Terrorism & Violent Extremism

Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.

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US National Guard soldiers guard the grounds of the US Capitol from across a security fence in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2021.

Responding to the Capitol Attack: Accountability Without Overreaction

There are many indisputable facts about last week’s violent and deadly incursion into the Capitol building. It is beyond debate that the fiasco included multiple criminal acts.…
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they push barricades to storm the US Capitol in Washington D.C on January 6, 2021. The insurgents do not wear face masks and carry Trump banners.

Questions to Guide an Investigation of the Capitol Attack

The invasion of the United States Capitol was an entirely predictable event, which makes the wholesale security collapse all the more unconscionable.
A watch tower is seen in the currently closed Camp X-Ray at the U.S. Naval Station on June 27, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Barbed wire can be seen in both the background and foreground of the photo.

On Guantanamo’s 19th Anniversary, A Renewed Call to Close It

Nineteen years ago today, the administration of President George W. Bush sent the first detainees to the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center for the purpose of detaining them beyond…
Trump speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

Incitement Timeline: Year of Trump’s Actions Leading to the Attack on the Capitol

A highly detailed chronology of the year leading up to the attack on the Capitol.
The dome of the U.S. Capitol Buidling and the US flag.

Impeachment, Incitement and What (Nearly) Happened on January 6th

The 2018 Impeachment Handbook (Charles Black & Philip Bobbitt) has a section on "incitement." Read how directly it applies to the known facts of Trump's actions.
Cases containing electoral votes are opened during a joint session of Congress after the session resumed following protests at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, early on January 7, 2021

The Constitutional Case for Impeaching Donald Trump (Again)

We are, it seems, hurtling toward impeaching Donald J. Trump for a second time in thirteen months. It is entirely right that he should be impeached again, but in the whirl of the…
U.S. Capitol police officers point their guns at a barricaded door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress on January 06, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Insurrectionists peek through the window of the door, which is broken.

Tragedy at the Capitol: Four Questions that Demand Answers

How can the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by one of the largest concentrations of law enforcement and national security personnel in the world, be so quickly overrun?
Statues in front of the US capitol building. Behind the statues, flags at the US Capitol fly at half-mast to honor US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, on January 8, 2021, in Washington, DC. Sicknick died from injuries sustained during the attempted coup on January 6th.

Q&A with Steve Vladeck and Rolf Mowatt Larssen on Democracy, Insurrection, and Where We Go From Here

In the aftermath of the certification of Biden’s victory and the insurrection at the Capitol, a discussion about how institutions and norms withstood the assault and what weaknesses…
US Capitol police officers speak with supporters of US President Donald Trump inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.

The Attack on the Capitol: Why It’s Not a Surprise

The Trump-inspired mob who launched an unprecedented siege of the Capitol is a permanent stain on American democracy. What’s worse, it was not unexpected.
Members of the National Guard, holding shields, form a line during the night of January 6. Behind them is the Capitol building.

Why D.C.’s Mayor Should Have Authority Over the D.C. National Guard

Congress should give the mayor of D.C. control over the D.C. National Guard, absent federalization, to prevent the president both from misusing the DCNG as his own personal army…
A newspaper illustration of the vote on the Impeachment of President Johnson in 1868.

The Constitution’s Option for Impeachment After a President Leaves Office

Top impeachment law scholar discusses the options for the 117th Congress.

The Incapacitation of a President and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: A Reader’s Guide

An authoritative analysis of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment on the incapacitation of a president, and how it was intended to function.
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