A weekend of bizarre – and deadly – incidents of domestic terrorism has left Americans uneasy, and Presidential polls are likely to reflect their growing concerns over homegrown, organized violence.
At a mall in Minnesota (not the Mall of America), a man “wearing a private security uniform,” according to CNN, went on a rampage with a knife, wounding eight individuals before being shot dead by Minneapolis police. No one was killed, but ISIS was quick to take responsibility for the attack, calling the perpetrator a “soldier of the Islamic State,” and threatening further incidents.
Witnesses say the man yelled “Allahu Akbar,” while stabbing his victims. Police say the attacker had previous encounters with police, and they believe he was a “lone wolf,” possibly self-radicalized.
Meanwhile, in New York and New Jersey, a string of bomb attacks left residents shaken. A pipe bomb exploded along the route of an armed services memorial run Saturday morning, and what appeared to be a homemade bomb rocked New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood Saturday night. A second device was found unexploded.
Both Minnesota and New York City have long been known terrorist targets. While NYC’s history with terrorism is long and well-documented, Minneapolis and St. Paul have had a string of high-profile incidents in 2015 and 2016. A growing Somali population in the city has largely been responsible for putting Minneapolis-St. Paul at the top of the list for ISIS recruiting – Minnesota recruits made up 28% of all captured American ISIS recruits, according to the House Committee on Homeland Security
In June, three men were arrested after trying to join the Islamic State, ISIS reportedly posted a “hit list” of 36 Minneapolis cops in April, and the storied Mall of America, located near Minneapolis, is frequently mentioned in terrorist chatter, with several “credible threats” being made over the past few years.
Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were quick to address the attacks Saturday night, with both Trump and Clinton interrupting events to speak on the subject of domestic terrorism. Clinton mentioned both the Minneapolis and New York incidents. Donald Trump mentioned New York, but also covered domestic terrorism more generally in his speech to supporters in Colorado.
But both will have to be more aggressive in tackling the issue of homegrown terrorist violence in the coming weeks. A recent Rasmussen poll showed that “domestic terrorism” is the fastest growing concern of American voters looking to cast a ballot in 2016. Another poll, taken by Suffolk University, found that more than half of all Americans – 54% – feel “less safe” living here than they did five years ago, though less than 100 Americans have died in domestic terrorist attacks since September 11, 2001.
Donald Trump has, of course, made the fight against radical Islamic terrorism a top priority of his campaign, and has outlined aggressive efforts to combat terrorism abroad and curtail Muslim immigration. He has not been specific on how he plans to handle “lone wolf”-style incidents, which make up nearly all US domestic terrorist incidents in the last several years.
Saturday night, Trump said “We’ve got to get very tough,” Trump said. “It’s a terrible thing what’s going on in our world, what’s going on in our country, but we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant and we are going to end it.”
Hillary Clinton has adopted a similar foreign policy strategy to that of President Barack Obama, calling for handling governance issues in the Middle East, and championing tough policing practices inside the US. Her approach is more focused on positive outcomes than Trump’s, but lacks the urgency voters seem to prefer in Trump’s approach.
Hillary Clinton was the only candidate asked if she thought the weekend’s incidents would have an impact on the 2016 campaign. She demurred, but it’s likely her team – and Trump’s – is already crafting messaging on terrorism for the week’s events.
