Under the Act, acts of tribal disobedience could easily be interpreted as acts of terrorism. The Act defines “domestic terrorism” to include activities that –
Quote:
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended –
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
From this basic definition, it is easy to see how particular acts of tribal disobedience could be misconstrued as acts of terrorism.
Consider, for example, that sometime in the future Indians decide to block the interstate highway running through their territory to protest efforts by the state to restrict their gaming rights. No weapons are utilized in doing so, but heavy equipment is brought in to move concrete barriers onto the highways and hundreds of Indians mass on those highways. The objective, of course, is to precipitate inconvenience for motorists and a degree of economic disruption so as to put political pressure on the American political officials in a position to take corrective action to induce them to refrain from taking harmful action against the Indians. Assuming that motorists are given some notice that the barriers are in place, blocking interstate highways is not inherently an “act[] dangerous to human life.” Moreover, such an act is not committed with the intent requisite to constitute acts of terrorism because as they are not committed with an intent to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population” nor are they committed with the intent to “affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.”
But it does not take much to see how engaging in such an act of tribal disobedience could be construed as an act of “domestic terrorism.”
The first prong of the USA PATRIOT Act definition could be satisfied because law enforcement officials could charge those involved with blocking the highways with criminal trespass or obstruction of governmental administration. Given the very real possibility that individual Indians and non-Indians could be injured in the course taking such action, the tribal disobedience could be construed as manslaughter and thus an act “dangerous to human life that [is] a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State.”
The second prong of the definition is more easily satisfied. Clearly, blocking interstate highways is designed to pressure American political officials to cease and desist from engaging in their harmful action towards Indigenous peoples. Such action can easily be interpreted as designed “to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.” This is even more so in light of the fact that the USA PATRIOT Act does not require that acts of domestic terrorism be committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce. Such acts need only “appear to be intended” to intimidate or coerce.
And lastly, while the Indians may deny that their territory is located within the United States, prosecuting officials will surely view the highway running through the Indian territory as located within the United States. Thus, blocking the highways will have “occur[red] primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”