By Morgan Gstalter
The Hill (3/9/19)
The FBI arrested more people suspected of domestic terrorism than people allegedly tied to or inspired by international extremist groups, according to an analysis by The Washington Post released Saturday.
There were 110 people arrested on suspicion of being inspired by foreign terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and al Qaeda during the 2017 budget year, figures shared with the newspaper showed.
About 30 of those people faced terrorism charges in 2017, a figure that dropped to only nine last year.
In comparison, law enforcement officials said FBI investigations led to the arrest of about 150 domestic terrorism suspects in 2017.
The figure in 2018 was about 120, according to the Post.
Federal law does not designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations, so none of the defendants were charged with terrorism.
More domestic terrorism suspects are being arrested across the country, and one in four counterterrorism suspects are detained by state and local authorities, a senior law enforcement official told the newspaper.
The majority of the people arrested as a result of FBI terrorism investigations are charged with nonterrorism offenses, according to the data. …