FBI Director: Charleston Massacre Not Terrorism

FBI Director James Comey said this week's massacre in Charleston, S.C., was not terrorism because "Terrorism is act of violence done or threatens to in order to try to influence a public body or citizenry so it’s more of a political act," he said on CNN and flagged by Mediaite.com. "And again based on what I know so more I don’t see it as a political act.” Many columnists and activists have called for Dylann Roof's rampage to be classified as a case of domestic terrorism rather than a "hate crime." Mediaite, however, notes that the definition of "terrorism" according to the government's own National Institute of Justice is: "The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.” Given Roof's apparent racialist manifesto revealed today, it seems clear he had political or social objectives in mind when he killed nine unarmed African-Americans.