• Ten Years Later: The Legacy of the Paris Attacks on Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attacks in the West

    A decade ago, the terrorist attacks in Paris illustrated the risks and challenges posed by complex coordinated terrorist attacks in a Western capital. These marauding attacks, striking multiple scenes in quick succession, were different from the bombing of public transport in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Western law enforcement response has evolved in order better to deal with such attacks, but the constantly evolving modus operandi used by terrorists requires a strong and constant anticipation effort by law enforcement.

  • Afghan Terrorism Is a Small Threat in the United States

    It is still not clear whether Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who murdered a West Virginia National Guard member in Washington, D.C., two weeks ago, was a terrorist – but assuming he is a terrorist, it would mean that since 1975, Lakanwal is the only Afghan terrorist to have murdered somebody on U.S. soil in an attack. In other words, the annual chance of being murdered in an Afghan terrorist attack on U.S. soil is about 1 in 14.2 billion per year. The annual chance of being murdered in a normal homicide is about 1 in 14,000 per year, approximately one million times greater.

  • Capturing Rogue Drones

    A new system is capable of repelling and capturing unauthorized drones. The defensive system’s own drones are equipped with an extendable net which snags unruly drones.

  • Mass Killings Hit a 20-year Low, Northeastern Data Shows — but Public Perception Hasn’t Caught Up

    As 2025 winds to a close, new data show a surprising trend: this year is on track to record the fewest mass killings in two decades.

  • The President Should Not Have a License to Kill

    The administration claims that the “war” on drugs justifies extrajudicial killing. But redefining civilian drug criminals as “combatants” gives away the reality: the government just militarized what was a low-level criminal law enforcement incident outside the United States. Once we consider the victims’ alleged illegal actions, we can see that the government committed the most egregious crime here.

  • Gun Dealers Are Major Source of Trafficked Firearms

    Licensed gun dealers are a major source of firearms that end up illegally trafficked, according to a new analysis using federal data. The report estimates that 1.27 million guns will have been trafficked nationwide by 2026.

  • Labeling Dissent as Terrorism: New U.S. Domestic Terrorism Priorities Raise Constitutional Alarms

    There is no single official definition of terrorism in U.S. law, but all the different definitions focus on identifying violent or dangerous acts done with the intent to intimidate or coerce civilians or influence government policy. But more than redefining terrorism,National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-7, issued on 2 September 2025 (NSPM-7) reorients the machinery of national security toward the policing of belief. The directive’s emphasis on ideological orientations –“anti-Christianity, “anti-capitalism,” and “anti-American” views –as indicators of domestic terrorism potentially jeopardizes First Amendment rights.

  • Attacking Drug Boats: Bending or Breaking the Law?

    The Trump administration’s policy of attacking alleged narcotics trafficking boats continues unabated with little apparent concern for near-unanimous legal condemnation. Geoffrey Corn and Ken Watkin write that the administration’s argument that it is engaged in self defense against a non-state group engaged in armed conflict against the United States is factually flawed and “legally defective.”

  • Pardoning Hernández—Where’s the Logic?

    The presidential pardon power can serve real and legitimate purposes, and Trump himself has used it in some deserving cases. But history will long remember his use of it to free political allies and persons who have benefited his cronies and family.

  • Homeland Security Wants State Driver’s License Data for Sweeping Citizenship Program

    The Trump administration wants access to state driver’s license data on millions of U.S. residents as it builds a powerful citizenship verification program amid its clampdown on voter fraud and illegal immigration. For access, the administration may turn to an obscure data-sharing network used by law enforcement agencies, potentially allowing officials to bypass negotiating with states for the records.

  • Trump’s Immigration Forces Deploy “Less Lethal” Weapons in Dangerous Ways, Skirting Rules and Maiming Protesters

    Civil rights and weapons experts cite the consequences of federal agents’ use of crowd control weapons: religious leaders shot with pepper balls and noxious chemicals. A nurse nearly blinded by tear gas. Protestors trapped, struggling to breathe.

  • Why Was James Garfield Assassinated? A Historian Reveals the Real Story Behind Netflix’s “Death by Lightning”

    The real history behind James Garfield’s murder is as much about the corrupt political system he railed against — and how his death ultimately shattered it.

  • Why Australia’s Terrorism Definition Still Works

    The definition of a “terrorist act” included in Australia’s Criminal Code since 2002 has been important in protecting Australia’s national security and reinforcing the resilience of our democratic institutions. That definition, currently the subject of an inquiry by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM), continues to be relevant and effective. It should be retained with minimal revision.

  • Trump Debanks the Left? Antifa Terrorist Designation Means New Pressure

    Many people celebrated President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting “political debanking.” Yet, those same people seem to be silent now that the president has created new pressures to implement political debanking by effectively debanking the left. 

  • White Nationalism Fuels Tolerance for Political Violence Nationwide

    Political violence is certainly not new in American society, but current patterns differ in key ways. We found that, today, white nationalism is a key driver of support for political violence –a sign that white nationalism poses substantial danger to U.S. political stability.