Nationally funded database classifies Students for Life as a ‘terrorist group’

[Michie]

A University of California-Berkeley law professor said that if the researchers in question ‘want to be taken seriously,’ they should reconsider their definition of terrorism.


(LifeSiteNews) — A government-funded “radicalization” database has labeled Students for Life of America (SFLA) a “terrorist” group, prompting criticism from terrorism experts.

The College Fix reported on Monday that SFLA “appears under a ‘Terrorist Group’ label in the raw dataset” of the University of Maryland’s “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States” (PIRUS).

The project, which is an initiative of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), tracks “ideologically motivated criminal activity” as well as “violent extremist groups,” which it defines as being led or founded by an individual who has been “indicted for an ideologically motivated violent offense.”

The PIRUS database lists two individuals associated with SFLA who match the description of student members who were arrested in 2020 for attempting to chalk “black pre-born lives matter” on a sidewalk outside of a Planned Parenthood center. The pro-lifers were arrested despite being told verbally by police that they would not be prevented from painting and having been instructed to use tempura paint.

Meanwhile, the city permitted its streets to be widely vandalized in permanent paint with Black Lives Matter messages just before the pro-lifers’ arrests.

National security expert Elizabeth Neumann, who joined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2017, denounced START’s labeling of SFLA as a “terrorist” group in a conversation with the Fix.

Continued below.

Nationally funded database classifies Students for Life as a ‘terrorist group’ - LifeSite

A University of California-Berkeley law professor said that if the researchers in question ‘want to be taken seriously,’ they should reconsider their definition of terrorism.

www.lifesitenews.com

 

[JosephZ]

A government-funded “radicalization” database has labeled Students for Life of America (SFLA) a “terrorist” group, prompting criticism from terrorism experts.

The College Fix reported on Monday that SFLA “appears under a ‘Terrorist Group’ label in the raw dataset” of the University of Maryland’s “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States” (PIRUS).

Students for Life isn't listed as a terrorist group by START or in its PIRUS database. It does, however, list two non-terrorist related incidents that involved individuals associated with Students for Life in the PIRUS database.

The individuals are classified as "Single Issue Extremists" and in this case, anti-abortion extremists. It lists their crimes as vandalism and that they were acquitted.

Criminal Severity:

3 = White-collar crimes/vandalism

Current Status:

5 = Acquitted


Single Issue – Single issue extremists are individuals that are motivated primarily by a single issue, rather than a broad ideology. Examples in the PIRUS data of single issue extremists are individuals associated with the Puerto Rican independence movement, anti-abortion extremists, members of the Jewish Defense League, and extremists with idiosyncratic ideologies.

In order to be eligible for inclusion, each individual must meet one of the
following five criteria:

1. the individual was arrested;
2. the individual was indicted of a crime;
3. the individual was killed as a result of his or her ideological activities;
4. the individual is/was a member of a designated terrorist organization; or
5. the individual was associated with an extremist organization whose leader(s) or
founder(s) has/have been indicted of an ideologically motivated violent offense.

In addition, each individual MUST:

1. have been radicalized in the United States,
2. have espoused or currently espouse ideological motives, and
3. show evidence that his or her behaviors are/were linked to the ideological motives he
or she espoused/espouses.

PIRUS - Frequently Asked Questions | START.umd.edu

ABOUT | FAQ | TERMS OF USE | CODEBOOK | EX

www.start.umd.edu

 

[Michie]

Government-funded research says Students for Life is ‘terrorist’ organization

Two terrorism experts questioned a University of Maryland center’s labeling of a pro-life group as a “terrorist” organization.

The former employees of the Department of Justice and Homeland Security spoke to The College Fix about the university’s research database, “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States,” or PIRUS.

Created by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, the project purportedly tracks “ideologically motivated criminal activity” and known “extremists” through 2021.

The Fix previously reported how two Students for Life of America members who were arrested for writing “black pre-born lives matter” on a sidewalk in 2020 are recorded in PIRUS. This puts them among white supremacists, jihadist groups, and other threats.

Moreover, SFLA appears under a “Terrorist_Group” label in the raw dataset.

Continued below.

Former terrorism officials question ‘radicalization’ study that lists peaceful pro-lifers | The College Fix

Government-funded research says Students for Life is ‘terrorist’ organization.

www.thecollegefix.com

 

[JosephZ]

Government-funded research says Students for Life is ‘terrorist’ organization

Two terrorism experts questioned a University of Maryland center’s labeling of a pro-life group as a “terrorist” organization.

The former employees of the Department of Justice and Homeland Security spoke to The College Fix about the university’s research database, “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States,” or PIRUS.

Created by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, the project purportedly tracks “ideologically motivated criminal activity” and known “extremists” through 2021.

The Fix previously reported how two Students for Life of America members who were arrested for writing “black pre-born lives matter” on a sidewalk in 2020 are recorded in PIRUS. This puts them among white supremacists, jihadist groups, and other threats.

Moreover, SFLA appears under a “Terrorist_Group” label in the raw dataset.

Continued below.

Former terrorism officials question ‘radicalization’ study that lists peaceful pro-lifers | The College Fix

Government-funded research says Students for Life is ‘terrorist’ organization.

www.thecollegefix.com

Regardless of what this article and the one in the OP say, Students for Life isn't listed as a terrorist group by START, nor is it listed as one in its PIRUS database. Anyone can download the PIRUS dataset at the link I provided and see for themselves that this is true. The image I shared in my previous post was a screenshot from the raw dataset for PIRUS and the information came from the PIRUS codebook.

 

[Michie]

Regardless of what this article and the one in the OP say, Students for Life isn't listed as a terrorist group by START, nor is it listed as one in its PIRUS database. Anyone can download the PIRUS dataset at the link I provided and see for themselves that this is true. The image I shared in my previous post was a screenshot from the raw dataset for PIRUS and the information came from the PIRUS codebook.

We’ll see what unfolds.

 

[JosephZ]

We’ll see what unfolds.

It's pretty obvious that the articles are in error. Here's a quote from the article in the OP: "The College Fix reported on Monday that SFLA “appears under a ‘Terrorist Group’ label in the raw dataset” of the University of Maryland’s “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States” (PIRUS)."

If you go to the PIRUS raw dataset, the group is labeled as an activist group, not a terrorist group.

Group Membership

0 = Not a member of a group
1 = Member of an above-ground political movement or activist group (e.g., Operation Rescue, Earth First!)
2 = Member of an informal group of fellow extremists (e.g., a ‘homegrown’ cell or informal militia)
3 = Member of a formal extremist organization or an extremist movement (e.g., Weather Underground, Animal Liberation Front, al-Qaeda)
99 = Unknown

PIRUS - Frequently Asked Questions | START.umd.edu

ABOUT | FAQ | TERMS OF USE | CODEBOOK | EX

www.start.umd.edu