New Jersey 2024-2025 Regular Session

New Jersey Assembly Bill AR94

Introduced
1/9/24  

Caption

Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize white supremacists as domestic terrorists.

Impact

The resolution seeks to prompt the FBI to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of such crimes by designating them as domestic terrorism. By doing so, it would allocate more resources to these cases, recognizing that the FBI has been directing more resources towards domestic terrorism investigations than towards hate or gang crimes. This could lead to more comprehensive law enforcement responses and increased support for local agencies that may be ill-equipped to handle the unique challenges posed by white supremacist violence.

Summary

Assembly Resolution AR94 urges the FBI to classify crimes committed by members of white supremacist and white nationalist groups as domestic terrorism. This resolution highlights the alarming rate at which white extremists have been committing violent acts, often using firearms in public places. Recent mass shootings, such as those in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, are cited as evidence of this growing threat. The resolution argues that the FBI's current classification of these acts as hate crimes or gang-related crimes fails to adequately reflect the nature of the violence being committed.

Contention

A significant point of contention surrounding AR94 is the classification of domestic terrorism itself. There is currently no federal crime specifically labeled as domestic terrorism, which creates challenges in prosecuting these offenders. The resolution argues for a stronger federal response to a type of violence that has been statistically shown to be more prevalent than terrorism from Islamic extremists since 9/11. Critics may point out concerns regarding the implications of such a classification on civil liberties and the potential for misuse in labeling various political expressions as terrorist activities.

Companion Bills

NJ SR40

Same As Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize white supremacists as domestic terrorists.

NJ AR104

Carry Over Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize white supremacists as domestic terrorists.

Previously Filed As

NJ AR106

Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize white supremacists as domestic terrorists.

NJ SR45

Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to categorize white supremacists as domestic terrorists.

NJ AR131

Urges Federal Bureau of Investigation to include in Uniform Crime Report September 11, 2001 terror attack victims in hate crime statistics.

NJ HR26

Deeming certain conduct of members of Antifa as domestic terrorism and designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

NJ SB2457

Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2025

NJ HB4066

Countering White Supremacist Extremism Act

NJ HCR5

Disband the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other politicized intelligence and law enforcement agencies

NJ HB161

Georgia Bureau of Investigation; authority to issue subpoenas of electronic communication records for purposes of investigating certain cyber enabled threats to life and property; provide

NJ HR0112

A resolution to urge the Federal Bureau of Investigation to condemn the use of the expression “8647” due to its symbolism and implications, including the use of this code by James Comey, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a social media post on May 15, 2025.

NJ HB1108

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Access Federal Fingerprint Search Service

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