America seems like a safe place as far as terrorism is concerned. We think of Europe more when terrorist threats come to mind. But not only are there dozens of terrorist organizations which target Americans when abroad, but there are a number of terrorist groups in America who are currently active. You may have never heard of some of them, and it’s important to remember that not all terrorist groups are driven by religion. In many cases, their designation as a terrorist group is controversial, and others are clearly dangerous extremists. Here are ten active terrorist groups in America.
Animal Liberation Front
Animal Liberation Front is an international organization of animal rights activists who are notorious for their direct action protests. It originated in Great Britain but they are certainly active in America, being listed a terrorist group by Homeland Security. Members of the organization have broken many laws in their push for animal rights. They break into scientific facilities and free the animals held there. In doing so, they often cause costly damage to private property and even physically harm people. They are present in 40 countries and have no leader, with small groups in each country doing their own thing. They do have their own website though, I’m not sure how that’s possible.
Earth Liberation Front
Earth Liberation Front is another British-born environmental organization who are active in America. They use and advocate guerrilla warfare tactics in order to prevent people from doing any damage to the environment. Any time you’re using guerrilla warfare tactics, you’re going to be classed as a terrorist organization. Their typical tactic is to set fire to buildings belonging to those doing significant damage to the Earth, but explosives have been used before. They have worked closely with the Animal Liberation Front, with which they have similar aims. They have also broken into scientific facilities and caused a whole load of damage.
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is essentially a neo-Nazi organization who strongly operate in opposition to interracial marriages and race-mixing. They aren’t too fond of Jewish people either. In 2000, a woman and her child were parking a car close to the Aryan Nations compound. The car backfired, which the Aryan Nations thought was a gunshot. So they shot back, which caused her to crash the car. No one was seriously harmed. This incident brought Aryan Nations into the headlines, and brought them notoriety. The Aryan Nations are designated a terrorist organization by the FBI. Aryan Nations has been in decline ever since the mid 2000s, when it split into two separate organizations.
Imperial Klans of America
Imperial Klans of America is one of the few KKK groups still active today. Most others have died off by now. In the mid 1920s, the Klan had several million members and held significant political influence. But people are less racist now so the Klan is almost a relic of the past. Some tiny groups, like Imperial Klans of America, do still exist. They do what they’ve always done – set fire to huge crosses and rant about how white people are the best. They claim to have offices in many other countries like England and Australia. I’m not sure if this claim is true as no one has ever taken the time to check.
Jewish Defense League
On a very different note, the Jewish Defense League is an extremist Zionist group who have no problem with using violence. It was founded by a Rabbi, with the purpose of defending the New York City Jewish community from anti-Semitic thugs. The only problem is that they used extreme acts of violence to do so. They crossed over into committing terrorist attacks, especially targeting Muslims. They don’t just operate it America though. In 1994, they massacred 29 Palestinians in the West Bank. Their motto is “Never Again” – which obviously references the Holocaust, inspiring other young Jews to join.
Army of God
Army of God is an organization who go to extreme lengths to fight against abortion. It’s a secretive organization whose members have a history of murdering and kidnapping. They consider violence to be just means as it prevents their victims from aborting babies. The group is so secretive that even it’s own members rarely communicate with each other. Only in extraordinary circumstance do they do so. Not only do the Army of God attempt to set fire to buildings associated with abortion, but also the LGBT community. They bombed a lesbian bar in 1997. They also have their own website for some reason.
Aryan Republican Army
The Aryan Republican Army is another group of crazy white supremacists. America has a lot of them. They robbed 22 banks in the 1990s. I’m not sure why they did it considering robbing banks gets them nowhere as far as white supremacy goes. They were connected to other racist criminals also, like Timothy McVeigh. He killed 168 people through a bombing attack in 1995.
Alpha 66 and Omega 7
I thought I’d lump these two together as one due to their striking similarities. Both are based in Florida. Both are militant groups who operate in opposition to the Cuban government, which is socialist. They were both founded by Cuban immigrants and worked closely together. In the late 20th century, they received a lot of support and protection from Cuban immigrants. Both groups were responsible for assassinations and bombings, but no members were ever prosecuted for this. They were just too good at covering up any evidence leading back to them. But it’s clear they did assassinate several Cuban politicians successfully. Alpha 66 even attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro himself on two occasions. Many terrorist groups in America have a history of violent opposition to the communist ideology.
Phineas Priesthood
The Phineas Priesthood is yet another Christian terrorist group. It’s members dislike the usual demographics – Jews, Gays, Ethnic minorities. They only like people who look and act like them. And that’s why they have a history of violence. They have been committing violent attacks since their emergence in the 1990s. And they show no signs of slowing down. Just two years ago, an Phineas Priesthood group member pulled out a gun and shot over a hundred rounds in the direction of a courthouse, because the Phineas Priesthood are basically anarchist. He was shot dead by police before long. Their next act of terrorism could come at any time. Like other terrorist groups in America, their numbers are declining.