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Buffalo Shooting is Domestic Terrorism: demand it is so treated

“And you expect us to do this over and over and over again, forgive and forget,” he said, “while the people we elect do their best not to protect us, consider us equal, not to love us back? What do we do with all of this pain?” – civil rights attorney Ben Crump

A white supremacist, who was known to authorities,  drove from Binghamton to Buffalo New York with the intent of killing black people and to spread his racist, violent manifesto:  this is domestic terrorism, racist terrorism and must be treated that way.

The US justice department is investigating the Buffalo massacre as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism. That is not going far enough.

The National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism says Domestic Terrorism “…has, over centuries, taken many American lives and spilled much American blood – especially in communities deliberately and viciously targeted on the basis of hatred and bigotry” – which fits this case.  The Strategy document includes “Strategic Goal 3.1: Enable appropriate enhanced investigation and prosecution of domestic terrorism crimes” – and we feel strongly the Buffalo mass shooting requires enhanced investigation.

We owe it to the victims to back up Ben Crump’s call and the calls of others for this case to be declared domestic terrorism.  In an article in The Guardian, he called on authorities to investigate how the Buffalo gunman developed hateful beliefs, including examining if “race replacement theory” played a role in the attack.  Mr Crump also called out “accomplices to this mass murder”, which he identified as websites, politicians and cable news pundits.  The forces which radicalised this killer, past and future killers must be identified and dealt with as terrorists – that is what they are.

ACTION

We will send a letter of support to Mr Crump, to Congress and to media which carried Mr Crump’s call.  Read the letter here:  https://www.onepulseforamerica.com/action-alert/open-letter/buffalo-shooting-this-is-domestic-terrorism-treat-it-as-such/ 

To take this action, One Pulse for America members can visit our Facebook Page here , and on the Action Alert post, simply add their name, home town and state – including if they wish a specific message to include.  Visit our Facebook page to join us.

 

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Buffalo Shooting: This is Domestic Terrorism – treat it as such

To: President Biden, United States Department of Justice, United States Congress

Cc: Benjamin Crump, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Re: Buffalo New York murders must be treated as Domestic Terrorism

Dear All

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is calling for the premeditated, racially-motivated shooting murders in Buffalo New York to be treated as Domestic Terrorism.  We, the undersigned members of One Pulse for America wholeheartedly back this call:  for those murders are absolutely, unambiguously,  acts of Domestic Terrorism.

The National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism exists for such cases as this.  A thorough investigation as domestic terrorism could expose those who espouse terrorist ideals, prevent further tragic murders, and lead to understanding of how such individuals are motivated and via what sources their poisonous rhetoric spreads with the goal of stopping them.  This is urgent.  This is critical.

If this tragic case of racist mass-murder is not domestic terrorism, then the bar of what constitutes that crime is far too high.  We write to demand this case be categorized as domestic terrorism so it will be properly, fully investigated – hopefully thwarting further acts.

One Pulse for America, founded by George Takei following the Pulse nightclub shooting, lobbies for gun law reform.  There are over 78,000 of us across the country.  Gun law reform is long overdue – and so is taking domestic terrorism seriously.

We request you act with no further delay and we await your reply.

Yours faithfully

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Send messages of support to Jersey City

10 December, Jersey City – Two anti-police, anti-Semitic domestic terrorists killed Jersey City police officer Detective Joseph Seals near a cemetery, and three people in a kosher food market: Mindy Ferencz, 31, the store’s co-owner; Moshe Deutsch, 24, a customer; and Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, a store employee.

CNN reports “We believe the suspects held views that reflected hatred of the Jewish people, as well as a hatred of law enforcement,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Thursday, citing evidence and witness interviews.

The suspects were both killed in a standoff with police, which lasted several hours.  Police say the pair, a man and a woman, were radicalized to hate police and to hate Jewish people.  They had an arsenal of weapons that could have inflicted many more casualties.  Thousands attended funerals for the victims.

 

It should be noted this hate crime comes at a time when President Trump has taken an astonishing, unprecedented, disastrous action:  he has signed an executive order deeming Judaism to be a nationality.

“Trump’s executive order is not about keeping Jews safe. After a week in which he spewed classic anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money, this is just more anti-Semitism,” wrote Emily Mayer, the political director of the Jewish advocacy group IfNotNow, in a statement. “The order’s move to define Judaism as a ‘nationality’ promotes the classically bigoted idea that American Jews are not American.”

Ms Mayer continued: “This order is a dangerous move to silence the free speech of human rights advocates and, in particular, Palestinian and Muslim college students.”

ACTION

1. We will send condolences to the police and the families via Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.

Please contact May or Fulop  through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

  

I want to express my condolences following the shooting deaths in Jersey City. Please convey my sincere condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the victims.   I want them to know that they are not alone in this, and many people are wishing them well.  Many of us are campaigning for better gun laws which could help stop domestic terrorists. We need to fight hate crime, and we need to make it harder for domestic terrorists to get their hands on deadly weapons.

I see you are going out in the community and this is most welcomed.  Your standing up is sending a powerful message.

