There’s a reason that law enforcement authorities are hesitant to label an attack like the one in Las Vegas as terrorism. But there’s no specific federal statute aimed at acts of domestic terrorism, meaning acts inspired or carried out on behalf of domestic extremist organizations. So had Stephen Paddock lived, it’s unlikely that he would have faced federal terrorism charges. HuffPost reported in August that the Justice Department had been discussing the possibility of asking Congress to pass a federal law against domestic terrorism. Yet even if such a law were on the books, it’s not clear the Las Vegas massacre would qualify as an act of domestic terrorism.

Source: Huffington Post October 02, 2017 17:37 UTC