snaark wrote:Is it even possible to declare a domestic group terrorists in America? That's a genuine question BTW. I thought the legal definition of terrorist in America is a foreign group.
A good question and I looked it up and the answer is mostly "NO". Plenty of groups that belong to similar groups oppressed by the US (oddly, asside from Fundy Muslim, Jewish and Aum Shinriko groups no group that started on US soil is now a terrorist group in the US.
But it is not as if they cannot be declared, it should be possible but the US has very specific laws governing due process for US citizens.
My guess is that if a US based cell of RIRA (Real IRA) was found, the US citizens who were members would face a multitude of charges relating to the support or RIRA and perhaps could be extradited to the UK to face charges but they would not get tossed into GITMO. I RIRA attacked the US goverment or civilians from the US base then I think it would be very likely that US based RIRA members would be executed after due process in the US but foreign RIRA members would go to GITMO.
There is nothing stopping us from declaring the Proud Boys as an official terrorist organization on the books but it might actually make prosecution more difficult as the amount of constitutional challenges.
The tricky bit will be if other countries declare them to be a terrorist organization. They, especially Canada, Mexico and the EU, would be obliged by their own laws to not support a company or group who supports the Proud Boys. That is where things would really start to get tricky.
That is why we are seeing Twitter and Youtube and Facebook ban those groups. It is not because they are conservative. It is because the big businesses behind them that would expose them to sanctions (google owns youtube, youtube videos are monitized, youtube's algorithm searches for similar topics to get advertiser money, therefor all of google could be sanctioned by the EU because of some white label energy drink touted by a roidy Proud Boy).
Expect more bans. The "Deep State" has two major components. The Trump dummies thought the Deep State was Diplomats and the Civil Service, but it is really international trade treaties and the state security apparatus. That is why the state security apparatus clamped down on "Occupy Wall Street" 10 years ago and the anti-Globalisation movement 18 to 22 years ago. Now both the Financial and the Security apparatus are clamping down on the MAGA world because sanctions against any US based Tech firm or financial institution is going to be too hard and too expensive so Trump's coup attempt is going to have financial consequences for both the major and minor players and Security State consequences for the regular jackoffs who stormed the capital.
Its funny because they thought the Deep State was just liberals. Probably still do. When you do not know who you are at war with means you have already lost.