related equipment, and man-made sources of air, water,

and land pollution.

(U) ethnic-based

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who are

drawn together and form extremist beliefs based on their

ethnic or cultural background. Members have advocated or

engaged in criminal activity and have plotted acts of violence

and terrorism in an attempt to advance their extremist goals.

(U) extremist group (U//FOUO) An ideologically driven organization that

advocates or attempts to bring about political, religious,

economic, or social change through the use of force, violence,

or ideologically motivated criminal activity.

(U) green anarchism (U//FOUO) A movement of groups or

individuals who combine anarchist

ideology with an environmental focus.

They advocate a return to a preindustrial,

agrarian society, often

through acts of violence and terrorism.

(U) hacktivism (U//FOUO) (A portmanteau of “hacking” and “activism.”)

The use of cyber technologies to achieve a political end, or

technology-enabled political or social activism.

Hacktivism might include website defacements,

denial-of-service attacks, hacking into the target’s network to

introduce malicious software (malware), or information theft.

(U) hate groups (U//FOUO) A term most often used to describe white

supremacist groups. It is occasionally used to describe other

racist extremist groups.

(U) Jewish extremism (U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals of the

Jewish faith who are willing to use violence or commit other

criminal acts to protect themselves against perceived affronts

to their religious or ethnic identity.

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(U) leaderless

resistance

(U//FOUO) A strategy that stresses the importance of

individuals and small cells acting independently and

anonymously outside formalized organizational structures to

enhance operational security and avoid detection. It is used

by many types of domestic extremists.

(U) leftwing

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals that

embraces anticapitalist, Communist, or Socialist doctrines

and seeks to bring about change through violent revolution

rather than through established political processes. The term

also refers to leftwing, single-issue extremist movements that

are dedicated to causes such as environmentalism, opposition

to war, and the rights of animals.

(U) lone terrorist (U//FOUO) An individual motivated by extremist ideology

to commit acts of criminal violence independent of any larger

terrorist organization.

(U) Mexican

separatism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals of

Mexican descent who advocate the secession of southwestern

U.S. states (all or part of Arizona, California, New Mexico,

and Texas) to join with Mexico through armed struggle.

Members do not recognize the legitimacy of these U.S. states,

including the U.S. Government’s original acquisition of these

territories.

(U) militia movement (U//FOUO) A rightwing extremist movement composed of

groups or individuals who adhere to an antigovernment

ideology often incorporating various conspiracy theories.

Members oppose most federal and state laws, regulations, and

authority (particularly firearms laws and regulations) and

often conduct paramilitary training designed to resist

perceived government interference in their activities or to

overthrow the U.S. Government through the use of violence.

(U) neo-Nazis (U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who adhere to and

promote Adolph Hitler’s beliefs and use Nazi symbols and

ideology. Subjects subscribe to virulently racist as well as

anti-Semitic beliefs, many based on national socialist ideals

derived from Nazi Germany. Neo-Nazis may attempt to

downplay or deny the Jewish Holocaust.

(also: national socialists, Nazis)

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(U) patriot movement (U//FOUO) A term used by rightwing extremists to link their

beliefs to those commonly associated with the American

Revolution. The patriot movement primarily comprises

violent antigovernment groups such as militias and sovereign

citizens.

(U) Phineas

Priesthood

(U//FOUO) A Christian Identity

doctrine derived from the Biblical

story of Phinehas, which adherents

interpret as justifying inter-racial

killing. Followers of this belief

system also have advocated

martyrdom and violence against

homosexuals, mixed-race couples,

and abortion providers.

(U) primary targeting (U//FOUO) Plans or attacks directed by extremists against

parties that are the focus of an organized campaign.

(U) Puerto Rican

independence

extremists

(U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who engage in criminal

activity and advocate the use of violence to achieve

Puerto Rican independence from the United States.

(U) racial Nordic

mysticism

(U//FOUO) An ideology adopted by many white supremacist

prison gangs who embrace a Norse mythological religion,

such as Odinism or Asatru.

(U) racialist (U//FOUO) A term used by white supremacists intended to

minimize their extreme views on racial issues.

(U) racist skinheads (U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who combine white

supremacist ideology with a skinhead ethos in which “white

power” music plays a central role. Dress may include a

shaved head or very short hair, jeans, thin suspenders, combat

boots or Doc Martens, a bomber jacket (sometimes with racist

symbols), and tattoos of Nazi-like emblems. Some are

abandoning these stereotypical identifiers.

(U) radicalization (U//FOUO) The process by which an individual adopts an

extremist belief system leading to his or her willingness to

advocate or bring about political, religious, economic, or

social change through the use of force, violence, or

ideologically motivated criminal activity.

