The FBI Agents Association on Tuesday demanded that members of Congress codify domestic terrorism as a federal crime, warning it poses "a threat to the American people and our democracy."
"Acts of violence intended to intimidate civilian populations or to influence or affect government policy should be prosecuted as domestic terrorism regardless of the ideology behind them," FBIAA President Brian O'Hare said in a statement.
The association "continues to urge Congress to make domestic terrorism a federal crime," O'Hare added — a designation that "would ensure that FBI Agents and prosecutors have the best tools to fight domestic terrorism."
The statement from the association, which represents more than 14,000 active and former FBI special agents, follows the Justice Department's announcement Sunday that it is treating the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, as a case of domestic terrorism.
The alleged gunman, a 21-year-old white man, allegedly authored and posted online a racist, anti-immigration manifesto before killing 22 people Saturday morning at a Walmart in the Southwestern border town, which is majority Latino.
"There's a statutory definition of domestic terrorism. … This meets it," John Bash, the U.S. attorney for West Texas, said Sunday at a news conference.
"It appears to be designed to intimidate a civilian population, to say the least," Bash said. "We are treating it as a domestic terrorism case, and we're going to do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is deliver swift and certain justice."
In a televised address Monday, President Donald Trump said the administration has "asked the FBI to identify all further resources they need to investigate and disrupt hate crimes and domestic terrorism."
Trump also said he is directing the Justice Department "to propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty."
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