Bill Introduced By Marco Rubio Would Suspend Gun Rights of “Suspected” Domestic Terrorists

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Republican Senator Marco Rubio last week reintroduced novel red flag legislation in the wake of the Capitol protests that has not garnered much media attention.

Under the Terror Improvement Intelligence Act, the FBI would be given power to arbitrarily forbid eligible citizens from practicing their Second Amendment rights via the Bureau’s farcical “terrorist watch list.” 

The list was created through the Patriot Act and, while originally intended to keep foreign members of Al Qaeda and ISIS out of the country, now has at least a million names on it, including a large number of US citizens due to lack of transparency and oversight. Leaked federal guidelines for listing someone state that “concrete facts are not necessary” when claiming to have a “reasonable suspicion” that somebody is a terrorist. 

Being placed on this list leads to significant flight delays, detention and interrogation when flying internationally, and needless escalation of encounters with local police who, when engaging in routine traffic stops, will have it pop up in their computer that the person they are giving a ticket to is a “suspected terrorist.” 

The government does not tell a blacklisted person why he is being harassed and there is no due process or reliable redress for one to clear their name. Leaked FBI documents have in the past revealed that law-abiding journalists, activists, and others are routinely placed on the list. 

A Flagrant Violation of Due Process and the Constitution 
 
It was found unconstitutional by federal courts in 2019 when it emerged that FBI agents were abusing it as a tool to harass people who they personally disliked but they cannot charge or convict of any crimes. The ruling only ordered the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to merely revise how the list works so that Muslims aren’t disproportionately targeted.    

Under Rubio’s plan, those who have been on the watch list or merely investigated for so-called “terrorism” related activities within 10 years of trying to buy a firearm will be immediately flagged in the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background system and prevented from being able to exercise their rights. There is a clause for redress, but it would require a victim of the blacklist to spend money on counsel despite being targeted without probable cause or evidence of wrong doing.  

While Senator Rubio has become a leading proponent of eroding gun rights over the years, the NRA has rated him as A+, bringing into question the validity of its grading system. 

Dozens of conservative, nationalist, militia and libertarians who participated in the Capitol protests on January 6th were already on the watch list, and government officials.have vowed to drastically expand the number of right-wing white people on it. 

Proscribed by the US Government

National Justice has spoken to numerous people of diverse political persuasions but mostly nationalists who have in the last two or three years been placed on the watch list. None of them have criminal records or even been visited by the FBI. Most are above ground political advocates who are merely practicing their First Amendment rights. 

This journalist has also been blacklisted since at least early 2020. I have yet to be contacted by law enforcement for any reason, do not own a firearm, have no criminal record and am not engaged in any illegal activity.

When the harassment first began last year, I expressed dismay at missing my flight (with no refund) because of the slow pace of the TSA’s “special screening” and decided to leave the airport to take a bus to my destination, As I exited I was arrested and taken to a nearby jail by local police with no explanation then released after they checked me for warrants. They lied to me about why I was detained, later claiming I had “bullets” on my person.

During another incident as a “selectee” heading to Louisiana, an undercover agent of some sort was tailing me as I ate pizza and drank a beer in the airport lobby. I quickly noticed the imbecile and laughed in disbelief as I stared at him. He desperately tried to duck behind an elderly woman who was as confused as I was.

On another flight, the TSA swiped my hands for “explosive agents,” which I had no contact with at all, yet came up positive. They had me waiting 30 minutes only for the TSA agent to realize he did not calibrate the wand correctly. I only barely caught my flight, which had to be delayed so that they could do the pat down and examination of my personal belongings again. at the gate. 

Under Rubio’s plan, a journalist and decent citizen like myself who receives daily death threats like myself would be barred from owning a firearm to protect myself and loved ones.

An individual with knowledge on the topic told National Justice that its fairly standard for the FBI and DHS to uncritically place individuals targeted by activist groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center or Anti-Defamation League on these lists, even though they stopped publicly associating with at least the SPLC. A second possibility is that investigative journalism conducted by National Justice is making people in the government upset and they are retaliating, the source said. 

The chances of Rubio’s bill being quietly passed are relatively high. The Republican Party has demonstrated its eagerness to placate its donors and turn its back on its voters. The weakening of 2nd Amendment defenders like the NRA will only continue to embolden them.   

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