Fusion Centers

Theophilus 2013-2014

Ways Fusion Centers have aided in counterterrorism

1. The investigation of the Raleigh Jihad case was aided by Fusion Centers
2. The investigation of the Rezwan Ferdaus case was aided by Fusion Centers
3. The investigation of the Seattle Military Recruiting Center case was aided by Fusion
Centers
4. Fusion centers promote timely government communication
5. A State Fusion center was able to locate an impersonator

Informational.pg. 3
1. What a Fusion Center is

Fusion Centers

Theophilus 2013-2014

Ways Fusion Centers have aided in counterterrorism

1. The investigation of the Raleigh Jihad case was aided by Fusion Centers
From Fusion Centers Add Value to Federal Government Counterterrorism Efforts By the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security. October 3 2012
Examples of recent terrorism cases where fusion centers have played a critical role include the
Raleigh Jihad case. This case from 2009 involved Daniel Patrick Boyd and six others who
planned to attack Marine Base Quantico. The North Carolina fusion center partnered with the
local FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on this investigation.
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/fusion-centers-add-value-to-federal-government-counterterrorism-efforts

2. The investigation of the Rezwan Ferdaus case was aided by Fusion Centers
From Fusion Centers Add Value to Federal Government Counterterrorism Efforts By the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security. October 3 2012
Examples of recent terrorism cases where fusion centers have played a critical role include:
The Rezwan Ferdaus Case Ferdaus is a homegrown violent Islamist extremist was arrested in
2010 in Boston, and planned to attack the Pentagon and the Capitol with remote control small
planes attached to explosives. The Massachusetts state fusion center was credited with making a
significant contribution to the investigation.
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/fusion-centers-add-value-to-federal-government-counterterrorism-efforts

3. The investigation of the Seattle Military Recruiting Center case was aided by Fusion
Centers
From Fusion Centers Add Value to Federal Government Counterterrorism Efforts By the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security. October 3 2012
Examples of recent terrorism cases where fusion centers have played a critical role include:
Seattle military recruiting center plot. In 2011, two homegrown violent Islamist extremists were
arrested in Seattle for planning to attack a military recruiting center. The initial lead in this case
came from a Seattle Police Department informant, and the investigation was jointly coordinated
by the FBI and state and local agencies at the Washington State Fusion Center.
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/fusion-centers-add-value-to-federal-government-counterterrorism-efforts

4. Fusion centers promote timely government communication

From Fusion Centers Add Value to Federal Government Counterterrorism Efforts By the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security. October 3 2012
Fusion centers have stepped up to meet an urgent need in the last decade, without fusion
centers, we would not be able to connect the dots. Fusion centers have been essential to breaking
down the information silos and communications barriers that kept the government from detecting
the most horrific terrorist attack on this country - even though federal, state, and local officials
each held valuable pieces of the puzzle.
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/fusion-centers-add-value-to-federal-government-counterterrorism-efforts

Fusion Centers

Theophilus 2013-2014

5. State Fusion center was able to locate an impersonator:

From 2013 fusion center success stories from the Official Homeland Security website
copyright 2013
In June 2013, the Virginia Fusion Center (VFC) became aware of an individual attempting to
impersonate a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent. The individual
had contacted various hospitals, universities, and police departments requesting information on
critical care hospital rooms, under the premise he was investigating a car accident involving a
British national.
http://www.dhs.gov/2013-fusion-center-success-stories

Informational
1. What a Fusion Center is
From Fusion Centers: Domestic Spying or Sensible Surveillance? published by
the CATO Institute, June 11th 2009
Police departments across the country are starting to create networks of databases called fusion
centers in an effort to detect and prevent acts of terrorism. The ultimate objective is to create a
nationwide reporting system of suspicious behaviors so that the authorities can connect the
dots before an attack can occur.
http://www.cato.org/events/fusion-centers-domestic-spying-or-sensible-surveillance (Featuring Bruce Fein,
Constitutional Attorney, The Lichfield Group; Harvey Eisenberg, Chief, National Security Section, Office of United
States Attorney, District of Maryland; and Michael German, Policy Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union.
Moderated by Tim Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute.)