The meme holding up a paint color chip to determine the color of a criminal to decide whether they would labeled as a terrorist or a “nerdy mentally unhealthy man” is so common that it is ritual for people to share it on social media after very act of domestic terrorism. Every time there is an act of violence, Muslims wait with abated breathe hoping it is not someone who shares their faith because the coverage will be all over the 24 hours cable news cycle. They have reasons based in research to feel this. A new study by the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) found that violent plots by perpetrators perceived to be Muslim are receive 770 percent more media coverage. The study titled “Equal Treatment? Measuring the Legal and Media Responses to Ideologically Motivated Violence in the United States", also gathered emprical evidence that perpetrators perceived to be Muslims were given four times longer average prison sentences.
At the release of the report, researcher Carey Shenkman shares that in May 2013, federal officials arrested Buford “Bucky” Rogers, who reportedly held white supremacist views and who law enforcement officials say cheered the Boston marathon bombing. Rogers made homemade bombs with the military-grade explosive PETN, crafted Molotov cocktails filled with “homemade napalm,” and had a loaded SKS rifle. Rodgers discussed using the weapons locally.
Shenkman also brings up the 2010 case 26-year old Christian radical Justin Carl Moose who was arrested in Concord, NC for “providing information to create explosives” to “blow up a North Carolina abortion clinic. His case received little media attention and was given a 2-3 year sentence. Most people have likely never heard of these two men, possibly because their plans received relatively little media coverage, says Shenkman. He notes that combined, the New York Times and Washington Post ran just two articles on Rogers. "They printed no stories about Moose,” emphasize the researchers in an op-ed.
He then compared the case of Antonio Martinez, who was provided a bomb by law enforcement. The New York Times and the Washington Post wrote ten articles about him. This was not a rare occurrence, the ISPU report found that individuals iininicommitting or plotting violent acts who are perceived to be Muslim and allegedly acting in the name of Islam, on average received more than twice the media coverage in the New York Times and Washington Post.
Martinez was charged with planning to use a weapon of mass destruction and was sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in federal prison. This is also not a one off- the ISPU study found three times longer average prison sentences are sought by prosecutors for perpetrators perceived to be Muslim.
Martines was a typical three in four case where law enforcement provided bombs or other weapons to perceived Muslim perpetrators.
ISPU researchers also found that the term “terror” or “terrorist” appeared in 77 percent of the articles referencing plots by Muslim suspects, and in 27 percent of the headlines. Such few articles were written about other perpetrators that researchers could not even conduct an analysis on them.
According to researchers,”bias under the law or in mainstream news media alienates communities and undermines values of equality, fairness and justice. Reporting on certain incidents and not others, or prosecuting more harshly certain individuals compared to others, can drive guilt by association for innocent minority communities, leading to further prejudice and hate crimes against these groups,”
Co-author and ISPU Fellow, Kumar Rao sees this report on the intersection of law and media as critical to public safety, policy and equality. To him, the report exemplified everything so many in Muslim, Black and other minority communities have been feeling and saying for a long time.
This work was built on prior research on surveillance and terrorism.
A study released by former leaders of the 9/11 Commission found that “terrorism is increasingly taking on an American cast.” Warning of “a much more diverse threat,” the report urged the U.S. government to prepare for “the radicalization and recruitment of Americans to terrorist ranks.” A 2009 Homeland Security report also warned law enforcement officials be concerned about right-wing zealots. This study actually looks at the
The report also found that:
- Three times more frequent use of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" charges, despite similar facts in cases of non-Muslim perpetrators
- Six times more frequent press releases from the Department of Justice in cases where perpetrators of violent plots are perceived to be Muslim
Shenkman noted the majority of non Muslim cases were not charged with "Weapons of Mass Destruction" charges, despite making their own bombs compared to those who were provided fake bombs by federal agents.
An analysis published in the Intercept noted that "the disparities documented in the report help quantify a level of institutional bias in the legal system and media that many have argued exists in cases involving Muslim perpetrators."
ISPU study surveyed 15 years of data which was analyzed by a six- member research team for two years.
The report cost $90,000 dollars to produce. Researchers say that how crimes are labeled directly affects charging decisions, likelihoods of convictions, and severity of sentences.
The labels can also shape how the public thinks about ideologically motivated violence.
The report is a must read for newsrooms, students and professors of law, policy makers and legal system.
Read the indepth ISPU report here
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