Feds Say Possession of “Large Amounts” of Weapons May Indicate Terrorist Activity

Public Intelligence.net/weapons-discovery-terrorism ^ | October 16, 2013 | unattributed

[Joe Brower]

Feds Say Possession of “Large Amounts” of Weapons May Indicate Terrorist Activity
Public Intelligence
10/16/13

A joint bulletin issued in early August by the Department of Homeland Security and FBI warns state and local law enforcement agencies to look out for people in possession of “large amounts” of weapons and ammunition, describing the discovery of “unusual amounts” of weapons as a potential indicator of criminal or terrorist activity.

Citing the example of Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who reportedly “stockpiled approximately 12,000 pounds of precursors, weapons, and armor and hid them underground in remote, wooded locations,” the bulletin instructs law enforcement to look for “large amounts of weapons, ammunition, explosives, accelerants, or explosive precursor chemicals” that “could indicate pre-operational terrorist attack planning or criminal activity.” Weapons do not have to be “cached” in remote locations to meet the standard for suspicious activity. According to the bulletin, weapons could be stored in an “individual’s home, storage facility, or vehicle” and may include common firearms such as “rifles, shotguns, pistols” as well as “military grade weapons.” The illegal possession of large amounts of ammunition is also listed as a potential indicator of “criminal weapons possession related to terrorism.” While the bulletin never clarifies what constitutes a “large” or “unusual” quantity of weapons or ammunition, it does say that such a quantity would “arouse suspicion in a reasonable person.”

The joint DHS-FBI Roll Call Release distributed to police, first responders and private security throughout the U.S. is part of a series of bulletins describing activities “reasonably indicative of criminal activity associated with terrorism.” The suspicious activities described in the bulletins are derived from criteria in the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) Functional Standard for Suspicious Activity Reporting signed in 2009. The ISE Functional Standard governs the collection of information for the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), an interagency program to collect suspicious activity reports from law enforcement agencies around the country. Other bulletins in the series focus on everything from surveillance and theft to photography and even “eliciting information,” an activity described as “questioning individuals at a level beyond mere curiosity.”

Like other bulletins in the DHS-FBI series on suspicious activity reporting, the document notes that “constitutional activities should not be reported” unless the circumstances “support the source agency’s suspicion that the behavior observed is not innocent, but rather reasonably indicative of criminal activity associated with terrorism, including evidence of pre-operational planning related to terrorism.” However, no guidance is provided on potential legal issues related to the reporting of constitutionally-protected activities.

[Joe Brower]

Check out the picture. Looks like what many of us probably take to the range on a typical day.

[Joe Brower]

Munged link.

Let's try it again...

[econjack]

Is there any weasel-word better than “may” to try and win an argument?

[a fool in paradise]

Meanwhile the current administration arms Mexican narcoterrorists and Syrian Islamic jihadists.

Homeland Security needs to investigate those with access to the White Hut.

[jsanders2001]

So 1.6 rounds of ammo, flatbed mounted microwave heat ray guns, APCs, and far more weapons than the public would place them in that category, right?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

By that definition, the feral government is involved in terrorist activity.

[G Larry]

Did you want to proof that post and try again?

[JRandomFreeper]

They are just jealous of my hoard of .22LR from 1998.

/johnny

[jsanders2001]

So 1.6 billion rounds of ammo, flatbed mounted microwave heat ray guns, APCs, and far more weapons than the public would place them in that category, right?

Yep missed one crucial word there...Lol

[G Larry]

“Large Amounts”

That would be one bullet, if they don’t like your point of view.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Here is the question: How are they gonna know who has a “large amount” of weapons or ammo?

[Turbo Pig]

Turbo Pig Says “Large Amounts” of Oppressive Regulations May Indicate Dictatorial Activity

Turbo Pig Says “Large Amounts” of Militarized Police May Indicate Police State Activity

Turbo Pig Says “Large Amounts” of Unsecured Debt May Indicate Fiscally Irresponsible Activity

Hey, this is kind of fun!

[TurboZamboni]

We’ll were allies with Al Queda and the Muslim Bruthahood now.

[IMR 4350]

Notice who gets to define “reasonable person”?

[Free Vulcan]

I find this bulletin to be terroristic in intent.

[MeshugeMikey]

how does turbo pig define “Large Amounts” of Bad Computer Code?..ala ALinskyCare

[tsowellfan]

Is there any weasel-word better than “may” to try and win an argument?

Probably not.

[IYAS9YAS]

They are just jealous of my hoard of .22LR from 1998.

Well, to be honest, I would be, too. ;-)

[grobdriver]

While the bulletin never clarifies what constitutes a “large” or “unusual” quantity of weapons or ammunition, it does say that such a quantity would “arouse suspicion in a reasonable person.”

Flown in for the trial from New York, New York.

Or maybe from San Francisco, CA.