Brown Undergraduate Law Review — Vol. 2 No. 2 (Spring 2021)

Targeting Muslims and Civil Liberties Prevention:
An Analysis of the Countering Violent Extremism Program?s First Amendment Violations
violence. 10 11 12 USAO-MA?s framework emphasizes
partnerships between law enforcement, federal agencies,
and community organizations to combat terrorism by
conducting trainings with community organizations on
radicalization theories and sharing intelligence. 13
program sought to prevent violent extremism primarily
among the Somali community. The Minneapolis CVE
framework listed five causes of radicalization: ?disaffected
youth,? ?a deepening disconnect between youth and
religious leaders,? ?internal identity crises,? ?community
isolation,? and ?lack of opportunity.?
The Los Angeles CVE program operated under a similar
The first programs
the Minneapolis CVE program sought to fund were
framework, focusing on bringing together law
?after-school and tutoring programs in hope of fostering a
enforcement, government agencies, and community
sense of belonging for young Somali-Americans.?
organizations to ?address a broad spectrum of extremist
In
ideology that promotes violence and criminal activity.? 14 addition, as part of its intervention strategy, the framework
calls for youth workers to build relationships with Somali
The framework also highlights ?partnerships with the
American-Muslim community? 15 public school students in order to work directly with them
in combating extremism,
thus indicating a specific focus for this CVE program on
Muslim communities. One of the most striking elements of
?before law enforcement is ever involved.? 19
Underlying Theories
the Los Angeles pilot program is its recognition of
Although the CVE reports themselves do not offer a clear
critiques levelled against CVE programs. It notes that ?the
definition of the threats CVE seeks to eradicate, CVE?s
reluctance among some to engage with law enforcement
counterterrorism framework borrows heavily from theories
partners rests on negative perceptions of law enforcement
of radicalization put forth by the FBI and NYPD in the
and a view that law enforcement methods securitize
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The FBI and NYPD?s
relationships, stigmatize communities, violate privacy
radicalization theories? operating under the assumption
rights and civil liberties, and constitute a form of
that ?religious and political cultures within Muslim
spying.? 16
communities foment radicalization in
The last pilot CVE program was based in Minneapolis,
home to the largest Somali diaspora community in the
individuals?? targeted Muslim communities. 20 The FBI?s
flawed anti-Muslim approach to counterterrorism can best
United States. Uncoincidentally, Minneapolis?s CVE be encapsulated by its 2006 report titled The
10. U.S. Attorney?s Office, District of Massachusetts, A Framework for Prevention and Intervention Strategies (Massachusetts, 2015), 4,
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ usao-ma/pages/attachments/2015/02/18/framework.pdf.
11. Ibid., 8.
12. Ibid., 9.
13. Ibid.
14. Los Angeles Interagency Coordination Group, The Los Angeles Framework for Countering Violent Extremism (California, 2015), 1,
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ Los%20Angeles%20Framework%20for%20CVE-Full%20Report.pdf.
15. Ibid., 7-8.
16. Ibid., 9.
17. U.S. Attorney?s Office, District of Minnesota, Building Community Resilience Minneapolis-St. Paul Pilot Program A Community-Led
Framework (Minnesota, 2015), 4, https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/file/642121/download.
18. Mukhtar M. Ibrahim, ?Muslim Groups Speak Against Anti-Terror Program,? MPR News, May 1, 2015.
19. U.S. Attorney?s Office, District of Minnesota, 4.
20.Amna Akbar, ?Policing ?Radicalization,?? UC Irvine Law Review 3, no. 4 (December 2013): 814.
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