How the USA PATRIOT Act redefines "Domestic Terrorism" December 6, 2002 Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Pub.
L. No. 107-52) expanded the definition of terrorism to cover ""domestic,"" as opposed to international, terrorism. A person engages in domestic terrorism if they do an act ""dangerous to human life"" that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if the act appears to be intended to: (i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) 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. Additionally, the acts have to occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States and if they do not, may be regarded as international terrorism.
Sues Government to Find Out Secret Interpretation of Patriot Act. Officals: Secret Panel Decided on Awlaki Killing - Olga Belogolova. A secretive panel of government officials places American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki on a kill or capture list before informing President Obama of such decisions, according to a Reuters report, which cites “several current and former officials.”
The panel, a subset of the White House's National Security Council, made the decision to target Awlaki, the U.S. -born radical cleric with alleged al-Qaida ties, who was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen last month. There is neither a public record of nor any law governing the panel’s decisions, according to officials. In addition, the role of the president in ordering or endorsing is also unknown, according to the Reuters report.