In the age of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the City of New York which resulted in the largest amount of deaths recorded in any city in the United States during the opening period of the virus, is also the center of gravity in the counterterrorism struggle against terrorism, domestic and foreign. The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 unleashed a national uprising where protestors called for expansive police reform or defunding the police. Though the protests have overwhelmingly been peaceful, in the midst of the protests, agitators utilized the positive drive for change to foment violence and vandalism in the City of New York. This post is dedicated to addressing several questions. During this period of unrest in the city, a question begs: how safe is Gotham from terrorism? Second, examining the role of COVID-19, the unrest caused by protests and the presence of domestic terrorists, how is the current environment in New York City different from the one that unfolded during the turbulent decade of the 1970s? Finally, with the passage of legislation and subsequently signed by the mayor of the city, how will the budget cuts impact near term and future New York Police Department (NYPD) counterterrorism operations? 

Background

Terrorism is in no way a new phenomenon in New York. Before discussing the terrorism landscape that exists in the City of New York, it is important to define the concept. Terrorism involves “the deliberate use—or threat—of violence by non-state actors in order to achieve political goals and create a broad psychological impact.”[1]

Throughout much of its history the City of New York developed into a safe haven for terrorist organizations. Far worse, terrorist groups established sanctuaries from which terror organizations trained their members, created cells that conducted surveillance of buildings inside and outside the city, and subsequently terror groups launched hundreds of terrorist attacks in New York City.

There have been three types of terrorist organizations operating in New York City. New York has a long-established history with left-wing, right-wing, and beginning in the late 1980s, religious terrorist groups.[2]

For perspective about the activities of some of these terrorist groups, it is important to provide a brief exploration of an earlier calamitous period in the city. Then Democrat Mayor Abraham Beam and Governor Hugh Carey sought a financial bailout from President Gerald Ford. President Gerald Ford denied the bailout assistance. In short order, Mayor Beam announced the fiscal crisis that unfolded in the city shifted to bankruptcy. To address the financial crisis, Mayor Beam announced city services would be cut substantially.

The NYPD budget was slashed and over the course of the decade of the 1970s, the department lost 7,000 members from what remains the largest police force in the country. During this period crime soared across the city. Gang and Mob violence increased dramatically. In response to cuts in personnel and increasing violence and crime the NYPD issued a pamphlet titled, “Welcome to Fear City: A Survival Guide for Visitors to the City of New York.”

Something of significance occurred as well during this period—a new and unprecedent wave of terrorism unfolded in the city. The Puerto Rican terrorist group known as the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), the Jewish Defense League (JDL), the Weather Underground, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the United Freedom Front (UFF), originally known as the Sam Melville/Jonathan Jackson Unit, to mention just a few of the plethora of well-known domestic terrorist groups responsible for terrorist attacks and protests and protest-related violence across the city. As an example, the FALN is the terrorist organization that conducted more pre-9/11 terrorist attacks then any domestic or foreign terrorist group operating in the City of New York.

During this wave of violence, the NYPD lacked a credible counterterrorism response due in part to the absence of mayoral, gubernatorial, and even federal response or leadership. Additionally, the budget cuts significantly impacted the NYPD’s counterterrorism response. For example, due to the need to confront the gang and mob violence, the increasing murder rate, robberies, domestic violence, and other crimes, the NYPD was simply ill-equipped to deal with the extraordinary wave of terrorism that unfolded across the city.

There is another point to consider. The NYPD was understaffed, lacked the technology, and intelligence, and leadership both within their own organization and from the mayor office which forced it to increasing rely on the local Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office for assistance in dealing with the wave of violence. A turf war quickly developed. What evolved out of this bureaucratic entity between two law enforcement entities—one local the other federal—is the lack of cooperation between the NYPD and FBI which further impacted the response to terrorism.

During the 70s wave of terrorism in New York, a host of the city’s “icons” were targeted by terrorist groups. For example, the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Penn Station, Wall Street, and The Kennedy and La Guardia Airports represent a few of the notable targets that were attacked by terrorists.

