Created by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, the project purportedly tracks “ideologically motivated criminal activity” and known “extremists” through 2021.
The Fix previously reported how two Students for Life of America members who were arrested for writing “black pre-born lives matter” on a sidewalk in 2020 are recorded in PIRUS. This puts them among white supremacists, jihadist groups, and other threats.
Moreover, SFLA appears under a “Terrorist_Group” label in the raw dataset.
When asked if START’s labeling was appropriate, national security expert Elizabeth Neumann flatly replied, “No.”
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.