CNA Corporation has recently released Domestic Terrorists’ Contact with System Stakeholders Before Attacks, a report that indicates more than half of U.S. domestic terrorists were known actors prior to their attacks. Law enforcement, healthcare providers, and other system stakeholders, such as court officials, all had some contact with future domestic terrorists. Of these system stakeholders, law enforcement had the most contact with 51.88% of domestic terrorists in the Domestic Terrorism Offender
Level Database having some form of interaction. It is important to note that those who had committed nonfelony traffic offenses, served as witnesses to a crime, or underwent employment background checks were all excluded from this data.

While some of the contact made was unactionable contact, the report serves to shed light on the need for improved domestic terrorism prevention tactics. In addition to the need for more research, stakeholders should consider implementing improved training to better manage interactions with potential terrorists. It’s also important to improve the lines of communication between various system stakeholders to prevent oversight of future terrorist activity.

For more information, check out HSDL’s In Focus topics on Active Shooters, Cyber Threat Actors, Domestic Terrorism in the US, Hate and Antisemitism, and School Violence.