COVID-19, Protestors, And Protest-Related Violence in New York City

New York remains the epicenter of COVID-19 related deaths in the United States. As in known, the deadly pandemic emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The virus quickly spread across the United States, but New York quickly assumed the locus of attention both in cases and deaths.

Across the City of New York, Hospital Workers and Emergency Medical Technician’s (EMTS) were rightly recognized as heroes due to the long shifts, dealing with the psychological trauma associated with the loss of so many citizens, the struggles with personal protection equipment (PPEs), and the loss of life among the hospital staff.

In the view of The Center for New York City Affairs, the coronavirus resulted in the loss of over $9 billion in tax revenue. In the midst of the shut-down through June of 2020 New York State lost 2.5 million jobs and the unemployment rate in New York City.[3] As a result of the decline tax revenue and the flight of New Yorkers to suburbs and to other states, Mayor Bill De Blasio was forced into making substantial cuts to the cities bureaucracy. In addition, substantial cuts are expected to hospital staffs, sanitation, and fire departments, to name a few.

The current crop of domestic terrorist organizations should not be viewed as threatening as the terror groups (domestic and foreign) that existed during the tempestuous decade of the 1970s. The point herein is that the NYPD must defeat these organizations during their infancy before the membership and capacity of the current crop of groups shifts to launching more credible terror attacks in the city.

While many of the groups existed prior to the death of George Floyd, the video of his death shook the conscious of people across the United States and around the world. Officer Derek Chauvin’s decision to casually place his knee on the neck of Mr. Floyd for nearly nine minutes not only unleashed a wave of protests in the U.S. since the period 1968-1972 but the vanguard of the protests were orchestrated by the Black Lives Matter Organization (BLM) and Antifa. In short order these and a host of other groups unleashed a wave of protests and protested-related violence across New York City. Many have labeled BLM and Antifa as terrorist groups.[4]   

What are the nascent terrorist groups and what is the state of the terrorist landscape in the City of New York? The BLM organization sponsored a series of protests across the city. The central objective of the protestors is police reform with the aim of “defunding the police.” The protests have largely been peaceful; however, many protestors have used tactics designed to destroy NYPD vehicles and when the opportunity presented itself inflict injury upon NYPD personnel.[5]

In addition to BLM, a host of other organizations have engaged in violent tactics in the city. In a recent example of the protest violence, in September of 2020, members of BLM and two additional communist organizations, the New Afrikan Black Panther Party (NABPP) and the “Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement” , in a group of participants that consisted of nearly 150 members, targeted two Starbucks, five banks and a Duane Reade Pharmacy “causing an estimated $100,000 in damage”[6] in this normally quiet area of Lower Manhattan. Additionally, it should be noted the “Police recovered two stun guns, smoke grenades, and burglary and graffiti tools.”[7]

Antifa (short form for anti-fascist) much like BLM is not viewed as an organization because it lacks a formal leadership structure. Rather, Antifa is described as a movement that campaigns against what it perceives as U.S. government actions/policies that are authoritarian, racist, and xenophobic. Additionally, the group is also characterized as “accelerationist” because they infiltrate peaceful protests to further their extremist agenda.[8] Put another way, Antifa members participate in peaceful protests and then quickly transition out of the protests or disguise their activities and employ tactics that resulted in destruction of property across the city.

There are in fact far-left and far-right extremists that are inciting violence in the city. Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, provides this statement on the situation in New York: “We know for a fact there have been far-right agitators both online and at these rallies, as well as far-left.”[9] However, the bulk of the evidence suggests far-left groups are engaging in violence directed at NYPD personnel and destruction of property in the city.

While there is an ever-expanding domestic terrorist presence in Gotham, one must be mindful that a host of external or foreign terrorist groups are engaged in tactics designed to foment further unrest and violence in the city. John Miller, the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism, noted the Islamic State,  Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and other foreign terror groups have utilized social media to launch a propaganda campaign designed to foment unrest in the city.[10] In an illustration of the propaganda employed by terrorists, writers Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst, argued “slides of police cars burning as online memes and posts that they say came from pro-Al Qaeda account similar imagery from pro-ISIS accounts.”[11]