Email:  info@stevenfulop.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/steven.fulop/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/StevenFulop

 

2. If you can, here is the link to send aid to the relatives of the Jewish victims https://www.charidy.com/jcvictims , a fundraiser set up by the Jewish community.

3.  You could follow/ join IfNotNow here:  https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

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Stand with San Francisco: NRA IS a Terrorist org

4 September, 2019 – San Francisco – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors labelled the National Rifle Association a Domestic Terrorist organization.  Now the NRA and San Francisco are locked in a legal skirmish with the NRA suing.

Not long after the NRA announced it would sue, a US Senate sub committee issued a lengthy report setting out their conclusion that the NRA is a Russian Asset.

It seems San Francisco were ahead of the times on this one.  The Board set an excellent precedent, and we must not allow the NRA to tear it down.

The San Francisco resolution called the NRA a “domestic terrorist organization”, contending the group spreads propaganda that seeks to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence.

“They continue to stand in the way of gun violence reform and people are dying because of it,” said Catherine Stefani, the San Francisco supervisor who drafted the resolution not long after a mass shooting at a garlic festival in nearby Gilroy, California, left three people dead.

Is the NRA a Russian asset?  The Senate’s committee says yes.  Is the NRA a terrorist organisation?  Its actions fit – a terrorist is defined as “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”   As the NRA’s high-profile spokespeople past and present make death threats against Democrats and journalists – San Francisco certainly has a point.

Looking at the despicable actions of these NRA players past and present, it’s hard NOT to conclude the NRA is terrorist.

Ted Nugent, NRA Board of Directors:  Aside from calling Parklands survivors who campaigned for gun law reform ‘soulless liars,’  he suggested Democrats should be shot on sight:-  “…Just know that evil, dishonesty, and scam artists have always been around and that right now they’re liberal, they’re Democrat, they’re RINOs, they’re Hollywood, they’re fake news, they’re media, they’re academia, and they’re half of our government, at least,” …There are rabid coyotes running around. You don’t wait till you see one to go get your gun. Keep your gun handy, and every time you see one, you shoot one.”

Dana Loesch, assistant to the executive vice president for public communication with the National Rifle Association  since 2017:  Advocated ‘curbstomping’ journalists in 2016, i.e. crushing their skulls and killing them.   Made NRA video telling journalists ‘their time was up’.

Oliver North, NRA president (briefly; now in legal action against the NRA):  When a federal employee, arranged sales of guns to Iran and cocaine to terrorists 

Top NRA figures:  Knew Russia was using the NRA to make contact with presidential candidate Trump

ACTION:

We will send messages of approval and support to San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Please contact the San Francisco Board of Supervisors through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

I wanted to THANK YOU for calling the NRA exactly what it is: A domestic terrorist organisation (by the way, one funded and co-opted by Russia). A recent senate subcomittee report quite rightly calls the NRA a Russian Asset. As to terrorism – Nugent, Loesch, Oliver North (now departed and suing the NRA) have all called for murder against American citizens (Nugent – all democrats; Loesch – journalists). They are a terrorist organisation, and I hope my state will take your lead. Their lawsuit against you will fall apart in light of the Senate findings and the facts Thank you for your brave stance!

Suggested Tweet: 

 

@sfgov THANK YOU for calling the @NRA what it is – a domestic terrorist org. I look forward to their lawsuit against you failing – not least as the Senate sub-committee report finds the NRA is a Russian asset beyond doubt. Nugent, Loesch called for murder – that’s terrorism.

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

Phone:  (415) 554-5184

Email:  Board.of.Supervisors@sfgov.org

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SF/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sfgov

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For El Paso Victims: Reinstate Domestic Terrorism Unit

2 August 2019 – 20 dead and 29 injured in El Paso, when a man – a young, disturbed white supremacist – opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle in a crowded store.  His stated, published goal was to kill Hispanic people, and he said how he would do it.

But let’s go back a bit further:

August 2019 – the El Paso murder posts hate speech, a white supremacist manifesto AND A THREAT TO KILL on numerous social media sites, just before the killings start.  He had posted hate speech previously on 8chan.

April 2019 – Homeland Security ‘reassigns’ – ie disbands –  the Domestic Terrorism Unit. Its job was to monitor social media for signs of potential crime.  With the El Paso killer’s hate speech spread on social media sites like 8chan, then spreading to more mainstream social media sites – his clear death threats would likely have been picked up.

 

2013 – Web message board site 8chan opens; it is used to spread white supremacy messages, hate speech, and was cited in the Christchurch, NZ mosque and the San Diego synagogue shootings.  8chan’s users have ‘gamified’ mass shootings, and even have memes about high body counts.   In the case of the San Diego killer, according to new sources “Before the California shooting, Earnest posted to 8chan a link to his anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and white supremacist manifesto. After his post, 8chan users cheered him on, hoping he would get a “high score.” More than 100,000 people visit the 8chan site every week. Its most active forum has more than 12 million posts.”

