Dive into the bizarre case of Nicholas Young, the first U.S. police officer charged with terrorism, featuring an exploration of his Nazi memorabilia collection and convoluted connections to ISIS. Unpack the ethical debates around evidence and bias in terrorism trials, including the strange use of gift cards in the investigation. The discussions raise critical questions about justice, civil rights, and how narratives shape perceptions of domestic vs. foreign terrorism, leaving listeners to ponder the complexities of law enforcement in a world of deception.
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insights INSIGHT
Nazi Memorabilia Used to Show Predisposition
The government introduced Nazi memorabilia to show predisposition and counter an entrapment defense.
This strategy mixes unrelated ideological evidence, raising questions about fairness and relevance in court.
insights INSIGHT
Entrapment's Focus on Predisposition
Entrapment defense requires proving the defendant lacked predisposition for the crime.
Courts focus on assessing the defendant's character, often making entrapment claims difficult in terrorism cases.
insights INSIGHT
Nazism and Jihad Link Complexity
Neo-Nazi and Islamic extremist ideologies sometimes intersect online despite seeming opposition.
This syncretism is complex, evolving, and not well documented, complicating simple associations.
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In 2016, Nicholas Young became the first American police officer to be arrested and charged with a federal terrorism offense. At trial, jurors were shown mountains of evidence about his collection of nazi memorabilia. But what does that have to do with the gift cards he texted to an FBI informant he thought was a member of ISIS?
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross & Madeleine Blackman, 2022. "Fluidity of the Fringes: Prior Extremist Involvement as a Radicalization Pathway," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(7)
German, Mike and Beth Zasloff. Policing White Supremacy. The New Press, 2025. Hoffman, Bruce, and Jacob Ware. God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America. Columbia University Press, 2024.
Meleagrou-Hitchens, Alexander; Ayad, Moustafa; Program on Extremism, George Washington University; and National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center, "The Age of Incoherence? Understanding Mixed and Unclear Ideology Extremism" (2023). Reports, Projects, and Research. https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/2023-06/the-age-of-incoherence-final.pdf
Martin Laryš (2024) “White Jihad” and “White Sharia”: Jihadism as an Instrument of Intra-Extremist Outbidding among Right-Wing Extremists, Terrorism and Political Violence, 36:7, 853-870, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2023.2214240
Ariel Koch, Karine Nahon & Assaf Moghadam (2024) White Jihad: How White Supremacists Adopt Jihadi Narratives, Aesthetics, and Tactics, Terrorism and Political Violence, 36:7, 919-943, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2023.2223694
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