Al Qaeda is at present the most dangerous threat and is working to take advantage of the racial unrest in the United States. The Sunni terrorist group has dramatically increased social media activities designed to enhance recruitment and radicalization. Al Qaeda created an 83-Page magazine titled One Ummah (“one nation under God”) .[12] The focus of the article is police brutality against blacks, the impact of COVID-19 and the recession.[13] In addition, Al Qaeda is hoping to capitalize on “the political divide and polarization, concerns have arisen that extremist and terrorist organizations will exploit this turmoil to sustain their global reign of terror.”[14]

NYPD Response To New Wave Of Protest Related Violence And Terrorism

It is important to briefly discuss the terrorist landscape in Gotham. First, much of the destruction is directed by outside Antifa agitators. Based on arrests, the NYPD asserts that nearly twenty percent of those arrested are individuals that are from individuals from other states to include Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia.

Second, Antifa utilizes “bicycle scouts” to set the stage for their destructive and violent activities. These scouts represent the intelligence arm for the Antifa anarchists and BLM revolutionists. NYPD Deputy Commissioner Miller provides this validating statement: “They developed a complex network of bicycle scouts to move ahead of demonstrators in different directions of where police were and where police were not for purposes of being able to direct groups from the larger group to places where they could commit acts of vandalism.”[15]

The destructive acts of vandalism usually occurred in upscale areas such as Fifth Avenue, in SOHO, and elsewhere in Manhattan. To Antifa, BLM and other socialist inspired groups, these tactics are designed as attacks on capitalism.

Third, largely Antifa inspired, but such acts of violence include BLM and other groups, these groups are unafraid to target NYPD personnel and their vehicles. To accomplish their mischief, the confrontations against NYPD personnel are scripted, or planned well in advance. NYPD Deputy Commissioner Miller notes “The advance preparation, having advance scouts, the use of encrypted information, having resupply routes for things such as gasoline and accelerants as well as rocks and bottles, the raising of bail, the placing of medics.”[16] In short, these tactics are consistent with terrorist not protestors.

Fourth, there is a critical legal/political component that permits the activities of Antifa and BLM to occur without punishment. The point is that when those responsible for the violence against the NYPD or the vandalism directed against upscale scales stores in New York City are arrested these individuals are subsequently released back on the streets to repeat more violence.

Fifth, there is an important corollary point: the destructive relationship between Mayor De Blasio and the NYPD. De Blasio employed an “anti-police” message that catapulted him to Grace Mansion in Lower Manhattan. He immediately implemented policy that outlawed “stop-and-frisk practices.” The NYPD argues the mayors’ anti-police rhetoric and his conspicuous support for the BLM set the stage for an environment for “an ambush” that resulted in the death of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in Brooklyn, New York in December of 2014.[17] In another illustration of the increasing tension, NYPD personnel in attendance at the funeral of the slain officers turned their backs on the mayor during his remarks.

With attacks against the police on the rise and as the absence of mayoral support deepened the NYPD’s suspicion not just of the lack of support, but De Blasio demonstrated a determination to undermine law enforcement in the city. The following statement by Patrick Lynch, the head of Patrolmen Benevolent Association (PBA), symbolizes the relationship between the mayor and the NYPD. In the words of Lynch, “There’s blood on many hands tonight. That blood on the hands starts at the steps of City Hall in the office of the mayor.”[18]

Leadership within the NYPD believed De Blasio’s decision to push for and ultimately sign the “accountability package” which implemented several police reforms that eliminated police chokeholds, further expanded the gulf between the NYPD and the mayor. Within the package a number of reforms were agreed to include “NYPD transparency on the use of surveillance technologies, establish an online NYPD disciplinary matrix and ensure all NYPD officers have their shield number and rank designations visible at all times while on the job.”[19]

How did the NYPD operate in this environment? With respect to protestors and protest violence, the NYPD, after receiving scant support from the mayor and even less from Governor Andrew Cuomo, utilized more aggressive tactics.

In an illustration of the change in attitude, despite the continuance and escalation of large protests in New York City, in response the NYPD implemented the “kettling strategy” which calls for an encirclement or cordoning of protestors and then swiftly moving in after curfews have been violated and then arrest large portions of those participating in the protests. For example, this strategy was employed during a protest in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.[20]

Despite criticism from protesters and the media, NYPD Commissioner Shea defended the strategy. More importantly, the implementation of this strategy represented a turning point that demonstrated the NYPD would return to its time-honored aggressive tactics in an attempt to restore order.  

Second, the NYPD argued confronting terrorism and dealing with “new age” protestors required similar tactics. Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton created The Strategic Response Group (SRG). The SRG is a rapid response unit which “is designed for dealing with events like … protests, or incidents like Mumbai or [terrorism] in Paris.”[21] The unit is designed to supplement the 1000-plus NYPD counterterrorism unit.   

SRG units were deployed in the vicinity or directly attached to other NYPD units to ensure that protests and protest violence were contained. With the use of intelligence, when there was a presence of Antifa or other groups, on many occasions large-scale arrests were made.

The NYPD Special Operations Command asserted “The Strategic Response Group has affected hundreds of arrests of violent protest agitators and business looters. Our main priority is protecting the peaceful protesters and ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers.”[22]

Analysis

Despite COVID-19, lawful protests, the presence of terrorists and the ever-increasing use of tactics often associated with terrorists, and the absence of consistent mayoral and gubernatorial support, the NYPD has thus far excelled in a new and evolving environment.

One should consider that during a period of demands by protestors and city dwellers to defund the police and untold numbers of protests, the overall NYPD professionalism remains high. The professionalism is apparent despite instances where some NYPD personnel unnecessarily hit protestors with their batons or pulled down the masks of protestors before spraying them with tear gas, and other skirmishes with protestors. Still, given the extraordinary unrest, high rate of protests, gun violence, robberies, looting, and other crimes occurring across city, and the unprecedented schedules and manpower hours, the NYPD deserves praise.

Efforts to defund the NYPD will not hinder counterterrorism operations against domestic or foreign terrorists. While the controversial anti-crime unit has been disbanded and those serving in the units, the personnel have been shifted to other precincts across the city. As reported by the Citizens Budget Commission, “The operating budget [of the NYPD] will decrease by $345 million, or 6.6 percent, from $5.2 billion in fiscal year 2020 to $4.9 billion in fiscal year 2021.”[23] This data validates the staffing of NYPD counterterrorism personnel is not impact in the decline of the department’s budget.

At another level, the presence of protesters in the streets of Gotham is not in and of itself viewed as a threat to NYPD counterterrorism units. To be clear, the NYPD is “incentivized to treat political protests as organized threats to be investigated and neutralized.”[24] Though all threats have not yet been neutralized, the NYPD argues that based on “current intelligence” Antifa, BLM, other communist groups at present are not likely to launch a major terrorist attack in the City of New York.

There is however a looming threat—foreign terrorists may employ the “playbook” used by U.S. domestic terrorists to launch attacks in the city. Current data indicates the United States is in the midst of an evolving crisis. The crisis has been described this way: the United States “faces a multitude of concurrent, overlapping risks—from police abuse and racial injustice, to pandemic-related unrest and beyond—all exacerbated by increasing polarization.”[25] No doubt foreign terrorist are seeking to exploit this environment in New York City, still the dominant terrorist target in the United States.

How the NYPD manages this crisis in the City New York will provide a barometer on how the largest law enforcement entity in the country performs in what may be the most calamitous environment in the police department’s history.

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Endnotes

[1] Seth G. Jones, “The Escalating Terrorism Problem in the United States,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, June 17, 2020. https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states.

[2] The left-wing terrorist groups are generally opposed to capitalism, they are anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and opposed to U.S. intervention (most notably American intervention in Indo China, the Vietnam War), and they are communists. Right-wing extremist groups have a more established history. These groups desire racial and ethnic supremacy (i.e. they are white supremacists). They target minority groups, Jews, and religious groups that challenge white dominance inside the United States. The religious-based terrorist groups are faith-based. While terror-related violence encompasses all religions, most of the attacks in New York have involved Sunni and Shia religious groups based principally in the Middle East.  

[3] Chelsea Diana, “The Economic Impact of COVID-19 in New York State by the Numbers,” Albany Business Review, June 8, 2020. https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2020/06/08/ new-york-economic-impact-of-covid-19.amp.html#aoh=15996846_126547&=https%3A%2F%2 Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s.