At the time of writing, President Trump has still refused to condemn white terrorism; the Domestic Terrorism Unit is still mothballed; and there is no sign that the Federal Communications Commission  has taken any action against 8chan – yet the emails and telephone calls of millions of Americans are routinely recorded.  Thankfully, people like Senator Richard Durbin are trying to change that; he has proposed a bill on Domestic Terrorism.

Summary:  1.  We had a branch of Homeland Security, the Domestic Terrorism Unit, actively looking for would-be serial killers:  they were shut down.  2.  We have a President who is not only refusing to condemn white supremacists and hate speech, but who is actually stoking the fires of hate speech, with hate crimes up 106% since he took office and rising over 200% in cities where he holds his ‘rallies’.  3.  We have a dark website, 8chan, used by white supremacists (and a host of other criminal elements) where users goad others into getting a ‘high score’ on actual shooting sprees; a site blocked in New Zealand and elsewhere – but not blocked in America.  4.  We have antiquated gun laws written over 200 years ago which must be changed.  Now.

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ACTION:

Please contact your elected representatives, copying in any or all (please do all of: President Trump, the FCC, Homeland Security, Mitch McConnell and  Senator Richard J Durbin through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

I am reeling at the recent, senseless gun violence in America – Gilroy, Chicago, Dayton – sadly this is only a fraction of such crimes this year.  Today I write to you about El Paso – where a radicalised white supremacist has killed 20 and injured 29. 

He used a dark web site, 8chan, where he posted a hate-filled, white supremacist manifesto just before the killing.  This was not the first time the murder used social media to spread hate – and his manifesto and other thoughts were encouraged by 8chan users and spread through the internet.  The site promotes the ‘gamification’ of mass murder and its users share memes about getting a ‘high score’ ie a high body count.  The site is banned in New Zealand after one of 8chan’s users massacred mosque users.  I also note New Zealand is working hard to get automatic weapons off its streets after the killing.  8chan exists to promote white supremacy, violence and other crimes:  it should be banned in the USA as well – before another shooter is encouraged into action by 8chan users.

I am convinced that if we still had a Domestic Terrorism  Unit in Homeland Security, they might have readily picked up on the growing intensity of the El Paso shooter’s social media posts, and perhaps even stopped the El Paso shooting.  The killer posted shortly before the event what guns he was going to use and how he was going to operate:  if a team of professionals were monitoring this dark site, i believe lives might have been saved.  I demand the immediate reinstatement of the Domestic Terrorism Unit:  hate crimes are up 106%, and I note they rose after President Trump – who refuses to condemn white supremacist hate speech – holds his rallies.

On the matter of hate speech, I do not see the FCC and other relevant government agencies doing all they can to enforce laws.  The billboard depicting 4 congresswomen as ‘idiots’ put up by a gun shop is felt by many, including at least one of those elected reps, to be incitement to violence.  It is time hate speech is taken seriously.

Finally, I am tired of Mitch McConnell blocking bills – even blocking debates – from the House that could have stopped at least some of this carnage.  I fully support HR 1296 and S.894 – Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2019, proposed by Senator Durbin.  Further, in all future elections, I pledge to only vote for candidates who are supporting these bills and who are not NRA-funded pro-gun lobbyists.  I will be watching all my elected representatives carefully.  From today, if they are not working for gun law reform and against domestic terrorism, I hold them personally responsible for future gun massacres:  which at this point in time are not avoidable.

 SHORT MESSAGE FOR TWITTER – just copy and paste: Time to end NRA hold on Congress, reform Domestic Terrorism Unit, pass @SenatorDurbin ‘s Domestic Terrorism Act. Trump: address domestic terrorism NOW. McConnell stop blocking gun reform. Vote out NRA stooges @realDonaldTrump @FCC @DHSgov @McConnellPress #ElPasoTerroristAttack

 

and/or

Time to end NRA hold on Congress, reform Domestic Terrorism Unit, pass @SenatorDurbin ‘s Domestic Terrorism Act. Time for FCC to act on dark website 8chan where ElPaso shooter posted hate, was encouraged. Vote out NRA stooges @realDonaldTrump @FCC @DHSgov #ElPasoTerroristAttack

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

Find your congressperson here:  https://www.conginst.org/contact-congress/

President Donald Trump
Phone:  202-456-1111
Email: (form) https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/POTUS/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

Federal Communications Commission
Phone:  888-225-5322
Email:  send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov and should include the following words in the body of the message: “get form” and your e-mail address
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FCC/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARDc1atFViP33ZAg-SxrpFby3G1hzrAboea2u-bzO71LcWqVbuarzeYfUaqnnzzBJ_KjZ5FUb1qcbjQS
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/FCC 

Homeland Security
Phone:  202-282-8000
Email:  CRCLOutreach@dhs.gov
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/homelandsecurity/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/DHSgov 

Mitch McConnell
Phone:  (270) 781-1673
Email:  (form) https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactform
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mitchmcconnell/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/McConnellPress 

Senator Richard Durbin
Phone: (202) 224-2152
Email:  (form) https://www.durbin.senate.gov/contact/email
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SenatorDurbin/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin