Determining What is an Act of Terrorism

Shootings of individuals or groups are becoming more and more frequent across the country. When such an incident is announced on the news the immediate reaction is that it’s an act of terrorism. Of course not all mass shootings are acts of terrorism and federal law does have a method of determining whether a shooting incident is an act of terrorism.
Typically, terrorism refers to an act undertaken that causes terror. These types of actions are often motivated by a specific objective, such as for ideological, political, religious, or economic reasons. They generally target a larger group of people. So any use of threats, violence, or intimidation in order to incite fear or force others to take action for political reasons would be terrorism. Also, using violence in order to achieve a goal is terrorism as well.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as any type of activity that is deemed to be violent, presents a danger to human life, violates any federal or state law, and its intention is to do any of the following:
• intimidate or coerce civilians; • influence the policy of a government through intimidation or coercive activity; • affect government conduct by kidnapping, mass destruction or assassination.
The National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals has grouped terrorism into 6 different types:
1. Political, which are acts carried out against citizens with a goal of putting across a point to governmental leaders. 2. Non-political, which are acts carried out by a group for a purpose that’s not considered to be political. 3. Civil disorder, which are acts carried out by groups of people taking part in civil disorder to protest but in fact causes a riot. 4. Quasi, which are actions by people that use certain tactics of terrorism for certain motives 5. State, which are violent acts carried out by the existing government 6. Limited political, which are one-off violent acts committed to make a statement that’s responding to a government action or policy.
Any action taken by a person or group that fits any of the named categories may be tried as an act of terrorism, whether it took place at home or overseas. The penalties are covered by U.S. Code 2332b. Even if someone threatens to commit an act of terrorism he or she could end up serving a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. If you are convicted of an actual act of terrorism, a long prison term is likely, up to 35 years, which will be served at a maximum security prison. If extreme violence takes place the defendant could end up being punished with the death penalty.
Terrorism is typically dealt with in the federal court. The federal justice system takes this sort of crime seriously and will not hesitate to convict. This means if you face this sort of outcome you should without hesitation talk to Miami criminal defense attorney, Albert Quirantes, who can mount an aggressive defense on your behalf. You can contact Albert Quirantes at 305-644-1800 today!

Albert Quirantes: Your Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer & DUI Lawyer
For over 30 years, Miami criminal defense attorney Albert M. Quirantes has been aggressively and zealously defending the rights of those accused of felony and misdemeanor crimesthroughout South Florida. With his dedicated team, reasonable legal fees, and a well-earned reputation for challenging prosecutors at every turn, he has protected over 8,000 clients during some of the roughest times of their lives.
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