What Is Domestic Terrorism and What Motivates Terrorists?

By Dr. LaLanya Fair  |  07/07/2025

What is domestic terrorism? What is a domestic terrorist? These questions are tough to answer, but knowing the answers is important to both our local and national security.

According to legislation from the federal government, domestic terrorist activities involve “ideologically driven crimes committed by individuals in the United States that are intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy or conduct of a government.” These attacks are frightening because they are often unpredictable and occur in virtually any location – an airport, a train, a bus, a public street, a government building, or a restaurant.

Domestic Terrorism-Related Incidents

Over the years, there have been a wide variety of domestic terrorism-related cases involving one or more individuals, who later became federal defendants, attacking a civilian population or military servicemembers. Some of the attackers were racially motivated, while other attackers had a hatred of a particular religion or anti-government sentiments.

Some of the more famous domestic terrorism attacks include:

• The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in Oklahoma
• The 2001 September 11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC
• The 2002 Beltway Snipers in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC
• The 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas
• The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing in Massachusetts
• The 2015 San Bernardino shooting in California
• The 2025 New Orleans truck attack in Louisiana

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) notes that there has been a rise in the incidents of domestic terrorism. In fact, the GAO observes that “domestic terrorism-related investigations have grown by 357%.”

What Is Homegrown Violent Extremism?

Many domestic terrorists are also known as homegrown violent extremists (HVEs). The Department of Justice observes that homegrown violent extremists are criminals “who encourage, endorse, condone, justify, or support the commission of a violent criminal act to achieve political, ideological, religious, social, or economic goals by a citizen or long-term resident of a Western country who has rejected Western cultural values, beliefs, and norms.”

How Do You Identify Domestic Terrorists?

Domestic terrorists are a diverse group of individuals. They include:

• U.S.-born citizens, especially members of U.S. militia organizations
• Naturalized citizens
• Green card holders or other long-term residents
• Foreign students
• Illegal immigrants

Some of these domestic terrorists self-radicalize on their own and are known as lone-wolf terrorists. Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of the Boston Marathon attack fall into this category.

Other domestic terrorists might be a part of a known terrorist group and show their commitment to a terrorist organization’s ideals by carrying out a predetermined mission. The September 11 attackers, for example, were members of al-Qaeda, a known terrorist organization that supports ideologically motivated violence.

Creating behavioral threat assessments can also help law enforcement agencies to identify potential criminals. These behavior threat assessments use evidence-based methods to determine who may be affected by radicalization and who are considering violence.

It is usually easy for terrorists to blend in with U.S. society because they do not adhere to a a particular dress code or have recognizable marks (such as tattoos). Their main goal is to move in silence and continue to spread their terrorist beliefs.

What Turns a ‘Normal’ Individual into a Domestic Terrorist?

Countless studies have been conducted into the psychology of terrorism and what motivates someone who appears “normal” on the surface to commit acts that result in injury or murder. In many cases, a domestic terrorist may experience social isolation, economic hardship, and political grievances.

In the case of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, for instance, he was motivated by a hatred of the U.S. government’s behavior during the Ruby Ridge incident in Idaho and the Branch Davidians incident in Texas. McVeigh sought to avenge those incidents and convinced other conspirators to help him commit the attack.

Other terrorists simply seek notoriety for their domestic terrorism incidents – the more publicity, the better – or are gradually recruited into a terrorist organization. They may have suffered a trauma in the past (the loss of a family member or job) and seek solace in online groups that terrorist organizations create.

How Do Terrorist Organizations Recruit New Members?

Terrorist organizations – whether domestic or foreign – often recruit new members online through social media sites. These social media sites might include platforms such as Meta® (formerly Facebook) and TikTok®. However, they can use other social media sites as well, making it easy for these terrorist organizations to blend in with the rest of society.

Terrorist organizations commonly use these sites spread propaganda and radical ideas. They encourage like-minded members to commit violent acts of domestic terrorism and praise their success.

How We Can Discourage Domestic Terrorism Incidents in Our Communities

A community’s strength lies in its preparation to face any threat. Simply creating more legislation, writing publications, and using prosecutors and juries to convict offenders isn't enough to prevent future lethal incidents.

Community collaboration and public awareness of threat factors should be prioritized to make it harder for domestic terrorism organizations to recruit and coerce new followers, especially since domestic terrorism-related cases can impact our national security.

Also, partnering with local police officers and law enforcement agencies to create neighborhood watch programs is an essential strategy to reduce the possibility of terrorist activities and enhance community safety.

In addition, we can also help to prevent individuals from becoming radicalized by addressing the root causes of domestic terrorism. For instance, getting children involved in extracurricular activities and finding mentors for them helps mitigate their feelings of isolation, making them less likely fall for the allure of extremist groups.

Social media platforms can also help to ward off potential terrorist activities by including accurate information about extremist ideologies, fact-checking their claims, and paying greater heed to threats. In addition, social media sites can work harder to police their sites when their user policies are violated and provide intelligence to the federal government when it appears that an attack is imminent.

The Bachelor’s Degree in Homeland Security at AMU

For adult learners who are interested in improving their knowledge of domestic terrorism, terrorist radicalization, and other related topics, American Military University (AMU) provides an online Bachelor of Arts in Homeland Security.

The courses offered in this academic program include an introduction to homeland security and defense, and intelligence and homeland security. Other courses involve critical infrastructure protection and border and coastal security.

This degree program offers a general concentration that enables students to choose the courses best suited to their professional goals. Concentration courses include the mind of a terrorist; chemical, biological, and radiological hazards; intelligence analysis; and homegrown violent extremism.

For more details, visit AMU’s homeland security degree program page.

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