National Gun Appreciation Day – Did Feds View It as Low-Level Terrorism?

Last Saturday,  hundreds of thousands  of Americans visited gun shops, shooting ranges, or staged rallies in support of the 2nd Amendment.

Dozens of rallies and protests took place across the country, from Boise to New York, from Texas to South Dakota.  2,000 turned up at the capitol of New York, Albany, while another 1,000 rallied in Connecticut.   At least 12 other states saw rallies of varying sizes at their state capitols.  Several hundred people turned out for a rally in Prosser.

Other events across the country drew anywhere from a few dozen, to hundreds of people.  Numerous reports indicated dozens of rallies in excess of 1,000 or more.   So what did the federal government think of this?

According to a report from Fox News that has resurfaced,  apparently federal security officials believe Americans exercising their First Amendment rights by way of protest are viewed as low-level terrorists.   A written exam given by the Pentagon labels protests as form of low-level terrorism. The exam is part of a Department of Defense routine employee training.   It includes a very interesting multiple-choice question.   From the Fox News report:

The written exam, given as part of Department of Defense employees’ routine training, includes a multiple-choice question that asks:

“Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism?”

— Attacking the Pentagon

— IEDs

— Hate crimes against racial groups

— Protests

The correct answer, according to the exam, is "Protests."

Since this report surfaced, Pentagon officials say they have reworked the tests and removed that question.  But critics say the intent of the question is just one of a number of areas where the federal government appears to viewing it's own citizenry as a threat. The Pentagon has not offered evidence that that question has indeed been removed from Defense Department employee training.

The most recent version of what is called the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress contains language that would allow Americans or people who are here lawfully to be detained by the government.   The clause that allows for that is called Authorization for use of Military Force, or AUMF.

This allows the government to detain citizens it believes are engaged in threatening or terrorist-type activities.    Referring to the preceeding Pentagon test, where protestors were viewed as low-level terrorists,  this could be considered alarming.

Apparently, however, certain types of protests are not viewed as low-level terrorism though.  If that were the case, the Occupy Wall St. movements across the country would have filled federal jails with thousands of people.   It's only when certain political groups become active that the feds appear to pay close attention.