Secretive federal agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are notorious for refusing to confirm or deny the existence of their records. The issue becomes trickier when local law enforcement agencies, tasked with serving their communities, reply to public records requests in similar fashion. The New York Police Department has used the infamous “Glomar response” in the past to keep records secret, but this week a New York court ruled that the NYPD can’t use it this time.

Countering Violent Extremism initiatives rest on the core assumption that it is possible to detect and stop violent extremists before they carry out attacks, through theories of radicalization which identify behaviors that are thought to be “indicators” or “risk factors.” This logic is the driving force behind the National Counterterrorism Center’s annual handbook for law enforcement agencies, which provides guidance for spotting these indicators - from legitimate calls to violence, to more troubling grey areas, such as “expressing frustration with employment situation.”

FBI officials fretted over critical press coverage of their interactive website and online game on violent extremism aimed at high school students and attempted to assuage concerns raised by civil liberties and Muslim organizations, according to documents released through a FOIA request.

Nebraska Emergency Management Agency is the latest, and possibly last, recipient of an Obama-era counterterrorism grant, which awarded the state $300 thousand towards “countering violent extremism in rural and small to mid-sized communities.” NEMA’s proposal, released through a public records request, shows the agency aims to accomplish this by relying on the same flawed, problematic psychology of its predecessors.

In early 1983, FBI agent Don Levy went to the CIA’s Polygraph Training School to deliver a speech on “Terrorism in the U.S.,” with a large focus on violent unrest in Puerto Rico. A copy of the speech, released through CREST, gives us new insight into the history of FBI’s counterterrorism views and approaches - recognizing the U.S.’ role in fostering terrorism, if not its responsibility.