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UNCLASSIFIED/LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE (U) Executive Summary (U//FOUO) The FBI assesses it is very likelya Black Identity Extremistb (BIE) perceptions of police brutality against African Americans spurred an increase in premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement and will very likely serve as justification for such violence. The FBI assess it is very likely this increase began following the 9 August 2014 shooting o. Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent Grand Jury November 2014' declination to indict the police officers involved. The FBI assesses it is very likely incidents of alleged police abuse against African Americans since then have continued to feed the resurgence it is very likely some BIEs are influenced by a mix of anti-authoritarian, Moorish sovereign citizenc ideology, and BIE ideology. The FBI has high confidenced in these assessments, based. on a history of violent incidents attributed to individuals who acted on behalf of their ideological beliefs, documented in FBI investigations and other Iaw enforcement and open source reporting The FBI makes this judgment with the key assumption the recent incidents are ideologically motivated. a (U) Scc Appendix A: Expressions of Likclihood (or Probability). b (U/rouO) The FBI defincs black identity cxtremists as individuals who scck. wholly or in part. through unlawful. acts of forcc or violencc. in responsc to perccivcd racism and injusticc in Amcrican socicty and some do so in furtherance of cstablishing a scparatc black homcland or autonomous black social institutions. communitics. or governing organizations within the United Statcs. This desire for phy sical or psychological separation is typically based on cither a religious or political bclicf system. which is somctimes formed around or includcs a belicf in racial. supcriority or suprcmacy. Thc mcre advocacy of political or social positions. political activism. usc of strong rhetoric. or gencralized philosophic cmbrace of violcnt tactics may not constitute cxtremism. and may bc constitutionally protcctcd. c (U/FOUO) The FBI defines sovereign citizen extremists as individuals who openly reject their US citizenship. status. believe that most forms of established government. authority. and institutions are illegitimate. and seck. authority. The mere advocacy of political or social positions. political activism. usc of strong rhetoric. or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics may not constitute cxtremism. and may bc constitutionally protected.. d (U) Sec Appendix B: Confidence in Assessments and Judgments Based on a Body of Information. UNCLASSIFIED/ALAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE 2