US Senator McSally Releases Legislation to Target Domestic Terrorism
U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) released a discussion draft of legislation to add specific punishments for acts of domestic terrorism and provide federal law enforcement with new charging options. McSally intends to introduce the legislation when the Senate returns in September.
Under current law, domestic terrorism, while defined in the criminal code, is not itself a distinct federal crime with specific punishments. "Because of this gap, federal law enforcement agencies frequently open domestic terrorism investigations but end up charging domestic terror suspects with other offenses. The absence of a federal domestic terrorism crime makes it more difficult to track acts of domestic terror and reduces uniformity in charging and sentencing. On the state level, Arizona is leading the nation by example as it currently has a terrorism statute in state law," says the press release.