The Obama administration will halt new work on the $3 billion "virtual fence" planned for the Mexican border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced March 16, diverting $50 million in planned economic stimulus funds for the project to other purposes. "Not only do we have an obligation to secure our borders, we have a responsibility to do so in the most cost-effective way possible," Napolitano said in a statement. "The system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border known as SBInet has been plagued with cost overruns and missed deadlines."

The number of extremist groups in the United States exploded in 2009 as militias and other organizations steeped in anti-government conspiracy theories exploited populist anger across the country and infiltrated the mainstream, according to a report issued this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The man who shot two police officers at the Pentagon March 4 was apparently a devoted follower of the 9-11 "Truth" movement. Police say John Patrick Bedell, 36, acted alone, but his apparent online postings indicate that he was a dedicated conspiracy theorist. His now-deleted Wikipedia user page said he wished to establish "the truth of events such as the 9-11 demolitions and institutions such as the coup regime of 1963 that maintains itself in power through the global drug trade, financial corruption, and murder, among other crimes."

The US House of Representatives on Feb. 25 approved a measure to extend expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act with no new privacy measures. Representatives voted 315-97 in favor of the measure, which would allow federal authorities to conduct "roving" wiretaps; to compel the production of business, medical, and library records; and to track so-called "lone wolf" suspects who are not affiliated with an organization or country, so long as they are not US citizens. The vote came just one day after the Senate approved the extension.

B'nai Brith Canada released its 2009 "Audit of Antisemitic Incidents" this week. The survey reported over 1,200 incidents last year, an 11% increase over 2008 and a five-fold increase over the last decade. In total, there were 884 reports of harassment, 348 cases of vandalism and 32 cases of violence—twice as many as 2008.

Before flying his single-engine Piper PA-28 into the IRS headquarters in Austin, killing one (excluding himself) and wounding several the morning of Feb. 19, Joe Stack evidently posted a screed on the Internet railing against "big brother," the Catholic Church, the "unthinkable atrocities" committed by big business, and the government bailouts. He took particular aim at the IRS, telling them to "take my pound of flesh and sleep well." He said that "violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer." He signed off "Joe Stack (1956-2010)" (CBS, Feb. 19) So this was, by any definition, an act of terrorism—a politically motivated deadly surprise attack on a civilian target. And yet...

Guillame Joseph-Marc Beaulieu, 27 of Vancouver, has been arrested as the "ringleader" of the "Black Bloc" anarchists who rioted in the city in protests against the Winter Olympics Feb. 14. He is charged with mischief and faces fines of over $5,000. Lliam Brander, 27, of North Vancouver has been charged with assault. The investigation continues and further arrests may be pending, police say. Among 11 arrested so far, one is from Shoreline, Wash. He has been charged with possession of weapons and handed over to immigration. (Vancouverite, Feb. 16)

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco Feb. 2 vacated and remanded the 22-year sentence for so-called "millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam, finding that a district court's failure to follow sentencing guidelines resulted in an inappropriately lenient term. Ressam, a supposedly al-Qaeda-trained terrorist, was sentenced in 2005 upon conviction of plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999. The court found that guidelines require a minimum 65-year term. The prosecution offered Ressam a reduced term in exchange for cooperation against other terrorist suspects, but Ressam failed to properly collaborate with government officials. (Jurist, Feb. 3)