[4] It should be noted that BLM and Antifa have not been designated as terrorist groups. That said, law enforcement in New York and others that have dealt with these groups across the country have labeled them as “terrorists.”

[5] Graham Rayman, “More Than 300 NYPD Vehicles Damaged in Unrest Since George Floyd Killing, Costing City Nearly $1M,” New York Daily News, July 28, 2020. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-nypd-vehicles-damaged-protests-20200728-3d5zlhqscbedtatb2c4gr4rhbu-stor y.html?outputType=amp#aoh=15997625646798&amp_ct=159976277985 4&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s.

[6] Larry Celona and Vincent Barone, “Black Lives Matter Protesters Riot in Manhattan, Cause $100,000 Damage: NYPD,” New York Post, September 5, 2020. https://nypost.com/2020/09/05/black-lives-matter-protesters-riot-in-manhattan-cause-100000-damage/.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Neil MacFarquhar, “Many Claim Extremists Are Sparking Protest Violence. But Which Extremists,” New York Times, June 22, 2020. https: www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-protests-white-supremacists-antifa.html.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst, “Escalation in Rhetoric and Propaganda by Extremist Groups Exploiting Protests: NYPD,” NBC New York, June 8, 2020. https:www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/escalation-in-rhetoric-and-propaganda-by-extemist-groups-exploiting-protests-nypd/24502 92.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ebby Abramson, “Al Qaeda is Suddenly Framing Itself as a Black Lives Matter Champion,” Policy Options, July 8, 2020. https://policyoption s.irpp.org/magazines/july-2020/al-qaeda-is-suddenly-framing-itself-as-a-black-lives-matter-champion/.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Tom Winter and Andrew Blankstein, “Police Describe Anarchists’ Extensive Prep for Violence, Including ‘Bicycle Scouts,’” NBC News, May 31, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics /justice-department/law-enforcement-plays-catch-stop-violence-radical-groups-protests-n122048 6.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Alex Altman, “Why New York Cops Turned Their Backs on Mayor De Blasio,” Time, December 22, 2014. https://time.com/3644168/new-york-police-de-blasio-wenjian-liu-rafael-ramos/.

[18] Christopher Robbins, “Blood on Many Hands”: Police Unions Blame De Blasio For Death Of 2 Cops,” December 21, 2014. https://gothamist.com/news/blood-on-many-hands-police-unions-blame-de-blasio-for-death-of-2-cops.

[19] “Mayor De Blasio Signs NYPD Accountability Package at Black Lives Matter Mural,” Office of the Mayor, July 15, 2020. https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/522-20/mayor-de-blasio-signs-nypd-accountability-package-black-lives-matter-mural#/0.

[20] Ali Watkins, “‘Kettling’ of Peaceful Protesters Shows Aggressive Shift by N.Y. Police,” New York Times, July 17, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/nyregion/police-kettling-protests-nyc.html.

[21] Tim Cushing, “NYPD Commissioner: Because Terrorism and Protests Are Roughly the Same Thing, A New Special Unit Will Handle Both,” Techdirt, February 3, 2015. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150202/121 95129884/nypd-commissioner-because-terrorism-protests-are-roughly-same-thing-new-special-unit-will-handle-both.shtml.

[22] OAG Hearing on Interactions Between NYPD and the General Public, Office of Attorney General State of New York, June 2020. https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06-oag-nypd-writtentestimony.pdf.

[23] “Was the NYPD Budget Cut by $1 Billion?” Citizens Budget Commission, Blog, August 13, 2020. https://cbcny.org/research/was-nypd-budget-cut-1-billion.

[24]  Jake Bittle, “The NYPD Sees Coordination in Protests. It’s Incentivized To,” Foreign Policy, June 25, 2020. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/05/nypd-sees-coordination-protests-counter intelligence-police-brutality/.

[25] Demonstrations and Political Violence in America: New Data for Summer 2020, ACLED Blog. https://acleddata.com/2020/09/03/d emonstrations-political-violence-in-america-new-data-for-summer-2020/.