Editing Joint Terrorism Task Force (section)

== Investigations ==
[[File:US Navy 990913-N-1350W-004 Anti-terrorism Training Washington, D.C.jpg|thumb|A [[United States Park Police]] [[SWAT]] officer arresting a terrorist during a [[hostage situation]] [[training exercise]] at [[Naval Support Facility Anacostia]] in 1999. An FBI JTTF was one of the agencies involved in the exercise.]]
Joint Terrorism Task Forces have participated in high-profile investigations, including investigations into the [[2007 Fort Dix attack plot]],<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/08/fortdix.plot/index.html Official: Radicals wanted to create carnage at Fort Dix], CNN (May 9, 2007).</ref> [[2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot]],<ref>[https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2011/russell-defreitas-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-conspiring-to-commit-terrorist-attack-at-jfk-airport Russell Defreitas Sentenced to Life in Prison for Conspiring to Commit Terrorist Attack at JFK Airport], FBI (February 17, 2011).</ref> 2009 plot by [[Najibullah Zazi]] [[2009 New York City Subway and United Kingdom plot|targeting the New York City subway]],<ref>William K. Rashbaum, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/nyregion/14imam.html Interagency Rift Cited in New York Terror Case], ''New York Times'' (December 13, 2009).</ref> [[Tarek Mehanna]] case,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/boston/press-releases/2011/massachusetts-man-convicted-on-terrorism-related-charges|title=Massachusetts Man Convicted on Terrorism-Related Charges|date=December 20, 2011|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref><ref>Mark Clayton, [https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2009/1022/p02s10-usju.html How FBI traced Tarek Mehanna in his quest to become a jihadi], ''Christian Science Monitor'' (October 22, 2009).</ref> 2012 [[Jose Pimentel]] case,<ref>Joseph Goldstein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/nyregion/fbi-had-greater-role-in-jose-pimentel-terrorism-case-documents-show.html Documents Show Extent of F.B.I.'s Role in Terror Case], ''New York Times'' (November 13, 2012).</ref> 2015 [[2015 Boston beheading plot|Usaama Rahim plot]],<ref>Adam Goldman, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/boston-terrorism-suspect-had-planned-to-attack-police-officers-fbi-says/2015/06/03/5528f2e2-0a25-11e5-a7ad-b430fc1d3f5c_story.html Boston terrorism suspect had planned to attack police officers, FBI says], ''Washington Post'' (June 3, 2015).</ref> Ahmad Khan Rahami's [[2016 New York and New Jersey bombings]],<ref>Adam Goldman, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/us/fbi-terror-ahmad-khan-rahami.html Why Didn't the F.B.I. Stop the New York Bombing?], ''New York Times'' (September 21, 2016).</ref> Mark Steven Domingo's failed 2019 plot to bomb a rally in [[Long Beach, California]],<ref>Jennifer Medina, [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/us/terror-attack-los-angeles.html Terror Attack Thwarted in Los Angeles, Authorities Say], ''New York Times'' (April 29, 2019).</ref><ref>[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/san-fernando-valley-man-who-plotted-bombing-long-beach-rally-sentenced-25-years-federal San Fernando Valley Man Who Plotted Bombing of Long Beach Rally Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison], U.S. Department of Justice (November 2, 2021).</ref> and [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]].<ref>[https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio/ohio-man-charged-threas-witness-tampering-capitol-riots/530-2638dbaf-6001-40fe-85ae-5188665ed8cd Ohio man charged with making threats, witness tampering regarding his participation in Capitol riots], WKYC (January 15, 2021).</ref>

Before [[U.S. Army]] psychiatrist [[Nidal Hasan]] [[2009 Fort Hood shooting|murdered 14 people in a mass shooting]] at [[Fort Hood]], the JTTF in San Diego had acquired two messages from  Hasen to radical Islamic ideologue [[Anwar al-Aulaqi]]. Concerned by the content of the messages, the San Diego JTTF contacted FBI Headquarters and the JTTF based in the FBI's Washington Field Office. The Washington Field Office did a limited assessment and concluded that Hasan was not "involved in terrorist activities." In the meantime, agents in San Diego acquired 14 additional emails and messages (12 from Hasan to al-Aulaqi and two from al-Aulaqi to Hasen), but San Diego did not forward these communications to the D.C. JTTF, and neither JTTF took any action.<ref name=LessonsSanDiego>[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg81127/html/CHRG-112hhrg81127.htm Lessons from San Diego: Improving Our Ability to Connect the Dots], [[United States House Committee on Homeland Security]], Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management Serial No. 112-118, September 14, 2012.</ref> Hasan committed the terrorist attack at Fort Hood several months later.<ref name=LessonsSanDiego/><ref name=Webster>[https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=717443 The William H. Webster Commission on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counterterrorism Intelligence, and the Events at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009], Homeland Security Digital Library, [[Center for Homeland Defense and Security]].</ref> A commission led by [[William H. Webster]] investigated the FBI's counterterrorism intelligence in the lead-up to the Fort Hood shooting, and released its final report in 2012. The Webster Commission found that the assessment of Hasan conducted by the FBI and JTTFs was "belated, incomplete, and rushed, primarily because of their workload" and an "exponential growth in the amount of electronically stored information."<ref name=Webster/><ref>[https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/unleashed-and-unaccountable-fbi-report.pdf Unleaded and Unaccountable: The FBIs Unchecked Abuse of Authority], American Civil Liberties Union (September 2013), pp. 24-25.</ref> The report did, however, conclude that all the FBI and task force personnel "acted with good intent" and that their mistakes did not result "from intentional misconduct."<ref name=Webster/>