A domestic terrorism statute is federal overreach, not justice

The linchpin of most international terrorism prosecutions is the involvement of a group on the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list. There are now 61 groups on that list, including Al Qaeda, ISIS and their many affiliates. In the name of prosecuting individuals suspected of ties to these organizations, the federal government has been granted powers that are forbidden at home — including the reliance on a secret court to decide on and direct investigations, the ability to surveil suspects without a warrant, and the option of detention in military prisons without access to charge or trial.

Is this really the road we want to go down for an undefined — and potentially unlimited — category of domestic terrorists?

Imagine the challenge of making a parallel list of “Domestic Terrorist Organizations.”