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(U) rightwing

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of rightwing groups or individuals

who can be broadly divided into those who are primarily

hate-oriented, and those who are mainly antigovernment and

reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

This term also may refer to rightwing extremist movements

that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to

abortion or immigration.

(U) secondary

targeting

(U//FOUO) Plans or attacks directed against parties

(secondary targets) that provide direct financial, logistic, or

physical support to the primary target of an organized

campaign, with the goal of coercing those parties to end their

engagement with a primary target. Secondary targets can

include customers of or suppliers to a primary target or

employees of a primary target organization.

(U) single-issue

extremist groups

(U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who focus on a single

issue or cause—such as animal rights, environmental or

anti-abortion extremism—and often employ criminal acts.

Group members may be associated with more than one issue.

(U) skinheads (U//FOUO) A subculture composed primarily of

working-class, white youth who embrace shaved heads for

males, substance abuse, and violence. Skinheads can be

categorized as racist, anti-racist or “traditional,” which

emphasizes group unity based on fashion, music, and lifestyle

rather than political ideology. Dress often includes a shaved

head or very short hair, jeans, thin suspenders, combat boots

or Doc Martens, and a bomber jacket.

(also: skins)

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(U) sovereign citizen

movement

(U//FOUO) A rightwing extremist movement composed of

groups or individuals who reject the notion of

U.S. citizenship. They claim to follow only what they believe

to be God’s law or common law and the original

10 amendments (Bill of Rights) to the U.S. Constitution.

They believe they are emancipated from all other

responsibilities associated with being a U.S. citizen, such as

paying taxes, possessing a driver’s license and motor vehicle

registration, or holding a social security number.

They generally do not recognize federal or state government

authority or laws. Several sovereign citizen groups in the

United States produce fraudulent documents for their

members in lieu of legitimate government-issued forms of

identification. Members have been known to advocate or

engage in criminal activity and plot acts of violence and

terrorism in an attempt to advance their extremist goals.

They often target government officials and law enforcement.

(U) tax resistance

movement

(U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who vehemently believe

taxes violate their constitutional rights. Among their beliefs

are that wages are not income, that paying income taxes is

voluntary, and that the 16th Amendment to the

U.S. Constitution, which allowed Congress to levy taxes on

income, was not properly ratified. Members have been

known to advocate or engage in criminal activity and plot acts

of violence and terrorism in an attempt to advance their

extremist goals. They often target government entities such

as the Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

(U) tertiary targeting (U//FOUO) Plans or attacks against parties with indirect

links to the primary target of an organized campaign.

Tertiary targets can include employees, customers, investors,

and other participants in a company (the secondary target)

that does business with or provides support services to the

primary target; or parties who provide direct financial,

logistic, or physical support to the secondary target.

(U) underground (U//FOUO) A term used to describe clandestine extremist

groups, individuals, or their activities.

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(U) violent antiwar

extremism

(U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who

advocate or engage in criminal activity and plot acts of

violence and terrorism in an attempt to voice their opposition

to U.S. involvement in war-related activities. They often

target the military, seats of government power, and defense

industry personnel, facilities, and activities.

(U) violent religious

sects

(U//FOUO) Religious extremist groups predisposed toward

violence. These groups often stockpile weapons, conduct

paramilitary training, and share a paranoid interpretation of

current world events, which they often associate with the end

of the world. They perceive outsiders as enemies or evil

influences; display intense xenophobia and strong distrust of

the government; and exercise extreme physical or

psychological control over group members, sometimes

isolating them from society or subjecting them to physical or

sexual abuse and harsh initiation practices.

(U) white nationalism (U//FOUO) A term used by white supremacists to emphasize

what they perceive as the uniquely white (European) heritage

of the United States.

(U) white power (U//FOUO) A term used by white supremacists to describe

their pride in and the perceived superiority of the white race.

(U) white separatism (U//FOUO) A movement of groups or individuals who

believe in the separation of races and reject interracial

marriages. Some advocate the secession of specific

geographic regions from the rest of the United States.

Members have been known to advocate or engage in criminal

activity and plot acts of violence and terrorism in an attempt

to advance their extremist goals.

(U) white supremacist

movement

(U//FOUO) Groups or individuals who believe that whites—

Caucasians—are intellectually and morally superior to other

races and use their racist ideology to justify committing

crimes, acts of violence, and terrorism to advance their cause.

Some advocate racial separation/segregation.

White supremacists generally fall into six categories:

skinhead, Nordic mysticism, or Aryan prison gangs.

White supremacists have been known to embrace more than

one of these categories.

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