Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems to confuse two types of FBI cases in viral video

In a video that went viral, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned the FBI's highest anti-terror authority about what she termed "discrepancies" between the FBI's treatment of violent white supremacists and Muslim extremists.

"There are holes and holes here," New York Democrat Michael McGarrity told the FBI deputy director at a hearing in the House on Tuesday, saying Muslim officials had been accused of "national terrorists." "while the white supremacists had escaped such accusations.

But is it true? Not exactly.

She is right in saying that federal authorities have pursued such cases differently – but that's not as Ocasio-Cortez claimed nor for the reasons that she seemed to imply.

Any "divergence" in the prosecution is largely rooted in laws passed by Congress, not in political decisions made within the FBI.

At Tuesday's hearing, Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged, "It could be our fault as Congress." And, as their comings and goings intensified, McGarrity tried to warn her: "Some of the definitions we use, I think we're talking one behind the other."

But Ocasio-Cortez doubled the next day by posting on Twitter: "[T]The FBI witness tried to say that I was wrong. … but then we checked. I was not there. "

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Here are the facts:

"National Terrorism Clearly"

At Tuesday's hearing, Ocasio-Cortez discussed what she called two "obvious" cases of domestic terrorism: the White Supremacy Attack in 2015 against a historically black church in Charleston , in South Carolina, which killed nine African-Americans, and last year's anti-Semitic rampage inside the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue that claimed the lives of 11 Jewish worshipers. The congressman said that these two cases "have been designated and charged only as hate crimes, not as national terrorism incidents".

In contrast, according to Ocasio-Cortez, the attack inspired by ISIS and al-Qaeda in a municipal building in San Bernardino, Calif., In 2015 and the massacre inspired in the same way, the Pulse Orlando Nightclub a year later "were designated and charged with internal terrorist incidents. . "

But Ocasio-Cortez seemed to confuse two types of FBI cases – a confusion that even law enforcement officials outside the FBI often do too.

None of the perpetrators of these ISIS-inspired cases have been named or charged as "national terrorists". Instead, they were all named and charged as "violent extremists from the country", which may seem like a "national terrorist" but different, at least for the FBI.

They are not the same

As McGarrity told the House panel early in the hearing over three pm Tuesday: "The FBI categorizes [terrorism] investigations into two main programs: international terrorism and national terrorism. "

International terrorists include not only overseas extremists actively involved in groups designated by the US government as "foreign terrorist organizations," but also radicals in the United States who are inspired by these designated groups – called "violent extremists of national origin".

The national terrorist designation has little to do with international terrorism. "National terrorists" are defined as those who have gone to violence by what McGarrity has called "national influences, such as racial prejudice and anti-government sentiment".

Gene J. Puskar / AP, FILE

Although all terrorists in the United States seek to harm and create fear, "the FBI distinguishes" those identified as "national terrorists" and "local violent extremists", on the basis of what has radicalized them to violence, McGarrity said.

The FBI is currently investigating about 850 potential domestic terrorists and is tracking another 1,000 "violent extremists born in the country," according to McGarrity.

"Congress has no status"

"However, what causes some confusion is that" national terrorism "is neither an offense nor a charge," explained John Carlin, then head of the department's National Security Division. of Justice, several years ago.

The fact is that national terrorism investigations – such as those on the Charleston Church shooting and the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue – can not give rise to "internal terrorism charges" repeated McGarrity Tuesday.

"You will not find a real charge of national terrorism," he insisted.

Terrorism charges are currently available for cases related to international terrorist groups.

The couple who launched the deadly San Bernardino attack was killed by police, but the Justice Department sued his longtime friend who bought two weapons used in the attack. He eventually pleaded guilty to participating in a "plot to provide material support to terrorists", appointed by the US government. He has not yet been sentenced.

In 2017, the wife of the shooter of the Orlando disco was indicted for "consciously aiding and abetting [her husband’s] an attempt to provide and provide "material support or resources" … to a designated foreign terrorist organization ". A federal jury acquitted him of the charges.

Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP, FILE

However, unlike ISIS and Al Qaeda, no network of US white supremacists has been officially labeled a "terrorist group" – an initiative that could cause serious concern to the first amendment. And the Congress has not passed any laws that explicitly criminalize acts of "domestic terrorism".

To bring federal charges against domestic terrorists, the FBI and the Department of Justice often rely on weapons laws or hate crime laws.

That's why the FBI "worked" on the Charleston Church shootings and on the "Tree of Life" synagogue attack both as a terrorist affair internal and hate crimes, "McGarrity said.

"We will use any tool from the toolbox to stop them," he added.

If white supremacy was linked to a group designated by the US government as a foreign terrorist organization, this could allow federal prosecutors to charge white supracists with the same offenses as a state-inspired terrorist. Islamic – but no such case has ever been identified.

"The neo-Nazis are doing well"

In his Twitter post Wednesday, a day after the hearing with McGarrity, Ocasio-Cortez called the audience "wild".

But by saying that her team has "checked" and that she "was not" wrong, it is unclear exactly how Ocasio-Cortez thinks it was right during Tuesday's hearing. His office did not respond to emails requesting comments for this article.

Back on Twitter, she proposed this conclusion: "The neo-Nazis are in the process of landing".

Indeed, during the House hearing Tuesday, other Democrats expressed concerns other than those of the FBI, particularly with respect to how the US Department of Homeland Security's Attack now to white supremacy.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman, D-Florida, said the Trump administration is "sending[ing] a sign that you care less "by moving resources" elsewhere "and by reducing demands from the federal government to fight national terrorism.

Alex Mallin of ABC News contributed to this report.